With the rise of the internet, it has never been easier to get information. Access to all kinds of data is right there at our fingertips; waiting to be found. However, with social media playing such a prevalent role in society, the influence that other people’s opinions have on us, and the chance that we receive misinformation has never more significant. We are constantly inundated with posts, tweets, status updates, and material that fuels what we believe and influences our opinions. We repeatedly engross ourselves with ways that enable us to have information almost instantaneously. In being able to find the truth so easily, and inversely being so susceptible to misinformation, it is easier more now than ever to help or hurt your business through social media.

I was picking up Chinese takeout. Behind the counter a handwritten sign read, “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” While I was paying I asked the hostess if they ever actually did that. I mean, how can you run a business if you refuse clients, right? She said that sometimes, when someone is exceptionally rude, the management will ask them to leave. That surprised me. I would have thought that $50 from a rude person would deposit in the bank just as easily as $50 from a more polite patron. I guess that sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle.

If your cousin’s kid took a class in high school about building web pages, is that <i>really</i> the guy you want to design one of the major elements of your marketing campaign? (Even though I’m sure he’s a very nice kid.)

If you are still resistant to the idea that you need a presence on the internet, welcome to real life. Not only do you need a web page. It needs to be a very good web page. When a potential customer visits your page, you have exactly five seconds to draw them in before they go elsewhere.

I recently heard a speaker say, “If you want to have something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” What that means to you personally, well, you’ll have to figure that one out.

As far as your business goes, maybe you’re happy with what you have, or at least part of what you have. Maybe you want to change some areas of your business, but hold on to some others.

Sometimes people are too close to the situation to see the problem. In life, that’s when you seek the help of a counselor. In business, that’s when you consult a good marketing firm.

Facebook. Twitter. Pinterest. Tumbler. The buzz is all about social media. Even traditional media outlets like TV stations and newspapers are promoting their products through social media.

Yes, you have to get on that train. It’s not so much about being left behind on the information superhighway as it is about ending up as total road kill. Not a pretty sight.

However, in your rush to embrace every new form of communication out there, don’t forget some of the traditional methods. Some businesses avoid reporters. A better approach to media is to learn to work with them and use them to your advantage.

IT’S SPRING. IT’S TIME FOR SPRING CLEANING AND SPRING PLANTING. THINGS ARE STARTING TO BLOOM. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP THEM TO GROW?

Think about that one client or coworker that drives you crazy. You know, the super annoying one. Grab a piece of paper and make two columns. On the left side list their quirky traits that bug you. What about them is so hard to get along with? On the right side list things they should be doing that would make them happier and easier to work with.

Now for the hard part. Cross their name off the top of the list and write in your own.

If you are honest with yourself, you will find that the things that annoy you in other people are traits that you actually exhibit. It’s not so much that we see the faults in others as it is that we see our own faults when we look at other people.

In Shakespeare’s Julius Ceaser, Cassius says, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” He’s talking about how we create our own destiny.

One of my college professors offered this advice about writing a news story: “Like a mini skirt, it should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough to still be interesting.” This also is true when you are designing your website.

There is a balance between too much information and not enough.

Creativity. Business. Creativity in business. Who’s creative? You are. Who’s in business? You are.

Yep, that’s right. Everybody is creative. Your kind of creativity is unique to you. And… everybody is in business, even if you work for someone else.