There’s an old saying that all roads lead to Rome.  It’s probably not true any more – it’s actually a very old saying that originated when the Roman Empire was at its height (roughly 2,125 years ago).  But it’s true – and worth remembering – that there are many ways to get where you want [...]

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I’ve written and scrapped two different articles for this issue of my newsletter.  Neither of them came together as I wanted. Yes, it’s true:  I’m stuck. And when I’m stuck, the urge to sneak away from my computer and sit in the sun with a book and some chocolate becomes pretty compelling.  What do you [...]

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The other day, I was listening to someone describe his options for what he’ll do next.  In our conversation, he was focusing on the choice that seemed the most sensible. I listened, posed a few questions, and then asked … whatever happened to the idea he’d mentioned to me in an email the previous week? [...]

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There are many ways to learn about marketing. Countless marketing gurus have endless quantities of material available, paid and otherwise.  You can download e-books, buy physical books, listen to recordings, watch video, read blogs … it goes on and on and on.  And it quickly becomes overwhelming.  How do you sort out which approach – [...]

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This past weekend, I watched Field of Dreams.  It’s been several years since I last saw it, and it’s just as wonderfully impossible and corny as it ever was.  (For those who haven’t seen the movie, a corn field figures large in the plot line… so can I sort-of intend the pun, or is that [...]

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Creating creativity:  it sounds impossible, especially if you’ve ever tried forcing yourself to have an idea. The entrepreneurial spirit is one thing – that period of intense creativity that’s the driving force of a start-up (whether “start-up” is one individual in a home office, or a team working from a garage). But what happens after [...]

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If you’re like most people, you want change and progress to be big, obvious, and fast. Yet real, lasting change and progress is seldom big, or obvious – and it’s almost never fast. It’s gradual.  Incremental. Waves take years to shape jagged, broken bits into the beautiful, rounded forms of beach glass.  And it might [...]

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Confidence is a crucial aspect of being in business. It makes or breaks conversations with potential clients, supports or drags down marketing efforts, and makes the difference between your doing great work … or doing work that’s merely okay. And just think how much more fun it is when you feel confident! But where does [...]

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Being in business for yourself isn’t always easy. Quite the contrary, in fact.  It can be lonely, it’s often stressful, and it sometimes seems like there’s a new surprise lurking around every corner. Every now and then, I find myself wondering … wouldn’t it be easier to just go get a job? Of course, these [...]

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A few months after I started my business, a good friend asked, “So how long will you give it before you start looking for a job?” A year or two after she started her business, another friend’s father asked her, “Don’t you think it’s time you found a real job?” The people who love us [...]

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