I was just reading Jeff Cornwell’s blog post, Confidence Improves, But Still Fragile and concurred with his position on keeping things in proper perspective when it comes to the big picture regarding the results of surveys and reports regarding the state of small business and entrepreneurs.

The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism recently reported optimism has stalled for many small business owners which is no surprise to me and I’m sure no surprise to you.

What gets me about these reports is it seems each week the ever changing, popular flavor is on queue with one week its good news…

Ahh the mature woman! Something all of us girls grow up to be…well hopefully. As I have embarked on this leg of my personal journey I have noticed more than ever the lack of significance placed on my role, generation and participation in the marketplace.

Is it marketers have counted me out? Do they think I am over the ‘hill’ and no longer am a substanable source of revenue for their bottomline?

It could just be our fascination and even obsession with “being young” but whatever it is…marketers that ignore this market segment are pretty stupid in my books.

November 2009 a white…

Recently I took a road trip from Nashville, TN to Little Rock, Arkansas twice within a two week period! Is there some sort of an award for that? (LOL)

Of course one of the activities that go hand-in-hand with a road trip is making food stops. Even though I knew this would be a fairly long drive, I really had no plans on where to eat on this double trek trip except I did plan on getting some killer BBQ in Memphis which turned out to be a HUGE disappointment! But that’s another story.

I really ended up relying on roadside billboards…

Aah…the Thanksgiving holiday!

For many of us it conjures up memories and emotions of wholesomeness, family, fall colors, great food and of course, being thankful to God for all of the blessings we have.

Despite the fact Thanksgiving is just about being swept off the map and overshadowed as a major holiday these days…it will always be a significant holiday I will respect and honor in my lifetime.

I believe Thanksgiving 2009 offers up a special opportunity to those of us in business. No doubt it’s been a tough year for many of us here in the U.S. despite what the news says. I…

Interesting snapshot of the impact the digital age is having on us all. This wonderful snapshot is courtesy of the fine folks at Pew Internet and American Life Project. The 21st century will most certainly demand digital savvy business people who understand the old models for doing business will not work in this new economy. Different times, different people, need different approaches.

Mind boggling! The entire business landscape is going through a metamorphous of sorts…nothing is business as usual anymore! Really, nothing is!

I see business sector after sector old standby models falling apart everywhere. New approaches are being developed; existing business systems are being redefined and challenged while others are completely collapsing. It’s as though someone took a giant stick and hit the business piñata and bam!!! We have an explosion of winners, losers, new kids on the block staking claim, giants falling, bewildered and confused executives and shareholders, fraud, fear, excitement, status quo and just as Elvis Presley said “A Whole…

What an Amazing  job Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas did in creating a visual road map for today’s online conversation sphere.

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You’ve seen them, spinning those huge signs on the corner of a busy street.

Some are really very entertaining, dancing and performing while others, well…just spin the sign.

If you’re anything like me, I bet you have even felt sorry for them, especially when they are out in the hot sun or cold weather.

Coming home from grocery shopping this week I saw a spinner for Little Caesars’. He was spinning a sign that was shaped as a guitar of all things which may have been because we are in the Music City area (Nashville, TN), but whatever the idea was it was…

Yep…I did it! It’s out in the open. I just picked up that intruder bundle thrown up on my porch without my permission and shoved it into my car to drop off at the local recycle  bin.

That’s that I thought!

But to my dismay, a week later another one of those pesky dinosaur phone books showed up delivered to my doorstep once again without me having any say so in the ordeal. Well, I don’t have to tell you what became of this annoyance once again.

Here’s the thing though that bugs me more than having to throw away those phone books…

The loss of over 6 million net jobs is a huge problem for the US. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nonfarm, private sector employment peaked at 115.8 million in December 2007 then fell to 109.5 million by May 2009.

At this time, job losses from mass layoffs added up to 3.6 million, up 66 percent over the preceding 18 months.

Since many people who have not been able to find a job, we are seeing an unprecedented number of people choosing to go into business for themselves. Historically small business’ job creation will be key in our…