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The Question:

The shows small businesses see economic improvement and hiring is up. What is your experience?

21% �� Our business is improving and we’ll add employees this year.

55% �� Our business is improving but we’ll handle it with existing people.

3% �� We’re not growing but still plan to staff-up to pre-recession levels.

21% �� We don’t see improvement and won’t be hiring.

Jim’s Comments:

The good news is that three of four of our respondents are seeing econom...

Seven score and 11 years ago, ’s inspired speech at the Gettysburg Cemetery dedication included these words: “…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.��

Four score and seven years earlier, one of those fathers, Thomas Jefferson, penned what is arguably the most important secular document in history, the Declaration of Independence, which included this passionate passage:

Photo...

There’s a disturbance in the Force. is dead.

There’s an empty locker at Team Menzies. Their champion, devoted husband of Midge, proud father of Mike Jr. and Cal, has left the stadium for the last time.

There’s a boat on his beloved Eastern Shore, motor still, lines secure. Captain Mike won’t be takin�� ‘er out anymore.

There’s a quiet office at . Those honored to have been led by Mike for so long will now be sustained by memories of how he conducted himself wi...<![endif]--><!--[if gte vml 1]></p></p></p>

Your customers no longer want to know just about your business �� they want to connect with you and your brand on a new level. This connection means you need to shake up your communication game, too. In this New Age of the Customer®, it’s more important than ever to prepare for the moment of relevance. Are you ready?

from on .

Do you know what a jet fighter is? If you said airplane, you’re only half right.In the strict nomenclature, a jet fighter is actually a weapons platform. Its job is to deliver ordinance to a target, not to fly the pilot around.

In that sense, the human body–this vessel of protoplasm we drive around �� is not really what a human is. It’s actually a delivery platform for the will of our spirit; the true life force that is who we really are.

One of the things I have observed about humans is that we...

is a process of communication between two or more parties to reach an agreement on future behavior-like when you’re purchasing a small business, leasing an office, hiring an employee, selling a product, or trying to get a two-year-old to take one more bite of peas.

Let’s look at the two key words in that definition: process and communication.

Process : Conducting a negotiation is more like running a marathon than a sprint-it takes time and involves multiple steps. By accepting this...

@PresidentObama: “Today the world is less violent and more tolerant than it has ever been.�� #Syria #IranianGreenMovement #9IslamicCountriesPersecuteChristians #Benghazi#BokoHaram

@PresidentObama: “The reset button with Russia has worked.�� #Crimea #Ukraine

@PresidentObama: “The United States is ready to respond to China’s aggression toward its neighbors.�� #RedlineForAssad #NuclearIran #SeeCrimea #SeeUkraine

@PresidentObama: “We’re leaving behind a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq.�� #ISISA...

Understanding the difference between users and customers is vital for the success and growth of your small business. In this New Age of the Customer®, it’s more important than ever to prepare for the moment of relevance.

from on .

In a former life, whenever I felt deficient in my ability to meet a particular challenge, one of my mentors would say to me, “This is no hill for a climber,�� followed immediately by, “and you’re a climber.��
Today, whenever I’m feeling deficient in my ability to meet the challengesof my small business, I say these words to myself, “This is no hill for a climber and I’m a climber.��
In an even earlier life, growing up on a farm, we had an old two-ton Studebaker truck.This was a brute of a truck, w...

Could you use a vacation?

Of course you could and most of us know time away gives any leader a better perspective. But polls show less than half of smallbusiness owners are likely to take off a whole week for.

Perhaps this is a better question: Could yourbusiness use a vacation from you?

Of course it could. Your absence will reveal organizational weaknesses that need attention as well as strengths you may have overlooked.

Regardless of your motivations, here are four ideas to consider to...