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Join In! For members and non-members alike! We are delighted to report that the entrepreneurial coffees last month were not only a hit, but a smash! Of those who attended 95% would like to return. What we discovered is that while our companies are different and our professional experience varies, our  journeys are indeed very [...]

Our companies are different but the Phases of our journeys are remarkably the same.  Our time and head-space fluctuates between grappling with challenges, actual work, success, insight and agony. We are constantly inventing and reinventing ourselves (beyond Phase I and back to Phase I) – searching for best practices and fine tuning messages, methods and [...]

A Big Ooga member who would like to remain nameless came up with an excellent idea this morning – give out monthly awards to outstanding Big Ooga businesses and call it The BOOB Award (Big Ooga Outstanding Business) “Or for short,” he said, call them BOOBIEs.” Geez, I thought, what do you do with that [...]

If one of your clients asks you for a professional referral – you’re not going to say, “I know someone who sucks! Take their number.”  You’re going to say, “I know the absolute best person to call.” The more skilled your network, the better your reputation.  If you hang with great people, great people will [...]

Build and Evolve Your Company If you are building a start-up or updating your current company – and you need quality professionals – call the Big Ooga – we’ve got great people. Build Your Skills If you want to learn social media, SEO, how to set-up a blog, start a Twitter page, streamline your process, [...]

There are 27,000 current members in Linked n Chicago, thousands of members & friends of Big Ooga, Local First, BNC, Evanston Chamber, West Suburban Chamber, the Naperville LinkedIn Business Group and the Evanston / North Shore Business Group. Among them, the owners, founders, leaders, volunteers and members share a common vision, to create a working, [...]

If I blog, the comments come from Facebook or email. If I email, I might get Tweeted.  If I Tweet, I might get ReTweeted and if I call, I might get emailed.  I’m your typical entrepreneur on Social Media without advanced social media skills.  In my defense, the entrepreneurs with whom I communicate can’t be [...]

The real heavy lifting for Chicago entrepreneurs is the thinking – it’s the figuring out and adjusting  – what is my product or service? What needs to change and improve? What words should I use to describe it? The ongoing evolution process is agonizing!  Real entrepreneurship means hitting moving targets and constantly adjusting to the [...]

How much time do you estimate you spend thinking about your business?  It probably ranges from – every waking moment to only when I can shut it off. The real heavy lifting of the entrepreneur’s journey is the thinking process.  Our work is problem solving on the fly.  To do this we are supposed to [...]

Is your day filled with creating new business opportunities or is it sequestered by a flurry of  emails, tweets and social media interactions without much to show for it at the end of the day?  There is a great distinction between being busy and working.  Busy is exhausting.  Working is exhilarating. Busy is ducking from [...]