My mom, Christy Norton, is visiting me from my hometown of Salt Lake City and the Arment Dietrich Facebook fans thought it’d be fun to have her make a guest appearance in today’s video. So, here she is, answering the question, “Did Gini always show signs of being an entrepreneur and, if yes, what did you do to instill that in her?”

(If you’re viewing this in Feedburner, click here to watch the video)

Guest post by Laura Scholz, president of Scholz Communications.

When you first start your solo PR practice, bartering services can seem like a win-win. You get amazing experience, exposure, and valuable services; your “clients” get your professional expertise at virtually no cost.

During the past three years, I’ve traded for web design, haircuts, Pilates and yoga classes, personal training, head shots, nutrition advice, office space, and more than the occasional meal. Having started my business with zero savings and zero capital — in the middle of a divorce, no less — these types of relationships were crucial to helping me manage my budget AND move my business forward. And I would say the same was true for those on the other end of the barter.

But as my business continues to grow and my time becomes more limited, I’m starting to question the value of trade for all involved. I think everyone enters trade with the best of intentions, but with never-ending to-do lists and nonstop schedules, you have to set priorities. And that means paying clients come first – often to the detriment of good relationships with quality people who have nothing but the best intentions. Continue Reading »

A couple of weeks ago, Elizabeth Sosnow, a managing director with BlissPR, a B2B-based public relations firm in New York and Chicago, wrote on PR Breakfast Club, The Secret Worries of a PR Firm Boss.

In her post, her worries include: Positioning more broadly, employee turnover and cultural changes, divvying up the profits, employees who don’t like one another, and loss of clients. She and I bantered a little bit over Twitter and she asked me what I would add to the list.

It’s funny that Elizabeth’s worries are not my own; I don’t even worry about loss of clients (anymore). Each firm is unique, with its own culture and own set of challenges. Following is what keeps me up at night: Continue Reading »

I’m not a team player. Yes, I will repeat myself. I am not a team player. A cycling buddy of mine convinced me to train on the velodrome track every Friday. So I do. And it is F-U-N! I mean, serious fun. Talk about a rush of adrenaline! You don’t have to worry about lights or tourists stopping to look at the tall buildings or joggers turning around without looking behind them or baby geese crossing the path. All you have to worry about is not getting dizzy from going around in circles so fast.

This past Friday, we did mock racing. Our coach put us in teams and I was on the team that was the rabbit…meaning the other teams had to try to catch us. Super cool and a little nerve wrecking. I’m competitive enough that there is no way anyone was going to catch me…I mean us. The idea is that you work as a team to stay ahead of the other teams, which my partner did very well. But when it was my turn to pace, I was out for blood. I could see a third head coming up in the shadow and I dropped my teammate like a hot potato trying to stay ahead. It was not good and Coach reprimanded me (but the third head didn’t catch me!).

And it made me wonder…if I’m so competitive, am I really not a good team player at work either?

Continue Reading »

Last night I went to write today’s blog post and ended up with writer’s block. As I told Nancy Myrland, the only thing I really wanted to do is snuggle in my flannel sheets with the down comforter and the remote control.

Instead, however, I asked my Twitter friends what they would like me to write about and I got some great ideas!

* Brad Farris suggested how to feel like you’re in control of the business while traveling.

* From Bruce Smith: Trust.

* Scott Yurashek had an attention-grabbing idea: How the lack of public commentary has been lacking and how social media has made it interesting again.

* Troy Costlowhttp recommended how the intended message can’t be directly stated modestly.

* Several people suggested I write about how to get past writer’s block, which I guess I’m kind of doing by writing this blog post, even though I called them all smarty pants.

* And, God love her, Nancy tried to create a topic out of my wanting to veg out.

All of these are great ideas and you’ll see them as blog posts in the next few days. But this made me think…what would YOU like to see me write about?

* What kinds of conversations do you want to join?
* Is there someone you’d like me to interview?
* Is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask a CEO?
* Is there anything you’ve always wanted to ask a business owner?
* Is there anything you don’t understand about social media and need help?

The parameters are to stay within the PR industry, social media, or what it’s like to run a business.

If your idea is chosen as one of the blog posts, you’ll receive about 30 seconds of fame. And a fun surprise (which means I haven’t yet figured out what it is).

Nearly two years ago I had to make the transition from working in the business to working on the business. It was a difficult transition (still is sometimes) because no one tells you how to do it. When I asked my peers, friends, and family what a CEO should be doing, no one could give me a straight answer.

I read a ton of books.  I read every article I could find.  I brought it as an issue to my Vistage group.  I asked other entrepreneurs turned CEOs.  I kept a list of things I thought I should be doing as a CEO. Continue Reading »