As an entrepreneur the objective is to build a successful, stable business. So, how do you know if you are on the right path? Progress often gets measured through ‘transactions’ – completing a certain number of transactions in a given time period. How many ‘jobs’ you complete in a week, how many orders you secure in a month or how many pizza’s you deliver in an evening. Although there are many valid reasons to measure transactions, I would suggest that the secret to long-term success and stability is more closely related to ‘relationships’ and less about ‘transactions’. Think about it
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Last week we lost an exceptional member of our community – Bob Bartz. Bob had been the President of the Chamber of Commerce for 35 years and you would be hard pressed to find anyone in our community who touched more people or had a better reputation than Bob. It got me thinking, ‘What made Bob such an exceptional leader within our community?’ Although any list of characteristics will be both incomplete and inadequate, I have tried to summarize what made Bob so exceptional. Humble. If Bob was one thing, he was humble. He never needed to be in the
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The ‘Real’ Meaning of Independence Day With the passing of another 4th of July celebration, I was reminded of the ‘real’ meaning of Independence Day. As well as being birthday of our great country, it is also a day to celebrate the concept of independence. Over the past week I interviewed several people. I asked each individual to personalize the concept of independence and tell me what it means to them and their family. All of these people are either business owners or are considering becoming business owners. John – (Former Corporate Employee) ‘When America was founded, the American Dream
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The King & I A few days ago I watched a TV show on Arnold Palmer. He was quite a man. As we all know, Arnold Palmer has earned the moniker ‘The King’ in golf circles. He has a soft spoken way that is both endearing and powerful. However, what Arnold and Winnie Palmer have accomplished outside of golf is just as impressive. Achievements include – Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, Arnold Palmer Prostrate Center, Arnies Army Battles Prostrate Cancer, AP Pavilion and the Winnie Palmer Nature Preserve. Why am I mentioning this?
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A Few Thoughts Regarding 9/11 The events of 9/11 are seared in our collective consciousness. We all remember exactly where we were when the planes hit the twin towers. I was in Sarasota and remember watching George Bush being rushed across the tarmac to Air Force One. We then watched Air Force One take off as two fighter jets streamed past overhead. I had never seen a 747 take off at that angle before – it was almost vertical. Amazing. And then they were gone. Now, 13 years later, we can put some perspective on these events. What did 9/11
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