Part of the entrepreneurial mindset is tuning your senses to detect opportunity everywhere you go. Once you've tuned your senses to detect opportunity, the tricky part is picking which ones to pursue. It's not an exaggeration to say that you will come across a business opportunity at least once a … [Read more...]
Be a wolf in sheep's clothing
The alternate title for this blog post was "Be the perceived underdog." When you are a small business competing against the "big boys" however, the underdog status is almost automatic. Instead I want you to go in as the perceived sheep being beat up on by your larger competition. Make no mistake … [Read more...]
How social media connects you with your community
I'm writing this Sunday afternoon as we wrap up WordCamp Milwaukee. Typically, I'd be writing a "Takeaways" style post, but this weekend I was blown away by the power social media has to connect you with your network. The WordCamp Milwaukee after party last night was organized almost exclusively … [Read more...]
On Mentors and Memorial Day
%%wppa%% %%slide=1%% While traveling with my editor, Shelby, last week she suggested I do a Memorial Day post about my father for today. I sighed and said okay I'll stock up on Kleenex and get right on that. Don't get me wrong. I love writing about my father and have done so several times since his … [Read more...]
Starting Businesses
"How do you start a business?" I'm being asked this question more and more frequently, most recently just last night. Last night there was also a followup question that helped me realize why people ask me the question in the first place. "How many businesses have you started?" Off the top of my head … [Read more...]
Why disruptive innovation means telling people it is time to change
Telling people what they want to hear and what they already believe to be true will not inspire action. Promoting new thinking and ideas requires you to tell folks what they may not want to hear or even believe. Selling a new concept Think about the early days of social media. Ten or even 15 years … [Read more...]