Recently I went through a challenging time when a business associate that I very much respect, felt that my ethics had been lacking in the way I had handled a particular situation. This caused me an enormous amount of anxiety and upset because my integrity is probably the thing on which I place the  most value as a business owner. Having that called into question will never be something I would take lightly.

I spent a great deal of time in thought about the whole situation. I turned to other business colleagues asking for their honest opinions about what had occurred. In the end, I absolutely accept that mistakes were made on my part AND can honestly say that I fundamentally disagree with the accusation that my actions, at their core, were in any way unethical.

At the end of the day, as painful a time as this was, I think it raised an important question that we must all address as business owners: How much are you thinking about business ethics? The truth is that the more your business grows – the more you will face decisions about the “right” way to handle things. Read more »

If you’ve been around the Abundance Bound community for a little while you probably know that in addition to being an entrepreneur I am also an actor.  I’ve shared my story about how I came to start Abundance Bound – so I won’t do that again here. But one of the biggest things I’ve come to understand over the years is that in order to be a successful artist, one must develop and apply the business skills of an entrepreneur. AND, in order to thrive as an entrepreneur, one must develop and apply the creative skills of an artist.

Owners who have experienced success in their small business are often masters of being creative. Thinking outside the box creates endless opportunities. Entrepreneurs who cannot force themselves to be inventive  and to become “creative problem solvers,” have a long, tough road ahead of them. Read more »

Just being completely honest – the first year I started Abundance Bound was really tough. Like many small business owners, I was so passionate about the work I wanted to do. I was going to help entrepreneurs create success – teaching them to build their businesses on strong financial foundations.

So here’s the thing: I had the very best intentions and absolutely NO customers.

I spun my wheels for months. There’s no question I was working hard. The problem was that I didn’t really know what I was doing. You see – I was an expert at financial education – I wasn’t an expert at marketing and client attraction and all of the elements of building a business that ensure you have a steady stream of prospects who can benefit from your products and services. Read more »

I was watching my 2-year-old son playing this afternoon.  For almost 10 minutes he just ran around in a circle. It wasn’t even a particularly big circle – but round and round he went – showing absolutely no evidence of boredom. In fact, he really seemed to be enjoying himself.

It got me thinking about how often as adults – especially as solo entrepreneurs – that we feel like we’re just running round and round in circles. The problem for us is that it certainly isn’t fun. When we feel like our businesses have stopped growing and like all our hard work is no longer moving us forward, it’s easy to get exhausted and discouraged. Read more »

I really didn’t like having a job.

In the years that I worked for other people, I was so frustrated by the complete lack of control that I had over my life. We all know the drill…showing up and leaving at the same time each day, being told when we can have lunch or take a vacation, trying to look busy even when we’ve finished our work because heaven forbid we should just be able to go home early…

It was a desire for independence that led me to start my first business. I certainly had good intentions and a strong work ethic but I also had absolutely no clue what I was doing. The truth was that I lacked the fundamental understanding of money that was required to keep a business afloat. Once I realized this, I focused on studying with the best financial experts I could find, gaining the financial tools, knowledge and understanding I needed to be a successful entrepreneur. Read more »