As Family First Entrepreneurs we must be aware that we set boundaries with people we do business with and those boundaries protect what we hold dear: time with our family.  As we hold to that standard for ourselves, we must not only support it in others, we must encourage it.  continue reading...

I commonly struggle with perfectionism and I interact with a lot of entrepreneurs that do so as well.  I have it show up more in my personal life than in my business life but the same consequences apply.  Most of the time I believe that perfectionism is a defense mechanism. I am attempting to thwart risk.  More simply said, if I just do it perfectly, nothing bad will happen. continue reading...

As a committed father and the provider for my family, I would have to say that sometimes work feels easier than family.  As a result of my nature to gravitate toward the easy side, in this case, work, I find it necessary to keep myself in check by remembering what’s truly important.

I am writing this as a blog because I understand that for family providers, this subject is one that falls into the taboo, we-don’t-talk-about-this category. continue reading...

I find it interesting that in both relationships and business the power to walk away allows us to have true clarity.  When we are overly invested, we increase the possibility of making bad decisions.

The answer is loving separation. Simply said, you can still love someone or something with all your heart, but you need to separate yourself from that sometimes-blinding love in order to make sure you’re taking care of yourself with good decisions. continue reading...

When I sit down at the table to cut a deal of almost any kind, I prefer to have a discussion as opposed to a negotiation.  They are very similar types of situations with similar outcomes, but a discussion feels a whole lot better to me.  When you’re negotiating, the person across the table becomes your adversary, and there are many people I know that love it that way.   On the other hand, I would rather pull back and allow a relationship to develop so a discussion is possible. continue reading...

I had coffee today with my trademark attorney, and in our discussion he said that many of his potential clients have one thing in common—each of them believes that his or her business idea is a winning lottery ticket.  As we talked about the reality of going from an idea to money in the bank, I realized we had stumbled upon a topic for my next blog. continue reading...

With ONO coming out soon, I have been heavy into the realm of social marketing.  This world is fairly new to me, but I am blown away by how deep online relationships can become, not only how deep, but more importantly how fast they can happen. continue reading...

I met a man the other day who said something in passing that perked up my ears.  He said that as a father of four kids, the only constant in life is impermanence.  Man, is he right.  Not only is he correct, the statement he made applies to parents, but it also applies to the economic times we are experiencing right now as well. continue reading...

We have all been blessed with gifts in our personal and business lives. Generally, I find that we all know what these gifts are, and many of us use these gifts to help produce income. I know it’s not new news to hear that we should do what we do best and then hire or partner out the rest, but, as Family First Entrepreneurs this tactic helps us work more efficiently and also gives us more time with loved ones. continue reading...

I just got off the phone with a man with whom I do business; he was calling to discuss a “fire” that that he had had to put out as a result of one of my people. I found it very interesting after quite a bit of discussion that, although he didn’t say it, he just wanted to be heard. continue reading...