The Savvy Entrepreneur

There is a difference between conceit and confidence. Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done. — Johnny Unitas

If you want to get the business, you must instill this kind of confidence in your potential clients. In order to instill it in others, it must first be inside you.

If you sincerely believe your service will solve their problems, don’t worry about coming off as egotistical. If you can back up your claims, you’re no longer a braggart, you’re a solution provider.

I’m in… Are you?

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for. — Maureen Dowd

What are you settling for? Can you aim higher?

I’m so excited! A few months ago, I was approached by HP Logoworks to write an article for their newsletter, Inside Small Business - Small Business & Home Business Newsletter — an invitation I gladly (and nervously) accepted.

This week, my article got published. You can read the article here: Enough is Enough

Hope you enjoy it!

To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. — Elbert Hubbard

Who cares what others say? Go out there and be everything you want to be and more. No matter what you do, there will always be someone there to complain about it. Stop trying to please everyone else because it’s a losing battle.

Last Tuesday, July 22, in the wee hours while you were probably sleeping soundly in your bed, I was in my room, pushing out our 3rd kid. I’ll spare you the gory details, but I will tell you this — being in labor for a total of 2h55m is nothing short of intense, violent and primal.

Being that it was such a speedy delivery (and my 3rd child in under 3 years), my body took a huge hit. The following 4-5 days were quite unbearable. After pains were fiercely painful and I could literally feel my bones shifting back into place. Thankfully I didn’t have stitches to content with (but that DOESN’T mean no pain).

Fast forward to today. Jasmine is now one week old and she is an absolute angel. She’s so calm and easy-going, and very cuddly. She latched on like a pro as soon as she was born, so breastfeeding has been a breeze — which I am eternally grateful for. My body and emotions are starting to even out and I’m beginning to feel somewhat normal — although I still don’t quite recognize myself when I look in the mirror and I still have crying bouts. We’re slowly getting into a little routine. (Those that know me well, know that the “slowly” part is driving me nuts!)

My 2 older kids (it feels weird to say that about an almost 3 year old and a 16 month old) are slowly accepting that this little thing is going to be a permanent feature of the household.

Katya is finding it difficult (she’s still my baby), so we’re trying to give her as much extra time, love and attention as possible. Zachary is proud to be a big brother again and often asks to hold “my baby Jasmine.”

My mother-in-law stayed for 4 days and my husband is home until September 2nd, so I’m getting plenty of help and rest.

Of course, things will still be a little quiet around here for a while. But I won’t ignore you completely.

Want to keep tabs on me? Follow my updates on Twitter, Facebook and/or Plurk.

Thanks to all for your kind words so far, and I look forward to being up and about soon!!

No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life you want to change. — Barbara De Angelis, Ph. D

Don’t think of failure as something negative. Look at it as a learning experience.

If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative. — Woody Allen

Seeing as I haven’t given birth yet, I figured I’d mosey on over to LinkedIn Answers and pose a new question: What are the 3 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when giving their 30-second intro?

As usual, the responses received so far have been insightful and informative. Want to join the discussion? Click here to post your answer.

Mistakes aside, what are your 30-second intro pet peeves?

Taking action, no matter how small is much better than waiting around for the perfect situation to present itself.

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

I find comfort in these words as I contemplate slowing down (yet again) to care for a newborn. The Achiever in me makes it hard to be balanced in this area. During the next few months, I need to keep in mind that taking small steps represents forward movement.

My 12 Mistakes to Avoid in Your 30-second Intro series is finally completed, which you can get for free when you sign up for my newsletter.

Use the form below to sign up for this 12-part series.

Just as an aside… things are “happening”, if you know what I mean. Last night, I had a false alarm, with a succession of painful contractions. My hubby was just about to call the midwife when everything stopped. Woke up this morning and still no baby!! But, it’s a good sign that things will happen soon!!

In the meantime, I just had to share with you the conversation going on at LinkedIn Answers. This week, I posed the question: What are the top 3 elements to successful networking?

So far, 16 people have shared their answers and I highly suggest you check out the caliber of replies received to date. While you’re there, why not share your top 3 networking success strategies!