Yesterday, I decided to take myself out to lunch to one of my favorite local sushi restaurants. The tables at this eatery are quite close together so it’s easy (if sometimes uncomfortable) to overhear what your neighbor at the next table is discussing. I happened to sit down next to two men who were deep in conversation. As I sat there minding my own business, trying to focus on the NY Times, I couldn’t help but catch some of the conversation these two men were having. It goes something like this: “You know I just want to get my idea out there. I know it can be successful and yet there’s always that possibility that it will fall flat.” (Sound familiar?) The response from his dining companion? “I know.” By the way, this was his dining companion’s response the entire lunch. He could of actually had lunch alone and placed a tape recorder on the other side of the table that just repeated the words, “I know”, throughout the meal : -(.
The guy kept talking (basically to himself) for the next 30 minutes and at one point convinced himself that he didn’t actually care about THAT much success. He only wanted to have a “little success” (Sound familiar?). To which his friend replied, “I know.”
I have the opportunity to speak with scores of women around the globe about smart ways to grow a successful business. One of the best ways to grow your business and collapse your time frame is through joint ventures. A joint venture is where you and another business owner come together for an agreed upon period of time and collaborate on a project or product. You agree to share revenues and expenses associated with the specific project or product.
A few days ago, I was visiting my daughter’s second grade class and the teacher started a discussion about Martin Luther King and the importance of having dreams. The children’s ideas about dreams were interesting, “Being able to make your own decisions,” “Peace in the world, no war,” “Stop cutting down trees to save the environment.” Then the teacher went a step further and gave them a piece of paper to help them create their own “Dream Story Organizer.” I thought I’d share that with you today.
was speaking with a smart woman entrepreneur and at one point she said, “Joy, I think I need to take my business offline.” My response? “Bravo!” In today’s world, with all of its moving parts and the opportunities to build an online business, I sometimes see entrepreneurs leaving a valuable tool out of their marketing plan—building “offline” relationships to create another stream of referrals.
were over the moon about only to have your hopes dashed because you shared it with someone who you trusted and they told you (typically in a very flat tone) “that will never work.” I’ve had this unfortunate experience happen to me on more than one occasion over the last two decades as an entrepreneur. It’s painful isn’t it? You get all excited about the possibility of living your passionate life and someone pops the air in your dream balloon!
![11-12-09Article[2]](https://i0.wp.com/smartwomensolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/11-12-09Article2-Joy-with-husband1.jpg?resize=201%2C150&ssl=1 "11-12-09Article[2]")
sunny fall day, I’m a bit at a loss on how to begin this article. This article isn’t any different from the others I share with you each week. As usual, it’s about my own life and the reflections that I believe are helpful to other Smart Women. This article is about loving deeply, giving gifts and feeling fear along the way. Sounds like something all women deal with—yes?
