Business

LeBron James, Making a Business Decision

On 07.09.10, In Entrepreneurs, Patriotic Development, By Jason

Making business decisions are rarely just that. Choices regarding your business typically take into account family, and if you have made an impact, your sorrounding community. This is how you do it.

NBA Superstar LeBron James

LeBron James, NBA superstar, Cleveland hero athlete and family man had a big decision to make last night regarding which team he would play for this upcoming NBA season. His eventual decision to play for the city of Miami this Fall affected not only his ability to win a championship, but also the National Basketball Association, his family members and the entire city of Cleveland. How many decisions do you make in a day that affect not just yourself but many other people?

This morning, like every morning is the beginning of decision day for me. As a person growing a small business, there are many options for work. I say “options” with a little laugh because they don’t feel like options at 8 in the morning -they feel like 20 hours of required work, all due today. Is today the day I update my website? Work on my newsletter? Call on my former clients? Reach out to new clients? Update my Accounting? Or check my post office box? How about write that blog posting? Well, you know which one I chose. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Fortunately there is a way to choose from the “required work” that is constantly laid out in front of you. Last night LeBron James mentioned that he was making the best decision for himself. What’s different about running a business is that though you may have started for your own satisfaction, but you continue because your success will impact your family and clients you serve (your community). This is how you decide what to do:

Start the day, every day, making a list of every stressor in your mind
Take a hard look at that list and identify the things you CAN do
Take those ‘can do’ items and separate them by long term strategic goal vs simple task

Emptying your head in the morning, of all of the scary demands on your time, will be a relief. Making note of the things you can do will give you purpose. Separating the short term versus long term tasks will give you a plan.

Start each day like this every time you start the day confused about what to do first. At the end of the day when you are sorrounded by your loved ones and thoughts of things that really matter, you will be at peace.

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business

Charlie Rose and Carl Schramm

On 06.02.10, In Entrepreneurs, By Jason

Carl Schramm, CEO, Kauffman Foundation

Entrepreneurial innovation drives the American economy. Well, you knew that. Did you know that the economies of China and India are thriving because of our example? They are merely “copy cat” economies says Carl Scramm HERE.

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business

National Small Business Week

On 05.24.10, In Entrepreneurs, NEWS, By Jason

What are you doing special for National Small Business Week? The event is being held right here in DC.

This is the first time I have ever heard of such a “week” but maybe the reason is that now, coming upon my first full year in this business, I am a fully invested entrepreneur. Entrepreneur magazine called 2010 the “Year of the Entrepreneur” in their December 2009 issue and I agree. It is always a good time to start a business and contribute to our local economy but there is no better time than when our economy is facing a challenge of growth and ingenuity. In short, there is no better time than now.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Arlington, VA office HQ of the Washington Business Journal. There I met a group of people curious about how to better serve the Washington, DC business community. They were literally asking “how?” In celebration of this special week they supplemented the weekly paper with a feature magazine entitled: From Beginners to Bigshots. Featuring a group of successful entrepreneurs, I was struck by how many of them used the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a resource for their success and how many small business people I know that do not (including myself).

To commemorate the week I am going to reaquint myself with the SBA beginning with the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) which are designed to provide management assistance to businesses of my size.

What do you plan to do?

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business

In 2 mins, Why Business Creativity Works Today

On 04.19.10, In Entrepreneurs, By Jason

Tagged with: Business

We Are RICH

On 02.22.10, In Personal Development, By Jason

Admit it. It is Monday and you will likely not be that efficient. Despite this possibility you will make it to Tuesday none the poorer because you are already rich.

Imagine being able to maintain your current standard of living without having to work. Imagine just eating and drinking with no where you have to go and the whole household at your disposal…all day. What does that sound like? It sounds like the snow days we had during the first few weeks of February. For those of you who are employees and got paid to stay home, you were living the lifestyles of the rich. Even for those of us who are entrepreneurs who were forced for the first time to just enjoy our loved ones -we too were living richly. Being rich has little to do with money and usually a lot more to do with how you live.

Here are a few steps to help you live that rich lifestyle:

Start choosing what you do with your time (even if it is how you do what you do)
Use your planner for all tasks (work and play)
Take steps towards improving your health

That last one sticks out for me. During the first week of February I injured my neck and for an entire afternoon and evening was nearly immobile. Even laying down hurt unless I was turned the right way. It didn’t take me long to realize that during those moments, everything that I enjoyed was impossible to accomplish without my neck getting better. If you mess up your neck, you’re in trouble. Maintaining your health is more than just avoiding injury: it can include improving your cardiovascular capacity, physical strength and mental strength. Treat your body with respect and it will reward you by lasting a while.

Taking the time to plan for the things you enjoy of course is also rewarding. I enjoy curling up with a good business book or reading a great article on-line. These things are free but can only be done effectively if I plan them into my day. If I don’t plan them and just do them, those activities ruin my work tasks and then I end up feeling guilty -and that defeats the purpose of planning fun.

I gave myself an important present when I realized that all of the time in the day is mine to do whatever I want with. There will be cause and effect sure, but it is all my choice. Now I want to share that gift with you. Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee you have the choice to do anything you want, any way that you want.

Today is Monday, just another day for you to do whatever you want. Congratulations, you are rich.

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Responsible: Entrepreneurs and Their Community

On 01.28.10, In Entrepreneurs, Jobs, Patriotic Development, By Jason

The interdependence of small business owners and their communities has never been more obvious and necessary than now. What the President tried to speak to last night is tough for any politician to accomplish within an election cycle. It is up to us.

“Unfortunately too many of our citizens have lost faith in our biggest institutions,” said President Obama. Well, the inability to rely on big insitutions births an opportunity for entrepreneurs in a world where customers and employees are seeking relationships with meaning and value (for each stakeholder). “Trust” is one of the words of the year. The President stated in his speech, “We face more than a deficit of dollars, we face a deficit of trust.” Who do you trust?

The Doctor who spends 4 mintues with you or the receptionist who sat with you in the waiting room?
The CEO of the large company you’ve invested in or the woman who attends your BNI meetings?
Your “financial advisor” or your babysitter (whom you’ve known since birth)?

If you are in the fortunate position of creating something of value for the marketplace than you are providing more to your community than products or services. What you actually provide is a person to trust and a leader to follow (and real leaders are hard to come by). How can you maximize this opportunity to contribute to society in a way that stretches beyond your products and services?

Be visible. Visibility is more than just buying ads in newspapers and cable tv. It is being there when your community needs your service. I met an IT entrepreneur this week who is donating his services to his community in Arlington, VA so they could put on a fitness expo. He is helping to make that wellness event happen and he will be rewarded for the leadership he provides. Cost to the taxpayer? $0. Value? Health and wellness. Value to the entrepreneur? Hours of free publicity.
Be relevant. If your business is T-shirts in the Winter, you’re probably a little slow. Just like “..it’s 5′o clock somewhere,” it’s also 75 degrees somewhere. Partner with a West Coast or Southern state by offering your products to their communities. Maybe there’s a sweater guy there who could serve your customers in January around here. You’ll both expand your businesses and consistently be serving your community.
Expand -now. Most small business folks wait until there’s an extra $50,000 before they start hiring. Like tomorrow, that “extra $50K” never comes. Great leaders take calculated risks; especially on good people. In the metropolitan DC area alone there are thousands of talented, underemployed workers who would be happy to offer their service at a reduced rate initially to prove their value. Find them, train them and help one more family to succeed.

The smallest businesses have the potential to do what our government can only hope to “provide the environment” for: job creation. You, my fellow entrepreneur are the saviors your underemployed neighbors are hoping for. Your ambition, your ideas and your willingness to champion the ideals of personal courage and innovation are the hope of the world -no matter what your product or service. As your businesses grow, you create the opportunity to lead in other areas of the community. Are you ready for this next level of responsibility? Are you ready to manifest that trust?

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business • Politicians

State of Entrepreneurship

On 01.26.10, In Entrepreneurs, Personal Development, By Jason

Last week I attended the State of Entrepreneurship Address by the #Kauffman Foundation. It made me proud to be an entrepreneur. I hope the same for you :

Tagged with: Business

Entrepreneurs and a Family Life?

On 01.18.10, In Entrepreneurs, Patriotic Development, Personal Development, By Jason

No better example of “Two is company, three is a crowd” than the juxtaposition of entrepreneurs, time and loved ones. (#JasonHowellCompany) Finding enough time to build a business and spend time with loved ones is nearly impossible except for the most effective time managers (which we entrepreneurs are typically not). So how do we show love to our business and our family?

Stories of successful entrepreneurs don’t help. Usually they begin with a lonely, destitiute protagonist with nothing left but an idea. Defeating all odds said protagonist discovers a need for his/her idea and then spends an inordinate amount of time (re: \”Outliers\”) trying to sell it. The guilt associated with trying to live up to the Outliers’ “10,000 hour” rule is also not much help. Most of us started our businesses to improve our own lives and the lives of our customers. We intended to “share the wealth” with those that our closest to us but along the way, those loved ones feel most left out. Since most of us who actually run businesses know that there is no true overnight successs, here are a few ways to express your love for your family while so busily loving your business:

Communicate – nothing says lovin’ like actually saying “I love you.” Start with that phrase every once in a while to remind those close to you that your business is a means to the ends; not the ends.
Be honest – it’s not just the strict requirements of building a business that keep us busy; sometimes it’s our own inefficiency. We’re not perfect, we’re entrepreneurs. I probably have misspellings in this blog post and the grammar’s probably off but hopefully you still get my message. Explain to your loved ones that you try really hard but that sometims you fail and that failure leads to encroaching on family time -you’re sorry.
Get help – reading a book is a good start but be as inquistive with other entrepreneurs and even your clients regarding how they manage time with family. The good news is that successful people with 9 to 5 jobs typically struggle with family time also. Always asks for ideas and try them out.

Before writing this post I couldn’t help but read a couple articles on AOL.com that caught my interest. Today is MLK Day and though it’s a day of service, it’s a holiday and I felt I was “owed” some repreive before working. These are the mental gymnastics of an entrepreneur. Communicate and be honest about them with your family and be courageous enough to ask for help. I will start.

Do you have any other ideas for making time with loved ones?

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business

Open to Opportunities

On 01.14.10, In Entrepreneurs, Professional Development, By Jason

There is nothing better than being happily surprised. Yesterday I (#JasonHowellCompany) began the day with a steady plan and an open mind. The open mind made all the difference.

In this economic climate a lot is being made about “networking” your way into a new job opportunity -good stuff. Additionally important is having identified the value you bring any organization. A friend of mine wrote a book while working for one of the largest consulting firms in the world. I asked him if that might raise a conflict of interest issue and he explained to me that his employer was more worried about his competitors hiring away a national rising star than supporting a book tour. The lesson reinforced is that as long as your adding something of value to an organization (or to your customers) you should be confident about your opportunities.

Now I did do some planned networking yesterday but it suprising led to an entirely new service to my firm, Jason Howell Company. The key was walking into a new relationship with an open mind and saying “maybe” before I said “no.” There is a world of opportunity outside of your typical business day, every day. Go for it.

Jason Howell is the author of AMERICA: Still the Land of Opportunity, Always a Home for the Brave.\” For more insights on success in business and in life, pick up your copy today.

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Tagged with: Business

Managing Competing Priorities Daily

On 01.12.10, In Entrepreneurs, Professional Development, By Jason

As an entrepreneur (#JasonHowellCompany) it is difficult to identify everything that needs be done; along with when to do it. If you work from home that challenge is even tougher.

: David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.”

How do you properly separate managing the home priorities with business priorities? How do you outline time to work on your website (and other social media), find new customers, thank current customers, create new services, improve current services, expand and market your “brand?” Have I even begun to list everything? Not to mention while writing this post (this morning), the WordPress system gave me some glitches that took my webmaster to fix (thank you Frankie!). It is tough being the “chief cook and bottlewasher” but there is a way to manage it all. Borrowing from David Allen’s book “Getting Things Done” and some REAL life experience I have a few recommendations:

1. Write down every single goal and “to do” item you can think of…everything; even if it takes an hour
2. Look at that list and take a deep breath
3. Go through that list and make categories (like “Home,” “Marketing,” “Current Customers,” etc.)
4. Take another deep breath
5. Complete one from each category
6. Take a break

From my days in sales I was often told, “Do the whole job every day.” I was never the best at it but on the days I closed deals, they resulted from a string of previously all around days. Complete all steps and succeed.

Good luck.

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Tagged with: Business