Posts by Paul Lawrence
The Power of Free Will
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” – William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure Wanda moved to the dance floor of my ballroom dance studio and nodded that she was ready. I turned on the music, hoping she would execute the complicated turn correctly. But…
Read MoreHow Small Issues Can Turn Into Huge Losses
“The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.”. – Dale Carnegie Have you ever let a small remark really get to you? Don T. learned how big a mistake that can be … the hard way. A successful sales manager, Don was proud of the fact that he was…
Read MoreSuccessful Event Promotion – Behind the Scenes
My recent article, “Event Promotion: A Great No-Capital-Required Business” brought in a huge positive response. The article also drew a fair share of skepticism … like this e-mail from Phil Johnson of Milpitas, CA: “Making $1,200 off the back of fledgling comics just happy to have stage time is no way to run a show.…
Read MoreEvent Promotion: A Great No-Capital-Required Business
I stood by the door in awe, watching the giant line of people waiting to buy tickets to a nationally recognized comedy club. It seemed like the line would never end, as one person after another handed over cash to see the show. Now, this may not seem like a reason to be in awe.…
Read MoreThe First Two Steps Toward Realizing Your Dreams
I grabbed the envelope and tore it open without much enthusiasm. Why would I be excited? I was sure it was another rejection. Eighty-two producers and agents had already said “no” to my original screenplays. I began to read the letter, expecting the same polite – but negative – response. Only this time, it wasn’t…
Read MoreCreative Financing for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
PS suddenly found himself with a great opportunity to get into the fish-wholesaling business. He had a friend who could supply him with the fresh fish on credit. And because PS was already working in a related field, he had a “built in” set of potential customers that he had a relationship with. There was…
Read MoreGet Started Making Your Dream Come True
My old high school buddy Dan D. was a talented artist. Before he even graduated, he already had his first commission: to create a mural in a client’s home. He earned as much from this one project as he did in a month at his part-time, after-school clerical job. Dan was excited! He decided he…
Read MoreMake Your Resolution a Reality
Blanca was facing a scary proposition as the New Year rolled in. She was an immigrant from Peru and hardly spoke English. Yet, she was here in America … and needed to earn more money. That was four years ago. A lot has changed for Blanca since then. Now, after developing a business that she…
Read MoreDancing Your Way to Success
“Dancing is a wonderful training for girls; it’s the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it.” – Christopher Morley It was 1978. A Friday night in June at Fort Lauderdale Middle School. I still remember every detail. Andy Cleva was in the center of the…
Read MoreHow Mike Went From Rags to Riches
Mike raised a glass to toast everyone at the table. “Here’s to another year as successful as this one.” He was celebrating the fact that over the last year he’d made more money with his own business than he had in 10 years of working for someone else, and things never looked brighter. But the…
Read MoreGrab Market Share – but Be Prepared for What’s Going to Happen When You Do
One of the most effective strategies to break into a new market and obtain market share is to offer your product or service at a much lower price than that of your competitors. In fact, this was the subject of the very first ETR message: “The Most Powerful Way to Grow a Business”. It is…
Read MoreBuilding Sales with Credit
A good way to increase sales – one that’s overlooked by many small businesses – is to extend credit to your customers. Unless they are very affluent, there’s a good chance your customers are concerned about cash flow. And that means they won’t make as many purchases as they want to. But if they can…
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