Nurturing creativity in our kids

March 29, 2015 in Business profiles, Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Jill van OrdenJILL VAN ORDEN heads up Arts Reach Center here in Fort Collins.  It’s a fascinating concept, giving kids an outlet for creativity and inspiration.

This city has a fairly active arts scene, but most of that is targeted at adults.  Sure, most venues also have special kids’ shows.  But Arts Reach Center is different.

It’s targeted entirely at kids, and at their direct involvement in the performing arts.  Jill described it to me as giving children a rich learning experience, joyful expression and friendships, and development of their artistic abilities.

Read the rest of this entry »

The power of a dream

March 22, 2015 in Business profiles, Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

hats_scarves_pins

Janska’s outerwear

JANSKA PRODUCES STYLISH WOMEN’S WEAR and is based here in Colorado.  Jan Erickson started this venture 2003 based on an experience she had with a friend who was incapacitated at the time.

Jan’s friend was a talented, respected woman.  But when dressed in a hospital gown, her self-esteem took a hard hit.  More importantly, others in the facility treated her as more of a nameless patient than a vibrant individual.

Jan had the idea to develop a line of wear which was accessible to those with limited mobility, while also being incredibly comforting and stylish.

Janska was born.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pray for your business

March 15, 2015 in Christianity, Success in business | Tags: , , , | 8 comments

DO YOU PRAY for your business?Pray flower  I know that I’ve struggled with this question over the years.

In our society, we try hard to separate our religious lives on Sunday from our secular lives the other six days of the week.

But God has asked us to be focused on him at all times, not just for an hour or two.

Read the rest of this entry »

When you lose the inspiration

March 8, 2015 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

IT‘S DARN HARD to start a business.

depressionI was speaking with a gentleman this week whom I had met a couple of months ago.  He had an interesting and unique business idea, but has been struggling to gain traction.

So a couple of weeks ago, he had to go get a full time job.

Read the rest of this entry »

The right kind of support

March 1, 2015 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE SUPPORTERS.  SupporterHumans are social beings, and we have a fundamental need to be encouraged, even to look good in front of others.

In business this can be particularly difficult.  A company is a bit of a faceless entity, so people aren’t as accustomed to stating things in a polite way like they would to someone’s face.

Quite likely, you’re awash in a sea of criticism.

Read the rest of this entry »

Most businesses fail

February 22, 2015 in Success in business | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

THERE’S A WELL WORN STATISTIC below-257882_640which states that 95% of businesses fail in five years.  Or something like that.

I’m not even going to bother looking it up, because it doesn’t matter.

This is just a way to discourage people, to make me somehow feel better than you because I was able to land a real job while you’re … frittering your life away trying to do that “start your own business thing.”

It’s not real.

And it doesn’t matter.

Read the rest of this entry »

Persistence

February 15, 2015 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

MANY OF US STRUGGLE to keep the energy going.  knight-321443_640Running a business is hard work!

It can be a deep test of character.

I’ve found that persistence is partially an innate characteristic, but is also a skill which can be intentionally developed.

I was amazed (and grateful!) to discover that my 2-year-old’s weakness was having the attention span of a goldfish.  Read the rest of this entry »

Strengthening the community

February 8, 2015 in Business profiles, Success in business | Tags: , , , | 2 comments

OUR COMMUNITIES ARE DIVIDED by languages and cultures.  ShareLingo is a new company that’s taking this challenge head on.

ShareLingo 1There are a lot of language education programs and tools out there.  You can purchase programs for your PC, connect with online resources, and take classes at school.

ShareLingo has a different approach:  To focus on co-learning, forming community and personal friendships.

Read the rest of this entry »

Joy and hope

February 1, 2015 in Christianity, Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

 C HRISTIANS ARE CALLED to be joyful:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. — Romans 15:13

 This isn’t easy, of course.  We all get discouraged by happenings in our families, in our businesses, in society.  This is not an easy time.

But I’m not sure that there’s EVER been an easy time.

my_heart_sway_with_joy_by_nis86-d4e8b9a

Read the rest of this entry »

Immersed in amazing

January 25, 2015 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

IT’S WONDERFUL to step back occasionally and look at the world through different eyes.

Amazing_EagleI’ve come across several things this week which struck me as absolutely amazing, including this picture here.  Sure, we’ve all seen many great nature photos, but isn’t it wonderful to ponder this incredible beauty, and our tiny role in the world?

I was talking with the owner of a business on Thursday, I’m hoping to be able to profile them on the blog here soon.  They have a wonderful organization and philosophy, something which seems all too rare.

Of course, the passing of our beautiful cat last week has opened me up to some deeper conversations with the folks I’ve run into.  Read the rest of this entry »

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.