Are you thinking that maybe it is time to brush up on your sales skills? How about your company? Are there salespeople in your organization that could benefit from training to improve their skills and positively affect the bottom line?

On this new year eve we are looking to celebrate not only the new year but the start of a new decade. This is a good time for us to take a look back and see what we have achieved these last 10 years, and also look forward to the next period in our lives.

In this post we will take a look at where we stand now economically speaking and what 2010 has in store for us given the current state of the economy. We will also take a brief look at the opportunities that are now present and some that will shortly be appearing.  So let's jump right into it.

As we come to the last days of this year we often take a moment to reflect back on what occurred over the last year.  Well, today the the St. Louis Better Business Bureau  released its list of the 13 most common consumer rip-offs of 2009. I am sure that as you read these you will see some that came across your computer screen or are in your spam folder.

As we come down to the last few days before the Holidays we at Bay Area Mastermind want
to wish you and yours all the best this season and a prosperous New Year. 

This time of the year is full of fun and excitement and unfortunately at times that can mean a trip to the emergency hospital if we are not careful. I recently came across several key points that physicians' groups are suggesting we think about during these festive times.

Creativity is one of the best skills that any small business owner can do to increase their profitability and market share. At times just being able to find creative ways to sell products and services  can make the difference between success and failure.

Everyone always talks about "Thinking outside of the Box", but who's actually doing it?

The most precious commodity in the universe is time. We all know that we only have 24 hours in a day. However, when you subtract sleeping, eating, and basic living necessities we actually only have between 12 and 16 hours each day. Making sure that we do not waste any of those precious hours is a task for anyone in this economy and especially for busy entrepreneurs. So in this post we are going to take a quick look at five time wasters that just steal your time. By being aware of these time vampires we all will be able to get more done and make more money.

As we begin the final quarter of 2009 let's take a moment to see where the economy is. By most accounts December 2007 was official day that most economist recognize as the beginning of the great recession. On the positive side looking at just GDP we are now beginning to get out of the Great Recession.

Many times I am asked by clients to review their business model
in an effort to help them with their marketing or business development.
There are many times that these same clients have actually developed a product that they feel is superior in performance and appearance.

When I ask them why anyone should prefer their product to any other similar products they always tell me that their product has one or more features that make it better.  In this post we will look at the importance of innovation, the traps and the advantages and how to prosper from it.