A few weeks back, I visited Mike Michalowiz and we shot this episode of On A Roll. I talk about why and how entrepreneurs and small business owners get stuck.

Countless entrepreneurs started their business with the expectation of fame and fortune. The dreams so clearly depicted on the covers of magazines or in “5 Easy Steps to Success” books with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates on the covers, unfortunately don’t come true for most entrepreneurs. Waking up from the illusion of overnight success or that perfectly planned business strategy that did not work can be debilitating. It can even stall them before ever achieving their first major success. I talk about how to wake up to the dream…again, and replace the panic of today with the next steps of tomorrow.

Interview with Barry Moltz from Obsidian on Vimeo.

I got home from my first trip to the SXSW interactive conference this year. This is what I learned:

1. It’s not really a conference or even a festival as the organizers say it is. It’s a happening. At 30,000 people, it is so large and complex, you don’t really attend SXSW, it just happens to you. As Liz Strauss says, it’s like being dumped into the middle of your twitter stream.

2. Throw planning out the door on what sessions you will attend, who you will meet and what you will do. If you are too pushy or goal oriented, it is easy to be a douche bag here.  A lot happens at after hour parties some that are officially publicized, some that are by invitation only and some that are secret. There are “lounges” where people drift in for food, drink and conversation. You need to really glide along seeing where the people, the Twitter stream and events take you; I am convinced this is the best way to learn and meet people.

Carol Roth is one sharp business person who will give you the best advice you never asked for. This week, I went one on one with Carol and we discussed what customer service means in today’s tough business environment. Plus:

   -Which companies are getting customer service right and why;

  -Some of the most common customer service myths;

  -How you can create a culture of customer service;

  -Plus, the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make and more

Plus, you are not going to want to miss Carol doing some great movie impressions!

Carol Roth Interviews Thought Leader Barry Moltz on Customer Service from Carol Roth on Vimeo.

Dalton Conley

A year ago, I read an article in Newsweek magazine that changed my perspective on my life.  It was called “Welcome to Elsewhere” that really hit home. Have you ever read an article or a book that described you perfectly? This article is me. Read on:

“Today’s professional,  is constantly dogged by a feeling that he or she should be “elsewhere”—back at the office, at a party full of potential clients, home with the kids or at a social function with the spouse. Always on the go, we feel like we are in the right place at the right time only when in transit, moving from point A to B. Constant motion is a balm to an anxious culture where we are haunted by the feeling that we are frauds, expendable in the workplace because so much of our service work is intangible.”

On Business Insanity Talk Radio today, I talked with

On my ChicagoNow, It’s A Small Business World Blog, one of my readers made a comment that I need to repeat here:

“Isn’t this what owning a business is all about? Taking the risk – with your money, time, your soul? We live and breathe our business, have invested just about everything we have in it. Too bad more people didn’t know that most small businesses give everything to their business.  Would customers think twice before asking for a deeper discount or one more add-on.  Would a bank look at the investment made by the business owner to keep the doors open?”

Entrepreneurs invest more than money. We invest more than our time. We invest our soul. Until I read this, I never realized that I invested my soul or maybe I really traded my soul to see my ideas succeed.

Trading your soul.  This is why success and failure running your own business has such an impact on us. We dream about our business. We pray for our business. We live our business. The result matters.

The Clarkson Elevator Challenge 2010

I love the idea of an elevator pitch. Telling someone what you do or what your business does in less than 60 seconds.  Now, this is indeed a talent.

Given the chance, many of us can blab on for a long time about what we do or what our business idea is. But, to be able to crisply tell that story in a minute, not that’s a talent.

Why is this so important? In reality, most of us stop listening after 15 seconds after you start talking and if you don’t get them interested right away, you are done. This is why I have always loved what Laura Allen did at 15 Second Pitch.

Mari Smith

Mari Smith has been called  “the Pied Piper of the Online World.” She is one of the most sought after Social Media Keynote Speaker, Trainer and Consultant. She helps entrepreneurs and business owners accelerate their business profits using an integrated social marketing strategy, with particular focus on Facebook and Twitter.

On a special segment of Business Insanity Talk Radio, we talk about:

 1: How to design a powerful social media strategy for your business using the right tools for your business?

 2: How does the average biz person out there establish themselves as a thought leader in your industry?

 3: Simple strategies to powerfully leverage your visibility and brand?

4: How to drive a flood of traffic to your website and blog?

Victoria LaBalme

I always amazed when I get off stage after a speech and people say to me that I am a naturally good speaker. My response always is the same: I smile and say that there isn’t anything natural about it.

No one that you see that is good talking in front of people just wings it. To be good at anything, it takes practice over and over again and over again. When you watch the Olympic skaters – how many times do you think they practiced that routine- thousands of times? Tens of thousands?

Developing the skill to speak well in front of a group is not just for motivational speakers or professional presenters. It is for every business person. The ability to relay ideas in a clear and convincing manner is a skill that will take you a long way.

We talked on Business Insanity Radio today with four professionals about the key success factors:

Guest Post by Brenda Harris

Guest Blogger, Brenda Harris

They say experience is a good teacher, but the best student is someone who learns not just from their own experiences, but also from those of others around him

It was a genius who said that we don’t live long enough to learn everything we ought to from our mistakes, so unless we know how to learn from the ones that others make, we are bound to go through life less savvy than we could be. When it comes to business, most people value experience over education while some feel that education is the foundation on which experience builds success. Either way, experience is a key variable when you want to achieve professional success, so the wider and more varied your experiences, the better you’re able to steer your business in the right direction. So what are the right lessons you must learn through experience?

One of my pet peeves in business has always been surcharges. These make me angry because it feels that the company is not providing value, just trying to get an extra dollar out of me.

I rented a car last week in Phoenix from Budget. They have a new policy to get money out of the customer during these tough times. Forget all the taxes and other fees that almost double your rental. Forget the car insurance they try to scare you into buying. Now they have a new method:

If you drive fewer than 75 miles for your rental, you must show them a receipt that you bought gas or they will add an “EZFUEL” charge of $13.99 to your bill! What a deal!

When I inquired about this new charge, they said that many cars show the tank still being full even though the car has been driven many miles. Budget says they are just trying to recoup what has been lost to them all these years.