Several years ago, I was visiting my parents. They were living in Brookline, Massachusetts at the time—a really cool neighborhood right on the T line, with all kinds of people living there

Hasidic Jews, Russians, Boston liberals in rumpled khakis.

That sort of thing.

Anyway, this particular morning was Easter Sunday. My dad was out of town, and my mom had planned on attending services.

No longer a churchgoer, I’d planned on going for a run instead.

My mom surprised me by revealing she wasn’t feeling really motivated to get all dressed up and go to church.

“Well, today, let’s … Read the rest >

For many service professionals and coaches, there’s a time when you say to yourself:

“I love my one-on-one clients, BUT…”

And that sentence usually ends with a curiosity about offering a group program with a lower price point.

Let’s be clear: a group program is typically NOT what you offer first.

You fill your business with 10-20 private one-on-one clients.

Because it’s easier to find 10 people to work with your privately over time, than it is to find 10 people who all want to start working with you on the same day.

But once you’ve done THAT, you’re probably … Read the rest >

You know what’s pissing me off?

Marriages that shelter mediocre businesses.

In my talks with business owners, there sometimes is a moment where I instantly get that the person I am talking to has an income source that has nothing to do with her business.

And it’s her husband.

Let me say that I have clients and colleagues who have an income-earning partner… and who STILL hustle their buns.

But there is a phenomenon where a marriage causes a women to shrink—instead of expand—when it comes to her business. And from where I sit, that sucks.

Here’s what I’ve noticed: … Read the rest >

When it comes marketing your business, there are really two languages.

Most business owners speak the language of “what I do.”

I’m a life coach.

I’m a financial planner.

I’m a nutrition nerd.

You see this a lot on websites. “Here’s what I do!” the website announces. “I am open for business!”

Trouble is, this may as well be written in Urdu, Farsi, or Mandarin, for all the business it will win you.

The SECOND language is not only understood by your ideal clients… it SINGS to them like an opera diva. Like Bette Midler. Like Sinatra himself.

What is … Read the rest >

Have you ever noticed that there’s a big difference between a website you think is awesome… and one that looks as if it was written by monkeys at typewriters?

Side bar: for many of us, writing a website triggers us emotionally. You are a smart person. You are great at helping your people in a particular way—and you have the results to back it up. But when it comes to clearly expressing that in writing, you seize up.

There’s something about your writing appearing on glowing light boxes across the country (and around the world). You WANT to draw business … Read the rest >