As we put away all the holiday gifts and start to look forward to the new year, it’s a great opportunity to start thinking about the kind of small business owner you want to be in 2025. When people talk about new year’s resolutions, we tend to hear a lot of goals having to do with their personal lives, such as losing weight, or spending more quality time with the kids. Those are all great, but what about your business goals? Where do you want your business to be this time nex

‘Tis the season of giving, and while I love giving (and receiving) gifts as much as the next person, I also recognize that sometimes the best gifts really are free. Experiences and quality time together are some of the most common gifts that don’t require spending any money, but there are also other ways we can show our support and appreciation, particularly when it comes to the entrepreneurs and small business owners in our lives. ​ Interview Them Podcasts and video marketin

I see so many entrepreneurs and small business owners who forget to identify their ideal client before they start marketing their business and it’s chaos. I know it’s hard to limit the people you try to reach, especially when you’re just starting out and every customer makes a big difference to your bank account, but I cannot stress enough the importance of taking the time to identify your ideal client and only working with people who fit that description. When you have a cle

Many of us have a love/hate relationship with technology. When it works, it’s great and we love it. When it doesn’t work, it drives us crazy. It’s most likely the worst-case scenario that causes a lot of people to hesitate before implementing technology in their business. They think the way they do things works just fine, and they don’t have (or don’t want to invest) the time in learning a new way of doing things. As someone who uses technology quite a bit in my business, let

How much time do you spend each day trying to find the things you need? Where was that article you saw? What happened to that post-it note with your scribbled to-do list? Do you even have a to-do list?​It might not seem like you spend a lot of time looking for these things, but trust me, those minutes add up. In addition to the time, the energy adds up. If you get frustrated because you can’t find the Zoom link for your next meeting, you’re going to go into that meeting frust

How many times have you thought about delegating a task to someone else (either housework or something for your business) only to say, “Oh, it’ll be faster if I just do it myself”? ​But is it really faster? Maybe in the short run, but what about the long run? How much time do those small tasks take up every day? Every week? Every month? How much time could you save overall by taking the time to teach someone how to do it once and then letting them handle it from then onwards?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  A working mom spends long hours at the office trying to be a successful professional. At the end of the day, she takes home more work to get done in the hours before she goes to bed (which she does way too late because she’s trying to get everything done). She says she’s spending time with her family, but even though she’s physically with them, she’s not really present because she’s always working. She feels guilty about not spending enough

Most businesses start with a big idea. Entrepreneurs want to change the world … or at least their industry. I love big goals, but I also know they can be overwhelming, and sometimes that leads to paralysis. If you’ve been getting frustrated because you don’t have time to work on the big projects for your business, I have good news for you: small actions are just as valuable, if not more so. Taking just 15-30 minutes each day (or even each week) to work on your business can ha

This year my word is CONSISTENCY.  It’s really all about putting best practices into place on a consistent level so that I can see consistent results.  As I get more consistent at certain things in life and business, there will only be minor setbacks when the practices have to be forgotten because unexpected things happen. Although that’s a quick summary of my word, there’s so much more to it.  If you’re curious, I’d encourage you to read on. I've learned so much and planted

Often times when I'm working with clients, they have a need to find stock photos online.  The conversation usually ends up covering where to find photos online that are acceptable to use without infringing on copyright.  There are plenty of places you can search online using the term "royalty free photos".  With royalty free, however, you are still required to give credit to the person who took the photo.  While I have no problem with that, especially since I love to promote

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is starting off without a comprehensive strategy for their business. It’s too bad because business owners really do need a solid strategy to let them know when they’re headed in the right direction, and when they’re straying off course. Unfortunately, the old saying really is true that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you’re still not sure you need a strategy to guide your business decisions, let’s go over four of the

Entrepreneurs are smart people, but there’s a difference between succeeding in the classroom or a corporate job, and succeeding in running your own business. When you’re in charge of everything, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of, so it’s no surprise that some of the smartest entrepreneurs still get tripped up and find themselves making these five common mistakes when starting their own businesses. Not Putting Agreements in Writing Every time you go into busines

Many entrepreneurs end up as small business owners because they loved doing something and they realized they could make money doing it, but making money off something isn’t enough to qualify it as a business. Nor does it have to be your main source of income in order to be considered a business. If you have a day job and a side hustle that’s making you money, that side hustle can still be considered a business… if you treat it like a business. The question is where is the lin

We all start our businesses with love, either because we love what we do so much we want to do it all day every day, or just because we love helping people (or both). But running a small business can be overwhelming, and sometimes when you’re running around trying to do all your marketing, billing, networking, and serving your clients, all those tasks on your to-do list can overwhelm the reasons you started your business in the first place.​ Since this is the season of love,

When someone is looking for a particular product or service, there are some factors they’ll consider before making their decision. The first factors they look at are usually price and quality, maybe location if it’s something that can’t be provided online. But what if your price and quality are fairly similar to those of your competitors? What’s the one thing only you can provide that will make someone choose you over one of your competitors? I believe we all have something u

Learning is not just for children and young adults. And it doesn’t need to happen in a school (or online, as is the case for most of our students these days). Learning should be a continuous pursuit throughout our entire lives, and prioritizing learning actually becomes more important as we get older. Here’s why. ​Continuous Learning Is Good for Our Brains We all fear losing our mental capacities as we age, and while there is no way to make sure you never get dementia or Alzh

Attending a retreat can often sound like a luxury. After all, the term “retreat” implies you’re getting away from your business, not working on your business, right? Not necessarily. ​Yes, a retreat can be an opportunity to “get away from it all”, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be working on your business. On the contrary, sometimes our best work happens when we take some time away from the office because it gives us a perspective we can’t get when we’re in the office day in

As entrepreneurs and business owners, we often make the mistake of assuming we have to do everything ourselves. We have to have all the answers, and if we just buckle down and work hard enough, we can do whatever we set out to do.  ​But the truth is no one has all the answers, and achieving your goals requires much more than hard work. It requires strategy, and a business coach can point out things you hadn’t previously considered and help you come up with a strategy for your