Author name: Steven Imke

Not Enough White, Too Much Purple

4 Business Lessons from Charles Tandy – Not Enough White, Too Much Purple

Tandy Leather was a family owned business located in Texas. Dave Tandy was a partner in a leather heel and shoe repair business which was founded in 1919. Charles Tandy, the son of Dave, took over the business after World War II and changed the business’s focus to leather craft after seeing how leather crafts

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man looking into the wrong end of a telescope

Don’t Flip the Telescope: Focus on Execution, Not Protection

Are You Looking Into the Wrong End of the Telescope? That’s What It’s Like When You Focus More on Protecting Your Idea Than Sharing It. Innovation Thrives on Collaboration, Yet Too Many Inventors Get Stuck Getting Patents to Protect Their Ideas vs. Bringing Their Vision Into the World. A Great Idea Isn’t Valuable if No One Ever Sees It.

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Arthur Blank of Home Depot -Who Will Destroy Me Today?

4 Business Lessons from Arthur Blank – Who Will Destroy Me Today?

Arthur Blank, one of the founders of Home Depot, wakes up every morning saying “Who will destroy me today if I don’t keep my eyes open.” Knowing that retailers can’t sit still or they’ll be eclipsed by the competition, Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus started Home Depot after being laid off unexpectedly from Handy Dan

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Make Entrepreneurship Easier

Community leaders are always interested in creating a vibrant economy to provide prosperity for their citizens. Promoting entrepreneurship is often at the heart of any economic development initiative. However, entrepreneurship comes in many different flavors from technology start-ups to micro-enterprises. Moreover, small business enterprises run the gambit from high growth companies to more static main

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Be Memorable

Be Memorable

It was 10:00 pm on April 18th, 1775. Two riders left Boston, Massachusetts, to ride out to Lexington and Concord to alert the militia that the British troops were on their way to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Who were these two midnight riders? My guess is you came up with Paul Revere as

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The Power of a Person's Name and Focus

The Power of Using a Person’s Name

Hearing your name has a profound impact on the brain. Research published in Cerebral Cortex shows that hearing your name activates your cortico-subcortical auditory attention network, a complex way of saying it grabs your focus whether you’re paying attention or not. Similarly, studies in Brain Research demonstrate that hearing your name sparks brain regions tied

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Arnold

Recognition Or Doom – Failing To Recognize Outstanding Performance Is A Colossal Mistake

In business, many of the most promising and productive individuals have fragile egos. As the owner of a company, you need to be able to recognize and reward behaviors from employees that move the business forward or risk creating a Benedict Arnold in your own ranks.

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Determine Your Hourly Rate

How to Determine Your Hourly Rate as a Freelancer

Most Freelancers Dramatically Underprice Their Services Without Realizing It—Leading to Overwork, Financial Stress, and Eventual Burnout. Did You Know That 82% of Small Businesses Are Solo Operations, Relying Solely on Billable Hours? If You’re Not Charging What You’re Truly Worth, This Guide Will Show You Exactly How to Calculate Your Real Hourly Rate—and Why Getting It Wrong Could Be the Biggest Threat to Your Business.

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Are You Reading This?

Are You Reading This?

With today’s 24/7 news cycle, there is no excuse for an absence of information. There is only the eroding sense of duty felt by Americans to remain informed. If you are reading this post today, share it with your friends and make a commitment to talk to your children tonight and instill in them the value that we as Americans have to remain actively engaged in the news and public issues affecting us all.

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An Entrepreneur's Perspective on Education and Success

An Entrepreneur’s Perspective on Education and Success

As you might imagine I have the occasion to speak to lots of successful business people and spend much of my time trying to understand what attributes make for a successful entrepreneur. One difference I see is how non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs approach education. The vast majority of my friends that have successful jobs working for

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What We Can Learn From Sam Walton, Founder of WalMart

What We Can Learn From Sam Walton, Founder of WalMart

My middle son lives in Bentonville, Arkansas: the headquarters of Walmart. This fact made me want to learn more about Sam Walton, Walmart’s founder. As with many biographical stories, Sam Walton’s life provides several lessons for the entrepreneur. Sam Walton began his career in retail when he bought into a 5&10 franchise known as Ben

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McDonald's Economic Bellwether

McDonald’s Economic Bellwether

Increases in the cost of living affect low-income households much more than higher-income households. Therefore, the effects of our government’s monetary policies to control the cost of living are most visible at locations where low-income households shop, such as McDonald’s. If low-income households have less discretionary income to buy a burger, it is an indicator

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That Makes Five Senses

That Makes Five Senses

We experience life through our five senses. Each of these senses is connected through our unconscious mind to various emotions. When a message touches more than one sense it has multiplying effect to create a stronger memory or help in our recall. Therefore, when selling your product or service, try to incorporate as many senses

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5 Miscellaneous Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Create Brand Awareness

5 Miscellaneous Low Cost Marketing Ideas to Create Brand Awareness

WALL PAINTING – Contact the owner of an old barn or blank-walled building to see if you can hang or paint your message. Or use a variant of wall painting, and utilize a projector to display your lighted message on a blank wall for even greater impact at night. AIR DANCER – You have seen

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5 Marketing Ideas to Create Brand Awareness For Under $150

5 Marketing Ideas to Create Brand Awareness For Under $150

MAGNETIC CAR TOP SIGN – Pizza delivery vehicles often employ a magnetically mounted roof or window mounted sign. In most cases, these signs include an internal light that plugs into the vehicle’s cigarette lighter, which draws even more attention to the sign after dark. The signs are visible across a sea of cars and in

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