When You're Too Exhausted to Run A Business
“Fifteen years I’ve put into this business, and I’m just spent,” lamented one client. Another told me, “I pushed myself to get my website up, and I went over an edge with my health. It took me months to recover.” It’s humbling to realize, but as you age, you just don’t have the same ability […]
The HuffPost Declares the Death of Capitalism
Steven Brant, in the Huffington Post, penned this article: Capitalism Is Dead. Now What Do We Do? I think he’s got a brilliant point. Socialism for the big companies. Capitalism, or “sink or swim” for the small companies. He also raises an interesting point between financial experts versus designers. Really, there’s a whole book in […]
Great Work Sucks, and Feels Miserable, Too
I was reading what my friend Michael Bungay Stanier wrote on the Feeling of Great Work, and I totally agree. Totally. Every time. Every single time, without exception. I do something new that’s important to me, that I feel is really Worth It… and I feel miserable. Scared. Nervous. Like hiding under the covers. I’m […]
You are part of $970 Billion
It’s been true for a long time that “micro” businesses, sometimes called “personal-sized” businesses, are the largest part of the economy. The self-employed, one or two-owner with no employees is a huge part of the U.S. and global economy. If you need proof, here’s the US census data. Some of the numbers: In 2006, there […]
Too Many Projects (Does Your Project Have A Soul?)
This past Monday my wife Holly, myself, and our assistant Kate had a long meeting. And why? So we can put a bunch of absolutely amazing and wonderful ideas on the back burner, and do nothing about them. It’s probably not such a surprising idea for you, that you’re supposed to prioritize your projects, and […]
When Following-the-Leader Gets Your Business in Trouble
On a hot summer day in the early 1990’s, I was standing in the middle of a California freeway. Four cars were piled up around me, and ambulances, fire engines, and the California Highway Patrol were arriving one after the other. Our paramedic unit had parked where the first-in unit had told us to park, […]
When to Change Your Friends
My co-blogger Arianna Huffington (I loved writing that, even though I’m a bottom-rung blogger for her gig… ;-)) quoted what President Charles DeGaulle’s said to his aide Jacques Soustelle when Jacques complained that all of his friends were bitterly opposed to the government’s policies. “Changez vos amis.” (“Change your friends.”) The context here was Arianna’s […]
The Myth of Being Successfully Solo in Business
I want to riff off of the post I put up the end of April, How Productivity Contributes to Global Warming and Debt. The issue, as I was talking about then, was capacity. And yet, there’s an awful lot of things to get done in business. There’s a breakneck pace that many new solo business […]
The Huffington Post–Care to Support Me?
Hey folks, I’m just super excited- I’ve been accepted as a blogger in the business section of The Huffington Post. It’s a big deal- whether or not you agree with the politics (it’s a very progressive-leaning publication) it gets a LOT of views. The connection happened by magic, and I’m excited, as I said, but […]
Handling Complaints without Making Things Worse
We get complaints from time to time here at Heart of Business. Every complaint is legitimate, in that someone feels aggrieved. I may or may not agree with it, but I can certainly honor and respect how they are feeling. And, sometimes, they are dead-on. We get complaints like: “Uh, I never got the book […]