First Word

The business of business can be tricky. If you want to effectively manage your client relationships, you really have to be proactive at all times. Sitting back and allowing events to unfold results in chaos. And chaos in business can happen quickly and without notice. Really it's about being a true leader and effective project manager to build productive client relationships. Here are some helpful tips to make you a better business person and project manager. Get out ahead of your clients not behind them -- always be thinking like your client thinks. Consider what could become a problem if left to fester unattended. The best way to figure out what lies ahead is to look at what came before. This means if you had a past problem chances are it could become a future problem. So, solve it before it has a chance to happen. For example, if an account manager was not servicing her clients well in the past and problems popped up, chances are if the manager is still on the job and has not...

Entrepreneurship takes a great amount of discipline and respect for the "job." No, it's not a job, but you have to in many respects treat "as if" it were a job. The first five years in business are the test. While I did not go through the standard first-year angst like many business owners do (most business die on the vine within the first year), I have learned valuable lessons as to why I did not face the uphill battle toward success. I have several colleagues right now eager to go independent. Here are five great lessons on how to successfully make your first year "the first year of the rest of your business," and not your trip to bankruptcy court. Focus and stay the course -- this is probably my number one tip of all. Focus on what you're doing and stick with it. I'm not saying be inflexible. I'm saying just get on board, don't get caught up in the traps and challenges, and know in your deepest heart of hearts, this is it. You wil...

It's Friday and I've decided not to be super serious (not that yesterday's blog could be categorized as "mature in nature"). But I network a lot and sometimes I get asked the most ridiculous or plain-as-the-nose-on-your face questions. Here are just a few to keep you smiling. " Are you an avid reader ?" -- this question always comes during a business meeting. I've now been asked it a handful times -- and certainly enough times to merit a mention on the blog. OK Fred, yes I am an avid reader. And here is a very good wager we could make: I bet I read more than anyone I know. Really? Really Fred? Really ? Did you just ask a publisher and editor that question? Here is a question for you: How high is your IQ? " Do you want to take a class on writing ?" -- I've been asked this one at least a half-dozen times while working in my booth. What really just cracks me up, is this question typically comes from some person who asks just as she is...