I sell technical services to folks that typically have limited knowledge of the services we provide. It would be easy to call our prospective customers stupid or ignorant; but that's certainly not the case and is not going to help us sell more of our services. In fact, it would quite likely have the … [Read more...]

Any goals you're pursuing that are not driven by passion, I'd argue are not worth pursuing at all. Since passion has many meanings, let's start with this one from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Passion(emotion): intense, driving or overmastering feeling or conviction In my own words, passion is … [Read more...]

What do you and/or your brand look like to the outside world? Two sets of decisions you make now will have a profound effect on how the world sees you in 2013. Where will you leave digital footprints and where will you leave footprints in the more traditional sense? Your footprints A month ago when … [Read more...]

If you give a shit about being popular and liked by the masses, then this post is not for you. But I sure hope you don't read this blog looking for advice on how to be "normal." On the other hand, if your goal is to be successful on your own terms, then let's get down to business. Conventional … [Read more...]

Ultimately to be a successful business with ongoing revenues, you need to build a platform. Wal-Mart, love 'em or hate 'em, has a platform for distributing products to consumers. It could be argued no business has ever done that better than them. Twitter has a platform that facilitates human … [Read more...]

Why we as human beings find it easier to talk than listen when we are equipped with two ears and only one mouth I will never quite understand. When you are talking you are not selling, you're marketing. It's when you start listening to your customers and prospective customers that you become a … [Read more...]

It's important to leave slack in your schedule to allow for the unexpected, which really sort of means the unexpected is expected. I'm doing this by making shorter lists and it's helping me to get more done. Lists are great but they can be overwhelming. Sure it makes sense to have a master list of … [Read more...]

Many people (and let's start with me) sometimes use the terms partners and customers interchangeably, and that's a mistake. While it's possible for a partner to be a customer and vice versa, there are many times when that is not the case. In addition, even when the same person or organization … [Read more...]

I've been thinking about writing this blog post for a few years now. It's possible what I've got to say may offend you. I'm okay with that, what I'm about to share needs to be said. This life is not for everyone I'm not suggesting everyone is not capable or running their own business but instead … [Read more...]