Business for Rookies

I loved reading about Randy Pausch. Although his life ended much sooner than anyone would have wished, he was still able to achieve many of his childhood dreams. To Randy, they weren't just dreams; they were goals. From a young age, he realized that in order to live the life that he dreamed of, he would have to plan and execute. My wife has always seen me as a dreamer, because I have looked toward the future for all kinds of things. That is because I grew up in a dreamer's home, which my parents passed onto me. Unfortunately, they were more of the dream and keep dreaming type, never really turning those dreams into reality. I wish that they taught me how to achieve dreams. A dream is really just a wish if there is no plan in place. Dreams are an important component to life because they can spark action. As an adult, I've learned that if I want to make something happen, I can't just talk about it. I have to find actionable milestones to slowly start earning small wins th...

I’ve owned my own business for 7 years now and there are many things that I’ve learned along the way. I didn’t go to school for business, so the majority of lessons learned have been self-taught, or worse, self-inflicted. I’m excited to be able to look at being an entrepreneur from a fresh foundation. I’m sure that there have been many steps that I have skipped over the years that maybe weren’t 100% necessary to running a company, but may have greatly contributed toward achieving success sooner. It all starts with the fundamentals. Lessons Learned: A friend who started her online business this year asked me what software(s) I would recommend to help grow her newly formed business. I told her that an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution is the way to go. ERP is first and foremost an accounting tool, which every business needs. The best way to describe an ERP is an all-in-one company database that links every component of the business together, including: accounting, sales, custom...