Tag Archives: business counseling

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions…

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goals

Resolutions, well-intentioned as they may be, don’t have the power that goals do. Goals are resolutions with their shoes on. Goal-setting is a process to bring about change, increase success, live purposefully, and put creativity to work.

The first step is getting clear about what you want to accomplish. Amazing things can happen once you start clarifying. If you’ve never written down your goals, make time to do so soon. Take advantage of the natural energy that comes when embarking on a new year. Continue reading →

GIST – Great Ideas for Starting Things

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GIST

Guy Kawasaki likes to start his speeches with a top-ten list based on the topic he is speaking about.  When it comes to the list of most important things an entrepreneur must accomplish, his list has only five. Continue reading →

Fast Pitch Winners Announced!

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The Cumberland Business Incubator’s (CBI) Global Entrepreneurship Week’s final event on November 22nd provided the opportunity for 7 business owners to pitch their business plans to a crowd of family, friends and community leaders. Continue reading →

Where Are You When It Comes to Effort vs. Success?

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effort

Every now and then it’s a good idea to take a step back from your day to day focus and take a look at where you are in terms of the success you’re trying to achieve. For business owners, the definition of Success is very personal, but usually it’s going to be measured by how much money and freedom your business generates for you.

“The road to success runs uphill.”  – Willie Davis

Mr. Davis makes a great point – you can’t achieve long term success without effort.  In a lot of things you do, your success is directly tied to the amount of effort you put into it.  The more effort you put in, the more success you’ll get. Continue reading →

3 Ways to Test How Well You Lead

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I speak with existing business owners every day and one of the things I hear often is that they have a “people problem” and it’s hurting their business…but there are always at least 2 sides to every story. Continue reading →

What Are CBI Bucks??

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CBI 2013 logo

fast pitch

CBI Bucks are your voting power at Fast Pitch.

CBI Bucks are only good on Friday November 22 from 5:30pm until the close of
voting at Fast Pitch.

Fast Pitch is part Shark Tank (but only the very best parts of the show) and
part American Idol.  As in Shark Tank, there will be businesses or
would-be businesses making their business pitch. As in American Idol, your vote
counts!  You vote with CBI Bucks. Continue reading →

There’s Nothing We Can Do…

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Just because you can’t do exactly what a customer asks doesn’t mean you can’t do something.

Let’s say someone was going to ride a 105 mile endurance bike race and the day before the ride their bike broke.  First they would freak out with the thought of four mountains and over 11,000 feet of climbing ahead of them and the months of training behind them.  Then they would hustle down to the local bike shop – your bike shop. Continue reading →

5 Tips for a Successful Fast Pitch Presentation

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fast pitch

Are you considering making your business idea pitch at the Cumberland Business Incubator Fast Pitch during Global Entrepreneur Week?  You know it’s a great opportunity to share your amazing, world-changing business idea with your community.  You’re excited and a little nervous.  You might not have ever done a pitch session before, so you may not know quite what to expect.  What follows should help you prepare. Continue reading →

Striking e-Commerce Gold

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e-commerce

I visited Arkansas over the holiday weekend recently and picked up some interesting information from small business owners there.  As we all know, new businesses face daunting odds:  only half of all businesses launched annually will survive five years, and only one-third will survive past 10 years, according to the SBA. Arkansas has more than 241,000 small businesses, some quite successful.  Business owners everywhere who succeed do more than build it and hope buyers will come.  They stick to a written business plan vetted by a professional. They spend judiciously and reinvest in their business, and many effectively use the power of social media. Continue reading →

The Power of Accountability

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accountability

Personally as the entrepreneur in residence and business coach at the CBI, and our volunteer CBI business mentors, our job is to help business owners develop bigger better businesses.  If you are actively trying to build your company, then you could benefit by looking for an advisor/coach/mentor to help you.

What can an advisor/coach/mentor help you do? Continue reading →