In going after a dream, exercise unbridled enthusiasm until you achieve it. So do something unusual to manifest your own latent entrepreneurial capabilities: start a juice stand, backpack to India or sell a sketch to a neighbor.
You never know where it will lead.
Being a small business owner and a formally trained facilitator (e.g., Women Presidents' Organization Chicago Chapter Chair since 2003), I decided to take a different approach and asked 20 presidents of small businesses in marketing, interior design, insurance and a variety of other industries what’s allowing them to get a good night’s rest.
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| ©2011 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. |
In attempting to find the answers to these questions, here’s what I discovered from Steve himself, and thought-leaders who knew him.
Hire the best and brightest entrepreneurs (yes – that’s us!), and put them to work! Who else is going to try something new that will shake us out of these tiresome doldrums?
Here are ten things entrepreneurs can do that make them smart power resources.
For example, many people thought at the start of the pandemic - and this too shall pass. So they waited. And they waited. And then they realized they would be waiting and basically doing nothing for nearly two years.
To obliterate status quo, do you have what it takes to become a high-performance leader even during the toughest times? Ten traits characterize the people who do. The key is to never slip into mediocrity and do nothing.
The essence of making revolutionary changes is taking risks. Bold risks produce bold innovation; they launch new products, services, and companies; they improve workplace conditions for employees; and they may even end up changing the world.
Here are 10 questions to ask (and answer) to help guide you and your organization to achieve bold innovation. This is an article I [Laurel Delaney] wrote for American Express more than a decade ago and it still applies to today's world.
Don’t reinforce the old ways of doing things. Continuing to take risks is an important part of achieving bold innovation.
As we go forward in 2021, think carefully about your strategy for innovation in your business. The genesis of every new product, business or service offering is a concept: an idea for something you believe people want and will buy at a price they can afford to pay you for the work needed to produce it. Concepts can arise out of anything at any time. I think of it as spontaneous innovation, which occurs in every aspect of our lives. Some might refer to it as spontaneous expression, and it’s typically a moment that can’t be repeated easily.
In this article I [Laurel Delaney] present four (4) examples.
Oh, and at the end of each passage, there’s a lesson learned along with a big question to get a conversation going.
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| ©2021 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. |
And at the same time, we celebrate with you the birth of Escape From Corporate America – some 17 years ago – on July 7, 2004. Thank you for your readership. Your engagement keeps me going.
Here are a couple of specific examples: You created a whole new way to pitch clients but haven't landed one new piece of business. You launched a new line of shoes and no one is buying them. You developed a brilliant method of allowing everyone in the world who has access to the Internet to connect on a platform to change the world, and only eleven people signed up.
Sound familiar? Here are five signs that serve as early detectors of total business decay. This is an article I [Laurel Delaney] wrote more than a decade ago yet it is still relevant to our times.
More than 1,000 women have completed the program. They range from 16 to 51 years old, and are from diverse backgrounds — stay-at-home mothers, burned-out executives, women laid off during the pandemic. More than half have been women of color.
Learn that anything is possible.
In the article below, I [Laurel J. Delaney] highlight some points in Michael Treacy's book, “Double-Digit Growth: How Great Companies Achieve It – No Matter What." His insights are still relevant for today's business owners. The five ways to go after growth consist of:
As of 2020, these companies employed nearly 9 million people and generated $1.8 trillion in sales. Last year alone, women started 1,821 new businesses every day. Of these, over 60% were started by women of color, and Latina women-owned businesses grew more than 87%.
As Winston Churchill once said: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Women entrepreneurs must see opportunity in every difficulty, too. Now is a perfect time to think about how to create a new market space. Your clients in the past — indeed, the whole marketplace — have changed.
Take a look at seven areas women entrepreneurs can discover new ways to solve old problems and gain traction in our new world.
The one tip that trumps them all? No. 10.
Deal with it. Don’t think of surviving. Think of thriving. Action, not words, says it all. Imagine yourself five years from now and where you will be. If you can envision it, you can do it. And end up sleeping like a baby.
American pop singer Lady Gaga has taken the world by storm with her robust voice, over-the-top theatrical performances and outrageous costumes. Global small business owners can learn from her without going to the same extremes.
There are lots of little ways to reposition your business, be different, and have customers take notice of you both online and off. All it takes is a little innovation and determination.
Learn more.
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| ©2021 Laurel J. Delaney. All rights reserved. |
Here's what makes this race special. Ms. Vicki Oliver is Stash's trainer and SHE has that chance to put her name into the thoroughbred record books. She is the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Derby. And, yes, she is quite aware of the history lesson she could teach if Hidden Stash finds his way to the winner’s circle.
“It’s unbelievable how much work she has put into this,” [Braxton] Lynch [one of the founding partners and the racing manager at syndicate group BBN Racing] said. “She has been doing it for over 20 years. I tell you, it’s not an easy business being a woman. It wasn’t an easy business 25 years ago when we both got into it. It’s hard work. Man, woman, whatever. You have to put in the work."
Can SHE do it? Race on ...
She says, "Self-leadership will empower you – regardless of your work position to become an agent for change and contribute to the greater good of all."
We are a big fan of Dr. Egel's and very much admire and respect her work. Read the entire article: First You Lead Yourself! Then You Can Lead Others!
In a loving gesture to her husband of 73 years, the Queen placed a handwritten note on top of the Duke of Edinburgh's coffin throughout his funeral services on Saturday [April 17, 2021]. The monarch signed the note with the nickname "Lilibet" — a nickname she was given as a child.
Philip is thought to be the last person who called by her childhood moniker.
Queen Elizabeth may have lost her husband but she has gained additional love and support from people all over the world for her leadership, courage and strength. She will never be alone.
We salute and honor "Lilibet" with the duty and public service she has shown her country and the world. May the Duke of Edinburgh rest in peace. May "Lilibet" carry on.
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