Last week while quickly picking up some dinner items at the grocery store, I heard a short and sweet conversation between a father and son. The father said to the 5 year old boy in a very exuberant voice, “No, Uncle Jimmy is an entrepreneur!” The boy replied, “THAT’s cool!”

It really made me smile inwards at the connotation that the term Entrepreneur has taken on. This father and son conversation sparked memories of when I was a child myself, when both my dad and his sister (my Aunt Norma) were “entrepreneurs” - although that term was never used. 

I simply knew that they both were very enterprising with quite a variety of businesses between the two of them along their way.

They even opened businesses right next door to each other. My dad owned a construction company, and my Aunt owned the beloved, Busy Bee Restaurant. 

How would you rate yourself as a Marketer?  You know that area of every business or organization that allows you to truly lead through the communications you share with the outside world.   More pointedly communicating your message with your target audience – those who matter most because they get the most out of your product or service. 

Because I am so involved in coaching and training in this area of business it’s a topic I spend many of my business hours thinking and talking about.  It really is such a big pain point for many small businesses to be sure.  And many don’t even realize how much business they are losing out on because they are not fully sharing their message on a regular basis because of what is perceived as their barriers of entry - time and/or money. 

Have you ever had an idea where everything around that idea begins to take a radical shift as it comes into reality?

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to put my day-to-day life on hold and give 100% attention to the written words that I have a burning desire to create in the confines of what will be my 3rd book. 

Under the leadership of bestselling authors Michael Port and Mike Michalowicz, I rolled up my proverbial sleeves along with 19 other authors at this writer’s retreat.  Together we explored what work we needed to do moving forward as we were fortunate enough to share the space together in a beautiful home on the Chesapeake Bay.

Why do you do what you do for your daily bread every day?  How have you ended up where you are today with the current elements that creates the making a “living” part of your life? 

As you read these words of today’s Victory Letter, I am headed to the east coast to spend this entire week focusing on the writer side of my life at a writer’s retreat. 

Writing is a part of what I do each day that fuels my flame.  Along with that, I have worn the hat of Business Coach for the past 17 years allowing me to fully make a living and a fulfilled life.  In turn this work gives me many things to write about and the writing supports the coaching as well

May has arrived and with it comes the Victory Circles month long exploration into what it takes to fully embrace each of our individual and collective roles as a leader. 

This year we have all been hearing the question, “Where has the leadership gone on the political front?” I am happy to say that in the business world - especially small business - it appears to be alive and well.

Watching with a smile, there are so many entrepreneurs seeking to be the best they can be in their businesses. Whether it’s leading employees, customers, or colleagues, a business driven by a strong leader provides the best possible results for all parties concerned. 

What would change in your life if you had the discipline to see it through to fruition?  If you knew in fact that the path towards growth was a sure thing?

As your week begins and you look at the possibilities for growth both personally and professional that is in front of you, what aspect of what you see compels you create the action required? What allows growth and the change that it brings to actually happen?

I know this is a lot of questions to start your week. However, it’s the questions we ask ourselves and the subsequent answers that we then give and act on that makes all the difference on where we head each day.

Today marks that infamous money day most Americans dread – better known as tax day. Why is it that we put this date off so much? 1/3 of Americans don’t file until the very last minute… but why is that? You have to pay attention and honor the value of a dollar and what it can bring to you. 

When a “paycheck” is not an automatic function that happens every two weeks – those of us in the world of small business ownership know that you simply have to work hard and believe to make the seemingly impossible, possible. Positive reminders are a must to keep your sanity in remembering enough is enough...

When was the last time you gave a sincere and heartfelt compliment?

What is your reaction when you get one?

Do you brush it off, making excuses why it may not be true?

Or do you soak it up like a warm ray of sunshine : )

This was the topic for conversation in this week’s Courage to be the Difference Podcast.  I had the great opportunity to interview New York Times Best Selling Author of the book, Picture Your Prosperity, Ellen Rogin. 

Overwhelm comes in all shapes and sizes. Sooner or later it affects each of us.  This chaos occurs when the 24 hours in each day somehow gets out of balance between work, play, and rest.

It’s a term we seem to use a lot these days and deserves a deeper look to fully understand what it can mean. As with any emotion, if we look at it in the right perspective it can assist us towards finding our individual road to victory. 

One day last week in the early morning hours I awoke to send my daughter off to the airport.  My husband had graciously agreed to take her and we were all up at the ungodly hour to get her out the door by 4am.  Being an early riser, this was even a bit much for me. 

As I dragged myself out of bed, my brain started clicking along at a very fast pace wondering how in the world I was going to get all that was on my plate done in the day ahead. Suddenly, I was grateful that I had a two-hour jump on the day.