Blog

So You Want to Start a Business?

There’s so much to learn when you are starting a business, and the challenges that you will face are as unique as your own fingerprints. It will be up to you to chart your own path, but it helps to have a map. That’s why I created this 10-part series, taking you through my process as I built my own business.

Creativity Is a Business Imperative

You can draw people in with your creativity. Or you can repel them with annoying ads. We have a choice, and my strong belief is that the storytellers and artists will win, while the aggressors and interruptors will lose. Let’s commit to making every interaction with your audience either educate, inspire, enlighten, or entertain.

Advertising Offset Credits: Calculating the Cost of Ad Pollution

If we look at advertising like pollution, could we make the worst offenders pay a price for making us suffer bad ads? In this week’s episode, I explore the concept of Advertising Offset Credits and the cost of aggressive, self-serving advertising.

More Speculation About Facebook’s Future

There are some big changes coming to Facebook. Continuing the thread from last week’s episode, here is some speculation on how this might affect the Facebook Ad platform and a major change to the News Feed that Facebook is currently testing outside of the U.S.

From Adversity to Acceleration: Business Growth Strategies from Kelly Roach

Acceleration is something that most entrepreneurs seek, but often find to be out of reach. My guest this week is Kelly Roach, a former Fortune 500 executive who has an amazing story of career acceleration – both in her corporate career and in running her own agency. Kelly shares her story, along with strategies that you can apply to your own business.

How to Make Sure You Actually Own the Rights to Your Content

Do you have someone creating content for you? A writer, designer, video producer, or developer? If so, you want to make sure that you have clear ownership of the rights to that content. Episode 112 is about the risks of not having an IP clause in your vendor contracts.

The Customer Is Always Free to Go

You can’t force me to be loyal – that’s something you have to earn. Yet you see companies use a variety of methods to lock us in or make it difficult to leave. These cheap, short-term tactics may guarantee today’s revenue, but they will never add up to tomorrow’s loyalty.

Contracts Are Not a Trap

Signing a contract is often a big commitment for a client, and I want them to feel like the investment is low-risk. Here’s my counterintuitive approach to writing a contract that is clear and simple, fair to both sides, and starts from a point of mutual trust.

How an Exit Strategy Can Help Build Your Business Now

If a business is a good target for someone to buy, it typically means that the business is good to own. In a guest post, Jock Purtle explains how an exit strategy is not just about the future – it can actually help your business today.

Build Your Author Platform: A Requirement for Today’s Writers

If you hope to be a published author someday – or to self-publish and sell your books yourself – your author platform is absolutely critical. In fact, it’s almost impossible to achieve any measurable success without an author platform. Here’s a quick overview of how to get started establishing your platform – for new writers and experienced writers too.

Hourly Rate vs. Project Rate: Which Is Most Fair for Both Sides?

Everyone advises to bill by the project (not by the hour) when you run a consulting business. In the 4 years that I’ve been doing it, I’ve found that the opposite is true. But it requires a few important principles to make sure that the exchange of value works – for both sides.

When to Ask for the Sale: Not Early and Often

Conventional wisdom is to ask for the sale early and often. With today’s consumers, it turns out that the opposite is true. Exhibiting a little patience and providing a lot of upfront value gets you away from the icky parts of self-promotion – and it’s more effective too.

How to Make Money Writing

Today’s writers are empowered in ways that were simply not possible in years past. The writers who know how to take advantage of the new strategies and tools are reaching readers directly and charting new paths to success. Here’s an overview of the strategies and skills you’ll need to work towards financial freedom as a writer.