In the world of small business marketing, it sometimes seems like there is a never-ending tension between the "what's hot now" social media to do and the actual way to execute for maximum business benefit. Consider for example all the small businesses that have a Twitter account because they know...

I make a point of attending at least two professional conferences every year. Despite my last-minute qualms before getting on the plane, I'm always happy -- post-conference. My mind-chatter pre-conference goes a little something like this:

"How can I afford to take this time off when I've got so much...

Most small businesses I know can't afford to have a full-time computer person on hand, so they often utilize outside resources such as independent consultants for their technology needs. For Mac users, the Genius Bar, available on site at stores around the world, often serves the function of troubleshooter for...

"If you write it, they will come." Well at least that's what all those small businesses that start a blog in the hope of driving hoards of potential customers to their site anticipate will happen.

While writing a regular blog is a great way to establish yourself as an expert...

Are you the type who walks by a Dunkin' Donuts shop without so much as a sideways glance -- but find yourself in the Monday morning meeting intensely reaching for a sugar-glazed cruller (pastry)?

Most of the small business owners I know are so busy running the shop, selling the...

I recently gave a talk to a group of new authors on how to promote and market their books. Instead of taking the time and expense of providing handouts (not to mention all the trees saved), I decided to create a SlideShare presentation and offer it, post-conference, to...

If you think sound bites are just for movie stars, politicians and the pundits on TV, think again. In today's get-to-the-point-centric world, your small business spin has power.

I was reminded of the importance of this during a coaching session I had last week with a group of women entrepreneurs.

If I were the type of person who named my weeks, this past one would have been declared "Web Designer Week." I've been juggling the redesign of my own website, working with a web designer on the creation of a client's new small business website, and engaging in an ongoing...

Last week I read an article in The New York Times Magazine titled: "Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?" My immediate reaction was, "Doesn't everyone?" In my world, the line forms to the left on that one. I don't know of one small business owner who is not...

A few weeks ago, I was off site at a small biz client's office facilitating a marketing strategy session. At the start, everyone in the room was constantly checking their cell phones for email messages, texting and attempting to be both in the meeting and working -- at the same...

A few weeks ago, I did a post for this column on identifying bad clients and knowing when to fire them. In the emails and comments that followed, many of you mentioned the flip side of the coin -- building a business based on ideal clients.

These...

While on vacation seven years ago, entrepreneur Rico Elmore couldn't find a pair of sunglasses that would fit on his not-so-small noggin. Elmore's hefty-head experience spawned an ah-ha moment, and today he is the proud proprietor of Fatheadz Eyewear, a company that makes oversized sunglasses and extra...

Virtual Assistant. The mere utterance of these words can make a small business owner ecstatic or apoplectic -- all depending on their experience with this increasingly popular administrative help.

I won't bore you with the details, but my first foray into the world of VAs was fraught with every mistake...

True confessions. A few days a week, I go to work in my pajamas. Being a member of the estimated 30 million U.S. workers who ply their trade from home at least once a week, I'm just not required to don my business casual clothing on a daily basis.

"What are you, stupid? I just explained that to you." No, not a line from a novel about a bad boyfriend, but a real live comment a client (or former client, I should tell you from the onset) said to me when I respectfully questioned his reasoning on a marketing...

Hopefully after reading last week's post on why taking a vacation is good for both your soul and brain synapses, you will have gathered your family together, picked a date, agreed on a location and made plans to take some time off. In order to make your vacation...

In exactly 12 days, I will be going away on a 10-day vacation. The thought of this impending time off from the daily in and out of work exhilarates me -- and worries me.

On the pro side is the anticipation of rest, renewal and relaxation. Weighing in on...

I am, by all accounts, a rabid note taker.

I scribble barely legible scrawls on scraps of paper at Starbucks while meeting with potential clients over a decaf latte. I pound away on my iPad during conferences to capture the words of wisdom being spouted from the front of...

Every morning, I walk across the street from my townhouse and take a stroll by the San Francisco Bay. The paved pathway I amble down is a flurry of bike riders, power walkers, and locals taking their dogs out for a morning stretch.

Earlier this week, I came across...

Amanda Hocking, the 26-year-old current indie queen of eBooks, was rejected by so many New York publishing houses that she decided to go the entrepreneurial route and put out an eBook instead. To date, she's sold more than 500,000 books and made more than $1 million dollars. The movie rights...