The Freestyle Entrepreneur

I don’t remember when or where I read or heard this quote, but it has stuck with me because of its irony.
The person in question was defending either his rambling speech or verbose piece of writing which had been criticized, “It would have been much better but I just didn’t have time to make […]

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How are you perceived by the people with whom you do business on a daily basis? Do they welcome your calls and are they glad to see you in person?
I strongly urge you to consider this and always be thinking about how to create a positive image with them. We’re really talking about marketing in its […]

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Today’s piece is somewhat ironic coming from a person who wears hearing aids. However, the issue is not really about hearing—the issue is about listening.
It is such a simple request but seldom garners the results that I’ve asked for.
Like most of you, my wife and I are not at home during normal working hours. That, however, is when […]

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Even though I enjoy playing and one of my sons works for the Nationwide PGA Tour, by no stretch of the imagination am I an expert on the game of golf.
At one time I assumed that great golfers hit each shot perfectly every time.
Wrong, Tee-Box Breath.
Sometimes they hit it too far to the right (called a shank) […]

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 [This article first appeared in the June edition of Corporate Report Wisconsin (www.crwmag.com.)] 
“For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action.
You just have to find it.  When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.”                 
       — Mary Kay Ash
 “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”  When adversity strikes, knuckle down, put your […]

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By now you know that I like to write about my hometown of Lawler, Iowa.  Normally,  the piece concerns a nostalgia-laden incident that happened years ago.
Today, however, you are going to hear about an event that I witnessed within the past month in the village of my youth.
My wonderful nieces arranged a terrific family reunion that was held several weeks ago composed of Old Sheridans, […]

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It was one of those seemingly innocuous events that should have been long ago forgotten. Instead, it is so etched in my memory that I have even given it a name: The Gus Schael Syndrome.
When I was growing up in the 1950s, Lawler, Iowa was a bustling little village. One of our local entrepreneurs, Gus Schael, owned a […]

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Divorce under any conditions can be a messy affair.  Roll a business into the equation, and divorce can become emotionally and financially devastating, not just for the divorcing couple and their family, but also for the business’s employees and co-owners.
Part of the problem is that business can be high-stress and demanding.  I don’t know if […]

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My sons Tom and Greg, unlike their father, were talented high school athletes. Both did especially well playing basketball at a small parochial school with a rich tradition in the sport. 
Unfortunately, in my high school days a generation earlier, I saw action only if the game was well in hand. Once my boys asked about my skills on the court, “Were you […]

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I would like to be able to blame my buddy, George Timlin, who had a knack for getting me into trouble when we were kids. A year older than me, he always had creative ideas on endeavors that were fun but all too often led to a bad ending.
But truth be told, however, this one was […]

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The following is an editorial point of view offered by one of our most experienced writers, Bill Willard, as part of our “Issue of the Week” series. Below is Bill’s opinion on a hot topic of interest to many of us. What’s your opinion? Please share it with us. Two cautions: […]

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The evening started out in a very uneventful manner as my wife, Renee, and I decided to try out a steak joint in West Des Moines that had been given rave reviews. We were in a good mood on a Friday night anticipating a nice meal and good conversation.
Shortly after we sat down a young man walked over […]

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When Adversity Hits Home Successful SBOs Improvise, Adapt and Overcome!
Adversity elicits talents which, in prosperous times, would have lain dormant.
– Horace
Thus far, 2008 have been tough for the U.S. economy, in general, and small business, in particular. As Dr. Paul S. Kedrosky, Executive Director of the William J. von Liebig Center in San Diego put […]

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We enjoyed many excellent speakers at a professional association meeting that I recently attended in Baltimore. One related a story about an insurance agent who sold a $14,000,000 case because he didn’t rush to judgment.
A successful businessman who attended his church came up to him at a social event and asked him to do a favor, “A guy just proposed […]

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 There are many ways for a small-business owner to fail.  Most are within his or her control to avoid.  In the following, let’s just say that the “I’s” have it.
 Incompetence:  You probably know what you’re doing, but does your staff?  There’s a certain restaurant I go with friends.  The place is convenient, the prices reasonable […]

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William F. Buckley Jr., founder of National Review, Father of Conservatism in America, entrepreneur, is no longer with us. While I, among so many others, mourn his loss, I also celebrate his life and envy the manner of his passing.
Bill Buckley so savored the conditions and ingredients of the good life, and lived his to […]

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My brother-in-law, Bob, is a terrific guy who hated this particular ‘company policy’ at the airline where he was employed.But let’s go back to the beginning. Bob began working for Ozark Airlines which was absorbed by TWA (Trans World Airlines) and eventually merged into American Airlines. He spent thirty years with them and has a plethora of wonderful stories about celebrities, […]

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I admire those of you who are naturally inquisitive. Many people whom I know would love to be professional students if time, finances and circumstances allowed. 
In general, that has not been true of me.  
I graduated from Mason City (Iowa) Community College with exactly enough hours to earn an Associates of Arts Degree. After transferring to the University of Northern […]

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People like doing business with people who are knowledgeable, confident, good natured, and successful. In short, Winners! Thus, among your goals as an SBO should be making sure everyone you meet sees you as just that: a Winner! By helping people form positive first impressions of you, you will meet that goal more often than […]

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I don’t know his full name but did notice ‘Ben C.’ on his name tag.
Ben C. is seventy-five years old if he’s a day and could not have been enjoying life more if he tried. It was a recent Saturday afternoon and I had just begun my shopping at a local grocery store. He was […]

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[The following article originally appeared in the February 2008 issue of NEW North B2B: www.newnorthb2b.com.]
Are skyrocketing prescription drug costs destroying your benefit package and your bottom line … and giving you an ulcer (not that you can afford the medicine)?
 
You are not alone.  The federal government reported in January that total health care spending topped […]

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I’ll admit it; I am prejudiced on the subject of men and women in sales. We’ve got to continually show the love to our agents/producers/sales reps!All too often I have heard corporate home office people complain about, ”All we have to do for them and the too generous commissions they receive.”
I want to shout from the top of […]

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Today’s essay is directed mostly at the small-business owner who has employees, but its message is relevant to each and every one of us—employees or not.
I heard almost identical stories twice within a few months from two managers who have never met and for whom I have the utmost respect.
The first was from my friend and manager, Jack, from […]

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Written on 3/15/2008 by Dan Paulson of InVision Business Development.
By now you have probably heard the “R” word.  The papers, magazines, TV and radio are all talking about it.  So it must be true, right?
So if we are entering a recession, does that mean all businesses are going to suffer?  My guess is while many […]

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jettison  
tr.v., -soned, -son·ing, -sons.
1. To cast overboard or off: a ship jettisoning wastes; a pilot jettisoning aircraft fuel. 2. Informal. To discard (something) as unwanted or burdensome: jettisoned the whole marketing plan.I had not heard the word before space travel became the norm in the 1960s. It occurs when the capsule comes to a point where […]

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