I know many of you have experienced the concept, but this is a new term I just came up with, so let me explain it for those that perhaps haven’t had the experience yet. Many have used ‘shiny penny’ before to refer to all those ideas that roll around in your head. The great new product you think about while you’re in the shower. Another new product or service you come up with while driving kids around. They’re like shiny pennies – they distract us. If you’re like me right now, you get to a point where you are BLINDED by your shiny pennies. So much so, that you can’t figure out which way to go, where to turn, and, sometimes more importantly, which ones to leave on the street. In short, you get stuck. Shiny Penny Hell.
There are two questions that come to mind, both representing two new programs I’m working on.
First, if you haven’t experienced this, why not? Has your creativity been stifled, like mine was at the end of my tenure at my first company? My creativity was blocked…gone. I didn’t even know it until the floodgates opened up again and I wasn’t inhibited. That’s when the pennies start collecting. Recognizing that ‘stuckness’ and getting the pennies to start flowing is the first program I’m working on.
If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you know that I have been less than impressed with the press coverage of the economy lately. Every time I turn around, there’s doom and gloom and the ‘R’ word (recession). It’s not that I don’t think there are some serious problems and difficult times ahead. As an entrepreneur, I have certainly seen a lot of business-related activities slow down or in some cases grind to a halt (specifically where the government took over a potential client – go figure!). Undoubtedly, Americans have been spending way too much money and going too far into debt. In reality, I think a correction is needed. My question, though, is how much does the media play into the hype and make it worse?
Case in point: my husband had some interesting discussions at a recent casual get-together. One gentleman is in the mortgage industry. The question was asked: do you guys have any money to lend? The answer: absolutely! We just can’t get people in the door. They’re too afraid. Same with a friend who is a car dealer. They have had to cut back on their inventory of cars (which shrinks their profit margins) but they have plenty of money to lend…just no one to lend it to.
When I started my first business almost 14 years ago, I had no idea what “Intellectual Property” (IP) meant or how it applied to me. Nowadays, I hear that term ALL OVER THE PLACE. In fact, I’m teaching a couple of entrepreneurship classes where it comes into play and I’ve found that people don’t really understand that the only thing IP gives you is the right to protect it. It gives you the right to sue someone else for infringement.
Case in point: an article this week in our local paper about a company selling Cuff Links calling their company Cuff-Daddy. Sound like any rappers you know? Yes, Sean Combs is trying to block their use of it because it sounds like his nickname, Puff-Daddy. I could see that. The thing is, he isn’t being mean or nasty, he’s just protecting his brand. If you don’t protect it, you actually lose the right to do so.
This being a Presidential Election year in the United States has taken a toll on the productivity in American businesses. I haven’t done a scientific study, but I can remember back 4 years ago to what was going on in my small business. We had every political ideology represented – from Libertarians to all-out liberals (and everything in between!). We were so diverse – and emotionally charged – that at one point I had to all but ban political discussions in the office because once they started, no work was getting done. Tell me I’m not the only one!
I have also seen an increase in business owners using their business or platform as a way to express their political views, sometimes in obnoxious ways. In fact, I recently stoped following someone on Twitter because I found their continual bashing of the other party’s candidate to be frustrating and just plain annoying. I don’t mind people pulling for their candidate but I choose to get my political insight and news from other sources and keep it separate from my business.
This past weekend, there was an interesting article in the Washington Post (note: free content, but you may have to register) about the challenges of expressing your political views within your business. One hotel in a very Obama-centric area of town posted a sign in support of McCain/Palin. That very morning, there was a campaign mounting to boycott that facility. Alternatively, one hair dresser in Washington, DC, posted a “Palin-Free” sign in his window and has been met with no grief whatsoever from his clientele.
You would have to be living under a rock lately to not know about the current economic crisis in the US. The ripple effects have been felt in global markets, reminding us all of how connected we really are. But what does this mean for small businesses? And what can we do about it? I polled some of my clients and friends and here’s what I found.
Someone sent me a link to this video – a keynote given to 20,000 people by a kid. This kid ROCKS! Watch it, and see how it makes you feel. Inspired? This kids “Boot in the Butt” is awesome!
This week, I’ve got some guest articles posted over at Life Meets Work. Check out the first: Communicating with Flexible Workers. If you manage employees who aren’t in the office all the time, I would be curious to hear about the challenges you’ve faced and the approaches that work!
explain it for those that perhaps haven’t had the experience yet. Many have used ‘shiny penny’ before to refer to all those ideas that roll around in your head. The great new product you think about while you’re in the shower. Another new product or service you come up with while driving kids around. They’re like shiny pennies – they distract us. If you’re like me right now, you get to a point where you are BLINDED by your shiny pennies. So much so, that you can’t figure out which way to go, where to turn, and, sometimes more importantly, which ones to leave on the street. In short, you get stuck. Shiny Penny Hell.
When I started my first business almost 14 years ago, I had no idea what “Intellectual Property” (IP) meant or how it applied to me. Nowadays, I hear that term ALL OVER THE PLACE. In fact, I’m teaching a couple of 
This being a Presidential Election year in the United States has taken a toll on the productivity in American businesses. I haven’t done a scientific study, but I can remember back 4 years ago to what was going on in my small business. We had every political ideology represented – from 
have been felt in global markets, reminding us all of how connected we really are. But what does this mean for small businesses? And what can we do about it? I polled some of my clients and friends and here’s what I found.
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