Business Success Center

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Podcast: State of Texas Business Today

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The Texas Tribune talks to small businesses.

The Texas Tribune talks to small businesses.

Podcast with Jan Triplett, one of the Texans giving their perspective on the State of the State

How are we doing? Since there is no legislature in session, the Governor will not give a state of the state address this January. So Ben Philpott of KUT radio (90.5FM) and the Texas Tribune asked some of us who are living through it to give our perceptions.

The interview, entitled “Their State of the State”,  is worth a listen. You’ll hear what I, the Comptroller’s representative R J Desilva, and others have to say about how well Texas business is doing. [Read more…]

Think Before You Buy

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A message to my neighbors in Central Austin and to any community that has had to live with the fallout from having a big box store push its way in.

Northcross IBIZ District

Northcross IBIZ District

The first spade of dirt has been turned. The bulldozers are busy. The piles of broken asphalt and dry earth are mounting up.

When I try to make my normal walk from my office at the Chase Tower around the Northcross triangle, I can’t. There is a metal fence with a plain green cloth stretched from the middle of the parking lot all the way to Anderson. I can’t see what is happening except through holes where the cloth doesn’t fit quite tightly enough to exclude me. [Read more…]

3 Older Business Books That Inspire

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Periodically, it’s good to go through your business library and free-cycle what no longer inspires you. Passing them along to others means I don’t have to feel badly about getting rid of books. Instead I think of them as getting a new home.

Here are three that I would not part with no matter what year it is or how old they they are. So instead of giving them away, I want to encourage you to add them to your library or go to the library and check them out. [Read more…]

Bloggers Helping Bloggers

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Secret Cabal of Bloggers Group, started to help bloggers help fellow bloggers. Graphic by Julie Gomoll, Jules Says.

Secret Cabal of Bloggers Group, started to help bloggers help fellow bloggers. Graphic by Julie Gomoll, Jules Says.

I think I am pretty organized. I think I am disciplined. But, boy oh boy sometimes I need a little help from my friends.

Especially when it comes to blogs. I don’t know about you but I sometimes get writer’s block when it comes to blogs. Or I get started and then get pulled away to do other critical things. So I have several half done that I  really want to finish.

My friend Julie Gomoll and I decided to do something about that for others like me. We are co- hosting our first blogging party get together to “get one done and posted” this coming Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2-4pm at our BSC (Business Success Center) offices Chase Bank Blg 7600 Burnet Rd. We are located across from St. Louis Catholic Church/cross street is Northcross Blvd – go in the tower, not the bank.

The goal: to inspire each other and other fellow bloggers. The clublet is called The Secret Cabal of Bloggers. Click for more info and register at EventBrite.

Bring your laptop and we’ll provide munchies. Walk away with your next post and new friends.

No charge. Not a class. Only requirement is your willingness to share ideas, support and encourage others. “It can take a village of business owners to finish a blog.”

We hope to make blogging fun again.

Hope to see you there.

Here’s to our success!

Making Decisions in Tough Times

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Everyone is struggling in this recession. I’ve given this presentation a couple of times now and received really good feedback. I help you figure out not only how you make decisions but also how your partner, boss, and customer make decisions. My premise is that if you know the motivations behind decision-making, you can achieve your goals much more efficiently.
View more presentations from jantriplett.

Confidence Matters

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Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 10.43.15 PMLack of confidence robs us all of possibilities and a better future.

If you are feeling the sales pinch, maybe it is because you are not demonstrating your own confidence to others.

And, confidence comes first. Without confidence, there is no sale — whether it is healthcare reform, a home, car, job or whatever you have to sell.

I can  guarantee you, as a business owner who has been through 6 downturns, what goes down comes up (and vice versa). [Read more…]

How to Get Paid

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Getting paid is our reward for doing a good job.

Getting paid is our reward for doing a good job.

It’s no joke not getting paid or getting paid late by customers. We have been through six of these downturns & five upturns since we started. This can always be tough, even in good times,

How to ensure you get something and don’t get stiffed [Read more…]

Choosing Business Entity Should Not Be a Popularity Contest

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Paper work sucks.

Paper work sucks.

Everyone has an opinion and they are passionate about what kind of legal form your business should take.

Get a group of business owners together in the same room and the fur really flies on this issue. I know I have done this.

Ask a lawyer. They will usually say: “You must be an LLC.” (As my mother would say, “Maybe they are poets and don’t know it.”) Why? For liability’s sake. [Read more…]

Hidden Business Management Gem

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#1 Hidden Gem: Austin History Center

#1 Hidden Gem: Austin History Center

What’s a hidden business management gem? One that makes you feel powerful, all knowing. One that you love to tell those special peers about so they can be part of the inner circle. I have one I want to share with you.

Mine is the Austin History Center. Before you say “Huh?”, this is not a museum although it has exhibits. It is not just about Austin because it has materials — particularly papers — that go beyond Austin, Travis County, or Texas. It is not a library although it has books. And maps, family archives, newspapers — over 1 million items of primary research and published documents from Austin’s founding through today. It is considered one of  the US best archival libraries with great archivists to help you find what you did not know even existed. [Read more…]

What’s in a name?

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Les Barker, poet & singer

When people start a business, one of the first things they try to come up with is a name. Why are names so important? Is a table still a table if you call it a chair? Comic poet and songwriter Les Barker has a piece called An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables —  because sometimes it’s a chair.

Seriously. More than ten years ago now one of our favorite clients decided the time had come to reconsider their name. They had almost 50 years of history and awards behind it. But, the name did not reflect what they did now. [Read more…]