The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

Who is Andy Weng? A Business Success Story

Andy Weng should be famous.  He is "An Excited, Determined, Enthusiastic, Full of Life, Fun Soul".  Already Andy has accomplished much and yet he has only just begun.  Let me introduce you to Andy Weng and you can think about whether you want to reach out and become his friend.

Topics: Business Success Stories

How Entrepreneurs Can Handle Rejection: A Writer's Perspective

Guest blogger Marianna Ashley shares tips for entrepreneurs on how to handle rejection:

Topics: Business Success Tips Entrepreneur Failure

Starting a Freelance Business – How to Take Care of Legal, Tax and Contractual Paperwork

If you are new to freelancing or thinking of becoming a freelancer, you’ll no doubt have lots of questions, especially about the legal and regulatory paperwork you need to obtain and manage throughout the business year.

Freelancing, particularly if you are unincorporated, is one of the least paperwork-intensive forms of business ownership. Nevertheless, you are still a business and you need to be sure you have the right licenses or permits, make estimated tax payments on time, report your earnings each year, and deal with client paperwork such as contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and more.

Topics: Taxes Government Business Planning Legal

An Entrepreneur's Life: Gary Vaynerchuk

"Social media expert Gary Vaynerchuk talks about his life and dreams as an entrepreneur."  - says Entrepreneur.com   Gary is more than a social media expert.  His unique approach and "give it all you got" mindset sets him apart. 

Topics: Business Success Entrepreneurship

What is a Marketing Strategy?

A Marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.  - Wikipedia

A Marketing Strategy is a strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive whole. Ideally drawn from market research, it focuses on the ideal product mix to achieve maximum profit potential. The marketing strategy is set out in a marketing plan. - BusinessDictionary.com

A Marketing Strategy is the result of decisions being made about how a particular product or service will be promoted to its target customers. Marketing strategies are used to increase sales, launch new products and generally provide profit for a company. Strategies involve the construction and implementation of the marketing mix. The marketing mix, which is also known as the five Ps, refers to the product, price, packaging, promotion and place or distribution. - WiseGeek

Topics: Marketing Plan Definition Marketing Strategy

Don’t Leave The Airport Without These iOS Apps

Anyone who has ever traveled on business knows that unique brand of anxiety that comes from being away from the office for extended periods of time. Sure you can call the office to check and make sure the place hasn’t burned down or you can send an email just to check in, but there is still a disconnect. Thankfully there are plenty of iPad and iPhone apps that allow travelers to stay connected to their office, even from across the globe. Here are a few of the best:

Topics: Business Software Free Software apps Business Travel

What does losing sound like? [video]

Finding reasons to celebrate is pretty easy for me even when success is not obvious.  Looking on the bright side, being hopeful (but cautious) is a habit.  Playing the "glad game" was learned from Polly Anna when I was but a toddler.  

There are moments when celebration may not be the first choice.  

Topics: Business Success Leadership Business Planning

List of 11 Webinar Software Options for Online Web Meetings and Conferences

Here are eleven great webinar software options for your online meetings, conferences and webinars.  The good news:  Several are free to use.  The list of online webinar software is in no particular order.  Of course these tools are perfect for your inbound marketing plan and will no doubt inspire many new guerrilla marketing ideas.  (The list has grown beyond eleven and yes, I saved the best for last in the list below).

Topics: Presentation Tools Software Video Marketing Free Software Inbound Marketing Webinars

Steve Jobs With the Ultimate Advice to Entrepreneurs [video]

If you had the opportunity to ask Steve Jobs one question, what would it have been?  This is a video where Steve Jobs gave advice to entreprenuers with a great excerpt from the D5 conference with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.  Steve Jobs shares his advice or "secret" to creating successful companies.  Before you watch the video, can you guess what the advice might be?  Are you thinking that he will say:  Go to school, work hard, have more friends?  Watch and listen to Steve Jobs' advice about how to achieve success:

Topics: Steve Jobs Deep Thoughts Entrepreneurship

7 Steps to Determine Your USP - Unique Selling Proposition

Here are seven steps to determine your USP - Unique Selling Proposition.

Before jumping into the steps, "What is a USP - unique selling proposition?"

A USP is one of the fundamental pieces of any solid marketing campaign. It’s a summary of what makes your business unique and valuable to your target market. It answers the question:  How do your business services benefit your clients better than anyone else can?

Topics: Marketing Plan Business Planning

Follow These 10.5 Steps to Starting a Business

Starting a business requires more than an idea.  Starting a business involves planning, making key financial decisions and completing a series of legal activities.  As you create a business plan you will be especially interested in marketing and building the right team.  These 10.5 easy steps can help you plan, prepare and manage your business. If you click on the links, you will find more information from the Small Business Administration. 

Topics: Start a Business Entrepreneurship Solopreneur