Jim Blasingame's Blog, page 35
January 20, 2014
Connecting small business, the economy and Washington
The Great Recession ended in July 2009. In our online poll since then we’ve asked small business owners several times about their economy.
Comparing responses from our poll at the end of 2011 with the one at the end of 2013, the groups experiencing sales growth went from 76% in 2011 to 48% in 2013, while the bottom half went from less than one-fourth having a tough time in 2011, to more than half reporting flat to negative sales in 2013. Small business reality has been steadily going in the wr...
January 17, 2014
Video: I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?
In this week's video I share my insight into impulsiveness with small business owners.
I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking? from Jim Blasingame on Vimeo.
January 16, 2014
Will and Faith - it’s a beautiful thing
Richard Devos, co-founder of Amway, once said, “The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.”
Will and faith; two powerful little words that, unfortunately, are not often used in the marketplace these days.
Human will is an anthropological alloy forged of spirit, desire, and conscience. It is an invisible force deep inside of you that makes things happen in your life. Faith, it has been said...
January 13, 2014
The CEO Question: Where is my company going?
In my last column I stated that every business, including small ones, have assignments that can only be performed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Plus I revealed:
CEO strategic responsibilities are not optional.
Small business CEOs have to periodically transport themselves from the operating trenches to a 30,000 foot strategic orbit.
The CEO’s three Big Pictures: Where have we been? Where are we now? Where are we going?
The third Big Picture is the sole domain of the CEO, and that’s what we...
January 10, 2014
Video: Blasingame’s 2014 Crystal Ball Predictions
January 8, 2014
SBA Poll Results: 2013 Sales
The Question:
How did 2013 treat your business with regard to sales?
16% - We had a great year in sales.
32% - We had a pretty good year, but not great.
36% - Our business did not grow at all this year.
16% - It still feels like a recession-we’re just holding on.
My Comments:
Our poll last week came approximately 54 months after the end of the Great Recession. As you can see, almost half a decade into a recovery less than one-in-six American small businesses “Had a great year,” and less than half ex...
January 7, 2014
Some thoughts on having faith
As we move into the New Year, I encourage you to contemplate your capacity to have faith, and how faith manifests in your life. Not just religious faith, which is important to many of us, but faith in yourself and faith in others.
August Wilhelm Von Schlegel said, “In actual life, every great enterprise begins with and takes its first forward step in faith.” How many things have you accomplished in your life where, regardless of your research and experience, the first forward step was taken in...
January 6, 2014
Who’s doing the CEO’s job in your small business?
Every business has assignments that must be performed by the Chief Executive Officer, a.k.a CEO. Not the founder, owner, or manager; the CEO.
But in a small business, assuming the duties of a CEO is often difficult. It’s not difficult for a small business owner to assume the role of general manager. But it’s another matter to get that same person to realize CEO duties are different from management tasks required to open the doors and serve customers today.
A CEO’s job is to make sure the busine...
January 2, 2014
Video: Recapping my 2013 Crystal Ball Predictions
January 1, 2014
New Year’s Thoughts
“One of the greatest sins is the unlived life.”
That’s the title of my favorite section in one of my favorite books, Anam Cara, by my late friend and favorite Irishman, John O’Donohue.
John says that the more we postpone the dreams of our hearts the more we are in danger of an unlived life. “We should never allow our fears or the expectations of others to set the frontiers of our destiny.”
In that same theme, I also like this poem by Lillian Gray.
New Year’s Thoughts
Let us walk softly, friend; Fo...
