By Bill Willard Contributing Author The issue:   Take a minute: How many ways can you think of to leverage the simple question: “Is That the Best You Can Do?” What I Think:   As a writer, I use it to edit my work—right after the spell-checker—before sending anyth ... Read th ... Read more

The Issue: Formal education is a fine thing, but before setting out on their own, would-be small-business owners are advised to have completed a semester or two at The School Hard knocks: at least one pass through the proverbial meat grinder of life (ouch!). Those who’ve been there and done ... Read more

I once worked for a small company where the two owners were so focused on the perks of owning the business that they forgot how to run it.  They leased expensive cars and hired employees they couldn’t afford so that they could be The Managers.  They also shut down at noon on Friday, and th ... Read more

Stress is a Fact of Life; Deal With It! By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue: Deep-dish stress can make you feel helpless, as if there is no way of overcoming problems except coping with them until the situation improves. For small-business owners and freestyle entrepren ... R ... Read more

I am unemployable.  People laugh when I say that, but it’s frighteningly true.  I escaped from corporate America in 1984 (exactly at midnight, December 31st), when I took the plunge into ruining my own life (rather than letting some quasi-competent manager do it for me).  I ne ... Read more

       Burnout and boredom are the top reasons small business owners pack it in and either sell out or shut down.  These two factors account for 50 percent of all busi­ness sales.      It makes sense.  Successful busi­ness owners tend to ... Read more

A Business Model for Surviving Armageddon By Bill Willard Contributing Author The Issue:   It’s official: The nation’s financial meltdown and economic nose dive made 2008 one lousy year, deep-sixing everything from banks and airlines to scores of retailers whose brands we all g ... ... Read more

Approximately 80% of the time I make a two-block walk between the Park ‘N Ride and my downtown Des Moines office each morning and evening. Sometimes, however, either because it’s cold, icy or I’m just plain lazy; I hop on the shuttle bus known as The Link.   In doing so recent ... Read more

  I’ve been called a control freak and an egoist.  I generally reply, “Thank you.”  I’ve also had people try to get me to make decisions by committee.  The result has always been warm and fuzzy failure.    Any entrepreneur must have a healthy dose of self-lov ... Read more

This might be an unexpected statement coming from two capitalists but, “we’re not in it for the money.” The operative word in this proclamation being “it” with “it” being blog ad revenue. If you told us tomorrow we could make a couple hundred grand on ad r ... Read more