How to Stop Beating Up Your Business
I’m surprised we’re still together. I’d been cruel, insulting, and uncaring. I demanded more and more, and, at the same time, wanted to give less and less. Nothing satisfied me. Thank God I changed, because the relationship had been going down the tubes. Am I talking about my wife? No. My best friends? No. I’m […]
'Tis the Season of Confusion
First off, happy holidays everyone. We’re in the thick of it, having enjoyed Hanukah, Solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, and Ramadan is just a distant memory back in the fall. And New Year’s coming up! Enjoy yourselves, but stay under cover at midnight. At least, that’s what they told us when I was a paramedic (‘cuz […]
You Aren't Screwing Up, You Just Need A Better Goal Than "Easy"
Don’t you wish building a business could be easier? Why does every step seem to hold a challenge for us? Well, let’s go back to late August, 2004, when my wife and I went out into the Columbia River Gorge, and hiked out to some natural hot “holes” – pools by the side of a […]
A Solution to Overwhelm
If there is one thing that is completely common in small business, it’s overwhelm. We all get there at least occasionally, and some of us seem to have set up permanent residence. Unfortunately, the view ain’t so nice, and the rent is exhorbitant. When you are overwhelmed, your creativity plummets, your access to your intuition […]
Passion Not Required
One of my clients was telling me about a conversation he had recently, with a woman who kept insisting that he “had to be passionate about his business!” He said she was very insistent on this point, and seemed infuriated when he calmly replied, “No, I’m not passionate about my business. I very much enjoy […]
Making the "Right" Decision
A topic that seems to have popped up a lot lately is making the hard decisions. How do you know the “right” thing to do? Some of us guess, some of us try to figure things out, and a lot of us try to access what can be called “guidance,” or “intuition.” When you are […]
Surrendering to Your Assistant
Updated 4/7/21 Note: This article was originally written in 2003, two years after I launched Heart of Business, and four years into being at least partially self-employed. Sooner or later you are going to need help. A going, profitable developed business simply has too many tasks for you to do it all yourself, and that’s […]
More Than Your Category
I was having a conversation with Zoe, my assistant, the other day. We were talking about her band, Cross-Eyed Rosie, who has been making a big splash recently here in the Pacific Northwest, with their particularly sincere and beautiful blue-grass/folk sound. http://www.crosseyedrosie.com The trouble is, that in the music industry as she knows it, until […]
You and Your Business–Are You Two "Together"?
I was talking with a friend and client recently, let’s call him “Jimmy L.” He started out okay a few years ago, but then a variety of those life events have left him with a stalled business. How did he feel? Frustrated, scared, angry. And, he and his wife have a new baby on top […]
When Helping Isn't Helping
I have recently finished a great course in group energetics, taught by the fabulous Sheron Fruehauf of Lionheart Consulting (you can check them out on my resources page). I want to talk about a particular bit from the class, because it applies to the world, and it applies to our businesses. What Sheron explained is […]