Business

Jan 24 2013

The fear of private speaking

We’ve all heard the statistic that people fear public speaking nearly as much as they fear death. That’s odd to me. I have no fear of public speaking. When I address an audience, I’m standing in my core competence. I like to tell stories, and funny stuff comes to me to say. I just can’t be stopped. OK, now take that same confident, competent woman and put her in the middle of a networking cocktail party, and it’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax. 
 

Jan 10 2013

The Business Mind

Despite our recent elections, and the return to business as usual in Washington, many of us are still holding our economic breath. While politicians argue over “fiscal cliffs,” many of us are waiting for a signal that the economy can begin chugging again in earnest. Breaking the grip of this lethargy demands that the American entrepreneur recapture and re-internalize the mindset of a leader.

Dec 20 2012

The Business Mind

A corporate client of mine was recently searching for an investor to make a capital infusion in the 5-year-old company. They contracted with another company to receive an investment in exchange for the sale of some of my client’s company stock. Before long, however, it became apparent that the potential investor did not actually have the necessary capital to make the investment. Rather than let the deal die, the parties found a third-party investor. They wanted to amend the original buy-sell agreement for the company stock to substitute in this new third-party investor.

Dec 6 2012

The Business Mind

Admit it. Your business is your pride and joy, second only in importance to your family and closest friends. You’ve nurtured it, sacrificed for it, and painstakingly infused into it all of your passion and the best part of your personality. You know that the desire to be in business and an earnest work ethic are not enough alone to guarantee your business’ long-term success. The question is how do you ensure that your business will outlast your founder’s touch and yet maintain your vision and passion?

Nov 22 2012

The Business Mind

Mendel was a vice president at a large accounting and consulting firm. He loved what he did there, but he was burned out, and tired of pounding that billable hour. He came to me with pain in his eyes, and asked for coaching on how to move forward with his life. He wanted to launch his own business, but, frankly, Mendel had always been a worker bee. He wondered if he had what it takes to make the largely emotional leap to entrepreneurship.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.