Posted by:
Troy White
August 5, 2010
Issue #982
Fellow Business-Builder,
My driving passion is water and boats. I was born in the prairies and on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. We have a few lakes within a two-hour drive.
And yet, I am one of the statistics.
Calgary, land-locked as it is, is #3 in North America and #1 in Canada for boat sales per capita. So there are a LOT of us that have a passion to be on the water.
I took the plunge and bought my first boat in 2007. Rather than spending a fortune, I decided to buy used and learn my docking, towing and driving lessons on a boat that doesn’t care if I put a ding or two into it.
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Posted by:
Troy White
July 1, 2010
Issue #957
Fellow Business-Builder,
I looove to learn! And I hope you do too. Creating success also means developing an insatiable appetite to learn about all kinds of varied subjects – marketing being the main one for small business owners.
You know what is truly scary?
One number I saw recently said that the average US or Canadian citizen invests only $48 PER YEAR on books. Those same people probably spend much more than that on coffee in a month.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
June 7, 2010
Issue #939
Dear Business Builder,
I figure this is a great time to chat with you about some random stuff that’s been rattling around inside my skull lately: Kind of "philosophical" stuff that you already know … that we all need to be reminded of from time to time … and that is absolutely indispensable in your personal crusade for greater success.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
March 22, 2010
Issue #889
How to Crawl Inside Your Prospect’s Skin
and Find Emotional Hot Buttons
that Virtually Guarantee
Maximum Attention-Getting Power
and Readership for Every Promotion You Create
Dear Business-Builder,
At our Power Marketing Summit, an attendee remarked on how ethnically diverse my staff and closest friends are.
“Is that by design?” she asked?
The question caught me completely off-guard. I honestly hadn’t thought about it before.
But yeah, now that I do think of it … Carline – my cherished friend – is half Haitian. My ex-wife is Hispanic, which (unless my math is off) makes my older kids exactly one-half Hispanic.
… And yep, I’m whiter than rice: Half English and half French. Nothing more than a boring old flat-assed, white-bread honky who really, really looks idiotic trying to dance.
“No,” I assured her. “No design. It just kind of worked out that way.”
I had to smile to myself, though: “Dad must be tumbling in his tomb.”
See, my dear old dad was a racist – and proud of it.
Not merely a lukewarm, garden-variety racist, mind you: In the 60s, Dad was actually a card-carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan.
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Posted by:
Clayton Makepeace
December 4, 2009
Issue #547
Fire Your CEO First!
Dear Business-Builder,
When someone asks, “What do you do for a living?” there is only one correct answer.
It’s not, “I have a business.” A business is something you own; not something you do.
It’s not “I’m a doctor.” That’s just a profession – not what really pays the bills.
And it’s sure not, “I give investment advice.” Or, “I do landscaping.” Or, “I dry-clean clothes.” Or, “I write sales copy.” Those are just the products and services you sell.
The only correct answer to this most common cocktail-party question is to declare loudly and proudly …
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