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Sometimes what starts as a dream finishes as a nightmare. We take a job, buy a house, start a relationship or make an investment because it seems like a smart decision at the time. Based on the truth as we know it, we do what we think is best for us. Until five years go by. The world changes, our world changes, and something we once pursued so passionately…

Ideas were never meant to stay that way. Success isn’t about the seed, it’s about the tree it grows into, the forest it becomes a part of, the landscape it belongs to to and the new life that flourishes within in. Success is what the idea looks like when the world is done having its way with it. But if the idea isn’t executed, we never had it. Regardless…

Every company needs a delight item. An unexpected, tactile surprise for every customer who buys. But not just the same old chotchkie, gift card, thank you note, free sandwich or chance to win a thousand dollars. Something worth noticing, worth crossing the street for, worth standing in line for, worth taking a picture of, worth paying extra for, worth showing off, worth socializing around, worth blogging about, worth sharing…

About a year after I started my company, I returned to Miami University as an alumni guest lecturer. It was a blast. The students were sharp, they asked bold questions and a few even challenged me to make changes to my business model. After class was over, I had lunch with my mentor and former professor, Dr. David Rosenthal. He shared a few observations from my presentation, which, at…

Hiring yourself is a hard road to hoe. The ups and downs of running a business can leave you stressed, insecure, scared, doubtful and exhausted. And that’s on a good day. Then again, roller coasters aren’t so bad if you have people to scream with. And once you hear those voices, once you realize you’re not alone, once you find people to face the world with, the ride isn’t…

Mattering isn’t the problem. We know our work is great, and that it touches and inspires and brings joy to people all around the world. But it’s awfully hard to pay the mortgage with compliments. In order to keep our enterprise alive, in order to support our lifestyle and in order to underwrite our creative endeavors, we need to matter to the people who write checks – not just…

My friend Lloyd owns a farm. Having worked in the nursery and landscaping industry for more than three decades, I asked him how buyer behavior has evolved over the years. He summarized it nicely in five words:                  Make it for me now. That’s the expectation. That’s the baseline posture of today’s retail customer. They demand urgency and customization, and if they don’t get it, they’re one step away…

Delivery is not enough. When someone pays you money to perform a service for them, doing great work is the bare minimum. The big win is when you make clients look like heroes to the people who count on them. My friend Chris does video production with large corporations. The day he starts any project, he sends his contact person a link to a private webpage that maps out…

We can’t sit back and wait for the world to fall in love with us. The door must be opened from the inside. Despite our best efforts to attract what we want, magnetize people into our orbit and patiently wait until they respond to our passive invitation, eventually, we have to step up and make some noise. We have to go happen to things. We have to put ourselves…

Last year I spent four months chasing a potential client who didn’t respond to emails, cancelled multiple meetings, rarely followed up and essentially, left the project hanging without doing me the respect of simply saying no. I was officially pissed off. But instead of lashing out, I laced up. Instead of torturing myself waiting around for validation, I channeled my anger into an ambitious, risky and exciting project, one…