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Big Ooga and Carol Roth Rescheduled! There’s a lot to be said about how well entrepreneurs adapt to real-time conditions. Our meeting is rescheduled to Monday, Feb 21st at Catalyst Ranch, same time, same place, same program.  Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph Street, Chicago 60654  Time: 6-8 pm Hope you can make it and please [...]

There is nothing more exhilarating than knowing where you’re going in business, seeing the road ahead and knowing what steps to take.  Just having that in your pocket feels like a currency, like being rich with hope AND strategy. Conversely, speaking for myself and possibly the other 22 million of us US entrepreneurs who sometimes [...]

Last year I was operating under the old ratio of:  busy tasks vs. priority tasks.  The equation looked like this:  600 + 4 = a day in the life of an entrepreneur. The 600 represents everything other than what you should actually be doing -  reading possibly important stuff, looking for stuff, responding to stuff, [...]

Last year was tumultuous.   It was about adapting and embracing change, both chosen and thrust.  It was about living under new conditions and circumstances – within the world and within my personal world and I can say with certainty, I survived it with a positive attitude, damn it. Still.. 2010, don’t let the door hit [...]

Between social media, digital media, blogging, twitter, Linked In and networking, a small business could go crazy in the acid rain of information and options.  Just doing a task takes you to a browser that lures you into reading a story you could care less about.  Sure you’re more informed, which might come in handy,  [...]

When we opened our doors, the goals of Big Ooga have always been to help Chicago area entrepreneurs become smarter, more successful and better connected. What we evolved into at “Hello” was a magnificent community of intelligent entrepreneurs and small business owners who genuinely cared about achieving success while helping others do the same. We [...]

Who wants to learn the hard way that the system is broken and our lives have changed? TV commercials are telling me how my values have changed and how much better they are now. I’m not buying it OR their products – because my values haven’t budged. It’s my lifestyle that’s changed. Here is my [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]