Whether your business has 400 outlets spread over 43 of the United States, or it’s just you and the Mrs. making ends meet by baking the next best pie – corporate social responsibility (or community investment) can make the difference in both your bottom line, and the lives of those whom you serve.

When the University of Phoenix reached out to police departments in several of their area markets offering to partner with Build-A-Bear Workshop to supply teddy bears for traumatized children, they put a great idea into action.  “Now we have police departments from all over America contacting us and asking us to help” says Tammy Fernandez, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Apollo Group (parent company of the University of Phoenix).

Cristin Tarr, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Business Service Corps suggests that small business has a huge opportunity to both benefit their communities as well as their own business development by getting involved in community investment. …click here to read more

The secret to avoiding bad business decisions is to develop your sense of curiosity.  Curiosity stimulates inquiry and inquiry stimulates clarity. Bad decisions could be avoided with the simple act of asking the question, “Why are we making this decision?”

Confidence Yields Failure

Business leaders are extremely confident in their decision-making abilities, yet over 60% of those decisions, those that are made in haste and without outside input, regularly fail. Leaders who make business decisions without …click here to read more

Whether you are in the business of helping men create unique, memorable marriage proposals like The Yes Girls, or being asked to create a custom frame for the Denver Nuggets‘ Chris “The Birdman” Andersen’s guitars like Brian Hart of Frame De Art… saying “yes” is always good for business!

Heather Vaughn and Kendall Rodriguez of The Yes Girls are part of a team of female wedding, anniversary and proposal planners.  They recognize the pressure that men face when considering how to creatively “pop the question”, and they help them do it with attention to detail, and a high likelihood of getting the “yes”. …click here to read more

An attitude of gratitude is a choice that many business owners overlook in their business plan, and yet it is quite possibly one of the most essential indicators of predictable growth in any company.  Dr. Camillo DiLizia of Dental Wellness at Dry Creek in Centennial, Colorado agrees.  “I’m as normal as the next guy”, says DiLizia.  “I have days when ‘life happens’, and I find myself in the position of needing to make a choice.  The options are clear: get angry and complain, or start counting my blessings – which are abundant.  I choose to do the latter, and it instantly puts my attitude into a positive perspective.”

Lee Thomas, owner of Integrity Business Ventures, Inc. suggests that gratitude is one of six keys to what he calls a “correct attitude”.  Thomas espouses the idea that a correct attitude comes from within, and is made up of each person’s moral compass, acceptance of their purpose, service without expectation of return, gratitude, discipline and an investment in self.  Thomas says, “We cannot change the direction of the wind – but we CAN adjust our sails.” …click here to read more

Many people believe that we’re overdue for a different way of doing business.  Part of changing the way we do business, involves changing the way we think about business.  This plays itself out in a multitude of ways, and the proof is in the actions we put behind our well-intended words.  The end-result is a revolutionary way of actually DOING business that will shift the paradigm of how business gets done for all.

Invest In Yourself

Scott Barclay, self-described “reformed stock broker” and the author of “How the Investment Business Really Works” says that in order to ever really get ahead in the world of investing, one needs to first eliminate the anchor of debt that unravels most people’s best intentions.  “Not all debt is detrimental”, says Barclay.  “There are two acceptable types of debt: mortgage and education.”  Educational debt helps by providing a higher ROI in the workplace, and while mortgages are in most cases a necessity, Barclay encourages homeowners to pay them off as quickly as possible.  While this type of thinking is contrary to many money manager’s advice, Barclay insists that those who object have only their own financial interests in mind. …click here to read more

A “Stage 2″ business, (11-19 employees as defined by James Fischer of the Growth Curve Institute), presents unique and often surprising dynamic shifts in the way business owners view their own role in the structure of their companies.  Their ability to recognize these changes, and adapt to them, dictates the predictable success (or failure) of said companies with a high margin of accuracy.

Fischer, a regular contributor to the nationally syndicated Experience Pros Radio Show, discusses the key markers for a Stage 2 company, and how the leadership of such companies must change from their behaviors that led them through the first growth stage of their business.  Of particular note, are what he calls the “Three Faces of a Leader”, and the “Five Challenges” faced by all leadership during the second stage of growth in a company. …click here to read more

In a world of choices and constant online streaming, helping your company stand out amongst your competition is more important than ever. Your customer can stand on a street corner and point to four other companies that do what you do. They can go online, search for your keywords, and watch a million other companies show up. Even at a business networking event, where relationships trump transactions, it’s still difficult to create a level of distinction from one company to the next. You can help your company stand out from the competition with these three factors: who you sell to, how you sell, and of course, what you sell. …click here to read more

Greg Spencer Jr. is a young man with a new paradigm for sustainability in developing world communities.  Co-founder of The Paradigm Project, Spencer is, among other things, changing the life-expectancy of women and children in Kenya, Guatemala and Haiti by providing them with resource-stingy, reduced carbon stoves that are not only saving the lives of the locals, but also the forests that make up the fuel required to cook the food they eat. 

Used for cooking purposes, the Rocket Stove achieves efficient combustion, ensuring a good draft into the fire, controlled use of fuel, complete combustion of materials and efficient use of the resulting heat.  The goal for each stove is to increase efficiency by 50% while at the same time reducing toxic smoke that it killing indigenous locals by 50%.

Spencer was the featured guest of the “Connect + Collaborate with ICOSA” segment of the nationally syndicated Experience Pros Radio Show.  Eric Reamer and Angel Tuccy are the hosts of the show recently named the “most positive business talk show in America” by Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of the BNI Networking Groups.  Jan Mazotti is the host of the “Connect + Collaborate with ICOSA” segment, sponsored by CAP Logistics.