I am working my way thru Zig Ziglar’s ‘Steps to the Top’ and this weeks topic is ‘Attitude and Inferiority.’ Great! Something I’ve always struggled with. Reading Zig’s words, hunting the internet for wisdom, and just taking the time to ponder when I feel the most inferior I’ve come to this conclusion – Comparison is the thief of joy.

Often, we look around and compare our chapter one to someone else’s chapter eight. In the day of social media, in which we live, this is even more of a challenge, because what we see of people’s lives, is the highlight reel. More often than not, we don’t see the struggle, that goes into accomplishments. Because of this, we can often feel as though we are inferior or behind the ball.

Those of you who know me won’t be surprised that I use music to feel better. I hurt, turn on a song. I doubt, turn on a song. I feel inferior to another’s success – TURN ON A SONG!

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Telling my story is the scariest thing I’ve ever done. If you know me, you’d think it would be getting up in front of a crowd. But, no. It was several nights sitting on my couch writing down my story. Let me start at the beginning.

Howard Partridge, a business coach and the owner of Phenomenal Products, Inc., asked several business owners participating in his inner circle coaching program if they would like to contribute to his next book. I was lucky to be one of those business owners and I jumped at the chance. I sat down and I hammered out 20 plus pages in just a few hours. I was excited! “I totally got this!” I thought to myself. “Writing is EASY!” I put the manuscript aside and got busy on real work…..

A couple weeks later, I came back to the manuscript and read it cover to cover. I was left completely and utterly cold. There was nothing of ME in what I wrote. I wasn’t moved, I wasn’t inspired and I certainly wasn’t...

In the business world, one thing we have to get used to in order to be successful are one-on-ones! One-on-ones are the best way to get to know a prospect or referral partner. They allow you to build a relationship with the person, but if you get started off on the wrong foot, it can blow your opportunity altogether.

In order to a have a great first meeting, there are a couple things that you’ll want to do beforehand. First, you will want to prepare for the meeting. I always like to do a little research on the company/person I am meeting with. Check out their website, LinkedIn, or any other social media outlet. Get to know their character and what they like before you go to the meeting. You want to be careful with this strategy though; It can come off creepy if you ask them how their wife Karen is and if Bobby won his baseball game if they never told you that kind of information. You want to find ways to relate that are appropriate and professional.

Secondly, present yourself...

Have you ever received that incredible offer mailer telling you that you MUST order your payroll compliance poster post haste or you can be fined by the U.S. Department of Wage and Hour? I have….and I toss them straight in the trash. I am NOT saying you don’t need to have the posters I am saying you don’t need to BUY them.

I find those mailers extremely annoying. They make them look like they are “official”. They threaten dire consequences if you don’t purchase today and they don’t tell you that all you are paying for is the high gloss lamination. They certainly don’t tell you that every notice that you are required to post you can get FREE off the internet.

I go straight to the source – The Dept of Labor They offer all the federal notices free. They even give you a handy schedule that tells you which notices you are required to have by law. (It’s different depending on how many employees you have) They don’t offer...

January 1 was the start of my 23rd year in business – hard to believe it’s been that long!

People have asked me how I’ve done it and I answer by waxing poetically about the books I’ve read and implemented. As a bookkeeper, I know you need a good set of books to run your business. As an entrepreneur I believe it’s the books you build your business on that will lead to your greatest prosperity.
Everything built to last must have a solid foundation – These books are mine. (I should state that they are not in any particular order)

See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar – For more than three decades Zig Ziglar traveled the world delivering self-improvement messages that encourage, uplift, and inspire. This book has captured that wisdom in a single volume. A little dated with some of the stories – just being honest here – but I don’t care. This is a book you can plant yourself on.

There is a companion book to See You at the Top called...

The rush of the holidays has passed and a fresh new year is upon us. 2016 was a great year and 2017 is going to be even better. There are a lot of wonderful things in the works for E3, that is going to help us, help you, in bigger and more incredible ways than we ever have before! We have grand goals, plans, and dreams for this New Year and you’re looking at one of them.

We’re committed to making sure that you have fresh and exciting articles to read, that will energize your soul and make you believe that you can conquer anything. You’ll find a new tidbit of awesome, every Tuesday, so make sure that you check in often and if you haven’t already, subscribe to our newsletter, to stay connected with us. Another way you can connect is by visiting our Facebook page! We post over there, every single day and we LOVE getting to chat with you all in the comments. It’s a real treat for us and it makes our day!

Speaking of treats, we certainly enjoyed the...