Jim Blasingame's Blog, page 22

Freedom isn’t free

Contemplating the blessing of freedom, wherever it may be found, one prime truth is evident: Freedom is not free. And for those of us who are the beneficiaries of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, the only method of repayment — the only way we can ever be worthy of their sacrifice — is if we do all we can to maintain the freedom that has been paid for and given to us.

In honor of all of our veterans, past and present, I’d like to offer this poem written by Commander Kelly Stro...

Beware of the small business voting bloc

Historically, mid-term elections during a second term of any U.S. president have been unfavorable for his [image error]party. But in 1998, an embattled President Clinton went against conventional political wisdom and history. During his second mid-term election, Democrats slightly increased their majority in Congress, producing a political and moral victory for him.

Going into Tuesday’s elections, President Obama could either brace for the curse of the second mid-term or imagine America’s first black presi...

RESULTS: Which political party are you most likely to support?

The Question: With barely a week until the mid-term elections in the U.S., which political party are you most likely to support?

12% - Democrat

67% - Republican

16% - Independent

5% - Neither - don’t plan to vote

Jim’s Comments:




As you can see, our small business audience leans heavily toward the GOP. Representing one of the largest voting blocks in the country, the small business sector could make a big difference in any election if we were more organized to hold politicians accountable on iss...

Find work you love and enjoy

Whether work is a blessing or a curse depends on what you are working on and your attitude about it.James Matthew Barrie, the Scottish novelist said, “Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.”

Many hard working entrepreneurs were once unproductive employees, but now, with their wagon hitched to their own star, work is the stuff of their dreams.Many productive employees understand the blessings of employment and become the most valuable of resources: the entrepren...

Small business brand value is more than the Q factor

Have you noticed that every new on-air person hired by a TV network looks like a soap opera actor? They’re all young and pretty. We’re left to think that non-beautiful people need not apply. That is, unless you’re familiar with a certain marketing measurement.

Marketing Evaluations Inc. is the proprietor of a marketing metric used extensively to hire on-air talent. It’s called theQ Score, and it’s as rude as it is simple.

A prospective anchor is presented to an audience who is asked to give one...

RESULT: Are you concerned the government isn’t doing enough to keep Ebola out of the country?

The Question:

Are you concerned that the government isn’t doing enough to keep Ebola out of the country?

71% - Very concerned - the government should do more, like travel restrictions.

3% - Very concerned - the government is doing a reasonably good job.

16% - Somewhat concerned, but don’t expect it to impact my life.

11% - Not concerned because the risk is so low.

Jim’s Comments:

The risk of an Ebola pandemic is on everyone’s mind these days, even if you don’t worry much about it. But we wanted...

Lead a vision and a business

As an entrepreneur, you are your organization’s visionary - the creator of the dream, and the energy and spirit behind its fulfillment. As the operator of the business you’ve created to deliver your dream, you are the steady hand, the voice of reason, the challenge master, and the bull’s eye where the proverbial buck stops.

The great French writer, Victor Hugo could have been talking about us when he wrote, “The human soul has still greater need of the ideal than the real. It is by the real th...

What small business owners think about their income tax ROI

October 15 marked the end of the extension period to file personal income tax returns and pay up for last year. So in our online poll last week we asked small business owners, “How do you feel about the income taxes you pay?”

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Photo credit: MorgueFile

Regardless of when you settled up with the government, if a small business owner pays more taxes beyond scheduled remittance it’s at once good news, bad news and compounded bad news.

It’s good news because paying more taxes usually means you were pr...

RESULTS: How do you feel about the taxes you pay?

The Question:

With the tax filling extension date coming this week, how do you feel about the taxes you pay?

69% - We pay too much in taxes, especially for what we get.

6% - We pay a lot of taxes, but it’s probably about right.

8% - Since we’re not profitable, we don’t play a lot of taxes.

17% - I would love to have enough profit to worry about taxes.

Jim’s Comments:




As you can see, almost 70% of our sample think we’re not getting an acceptable ROI on our tax dollars. Which is understandable, si...

What’s really important?

The following quizzes, and the subsequent paragraph, are attributed to the late Charles Schultz, creator of the comic strip, Peanuts. I’m passing along his thoughts because I think it’s important that we realize what is really important in life.

Quiz 1:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academ...