Three years ago, I was broke, discouraged and scared to death that I had made a mistake. Two years prior, I had bought a business that I thought was going to provide for not only my wife and children but for my children's children too. It was clear that the success I had hoped for, dreamt of and planned for, was only a dream. The bills, debt, and pressure to make it all work were piling up and my options seemed to end at the cul de sac of despair. I didn't know what to do or where to go. … [Read more...]
Listen to your customers
Yesterday, I was confronted by an upset customer about the lack of communication at one of my companies. As I listened, the adrenaline began surging through my veins the more he spoke of his frustrations. Naturally, I wanted to defend, and at one point even tried to offer some understanding. To him, it was all excuses, and he wanted to hear nothing of it. Truthfully, this isn't the first time that I've heard about these frustrations. In a lot of ways, he was right and I applaud him for being … [Read more...]
Just do it…
I actually love to write. However, I'm terrified of getting it wrong. As a 3 on the Enneagram, I tend to only do things where I know I can achieve, and by achieve, I mean win. The problem is, since I last updated this blog, my marketing business has grown to include clients of which are some of the most successful bloggers in their own niches. From Michael Hyatt, Gabby Bernstein and Ruth Soukup, to name a few, these titans are killing it on the blogging front. So, naturally, when I … [Read more...]
Meetings aren’t just for discussing problems
Hey friends. I have a suggestion for your next coffee, meal, mother's day out, or team meeting at work: Start the meeting off with everyone sharing a "win" they've had in the past week. Parents - what was a win that you had this week that your spouse may not know about? Date night - Husband, wife, what was a win that he/she may not have known or noticed this week? Bosses - Have the team go around and share what their win is for the past week. Don't forget to share yours too. Moms - … [Read more...]
10 Ways Small Businesses Struggle & How to Fix Them
Struggling in your job, business or pursuit of "the dream," is common. In fact, I would tell you, it's necessary. Oftentimes, we view the struggle negatively, or as if it is a consequence for a decision we made along the way. While that may be true, the fact is, struggles give us an opportunity to make a choice: Resent it or face it optimistically. Struggles are real. I know, because as a 7x business owner and an employee for other people's entrepreneurial dreams, I've experienced each of … [Read more...]
Full Cycle Marketing, Version 2.0
My four-year-old son recently asked me: “Dad, why do we have rules?” It’s a good question and one that I have never formulated an answer to before. I thought about it and the best I came up with was this: Rules help bring order and boundaries. While this is true, something about it felt too narrow and defined. As a small business owner and a serious marketer, there’s one thing I know about rules: they’re good, until they’re not. A couple of months ago, I put together a process called the … [Read more...]
6 Steps to Smash this Year’s Goals
Achieving your new year goals doesn’t have to include finding a new trick or fad to assist. If you failed in the past, chances are your failures weren’t because your goals were unobtainable. Likely, your approach lacked some key ingredients to ensure success. How we set up our goals will determine whether we're going to achieve them before we even start. [Tweet "How we set up our goals will determine whether we're going to achieve them before we even start."] Because I write about and for mark … [Read more...]
How to decide when and when not to use social media
Recently, my friend and photographer, Jeremy Cowart, posted a picture on Instagram and said... Sometimes you just can't out-light window light. I've been to Jeremy's photography studio. He has dozens of lights to choose from to help him achieve the look and effect he wants to capture with his subjects. Each light has a unique purpose, and because he's a professional, he knows which one to use to help him achieve the goal he has in mind. In the picture above, he chose to move his subject … [Read more...]
How to Build a Strong, Data-Based Customer Profile that Drives Results
Understanding your customer is critical to creating strategies that achieve the results you desire. Before you plan anything, you should have a clear and educated understanding of your primary and secondary “target markets.” These definitions should include demographic and psychographic details that give you very specific insights into who your customers are, what’s important to them and what their interests are. Utilizing this intelligence, you can begin the next steps towards creating a strat … [Read more...]
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