He who makes the rules wins.

As I was writing my new book “Making Money is Killing Your Business” and getting feedback on it, a lot of people told me that some of the principles in this book are things they’ve never heard before.  I’ve frequently heard, “I’ve never been given permission to think that way.” Allow me to set the record straight. I’ve never had an original thought in my life and I’m pretty sure no one else has either. Continue Reading

Make a Donation to Bring Sustainable Business to Kibera, Kenya!

February 8-20 I will accompany The 1010 Project to Kenya to help break the cycle of poverty and develop some  sustainable business models. I need your help.  So does The1010Project. Continue Reading

The Classic “Purpose of a Business” Might Actually Put You Out of Business

It’s surprising to me how often I see all the classic definitions of a business that don’t define or describe a business well at all.  If you follow them, they might even put you out of business. Continue Reading

From Hostage to Prisoner – the business road to more freedom

Just about every business owner I know is a hostage to his or her business.   How do we break free?  By first becoming a willing prisoner in your business. Continue Reading

Why Capitalists Need to Embrace Social Entrepreneurship

Some capitalists seem to be very threatened by the idea of social entrepreneurship either because it has the word social in it (too close to socialism for comfort), or because they think they’ve always been socially responsible and this new phrase does not recognize that.  It’s not new and it’s not socialism, but it is different than what many capitalists practice. Continue Reading

Successful People Focus on the Process, not on the Result

I believe we all have a natural desire to be significant and to be contributing members of society.  Yet few of us truly feel like we are creating the rules that will allow us to succeed.  One way to escape from this in today’s world is to live our lives through other people via reality TV, gurus, experts, music groups, sports stars, business experts and other heroes.  This is not the road to success. Continue Reading

Abundance and Significance – Making More Money in the Participation Age.

For almost 200 years we were in the Industrial Age, followed by four “Ages” in less than 40 years: The Post-Industrial/Service Age.  The Technology Age, the very short 5-10 year Information Age, and what some including me are now calling the Participation Age. Continue Reading

Buy my book for a small business owner in Kenya. I’ll take it to them.

February 7-20 I will accompany The 1010 Project to Kenya to explore ways to break the cycle of poverty by developing sustainable business models.  Brian Rants, the Director of The 1010 Project asked me to work with them to think big and go beyond the typical craft-making and handwork solutions.  We’ll be looking for ways to fund real businesses that work for the local economy – it’s an exciting and daunting opportunity.
We’ll be working in the Kibera slum with a population density of 1,250 people per acre.  We lived on one acre in Farmington, CT for years, backed up against 75 acres of state forest.  Kibera will be a different world.  We’ll also meet with some nationally connected business leaders to involve them in the solution.
The size of the problem is overwhelming.  Our solution will be simple – change everything; one person and one small business at a time.
What can you do?
Three things:
Sign up for The 1010 Project Newsletter and keep updated about our trip and what we plan to do to.
Make a donation to help fund the trip.  I will be funding my own travel costs; your donations will go to fund the in-country costs of the trip and the travel costs for Brian Rants, The 1010 Project Director, and to support the in-country permanent presence of The 1010 Project headed up by Keith Ives
Buy a copy of Making Money is Killing Your Business that we can take with us to Kenya and donate to a small business owner.  I wrote this book as a comprehensive reference book for starting and running a small business, and I believe the principles work in any culture.  It is normally $28.95, but if you want to buy one specifically to send on our trip, we’ll take it with us (it will be shipped in advance), and the cost will be only $15.  This will pay for the printing, handling, shipping and for having your name placed in the book (address info will not be provided).
You can do 1) through 3) at: the1010project.org/getinvolved/small-business
To buy a book to send with us to Kenya and present in your name, go to our pre-order site and click on the Book for Kenya button. We’ll present the book on your behalf to a small business owner in Kenya.  We’ll only be able to take 150 books, so please order your Book for Kenya right away.

February 7-20 I will accompany The 1010 Project to Kenya to explore ways to break the cycle of poverty by developing sustainable business models. Continue Reading

The #1 Indicator of Success in Early Stage Businesses

Move Quickly Continue Reading

Is Your Business Making the Rules for You?

He who makes the rules wins. The problem is your business is probably making all the rules for you and beating you up at every turn. Continue Reading