Brag Basket is open

Each Friday, I open the brag basket as a fun place to give someone a pat on the back, brag, or promote yourself and your projects.

Will you put something in the Brag Basket this week? You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission or anything. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.



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New ideas for your shop local campaign

Our friend Rob Hatch sent me a link to Do the math with your gas, about keeping your gas cost down by shopping locally. It immediately made me think of your small town, shop local campaign. This is a great new reason to mention when promoting the benefits of shopping locally.

You do have a shop local campaign, right? Whether it's your own business, or your whole community, you need to be reminding people why to buy from you in your small town.

More shop local campaign resources:

• Best "Shop Local" campaign ever!
• Top Ten Reasons to Shop Local
• Local stores worth 3 times more than chains

UPDATE:

We've written a step by step guide to starting a shop local campaign in a small town.

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POV - Adversity from Tony Katz

Entrepreneurship requires you to deal with failure, adversity, problems, and difficulties. Sometimes all at once.Our Friend Tony Katz has some thoughts on adversity.

The reaction to adversity is the difference between the entrepreneur and the wannabe.  The wannabe feels the adversity and complains (oft times loudly) at the unfairness of it all.  The entrepreneur recognizes the adversity, then gets back on the phones, back to the networking, rewrites the code, stays up late, re-examines their position, focuses their attention, gets on the phone again...lather, rinse, repeat.

The reason for this is simple: Vision.  The true entrepreneur (which can only be measured by spirit, and not by money) can see clearly that, while there may (will!) be adversity ahead, that nothing about it is permanent.

Read More from Tony Katz

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So, You Want to Start a Farmer's Market?

One of our readers left us a comment, with this question, "I live in a small town and I would love to start a community Farmer's Market that would be on the line of a 'Flea Market'. Where do I start?"

Great question! Here are some ideas to get you going.

First you need to decide whether you want a Farmer's Market or a Flea Market. They are not necessarily the same thing. Although, they may each have features of the other.

Try your County Extension Agent for ideas on the Farmer's Market. The Agent may be willing to work with you and can run interference with local authorities. Then try to learn who in your area is actually growing more produce than needed or who is willing to. Maybe there is a garden club devoted to vegetable growers. On second thought, fresh flowers would be a very nice addition to a Farmer's Market.

For a Flea Market, once again, you will need to find who is already doing this sort of thing. Maybe a geographic search for your town or county on one of the auction sites might tell you who has "stuff" they are wanting to sell in your area. They might be interested in a "show."

For either type, you will need to ORGANIZE.

• Find a location; map out each site; 
• decide how much rent to charge for each site; 
• determine the local laws regarding your location; 
• check your liability for accidents or incidents; get insurance if necessary; 
• pick a date;  
• advertise; advertise; advertise; 
• if your location is outside, find a "rain" location (do everything again for the optional site); 
• advertise; advertise; advertise; 
• keep good records of which seller will be where and double check their understanding of the agreement between you and the seller; 
• advertise; advertise; advertise.  

This is just a start.
Good luck.

[Farmer's Market in Frankfurt, Germany, photo by Becky McCray.]

Jump into the Brag Basket

Each Friday, I open the brag basket as a fun place to give someone a pat on the back, brag, or promote yourself and your projects.

And I'm finally back!! You folks had some great brags while I was away! Thank you for keeping it all alive and encouraging each other.

Will you put something in the Brag Basket this week? You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission or anything. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.



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Can they answer this question?

What do you do?

Ok. So let’s say you’re at conference or event. And you’re asked What do you do? And you’re prepared. You’re clear, caffeinated, ready-to-answer; you’ve rehearsed your elevator speech. And you deliver it perfectly, seamlessly.

Fantastic. One person is impressed. Maybe an influential.

Meanwhile, back-at-the-office…everyone’s answering that question with every phone call, email, invoice sent out, statement generated, commission paid.

Are they answering it the same way as you just answered the question? Or do they answer it in their own way…?

True, that would be authentic. But is it authentic for you and what you do?

In some respects, it doesn’t matter. The one person whose opinion does matter is your customer. And what you do, in their experience, is based solely on what nearly everyone else but you does for them.

It could be your answer’s the one that’s not authentic….Did you ever think about that?

So, back to the question. Can everyone at your company answer this question: What do You do? (And answer it in the same way, at least from the same page.)

Are you sure? Ask ‘em.

This post inspired from reading Art of the Start.

******************************************

Zane Safrit’s passion is small business and the operations’ excellence required to deliver a product that creates word-of-mouth, customer referrals and instills pride in those whose passion created it. He blogs about health care issues each Monday at http://zanesafrit.typepad.com. There on the sidebar is a list of blogs and resources to educate yourself on the health care challenges you face, I face, we all face together. He also writes on small business, word of mouth, marketing, branding, innovation, and failure. He previously served as CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited.

5 Steps to Power-full PR

Guest Post by Barbara Rozgonyi

Thanks to online distribution services, you can transform a simple press release into an always-on, stand-alone social media-enabled news site with global access. That’s a lot to say about a project that usually encompasses 400 words or less – especially when it’s one you can do yourself.


Here’s how we position our clients as news-worthy subject matter experts. It’s a simple system that works.


1. Select Keyword Search Terms

How do people find you and your business online? Do they search by location, industry, product, customer, needs, communities? Test out your sample keywords on Google News and Yahoo! News. What comes up when you type in your term? Does it look like you belong here? Set up a Google Alert for emails that tell you when and where your terms appear so you can track newsmakers and jump in with a news release of your own that tells your take on hot topics.


2. Write a Compelling Story in 400 Words or Less

Answer who, what, when, where, why and how in your introductory paragraph. Then write three short paragraphs that each elaborate on one point or quote one person. Keep in mind that a single story can often be redirected to multiple audiences; focus on one topic at a time. Most online news distribution services allow you to upload images and videos to help you tell your story in words and pictures.


3. Come Up with a Catchy Headline

You gotta grab ‘em to get ‘em to read or click on your headline. Here’s the formula that works for us: under 60 characters, include the top search term, mention a number and be intriguing. This one, “50 Pizzas Rolled Into 1 Pie,” got a call from a major metro magazine within 15 minutes of sending the e-release. Sending to local media contacts? Include your town in the email subject line.


4. Call for Action

A call for action tells your reader what to do next: call for more information, request a free report, show up to an event or get a discount. Put your call to action at the end of your first paragraph and your contact information at the end of the release. What’s your special offer?


5. Distribute to a Variety of Outlets

• Personal networks: alma mater, social clubs, house of worship
• Professional networks: chamber of commerce, trade associations
• Social networks: link to your release on LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook and your blog
• Local Media: make a list of the media outlets you’d like to be featured in – newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. Then call the reporter and introduce yourself. Let them know what you like about what they cover and how you can help them.
• Online Distribution: your options range from free to $500 and up, the more you invest, the more you get in terms of statistics and reach. WebWire distribution starts at $19.95. PRWeb’s distribution levels range from $80-$360.

What’s your biggest question about how to get more publicity or get your name in the news?

Barbara Rozgonyi writes Wired PR Works, a top 50 PR blog. The founder of CoryWest Media, LLC, Barbara’s client list includes Fortune 50 companies, global consultancies, non-profits, almost an entire village and even kitchen sinks! A speaker and educator, Barbara is on the faculty of The Non-Profit Academy for Excellence. For a complimentary Power PR Secrets guide, visit www.CoryWestMedia.com.


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Get your Small Biz on the Front Page News

Guest Post by Barbara Rozgonyi

Out of all the marketing strategies we recommend, the one our clients like most is the press release. Who doesn’t love to see their name in the news?

For small town businesses, “front page news” can mean making the cover of the local paper as well as being on page one on Google News.

Pitching Local Reporters

Know the reporter on a first name basis? Call them up and ask about your idea before you get into writing a press release. That’s called a pitch.

One of my best lines: "How do I get a story like the one about the dollhouse lady?" Another: "What kinds of stories do you like to write best?" Be persistent, but gentle and make suggestions when you think there’s a better way to write the paper. Could they use a business or a home-based entrepreneur column?

One way around the reporter is through the letter to the editor. While this space isn’t necessarily for your news, it is a place for your opinion. Write a letter thanking your customers, congratulating the mayor, applauding the marching band. You get the idea – the more your name is associated with good things, the more memorable – and quotable – you will be.

If you’re new in town or you don’t know the reporter, taking them out to lunch is a good way to get to know them better. Don’t be surprised if they won’t let you pick up the check; ethically, most reporters are not allowed to accept gifts.

Invite reporters to all events at your business and in town. Volunteering to be your favorite organization’s publicity chair is another way to get to know the newspaper – make sure you pick one that has lots of news.

As more and more local papers wind up online, your story may be included in their archives. So, when people search, they’ll find you online long after the paper left the mailbox.

Getting Wider Coverage

Now that papers are being consolidated, your local paper might be part of a larger group that also covers a bigger metro area. Local stories can wind up being distributed in 45 papers or more in the sections like Lifestyle.

Have friends in other towns that have similar businesses? Band together as a group to make a bigger impact. You can set up a tour of organic farms, talk about how real estate is doing throughout the county or start a business networking group. The idea is to do research for the reporter or present stories to them.

When I moved to my new town, I started a group for business writers. My company’s name and contact information went in the paper every time we announced a meeting. I got to make a bunch of new friends right away and I position myself – to the press – as a business writing expert.

To see who’s writing what in the area towns, buy papers in other communities to get the names of the reporters and see what they write about. One of my friends, Ted, owns the only audio engineering and sound installation company in three counties. His challenge? Reporters in other towns don’t want to write about him because he doesn’t live there. Yet, stories about his customers are news-worthy in almost every town. When the high school auditorium gets a new sound system, that’s usually big news. Guess who gets quoted? You got it - Ted.

For larger metro papers, find a reporter that covers your business: food, home, garden, business, real estate. See if their email address is published and send them comments on their stories. If you really want to get attention, send them a thank-you note or a comment about a story you enjoyed.

Breaking into National Publicity

After one of my “Getting the Media to Work for You” presentations, a beginning dress designer went to the local library and copied the contact information for every magazine she wanted to be in. Then, she sent each editor a hand-written letter with fabric swatches and pictures. Yes, that was Jane in Country Living.

Thanks to online distribution services, you can transform a simple press release into an always-on, stand-alone social media-enabled news site with global access. That’s a lot to say about a project that usually encompasses 400 words or less – especially when it’s one you can do yourself.

What’s your biggest question about how to get more publicity or get your name in the news?

Tomorrow: 5 Steps to Power-full PR

Tomorrow, Barbara continues with 5 Steps to Power-full PR. She shares she positions clients as news-worthy subject matter experts, using a simple system. 

Barbara Rozgonyi writes Wired PR Works, a top 50 PR blog. The founder of CoryWest Media, LLC, Barbara’s client list includes Fortune 50 companies, global consultancies, non-profits, almost an entire village and even kitchen sinks! A speaker and educator, Barbara is on the faculty of The Non-Profit Academy for Excellence. For a complimentary Power PR Secrets guide, visit www.CoryWestMedia.com.

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Brag Basket is back

Each Friday, I open the brag basket as a fun place to give someone a pat on the back, brag, or promote yourself and your projects.

This week, I won't be here to cheer you on, so it's up to you to cheer for each other. So if you don't like bragging, why not jump in to offer some encouragement? Thanks!


Will you put something in the Brag Basket this week? You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission or anything. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.

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Idea: Small business dashboard

Our friend Anita Campbell has laid out a new business idea. She likes using the new tools available for managing her business, but this means that her data sets are scattered all over. If you can design the tool that pulls together data and charts from the disparate tools online, there are people willing to pay for the service! A simple display of business measures would help keep tabs on your business.

Read more about Anita's idea of a Small Business Dashboard.

Photo by Jon Swanson, used under a Creative Commons License.

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POV: Business parenting tips for entrepreneurs

by Susan Murphy
http://suzemuse.wordpress.com
http://www.geekgrls.com

Businesses are like babies. They are the culmination of experience, effort and love. They are created with much care and consideration.

The first 3 months of life, a business demands all of your time, pretty much 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will be sleep deprived and stressed, but there isn’t anything else you’d rather be doing. After about 6 months, your business will start to become a bit more independent. It will still demand much of your time and energy. But you know that your effort is totally worth it. At 8 months, it will start to crawl around a bit on its own. With any luck, it will be growing rapidly, and you will be struggling to keep up with all of its changes. Once it gets to toddler age, it will be walking on its own two feet, speaking for itself occasionally, and finally sleeping through the night - most nights.

Owning your own business, in so many ways, is like being a parent. You must care for this thing you’ve created, nurture it, and give it wings to fly. I’ve learned more in the past 15 months of owning a business than I’ve learned in the entire 18 years I’ve been working, and I am honoured to have the opportunity to share with you here, some of what I’ve learned. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Painting, lifting, hauling, cooking, cleaning, assembling, proofreading, or just listening; friends, family and colleagues are always eager to pitch in. Online friends are equally as helpful – you have a whole network of people available to you here. Ask for help when you need it. And don’t forget to amply reward those that do help.

You have to spend money to make money.
The old adage is so true. Don’t be afraid to spend money on your business. It’s an investment in your future. Know your goals and make informed choices about when and where you spend. But don’t be a cheapskate. People will notice.

Shut down.
There is life beyond your business. Shut off the cell phone, close the laptop, and look around you. See those people? They are your family and friends. You need to remember them too.

Hire the right people.
You can’t do it all yourself. That’s why you hire people. But make sure that you hire the right people.  Don’t just look for someone with the right skill set. They must have share similar values and their work ethic must be compatible with yours. They must be trustworthy. And most of all, they must have a great attitude. How can you be sure? There are no guarantees, but definitely check references – that’s a great way to get a sense of how someone will fit with your business.

It’s your party.
As you journey through the world of self employment, you will encounter more than your share of nay-sayers. These people will question your every move, from how you spend your money to who you hire to what projects you choose to work on. You need to learn how to ignore these people, for they serve no purpose in your business. You do not have to defend your decisions to anyone but yourself and your business partner if you have one. The party poopers are not invited to your party.

Call your Mom.
Some days are just going to be downright crappy. The world will seem like it’s falling apart. You’ll want to run right back into the safety and security of the very cubicle that made you miserable all those years. When it happens, call someone who you count on for support. For me, that’s my Mom. It’s taken me 37 years to figure this out, but she almost always knows what to do to make things better.

Let your business evolve naturally.
There is no model for a perfect business. Be creative, roll with the punches, and allow your business to become what it needs to become. Don’t be afraid to make decisions. If they aren’t the right ones, you’ll know soon enough. Don’t be afraid to change your mind often. Every day, keep trying. Then try some more. As long as you keep your goals in sight, you will get there.

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Our checklist is on the SXSW Panel Picker

Remember our cool Checklists for Starting Your First Business? Well, I thought it was cool enough to submit for a SXSW panel. Liz Strauss has agreed to co-present along with me, but first... we have to survive the Panel Picker!

If you would like to support us, drop by the SXSW Panel Picker and look for "How Did This Happen? I'm In Business!" While you're there, check out "Business Planning Goes Real World," a panel that features our friend Shama Hyder, SOBCon Speaker David Bullock and me. The Panel Picker should be open through Friday, August 29, 2008.


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Brag Basket for 08/08/08

Each Friday, I open the brag basket as a fun place to give someone a pat on the back, brag, or promote yourself and your projects.

This week,we're giving bonus points if you can work the number 8 into your brag! (Yeah, I know it's silly. Get creative.) I won't be here to cheer you on, so it's up to you to cheer for each other. So if you don't like bragging, why not jump in to offer some encouragement? Thanks!

You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission or anything. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.

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Promote your rural place online

Guest post by David James Nicol, Shetland Islands 
Photo by David Gifford, used by permission. 


My name is David James Nicol, and I make my living running a web design business, NB Communication Ltd (http://www.nbcommunication.com).

I live and work in the Shetland Islands, which lie about 100 miles (160km) north of the nearest point on mainland Scotland. It is a great place to live, but the population of approximately 22,000 is now beginning to decline, in part because the North Sea oil industry is slowing down. The Shetland Islands Council (the local authority) is very keen to maintain and ultimately increase the number of residents, and they commissioned my company to build a website - http://www.shetland.org - to help to spread the word about the fantastic things our islands have to offer, and to get more people to move here.


In this post I will highlight some of the lessons I learned from the www.shetland.org project, and I will cover some of the ways that this remote group of Scottish islands is trying to encourage inward migration. I hope that my experiences might be of some use to anyone involved in promoting a 'rural place', whether that is a town, a region, an island, or whatever.

1. Assume That No One Knows Anything About You
When planning and developing www.shetland.org we assumed that many (if not most) visitors to the site would know very little about Shetland. To address this we included a 'Learn About Shetland' section to give people a quick overview, and we offer plenty of links to other sites where people get further information about specific topics.

If you are promoting a rural location, it makes sense to assume that no one knows anything about you. Make sure you tell them who, what and where you are.

2. Focus On Strengths But Be Honest About Weaknesses
Shetland has a lot going for it:

• stunning scenery
• internationally important natural environments (Shetland is a birdwatcher's paradise, and it  was recently voted the third best island group by National Geographic Traveler - http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/10/photogalleries/island-pictures/photo2.html)
• fascinating history, a unique cultural heritage, and a thriving arts scene
• a vibrant and world-renowned musical tradition
• state-of-the-art leisure and education facilities funded by 'oil money'
• worldwide 'brand recognition' via Shetland ponies, Shetland sheepdogs and Shetland (and Fair Isle) knitting

In www.shetland.org, we try to get all these points across to make readers interested in finding our more about Shetland, encouraging them consider moving here to experience all this for themselves.


However, we made a conscious choice to be honest about Shetland's shortcomings. For example, we are very open about Shetland being quite windy a lot of the time, and about our latitude of 60 degrees North leading to very short days in winter, something which many people might find hard to adjust to. Further to this, just as our location offers many advantages it can also cause problems, especially with regard to the cost of getting to and from the Scottish mainland.

So, we don't pretend that we can offer everything that is available in big cities or elsewhere in the UK, and we don't gloss over the inevitable downsides to our location, but we are bold and confident about making sure that we do tell people about the many things that we do have to offer.


A Picture Paints A Thousand Words
A picture paints a thousand words, and we think this is certainly true when trying to explain what Shetland is like. We spent a long time trying to find the right images for the site, and we think that the ones we chose (especially for the homepage) convey more information than we could ever hope to get across using words alone.

Again, we think that any place trying to promote itself should pay close attention to photography.

The Importance Of Ongoing Communication
The site is not a one-time, all-or-nothing sales pitch. We don't expect anyone to visit www.shetland.org once and then immediately pack up everything to move here. It is simply not realistic to expect one visit to a single website to persuade someone to make such a significant decision.

Instead, we take a more long-term approach. We aim to get people sufficiently interested in Shetland to make them sign-up to our mailing list. We will be able to send them monthly updates about what is happening here. This should help to keep Shetland in forefront of their minds and, if and when the time is right for any of these people to make a big change in their lives, Shetland will hopefully be one of the places they give serious consideration to.

Again, this is something that any rural area can learn from: keep reminding people about all you have to offer, and they may well consider moving to be with you whenever the time is right.

Make It Easy

Our aim is to get people to move to Shetland, and we try to make this as easy as possible for them by providing all the information they might need, including details about housing, education, travel, and such like. This content is contained in the 'Move To Shetland' section of the site. We hope that this will remove many of the obstacles that might stand in the way of someone moving here.

If you want people to move to your town or region, give them as much help as you possibly can to make their journey easy and painless.


To conclude, I have to say that www.shetland.org has been live for only a month or so, and it is too early to tell how much impact it might make on the local economy. That said, the initial signs are all very encouraging, and I am confident that we'll see some great results as the site grows and evolves. I hope that this post might provide a couple of ideas for anyone who is looking to promote their own town or region, and I welcome all your feedback.

Cheers for now
David James Nicol, Managing Director, www.nbcommunication.com

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Abatements and Incentives: Where are they for small business?

I live and work in a small town in rural southeast Iowa. It’s just like the small towns in rural areas for many of the readers here. A town square. Dedicated, selfless members on the town council and school boards and county supervisors. Friday nights are all about high school football. Parents love their children and want the best for them.

And the business community is made up primarily of small companies with under 25 employees. Their customers are loyal. Their service is personal; it’s their neighbors they serve. Local charities and projects like the library expansion and a new civic center and a community rec center, depend on the support of these small businesses and their generous donations every year. The small businesses support them as they make their community what they are.

And yet…civic leaders in these communities, mine included, swoon like a teenager in the throes of first-love at the prospect of a big corporate company bringing their operations to town. Oh, they run after ‘em and buy them gifts and talk sweet nothings in their ear with offers of abatements and deferments and infrastructure investments and tax credits.

Like the steady and true girlfriend/boyfriend, the small locally-owned business stood by and for the town before the new one came to town. They made the town what it is, desirable in the eyes of the new one. And, they’ll be there when the new one leaves town for another richer, more gullible, community.

Small businesses provide diversity in industry and business-cycles. The risks on a small community from a diversified source of jobs is like that of a company where no single customer is responsible for a disproportionate share of revenues. They literally create the community’s quality of life from their business, those they hire, benefits they offer and how they support the local community. Job growth historically, and never more-so than now, comes from small business. Together, its those local, small businesses, who made the community enticing for the flashy, corporate, companies.

My dad always told me, At the end of the dance, you go home with the date that brung ya. Civic leaders: Small locally-owned businesses are the date that brung ya. They’re the ones that recognized your potential, stood by you when you were nobody, supported you as you grew, listened and held you accountable for being your best. They invested in making your small town its best. They voted for you and probably donated to your campaign. You owe them at least the same incentives and benefits, deferments and credits, infrastructure investments and all, you’re offering the flashy new-girl/guy that’s not even come to town yet. After all, they’ve already paid for them.

If you want your community to not only grow but maintain its character, then save the incentives and deferments, abatements and credits, for the businesses that made your community what it is, and will be there next year and the year after.

- Zane Safrit

****************************************

Zane Safrit’s passion is small business and the operations’ excellence required to deliver a product that creates word-of-mouth, customer referrals and instills pride in those whose passion created it. He blogs about health care issues each Monday at http://zanesafrit.typepad.com. There on the sidebar is a list of blogs and resources to educate yourself on the health care challenges you face, I face, we all face together. He also writes on small business, word of mouth, marketing, branding, innovation, and failure. He previously served as CEO of Conference Calls Unlimited.

Idea: Jumping off points

Here's a new business coaching idea, gleaned from Twitter:

PurpleCarI need a jumping off point with Final Cut. Like, if I had just an hoursession with someone who knows it, I could take off from there.

There are probably dozens of skills you could offer as hour long jumping off points. The trick is that no one else knows what you do.

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POV: When I had no other options, I succeeded

BizzFlip has boiled down some wisdom from a series of entrepreneur interviews. One quote that caught my eye came from Christine:

I had tried to start businesses on the side for years, but because Ididn’t NEED them to succeed, they didn’t. When I quit my job and had noother options, I knew that I was either going to have to make it, orelse.

Read more "Interviews with Entrepreneurs" at BizzFlip.



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Personality Test for Entrepreneurship Success

I found this back in January and saved it for a time when Becky would be gone and I would need to step up to the plate and post something! A guy by the name of Andy Swan gave some pretty decent criteria for testing personality to see if you have what it takes to start a business. Here are his thoughts, and mine too on the four areas he addressed.

1. "Do you enjoy working? No….not thinking….not ideating….working. Executing. You have to execute. A mediocre idea well-executed is worth 100 times as much as a great idea that isn’t seen through. Do you REALLY think that Ray Kroc was the first guy to have the IDEA of a hamburger chain?"

Yes, having your own business is WORK, that dirty four letter word that some have the misguided impression does not apply when you are the boss.

2. "Do you gamble? I really think that there is something deep inside of some people that makes them CRAVE risk, thrive on it. Personally, I can honestly say I’d rather lose $200 on a round of golf than not gamble at all….and I LOVE golf. I’m not sure you can fake this one."

Me, I'm not a golfer, and not much of a risk taker at all, and maybe that is why I work for someone else! But I do work with those risk takers every day of the week, and I also see the ones who are not good at risk taking. They usually fail in business.

3. "Can you fake it? A lot of entrepreneurship is promotion. You can’t wear your emotions on your sleeve, or you’re DEAD. Why? Because 90-95% of the time, your company is in trouble and you have major doubts. But guess what….investors, customers, partners….everyone….they DO NOT want to hear it, see it or sense it. They want confidence. Yes….later you HAVE to deliver quality….but today, you have to deliver confidence."

How true is that statement? The ability to roll with the punches and come up smiling can get a new business owner a long way. How's your duck n' dodge?

4. "Are you good on your feet? Things change. ALL the time. ...... Poof….the business plan you spent 8 days perfecting is gone. A lot of people can’t stand it when plans change at the last minute. Others expect it and stay up late."

Times are changing rapidly and the successful entrepreneur learns to dance to a new tune every day. I agree with Andy Swan when he says that although there are exceptions to every rule and these four things are not a complete list, they are certainly keys to success, and good indicators of an entrepreneurial personality.

Help us with Brag Basket

Each Friday, I open the brag basket as a fun place to give someone a pat on the back, brag, or promote yourself and your projects.

This week, I won't be here to cheer you on, so it's up to you to cheer for each other. So if you don't like bragging, why not jump in to offer some encouragement? Thanks!

Will you put something in the Brag Basket this week? You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission or anything. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.

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