Browsing Tag
plan your life
16 posts
It’s Time To Start A Movement
We all should live a life that stirs movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gandhi. Germaine Greer. Erin Brockovich. Oprah. I’m not a big fan of comparing myself to others, and nor should you be. But when you read the names above I want you to think carefully about something: what did these people have in common?...
Finding success as an older entrepreneur
3 mistakes that can derail an older entrepreneur Launching a business—whether it's a side hustle or second career—is on the minds of many people these days, especially baby boomers. As they get ready to retire, or are laid off, more and more baby boomers are feeling the entrepreneurial spirit. Research from the Kaufmann Foundation shows...
Why can’t I get anything done?
I have so much to do today, but the gods of entrepreneurism are not on my side. My car unexpectedly developed a crunchy noise, so I spent most of the morning waiting in a dealership wasting precious daycare time. The next thing I know, I am picking up the boys. My older one was supposed...
Love Is the Killer App
Step aside, email. Internet? You ain't got game. iPhone sounds sweet, but doesn't even come close to the real killer app – that business application that holds the true power to change the world. Starting with your own world. The ultimate killer app is Love. What the heck does that mean? It means that we...
The Power of “You”
Did any of you catch the "Time Magazine" "Person of the Year" feature? The Person of the Year according to "Time" in 2006 was....."YOU". Now sometimes I think "Time" tries to keep things interesting with this annual feature by stretching to be creative....just for the sake of being creative. I've agreed, of course, with many...
It Still Smells at StartupNation HQ
Entrepreneurs need those unique and unexpected diversions in order to shake them out of their daily intensity and provide a proper perspective and the proverbial “looking at things from a different angle”. The good news is that we model that kind of activity here at StartupNation headquarters. Our team is made up of some of...
Former Microsoft blogger Robert Scoble has got it goin’ on
Uber blogger Robert Scoble announced last month that he was leaving the "comfy?" corporate world of Microsoft to join a startup - mentioned us in his blog Scobleizer. Now here's a great example of an extremely smart and talented business person who is striking out into the startup world and he's looking for valuable resources....
Does your business plan include an exit strategy?
I was reading an article on WashingtonPost.com about how social search startups have sprung up to fill in the gaps that the larger search engines like Google and Yahoo! have left open. It's an interesting read and made me think of how important it is for any business, whether you're internet based or home based...
Entrepreneurs need to turn it off to turn it on
Entrepreneurs often don't but they especially should. And when they do, they don't really, at least not completely. (I'm reminding myself of Yogi Berra's famous quotes – my favorite: "If the fans don't come out to the ball park, you can't stop them." I'm talking about time off. Small business owners are in severe need...
Small business owners are contestants in the real American Idol
I never watched American Idol. But I'm sure many of you have. I want to know if the show has anything to teach us about running our businesses and our lives. Without ever watching, here are a couple of things that I surmised from the media hype: 1) Bullies get a lot of attention. They...
A “normal” day for an entrepreneur
• Caffeine-up • Follow up with customers • Analyze website traffic • Move forward on strategy for growing customer base • Tweak strategy for growing customer base • Manage accounting activity • Re-caffeinate • Gain inspiration from a teammate (or the StartupNation community) • Analyze sales • Walk the dog (home-based businesses only) • Shipping...
Lunchtime: I’m in the sales pipeline for small business
A glimpse into the lunch hour of a typical customer: Here's what happened in my world over the past 60 minutes. I was touched by several small businesses, reminded why I do business with some & not others, hooked by a store's grassroots word-of-mouth promotion, paid a premium price for a premium product & was...
Life Plan in action: a “do what you love” podcast business
I am a subscriber to 5 podcasts: • StartupNation Radio • Entrepreneurial Tips with the Sloan Brothers • Adam Curry's Daily Source Code • The President's Weekly Radio Address • Roots Rock Radio You're surely familiar with StartupNation, the Sloan Brothers, Adam Curry if you're a podcast listener, and the President. But what's the deal...
A Reminder: Don’t Ignore Your Life Plan
I generally dislike forwarded messages, especially the ones that tell me to forward them immediately to ten people or else I'll probably go to Hell. If I dislike them, my husband despises them. So I was very surprised when he forwarded this one to me. I'm sharing it with you because it reminded me that...
How to ask for help and get results
As you might expect, we get a great many emails from entrepreneurs who march to the beat of the StartupNation drum. Carin is one of those people. Unfortunately, Carin has recently run into tough times and sent us an email asking for help. (see her email below, provided here with her permission.) The question we...
Finding the ”where” of success
In Rich Karlgaard's book, Life 2.0, he focuses on how people have transformed their lives by moving to a new city, town, tract of land. In reading the book, it reinforced our belief that it's key to pursue the things that make you happy and then build a business around that. Basically, the book argues...