You know that fear, not money, is the root of all evil, right? Yes, fear, that evil and corroding thread that infiltrates your mind into thinking

Did you know? We are in the middle of deer migration and mating season which generally runs from October through December. Every Fall there is a dramatic increase in the movement of the deer population. As a result, more deer-vehicle collisions occur in this period than at any other time of year.

As we recently celebrated Halloween, I wanted to take a minute to point out a scary fact. Even though every business knows they should have a disaster plan, very few do.

A disaster could strike your business at any time, in any form. Without a good disaster recovery plan, it could take so long to get going again that your business wouldn't stand a chance.

In any small business, relationships are the “secret sauce”… those with customers most of all.

Building and nurturing customer relationships is the single biggest advantage of a small business owner.

The Insurance industry is unique in that what we sell is not something people buy just because they want to.

No matter how successful we are in our careers, we can all feel bogged down from time to time by the daily routines, disappointments, or setbacks in life. In fact, life is a journey, and negative emotions are oftentimes a part of that journey.

The key here is to keep setting goals based on what you want to manifest in your life.

It’s officially fall … and that means football!

During my favorite sports seasons, I find myself thinking about winning and losing, a lot.

As a business owner, it’s something that’s never far from my mind … success versus failure; meeting goals versus not meeting them… you probably spend a lot of time thinking about it too.

In Pat Williams’s book, Leadership Excellence, he discusses the 7 Sides of Leadership. The fifth side of leadership is Competence.

Pat defines competence as “the ability to perform the leadership role in a highly effective way.” A leader of competence displays the attitudes, skills, abilities, and behaviors needed to function at a high level and to take the organization to higher levels of success.

Harvard business studies show that the biggest reason a customer stops being a customer is not pricing but “perceived indifference” on the part of the owner or an employee of the business.

What I mean by perceived indifference is when your customers think you don’t care about them and that they aren’t important to your business.

Most people have a difficult time accepting responsibility. We see avoidance of responsibility every day in both our personal and professional lives, at home, at work, and more.

It is important to always take responsibility for everything we do.

The salesperson who makes excuses might say:

'They said our price was too high'
'They said the competition had a better option.'

Every salesperson has an excuse for why they don't make the sale. It is only the professional salesperson who will, after the call, evaluate what took place and decide what he could have done better to have made the sale.