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The Unfair Business Advantage

by Justin Lukasavige on March 11, 2010

If you’re starting or growing a business you better be ready for the hard work of growing a community of 1,000 people. It’s much easier to grow from 1,000 subscribers (newsletter, podcast, blog readers, etc.) to 10,000 than it is to get your first 1,000.

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Some of the Best Blogs are Short

by Justin Lukasavige on January 28, 2010

Gregg is a client and reminded me that some of the best blog posts are short. What do you think?

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At Least Ebenezer Scrooge Saved Money

by Derek Sisterhen on December 30, 2009

Everyone remembers Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. There have been about 8,000 different renditions of it, many of which have been on television for the past few weeks (I’m particularly partial to Scrooged, the 1988 comedy starring Bill Murray).

Of all the themes covered during the story, I draw financial connections with the concept of Christmases past, present, and future. For many of the people I meet with, Christmas is always about eight months away – even in October. And when Thanksgiving is upon us, reality sets in that only a few weeks separate us from the annual tradition of spending money we don’t have.

Christmas Past is typically comprised of great memories (we have selective memories, of course): the kids are opening what they so passionately desired Christmas morning and we’re visiting with relatives and in-laws we haven’t seen in a long time. And each January, the piper comes along to be paid. The piper named Visa, or MasterCard, or Discover.

How did you handle this Christmas? Christmas Present is still seen in lighted trees, neighborhood manger displays, and the trash bags bursting with wrapping paper piled around your garbage can. We’re you ready for gift, food, and travel expenses this year? How much of this Christmas went onto a credit card?

It should come as no surprise that if no changes are made next year, you can expect Christmas Future to look exactly like Christmas Past and Christmas Present. The best time to begin preparing for next Christmas is January. That means you must include a line item in your January budget for Christmas. If you determine what you intend to spend for next Christmas, divide by twelve, and begin saving that each month of the year, you’ll have exactly what you need come December.

You don’t have to be a Scrooge to save money for next Christmas; get started with a budget for next month.

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Be Willing to Pay the Price

by Justin Lukasavige on November 22, 2009

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell shows how nearly everyone who has become successful at something has put in a minimum of 10,000 hours working at it.  From Olympic athletes to concert pianists, they’ve all committed and put in the time.

“If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo

I’m wondering what you’re willing to do.  My wife Christine and I paid off $45,000 in debt one year to become debt free (everything but our house) when we only made an income of $60,000.  We obviously sold some things but we worked our butts off during those 12 months.

If you want it bad enough there is very little stopping you.  But are you willing to pay the price?

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Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

November 13, 2009

In 1994, The Shawshank Redemption was released against the likes of Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction.  Ironically, even though the latter two took home plenty of Academy Awards, the former ranks higher on many critics’ lists of the all-time greatest movies.
In the poignant scene just before his escape, Andy Dufresne talks with his friend Red [...]

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Best Reasons to go on a Cruise

November 3, 2009

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that we’re hosting a No More Mondays cruise in February, 2010.  Of course we’d really love to have you join us, but more importanty we’ve been collecting many reasons to go.  Most of them have been kind of funny.
If you have a good reason to go on a cruise [...]

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No More Mondays Cruise Info

November 1, 2009

I can’t wait for the No More Monday’s Cruise!  Here’s a bit of info from three of us presenting.
The cruise costs the same as a normal cruise and you get to listen to us for free!  It’s a vacation with a purpose.  In addition if you mention me (Justin Lukasavige) when you register I’ll send [...]

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Are You in the Dumps?

November 1, 2009

It’s true, many people are down on their luck after a job loss, an investment decline or some other circumstance. It’s easy even for business owners to feel like they’re on their own in the world of business.
I had an interesting question this week that made me wonder…
“If you’re down in life right now, [...]

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Complainers are the Best Customers

October 29, 2009

When asked if I would rather have a customer who complains vs. one who never does, I’ll nearly always chose the complainer.  Think about it.  Have you ever been unhappy about something but just thought no one cares so why bother complaining?  I know I have.
And when you’re unhappy enough not to complain to the [...]

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You’re not a Great Leader, but You Could be

October 28, 2009

Many people want to be leaders and world changers. Entire libraries of books exist on the subject and people like Zig Ziglar and Stephen Covey have made great livings helping others become effective leaders.
If you want to be a great leader there are many things you could do, but without a doubt, there is [...]

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