Why are we in business?  For most of us, it is to provide a solution to our customers/clients.  For others it is to make a difference in the lives of our customer/clients.  Whatever your reason is, we need to do this and have enough money cover our business expenses and pay our personal bills. So Read more...

Content Marketing Secret Sauce: Your Voice I love hot sauce.  It’s my superfood crush.  I’d declare it a food group if I could – and I may!  It adds spice and flavor, and can turn something bland into something truly awesome.  That gets me thinking about how every business has a secret sauce – a Read more...

Just recently, an invite to a webinar about how to avoid webinar fatigue popped into my inbox—as did a terrific infographic on “how to rock your webinar.”  Gosh, webinars are such a part of our daily business scene that it’s not a big surprise presenters are concerned about how to make theirs dance and sing. Read more...

Many organizations make some basic public relations mistakes, which can dramatically affect their visibility and credibility. Here are seven common errors, with advice on how to avoid them. Having unrealistic expectations of PR Too many people think that they will become famous overnight if they hire a PR firm. Or that publicity will automatically generate Read more...

Password security is more important than ever before. Everybody sure is paying attention at a higher level – we’ve learned we are vulnerable with the “heartbleed” bug (go here for an in-depth explanation of heartbleed,) but actually, heartbleed simply brought visibility to the problem – your online accounts are vulnerable because your passwords are weak, Read more...

Internet Security.  Passwords. “You need to change all your passwords, and they need to be different for every online account.” Have I lost you yet?  Dealing with password security is kind of like going to the gym; you know you should, but it’s easier to sit on the couch and watch “House of Cards”.  I Read more...

Strategic branding is an essential part of your business.  Your brand is your promise to your customer.  It tells them what they can expect from your product or service and how you differentiate from others with similar offerings. Yet, the most important (and most often overlooked) expression of your brand is based on your personality, Read more...

Whether or not you should form a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company (LLC) for your new business is a simple and straightforward question that more often that not has a complex and confusing answer.  The short answer is that if and when you can afford the costs associated with doing so, then you absolutely Read more...

Internet Security.  Wait! Don’t click away just yet.  Does this sound boring?  Or overwhelming?  I promise, this will be fairly painless – and useful.  If you’re reading this during Spring/Summer 2014 it’s relevant because of the “heartbleed” online security bug you’ve all heard about.  If you’re reading this a year from now, the basic security Read more...

One of the challenges of consulting is navigating the path to getting paid by clients.  Once you win the business, there’s the matter of actually getting a check cut.  And that process varies widely with different businesses. Here are 6 contractual ‘hurdles’ I’ve been asked to clear in the course of my consulting career: (Disclaimer: Read more...