We all know that salaried women earn less on average than men, but a business owner, especially one who provides professional services, is in the unique position to set her own rate. Ask for what you are worth and do not hedge or apologize when you are not the best bargain around. Standing firm about your rates sets a tone in the business relationship that you take your time seriously and know how that time should be valued. If a potential client does not agree, your precious time is better served elsewhere.  

Who are you surrounding yourself with? Are you equally yoked; do they have your back? You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. The question is, do we help people by staying in the trenches or can we affect change from afar. The true measure of your worth includes all the benefits others have gained from your success but at what cost do we give back? 

In Season 1 episode 17 titled Build Him Up, we talked about the Virtuous woman. I discuss how rich this passage was an how 20 episodes could be done from Proverbs 31. Not only did she highly esteem her husband and represented him well while taking care of her children, home and assistants… she also was an entrepreneur. The Proverbs woman is ethical, sound, talented, intellectual and pure.  What makes brilliant people go left instead of right?

Do not do for a child what they can do for themselves. I do not want to make too grandiose a claim, but there are personality predictors to parenting. We parent with our personalities far more than we think. We look at our children and there is a landscape of facts; we view these facts objectively and we draw a conclusion. We feel our children should know how to do something or understand something because we do. It does not work that way because there are too many facts and variables. Let's explore. 

Who are you and who are you looking forward to BECOMING in 2019? Everyone should map out who they are and what bought them to this point in their lives. Who are you yet to BECOME? Your story is not over! There are still chapters to be written. What footprints will you leave behind impressed in the sand? How will your life's existence be recorded in time by man? 

Are our jobs killing us? Are you an effective leader who instills trust and leads by example? How do the systemic chemicals endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and cortisol effect us in the work place? Let's explore. 

What are the responsibilities of leadership? Why are some born to lead and others chose to follow? Is it DNA? Is it environmental? As a leader what is your charge? Inside our bodies are chemicals that are trying to get us to do things that are in the best interest of us. If you've ever had a feeling of happiness, pride, joy, love or fulfillment all of these feelings are chemically produced feelings; produced by four predominate chemicals. We will explore: endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. The chemicals serotonin and oxytocin is what makes our society great... this is where leaders are born.   

The millennials joining your workforce are employees born between 1980 and 2000; or 1989 and 1999, depending on the source. Unlike the Gen-Xers and the Baby Boomers, the millennials have developed work characteristics and tendencies from doting helicopter parents. "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise." This quote may read like an older worker talking about Millennials, but it's actually attributed to Socrates over 2,000 years ago. The quote echoes the conventional wisdom about millennials in the workplace: they are lazy, narcissistic, entitled, job hoppers it is said. If that is indeed the case, how do we manage them? Let's explore!   

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of niche marketing. By definition, a niche market is a subset of a market on which a particular product is focused. Niche marketing defines product features, production qualities, demographics and price range to satisfy specific marketing needs.

Understanding the market means you are able to identify the unique needs of your potential audience, provide new and compelling products, tailor your products in the right way, communicate efficiently with the target group and identify how you will position against your competition.  

The Advantages are: 

• Less competition
• Brand loyalty
• Best for giving marketing insight
• Saving on your marketing dollars

The Disadvantages are: 

• Smaller market means smaller profits 
• Limited growth potential
• Fickle nature of your patrons

Lets explore. 

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her. How do you juggle your marriage?