I help companies and individuals ReInvent themselves. Many business owners say, “Why do I need to reinvent? My business is thriving.” That may be true but there’s no guarantee success will last forever. Kodak and Sears were both successful companies at one time but where are they now? Customers go away, businesses get typecast, marketplaces evolve. Are you prepared to thrive next year and next decade? In this episode I lay out the reasons we all must reinvent — personally and professionally — and how you can do so.

Ed Nichols is a former Investment Banker with an MBA. He joins us to share Wall Street wisdom we can all apply to our own business. Ed gets it, he’s now an independent business person — actively buying, renovating, and operating rental properties in Chicago. You’ll love the frank talk and lessons from a varied work background and you’ll definitely glean several practical, useful insights you can use to create a life and business by choice.

Chas Wilson is a believer in networking. As a real estate business owner he belonged to a professional networking group for years. Then, after missing a few meetings due to complications with the birth of his twin boys, Chas was dropped from the network.That’s when he decided to start Master Networks — a nationwide organization created to help business owners and the self-employed establish mutually beneficial relationships. Master Networks is also an educational organization with weekly curriculum designed to keep business people sharp. Chas has a lot to offer in this episode, including: the BOND method of relationship building, lessons from starting and running a business, and the peril of being blind to personal resentment.

In early January, everyone is going to do everything with their business in the new year. But…by June…or March…or third week of January, the exuberance fizzles. So, how can you accomplish everything you set out to this year? Truth is, you probably can’t if you’re a business person who thinks like me. You’ll never get everything accomplished because you probably were a little overzealous when you came up with your list to begin with! In this episode I provide strategy for gleaning lessons and building on the foundation of last year. Then we discuss the need for realistic goal setting and how you can set then achieve your goals for a life and business by choice.

We talk a lot about branding in business. As in, what does your brand stand for, what do you think your brand is, and then what do your customers think your brand is? Then there are the questions of “What does my brand look like?” Etienne Sanz de Acedo is the CEO of the International Trademark Association. He joins us to discuss what a trademark is, and how you can benefit and build your business by having one (or many!). In a world with intellectual property disputes running rampant while the internet continues to enable online entrepreneurs, branding is bigger than ever. Do you need to protect or establish the look of your brand?

Maria Pesin was a blue collar kid who always knew she wanted to be rich and wanted to be in business. She started out as a clerical employee, worked her way up to assistant buyer, then eventually was managing and running fashion brands. When Maria struck out on her own 6 years ago, she was managing Jessica Simpson’s apparel product line. Maria shares lessons from the fashion industry we can apply to our own business. She explains the need for differentiation, how to create aspiration for our brand, and how to sell an unnecessary product (hint: almost all of us sell unnecessary things!). Maria even disagrees with me on the value of a formal business plan.

Chris Mittlestaedt wanted to be a writer but with a pregnant wife and a job delivering faxes, necessity forced him to become an entrepreneur instead. He had experience running a business — in college he ran painting crews. So, at age 27 he started The FruitGuys, a fruit delivery business. Chris has an awesome story about starting from scratch and growing a business. Today, The FruitGuys has 180 employees delivering produce to offices throughout the U.S. Mr. Mittlestaedt has never had a business plan, but he’s always been driven by the concept of “vital contribution.” Chris shares his 5 R’s of business vision with us and many more valuable insights.

Karl Mecklenburg played in the NFL for 12 years and was all pro for half of those years. Not bad for a college walk-on who was the 310th draft pick in 1983. Put frankly, the guy was an over achiever. But what does a professional football player do when his career ends in his mid 30s? Karl joins me to discuss how he made the transition from football field to running his own business. He talks about the preparation we need to do now so we can perform when given the opportunity. Karl has brilliant insights about versatility and points out why none of us can rely on pure talent in a marketplace where everyone is talented. You’re going to like this talk!

Jason Hewlett started his career in show business as a Ricky Martin impersonator at Legends In Concert in Las Vegas. Today he is a business speaker, author, and busy father of 4. He’s never forgotten the lessons learned from the showbiz stage. Mr. Hewlett joins me to discuss business lessons learned from a career on stage. He tells us what businesses get wrong, what they get right, and why customers get mad. Jason talks about the promise we all have to our customers and how we can improve on delivering that promise. He teaches us how to look at our business the way a Vegas performer looks at his or her show and how to capitalize on our “signature moves.”

"It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!” “The best advertising is word of mouth.” They’re old sayings we’ve all heard. But what do they really mean for you and your business? Likely not what you or what most people think. At least not on the surface. In this episode we examine two verses in the common vernacular and interpret them for the success of you and your enterprise.