I ran into a friend of mine last week and he suggested I check out this company he created that allows business professionals to schmooze with other random professionals and broaden their network.  Now I don’t know about you but every time I find myself at networking events, I find that I know more than half the people attending.  The whole point of networking is to meet people you don’t already know.  Enter GoSchmooze...

Your glowing red tie that everyone can see from across a busy city street, the gleaming white smile, the perfectly pressed suit or designer pumps, the fancy name badge you always wear to try and stand out, the robust strides you take when you enter a room that creates an air of confidence are just not enough to build your personal brand anymore. There will certainly always be a place for the Fuller Brush salesperson approach and some may be fooled by pomp and circumstance, but today’s buyers are savvier than ever and they want substance...

Did you know that your Social Network has a direct effect on your health? This use to be called “Peer pressure”… A kid in caught high school did something stupid; the blame was always chalked up to Peer Pressure. As adults we hope we have outgrown Peer Pressure but we are constantly reminded every day that we can fall victims to outside influence...

By: Jack Signorelli

Do you find yourself chasing after so many things that before you know it, it’s the end of the day and you’ve gotten very little accomplished? Welcome to business in the 21^st century.

With all of the avenues available for communicating, networking, and learning it can be more challenging than ever to manage your time effectively and productively. Even all of the so-called ‘productivity enhancing products’ can become time stealers.

So what do you do when you find your productivity has vanished? Implement this 3 step process to get yourself back on track...

Overworked?  It may be time to recharge your batteries.

One of the biggest and most common mistakes that small business owners make is failing to delegate.   They carry the responsibility of the entire company on their shoulders, attempting to be involved in every decision at every level whether it’s customer service, marketing, sales, accounts payable while email piles up in their inbox… the list goes on.  It’s easy to get snagged up in the little stuff on a daily basis, leaving less time to concentrate on actually running the company.  Especially in these economic times, business owners are overcompensating, trying to do more with less resources.  The result of burning the candles at both ends?  Burning out.

Guest Post by Chef Lance, Prestige Personal Chef Service

Do you have a favorite food memory? Was it your Aunt or a Parent whose activity in the kitchen left you with an image of a beautiful dinner , a pretty cake or a home filled with the unmistakable aroma of good, home cooking? Do you remember when you went from a child who “who had to eat their dinner” to a person who realized just how good they had it when it was time for dinner? As a Chef, when I create a beautiful dinner party for a client, it allows me to bring that kind of joy to their home.  Now that I am older, I truly appreciate all that a good meal with your loved means to a busy lifestyle.  Perhaps it is just my strongly ingrained Norwegian heritage, but I truly believe in the healing ritual of the Family Dinner Table.  Every effort we can take to honor that ritual will only improve our home life...

I recently wrote about a visit to the town I attended high school in. On that same trip I took a few pictures of the school, and a few places I worked when I was a teenager. One of those places was a print and copy shop called Kwik Kopy.  The owners at the time I worked there over 20 years ago were a married couple, Dan and Peggy.

For some unknown reason I choose to go inside Kwik Kopy and see who was running the place now.  To my surprise when I walked in, there was Dan. Maybe a few more grey hairs, but I certainly recognized him.  To my utter shock, he recognized me immediately. He must have had many people working for him over the years and I was only employed there for one year. How and why did he remember me?

Acquiring the skills to not only grab someone’s attention, but develop a relationship with that person is the key to successful marketing. Integrating social media opportunities into your current marketing plan can present itself as a challenge to many, but with the rise of technology, it is almost a requirement to know how to market your company using new media. Just be sure to remember those core “time-tested” techniques you learned before the days of social media. Applying old fashioned techniques to modern day social media, will give you an advantage in exactly how to dominate the world of marketing yourself and your business...