The Case For the Micro Business Retreat
Tomorrow the entire Heart of Business team goes on retreat. It’s not a “retreat from the world” kinda thing. It’s one of our bi-annual (every six months) strategy retreats. Because we have a virtual team spread out across the U.S. and one in Australia, (Hi Yollana!), it’s important we get together on a regular basis […]
Two Ways to Respond to “How much do you charge?”
In the current Foundations1: Clients and Money program participants are digging deeply into the sales conversation with potential clients. One question was this: “What do you do when someone emails you or calls and just asks how much you charge, and then leaves or never gets back to you?” Mmm…. that’s a bit awkward, isn’t […]
Should You Offer Discounts or Freebies to Family and Friends?
In working with our Foundations1 students, the question of discounts or freebies for family and friends came up. People were feeling caught in a no-win game of either feeling like a jerk for not offering it, or feeling like they weren’t taking care of themselves if they did offer it. What to do? My answer […]
The Starter Guitar and $105 Water Color Paper
I was talking with my friend and mastermind buddy Molly Gordon during one of our check-in calls. I made the off-hand comment, “Yes, it’s true that a $1000 guitar is much better than a $149 starter guitar.” (The guitar on the right, with the white pick guard, is my starter guitar.) She came back and […]
Making the Question Real
Recently I was talking with a business owner who was struggling. Her question echoed what I’ve heard from many, many people. “Who the heck am I to be helping these people?” I’ve heard a version of this least 5 times in the last week. You might think it’s defeating-self talk, but no, that’s not what […]
Learning the Foreign Language of Business
Quick reminder: I’m teaching a free call today, Wednesday January 29, from 1 p.m .to 2:15 p.m. pacific on the ending struggle to bring in clients and money. If you are already receiving our mini-series on this topic, you have, or will receive, the call-in information by email. If you haven’t signed up for the […]
Design Advice From The World’s Worst Designer
You may not know this but when I first started out in this field, back in 1999, my business was called “Success by Design.” My previous history of running a magazine, working on a newspaper, and a LOT of experience with QuarkXPress convinced me to do design for self-employed folks. It shouldn’t have convinced me; […]
How Spiritual Opening Creates Business Movement
We’ve been going through a particularly challenging transition at Heart of Business, one that is helping us evolve and grow as a true team. In some ways we’re shedding some of the last vestiges of the solopreneur childhood that was, and stepping into the true team that is now. Similarly, something has been happening with […]
A Voice for Sanity in 2014 and Reorganizing HoB
January! Get busy! Raise your hand if that’s your internal voice, too. The common business culture’s theme says, “More, faster, now.” The result of that theme is peak oil, climate change, auto-immune diseases, burnout, and a civilization that ignores and desecrates beauty in so many ways. At Heart of Business we are part of the […]
A Sufi Blessing of Peace
It’s been years since my wife Holly and I have gone out on New Year’s eve. Instead, a nice dinner with the family and the cats, maybe a movie, is more than enough. After a good night’s sleep, New Year’s Day is, for us, a time to be with friends, and just enjoy the richness […]