Entrepreneurs and business leaders have to make decisions every day—both major and minor—some of which have the potential to grow or wreck a business enterprise. Great leaders learn how to become great decision-makers, not because they’re equipped with some innate skill but because they’ve mastered...
Marketing your business is a lot easier when you have a strong brand to work with. With this in mind, entrepreneurs and small business owners should always keep brand awareness near the top of their priority lists. Simply put, if customers and prospective customers aren’t familiar...
Some people are born negotiators, and some acquire this valuable skill along the way while others dread the activity altogether. Since negotiating is a fact of life for most entrepreneurs and CEOs, it’s important to understand a few basic principles and be better prepared the...
The Free Online Dictionary defines “schmooze” this way: To converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection. Some of us are born schmoozers, which is a great talent to have in building a business—but a lot of us aren’t. For...
No one successfully starts or runs a business by being risk-aversive. But sometimes an entrepreneur or business leader attains a certain level of success and begins doubting his or her ability to take calculated risks. The hard truth is, only by taking risks can you...
If you’re not currently using Twitter to grow and promote your business, it’s a safe bet your competitors are—and that’s reason enough to start tweeting today. Get started by signing up and making a Twitter profile for yourself. Create a fun and informative description of your...
When you’re just starting a business, it’s essential you attend to all details, large and small. There are a thousand-and-one decisions to make and you’ve got to make them. Leave anything to chance at this fragile early juncture and it could all go up in smoke. Then...
If you’ve been thinking about joining a CEO peer advisory group—and given all that membership in such a group can contribute to your growth as a leader, why wouldn’t you be?—it’s important to consider several factors in choosing a group that’s right for you. There...
Success in business is generally the result of hard work, persistence and a few lucky breaks. But having and maintaining the right types of habits can lead to success as well. This means having the discipline to adhere to those habits, knowing they’ll likely generate both short-...
If the steady but slow-moving recovery has favorably impacted your business, you may be thinking about expanding your business. It’s a crucial decision, of course, because you need both a well-crafted strategy and the resources to commit to that expansion—all without compromising service to the...