Choosing a domain name: Your difficult
questions answered! What domain name should you choose for your business? Is a .com still important? Should you pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for a .com, or just register a .biz or other extension? Are Google search engine ranks affected by whether you have a .com or not?

In this post, I’ll answer these questions and more, and make some recommendations to help you choose the right domain name. Some of my suggestions may be controversial! (more…)

I was stymied recently…by cheese.

I was at a local high-end grocery store buying meat, produce, and a pile of gluten-free goodies. Richard, who has recently gotten into cooking, decided to make organic hamburgers for dinner. We were out of cheese, so I walked over to the cheese section to pick up some cheddar slices.

I was confronted with a variety of gourmet cheeses. And they were pricey–running about $4.50 for 8 slices!

I picked one at random that said “cheddar” and looked at it. And that’s when I noticed something odd:

Right there, at the top of the package, in the “money spot” — the spot where my eyes went right after reading the brand — it said “Rennet Free.”

What in the world, I wondered, was “rennet”? (more…)

Often, we believe that if only we knew “how to” do more–more blogging, more Tweeting, more SEO or social networking–that our business would be successful.

But all the “how to” information in the world won’t help your business succeed. Your own ingrained beliefs are stopping you without you even knowing it. In fact, the biggest obstacle to your success (I hate to say it) may be you. (more…)

I was helping a friend out with her business recently…giving her some advice and coaching on pricing. She is setting up a workshop to teach others how to start a business in her niche. I felt her price for the workshop was too low, and told her so.

Her response: “Well, these people are just starting out…they don’t have a whole lot of money, right?”

I replied: “Be careful. Don’t write the story for your potential customers.”

What Does “Writing the Story” Mean?

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Ever had an issue with a company where you just can’t reach a human being? You’re directed through endless email queues, tedious “tech support”–your issue is falling on deaf ears. Isn’t it incredibly frustrating? It’s enough to make you wonder if any human beings actually work at these companies!

Here’s how I not only found a top executive at a large company, but got an urgent issue with that company fixed in record time… (more…)