Are You Trying Too Hard?I don't know about you, but the new year kick-off was a kick in the pants for me. Let's just say a change in my health insurance meant hours of research online and then on the phone and lots of anxiety and mental fatigue! I don't really like to moan about this stuff because really what can you do, but it took up so much of my time and brain space that it got me thinking how this kind of stuff can really sabotage us entrepreneurs without our realizing it until it's already too late. When I…Keep Reading
New Year's EvolutionI always find this time of year bittersweet as I contemplate the year that was and plan for the year ahead. It takes me a little bit to get myself back up to full speed. The older I get, the more grace I need to give myself in this regard. Which leads me to share my one kinda-sorta-if-I-did-new-year's-resolutions-this-is-what-it-would-be goal for 2024: To be kinder to myself. Because I'll tell you, I'm my own worst critic. Like, the absolute worst. By a long shot. I know, on its face value,…Keep Reading
Your Money. Your Life.As we enter the countdown to a new year — 10 days to go — I'm reminded of an end-of-year ritual I started a few decades back. Last week, I mentioned that in 1999 I went on a six month walkabout along the Pacific Rim. About 4 years before that grand adventure, I was working two jobs to make ends meet (and pay off my student loans) when I read the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. This book really did change my life and point of view about work, money, and…Keep Reading
If and WhenAt the end of 1999, I left my job, family, and all that was known and familiar to me to travel alone to Taiwan, the first stop on a 6-month mostly solo journey along the Pacific rim. When friends and family asked me why I would do such a thing, I said, "I don't want to wait til I'm 65 to travel the way I'd like to and see parts of the world a week or two of vacation doesn't allow me to do." It's almost a quarter of century since then (I can't believe it!!) and boy am I glad I had the presence…Keep Reading
Ignorance Isn't BlissRecently, we hired two different service providers to come to mom's house and fix the same problem. The sink in the basement into which the washing machine empties wasn't draining properly and threatened to overflow and cause a flood. The first provider is a licensed plumber who comes with his assistant and the two spend several hours working on the repair. They admit they're not 100% certain why the sink is stopped up, but they replace the trap (the U-shaped pipe beneath the sink) and the…Keep Reading
Does Size Really MatterOn a recent networking call with a business investment strategist, I got hit by lightning and I’m amazed it didn’t happen sooner. If you’re like me, you’ve heard and possibly said this one or two or a thousand times before: "One of the benefits of being a small business is that your low overhead enables you to be much more competitively priced." That's because you just don’t have to cover as many ongoing expenses as your larger competitors so more of the purchase price goes toward your…Keep Reading
I don't know about you, but the new year kick-off was a kick in the pants for me. Let's just say a change in my health insurance meant hours of research online and then on the phone and lots of anxiety and mental fatigue! I don't really like to moan about this stuff because really what can you do, but it took up so much of my time and brain space that it got me thinking how this kind of stuff can really sabotage us entrepreneurs without our realizing it until it's already too late. When I…Keep Reading
I always find this time of year bittersweet as I contemplate the year that was and plan for the year ahead. It takes me a little bit to get myself back up to full speed. The older I get, the more grace I need to give myself in this regard. Which leads me to share my one kinda-sorta-if-I-did-new-year's-resolutions-this-is-what-it-would-be goal for 2024: To be kinder to myself. Because I'll tell you, I'm my own worst critic. Like, the absolute worst. By a long shot. I know, on its face value,…Keep Reading
As we enter the countdown to a new year — 10 days to go — I'm reminded of an end-of-year ritual I started a few decades back. Last week, I mentioned that in 1999 I went on a six month walkabout along the Pacific Rim. About 4 years before that grand adventure, I was working two jobs to make ends meet (and pay off my student loans) when I read the book Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. This book really did change my life and point of view about work, money, and…Keep Reading
At the end of 1999, I left my job, family, and all that was known and familiar to me to travel alone to Taiwan, the first stop on a 6-month mostly solo journey along the Pacific rim. When friends and family asked me why I would do such a thing, I said, "I don't want to wait til I'm 65 to travel the way I'd like to and see parts of the world a week or two of vacation doesn't allow me to do." It's almost a quarter of century since then (I can't believe it!!) and boy am I glad I had the presence…Keep Reading
Recently, we hired two different service providers to come to mom's house and fix the same problem. The sink in the basement into which the washing machine empties wasn't draining properly and threatened to overflow and cause a flood. The first provider is a licensed plumber who comes with his assistant and the two spend several hours working on the repair. They admit they're not 100% certain why the sink is stopped up, but they replace the trap (the U-shaped pipe beneath the sink) and the…Keep Reading
On a recent networking call with a business investment strategist, I got hit by lightning and I’m amazed it didn’t happen sooner. If you’re like me, you’ve heard and possibly said this one or two or a thousand times before: "One of the benefits of being a small business is that your low overhead enables you to be much more competitively priced." That's because you just don’t have to cover as many ongoing expenses as your larger competitors so more of the purchase price goes toward your…Keep Reading