Jim Blasingame's Blog, page 37
December 10, 2013
The road less traveled
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both.
These are the first two lines of one of the most important poems of the modern age, by one of the greatest of American poets, Robert Frost. “The Road Not Taken” has inspired millions to at least reflect on the paths they have taken in their lives, if not stirred to write down their genius, justification, or lament for the choices they made.
We entrepreneurs seem to live in a “yellow wood” where our roads are always diverging....
December 9, 2013
I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?
“I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?”
This title lyric of a country song by Dierks Bentley is about a boy letting a pretty girl get him into a whole lot of trouble on their first date. Of course, there’s often no accounting for unintended consequences of affairs of the heart.
But when a small business owner sings this song, it’s due to an ill-advised decision that causes the proverbial winged sack of money to fly away.
“I know what I was feeling, but what was I thinking?” is oft...
December 6, 2013
How will you leave your small business the last time?
December 4, 2013
Make a difference to just one
Even in America, the land of plenty, there are so many people who need food, shelter, a helping hand, and a kind word. It’s true, the safety net created by public and private organizations is multi-layered and highly efficient, but it is, after all, a net not a pillow. Nets have holes.
Looking at the many unmet needs it’s easy to be intimidated by the scale and we feel justified in our indifference because, “Hey, I pay my taxes and contribute to charities, don’t I? What more can I do, right? I...
December 3, 2013
Spring cleaning for small business—in December
At this time every year I like to remind small business owners to do what grandma used to do after a long winter. She called it “spring cleaning.” So let’s do the same thing, but let’s do it now, in December.
December Cleaning will give your business the maximum opportunity to start 2014 with as little 2013 baggage as possible. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Throw stuff away
Even if you’re not a pack rat like me, you’ve accumulated stuff you don’t use anymore. If you can’t sell it, giv...
November 28, 2013
When cause-and-effect met humanity and changed the world
As the 17th century dawned, cause-and-effect was merging parallel universes.
In the Old World, a decision by a group of Leiden Separatists put them on a circuitous journey. Meanwhile, in the New World, a manchild named Tisquantum was born to the Wampanoag Indians.
Both the Separatists and Tisquantum became very important to our future, but not before their lives would change and intertwine in ways not to be imagined by either.
Seeking religious freedom, the Separatists crossed Europe and then th...
November 26, 2013
SBA Poll Results: Will Obamacare ever be fixed?
The Question:
How confident are you that the Obama administration will be able to fix the problems with Obamacare?
00% - Completely confident
00% - Somewhat confident
100%- No confidence
My Comments:
We’ve polled our online audience several times regarding their attitude about and experience with Obamacare. Most of our respondents, but certainly not all, have been negative toward the law in past polls. But this week something happened that has NEVER happened in more than three years of our weekly p...
November 25, 2013
What are you thankful for?
Americans punctuate each year with the Thanksgiving holiday as a way of perpetuating a 390-year-old tradition begun by a rag-tag group of our forebears. That first time, in 1621, thanksgiving day wasn’t the proper noun it became. It was just a day set aside by a few dozen humans who risked everything, actually lost most of it, were hard-by to any number of dangers that could cost them the rest, but still felt compelled to be thankful for what they had.
Regardless of where you live on planet Ea...
November 21, 2013
Celebrating milestones
If you will permit me, today I would like to talk about a couple of milestones of which we’re kind of proud.
On November 17, 1997, I began broadcasting The Small Business Advocate Show for two hours Monday through Friday, and ever since that first day the program has been nationally syndicated. This week we will celebrate our 16th anniversary and the beginning of our 17th year on the air.
In January 1998, we began simulcasting our show on the Internet, which makes us one of the pioneers of Inte...
November 20, 2013
SBA Poll Results: How is Obamacare affecting your health insurance?
The Question:
How is the impact of Obamacare affecting your health insurance coverage so far?
47% - My plan is still in force for now, with no changes in cost or coverage.
32% - My plan is still in force, but the premium has been increased.
0%- My plan has been cancelled, but I found acceptable coverage in the Exchange.
18% - Exchange options are more expensive and not as good as my canceled plan.
3% - If my plan is cancelled, I won’t be able to afford the Exchange options.
My Comments:
When consider...
