One month after purchasing my mega-laptop, a Lenovo Thinkpad T420s that, once it arrived, had delighted, amazed, and amused me, it died. It was a sudden death, apparently caused by a fried motherboard, which is apparently a known issue with this machine (note to self: search for “known issues” next time).

These days, when you call technical support, you never really know what to expect. Will my problem be solved or will I walk away frustrated and confused? You never really know.

And indeed, today, I was left frustrated and confused when I learned that a) the motherboard on my brand-new, 29-day-old laptop had died, b) there were no motherboards in stock, c) there was no estimated arrival time for the motherboards, and d) any further assistance had to be found in a completely different department, which wouldn’t even have my case information until “at least” tomorrow.

So of course, I called that other department anyway, because I don’t believe in accepting “no” as an answer. And the kind of support I received at that department was quite different from what I expected.

The shipping/receiving customer support guy, Larry, patiently explained the entire process to me. Because I paid for priority, on-site technical support (for exactly this reason), I’m at the top of the list for the first motherboard they find. They might find it today, in which case, the tech will come tomorrow and fix my computer. Or maybe they won’t find a motherboard in all of North America, and I’ll have to wait until after the first of the year.

Larry’s probably the best customer support guy I’ve ever talked to, actually. He was unquestionably the most patient, and answered every “what if” question I had with one of the kindest, most soothing voices I’ve ever heard.

When I’d exhausted my list of questions, and finally sighed and said, “Larry, I’m just frustrated. I have work to do,” Larry said, “I know. I’m really sorry there’s not more that I can do. But the motherboard will arrive soon. Maybe there’s a reason this happened. Maybe you needed to take today off and clear your head.”

If anybody else had said that to me, I might’ve found it kind of presumptuous and a little offensive. But from Larry, with his calming voice, I found it pleasant and actually felt supported by customer support. And I have to admit that when I came into the office to work this morning, I felt reluctant.

It’s snowing for the first time this season and my family is downstairs, snuggled up on the sofa with the Christmas tree lit and a fire blazing. There’s talk of a snowball fight later. Truth is, I wanted to be with them today, but I have client meetings coming and prep work to do, plus a whole lot of writing to catch up on, so the pressure made me tear myself away from my family to get some work done.

But you know what? Maybe Larry’s right. Maybe I do need to take some more time off and clear my head. Would the start of the new year be easier if I had all my files and could spend a few morning hours working this week? Maybe. But for now, I can reschedule client meetings and the writing will be there when I have the laptop back.

So today, as I write this and can hear my husband and stepdaughter giggling in the snow outside, I choose to see things as Larry suggested. Maybe there is a reason my laptop isn’t working today. I’m going to go find out.

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Every year, I’m surprised by how many people don’t make them. I love making New Year’s Resolutions, and I even have a strategy for keeping them. Mostly, my strategy involves making sure I keep my resolutions visible in my office and check in monthly to see how I’m doing in terms of making progress with those resolutions…and I could talk today about how to make resolutions you’ll keep. But instead, today I want to talk about the most powerful resolutions that can not only transform your business, but multiply your profits within 2012.

Resolution #1: This Year I Will Think Of My Business As A Business.
You wouldn’t believe how many times clients come to me for our second meeting, after doing their “homework,” only to tell me they’re shocked to discover that they never really thought of their business as a real business.

To be successful, you must have a plan- it doesn’t have to be a big, formal business plan that a bank would require to give you a loan (unless you’re seeking venture capital or loans), but you do want to plan the future of your business and start looking at how you’re going to get there. Believe it or not, once you change the way you look at your business, you’ll be much more likely to take success actions that will increase your profits.

Resolution #2: This Year I Will Improve My Time Management.
One of the biggest factors that sucks away your profitability is poor time management. You can so easily fritter away a day thinking you’re being active and productive, only to get to the end of the day and realize you haven’t really accomplished anything.

To increase your profitability, make every working minute count. Remember that every second you’re spending on Facebook “noodling” around, you’re essentially stealing from your business. You wouldn’t want an employee doing that to you…so don’t do that to yourself.

Resolution #3: This Year I Will Invest In My Business.
For many entrepreneurs, one of the hardest things to do is to invest in your business. Especially if your business has suffered during the recession, even more so if you’ve been “taken” by so-called business coaches and gurus who don’t really have much actual business experience, you’ll find it difficult to part with your hard-earned money, even if it could really help your business to grow.

This kind of fear is understandable. But if you want your business to grow, you do have to invest money back into the business. Invest in an improved web site, work with a business consultant who can give you the direction you need to get your business growing, invest in  a new marketing campaign, a PR campaign, or something, but also make sure you know the likely results of whatever you’re investing in. There are no guarantees, but good research can give you a solid sense of how well you’re betting. If you put money into something, know what it is and how it’s going to help grow your business, and then take action.

Resolution #4: This Year I Will Stop Worrying About Motivation and Take Action.

Many entrepreneurs get so caught up in trying to get motivated that they spend most of their time learning from others and attending webinars and teleseminars and live events in the hopes of finding that one thing that will motivate them that they never take the next step to action. In fact, do you know how many people buy books and products and never read or use them? Fully 85% (or more!) of the people who buy personal growth and business books (including e-books and products) never even open them up!

This year, commit to finding your true fervor, that which you love doing and get excited about, so that you can stop worrying about “getting motivated” and just start doing.

Resolution #5: This Year I Will Trust Myself and Relax.
So many micro-entrepreneurs think they have to be doing everything to grow their businesses. What I mean is, I talk to people every day who receive five, ten, or twenty (or more!) business e-mails every week, and think they have to do everything that’s been recommended to them. They get one e-mail saying, “You should have a viral video,” and they scramble to get that set up. They get another e-mail saying, “You should speak from the stage!” and scramble to start doing that. They get yet another e-mail saying, “You need to be invested in social media!” and think they need to figure all that out. Next, an e-mail comes talking about blogs, articles marketing, e-zines, podcasting, internet radio shows, public relations….

It’s overwhelming. It’s too much. And it’s okay for you to relax a little bit and take a step back to think about what’s best for you, your business, and your target market.

When all else fails, trust yourself. It took me ages to trust myself and to listen to my gut instincts, but when I did, that’s when my confidence as a thought leader and as an expert really grew.

So this year, relax, stop trying to do everything, and trust yourself to know what’s best for you and for your business.

This time of year isn’t just about making resolutions that stick, it’s about making resolutions that can kick your business out of a rut and into profitability. And that’s what your 2012 should be all about. Happy New Year!

Last week I talked about Step #1 of successfully delegating: deciding what to delegate. The next two steps are to find qualified, reliable professionals and to delegate the work to them. But…how?

Step #2: Choose Qualified, Reliable Professionals

When you delegate to professionals, you have to choose the right ones- people who you can trust to do high quality work on time at a reasonable price. You’ll want to look for people who you can work with personally, who you like and find pleasant to work with. You’ll want people who meet your needs professionally. It’s important that they are able to meet your standards, time constraints, and price requirements.

I have a database of pros I’ve been working with for the last fifteen years, people I know I can trust to do great work on time and within set budgetary requirements. I’ve been sharing these folks with my clients exclusively for years, but what if you’re not one my clients yet? In 2012, I’ll be providing you with an option to access my database of amazing pros, but for now let me say that there are few guarantees when you work with someone for the first time, so protect yourself by getting excellent referrals and references, preferably from sources you know and trust.

Step #3: Delegate to Your Team

Now let’s talk about Step #3, the how of delegating. When you delegate a task to someone, you must remember that you know how to do it- they don’t. Of course there will be some things you’ll offload that are tasks your assistant or web developer handle regularly, but much of the time, your tasks will be unique to you and your business, at least in some way.

As you move forward with delegating, focus on the following:
a) Breaking down your tasks into easy-to-follow steps.
Every task can be broken down into steps. And even if you aren’t quite ready to delegate something, it’s never too soon to start creating a “manual” for each task- you never know when you might need or want to have someone step in and manage something for you.

In the book, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber talks about creating a manual for each part of your business. For every job that you do, create a manual that would allow someone to take over that job at any time. And when someone takes on the job, it becomes their responsibility to keep the manual updated with any changes or new procedures. This makes it easy to promote people or replace people, when necessary.

b) Writing clear and concise instructions for each step.
When you write instructions for someone, start by assuming the person reading your instructions has no idea what the job is or how to do it. Write down every single step, even if it’s something that seems obvious to you. Remember, what seems obvious to you may not be so apparent to someone else.

c) Answering questions before you get them.
Sometimes, including an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section in your instructions can be useful. That way you can head off spending a lot of time answering things you might already have answered previously. Check through your sent e-mails for answers to questions you’ve had in the past and re-use the answers in the FAQ. And again, this is a great place where the person you’ve delegated to can take over- let them manage and update the FAQ section as needed.

d) Being available as any questions you haven’t anticipated come up.
As you delegate to others, you’ll find that you want to be sure you have a little time set aside to reply to e-mails and phone calls as your new assistant has questions about his/her new tasks. there are always questions that need to be answered and fine-tuning that needs to be done, so plan ahead and make sure you have the time to manage the transition.

I’ve been thrilled with delegating various tasks and the time (and headaches) I’ve saved myself. There’s always a transition, but it is relatively painless and the reward is almost always worth the effort. A year ago, I delegated the management of one of my online stores to my assistant. There was a substantial learning curve- it took about two weeks before he felt comfortable managing the stores on his own, and during that time, we were e-mailing back and forth several times a day and talking on the phone at least once every couple of days. But once that transition was complete, I was free to spend my valuable time working on other, more profitable tasks, while he managed the day-to-day updates and operations of my store. I saved both time and money and was able to start a whole new business as a result (which he now also manages for me).

Don’t be afraid to delegate. It may be one of the best decisions you can make for your business!

Santa knows a lot about business! Even if, say, this particular guy looks slightly sinister.

This time of year, many of us are thinking about Santa Claus and looking forward to his visit down the chimney (and trying to remember not to light a fire on Christmas Eve!)It occurred to me this morning that Santa is a deliverer of quintessential customer service.

Is anyone truly unhappy with Santa’s work? Not really. People return year after year to Santa to put in their holiday wishes, and he rarely gets complaints. So I thought it appropriate to share with you some of the business lessons I’ve learned over the years by observing St. Nick.

Pay attention to detail.
Santa makes a list and checks it twice. He really pays attention to detail and makes sure no mistakes are made. Are you as careful? Be diligent with your customers and clients and give the same attention to detail as Santa, and you’ll have loads of happy customers, which translates to repeat business.

Hire good people.
The elves always do amazing, impeccable work. They have a strong work ethic, they know how to get things done, and they put a lot of care into creating the best toys possible. These are the qualities you should look for when you hire people to do work for your business, too, even if you’re outsourcing. Your employees and contractors and their work product represent your company. Make sure they represent you well.

Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it.
Santa promises to deliver all toys on Christmas Eve, so that when you wake up Christmas morning, your stocking is filled and your biggest wish is granted. You never wake up on Christmas, only to discover that Santa just didn’t make it. You never get an e-mail from Santa saying, “I’m sorry, we just couldn’t make our deadline this year.” Likewise, always deliver what you promise within your projected timeline and you’ll make your customers and clients very happy.

Love what you do (or at least look like you do).
Did you ever notice how Santa is always smiling? Whether he’s asking children what they want for Christmas, checking off his “naughty and nice” list, or delivering the toys, he’s always smiling. You get the sense that Santa really loves what he does, and that makes it so much nicer to receive gifts from Santa, because you know he’s getting joy out of doing good. One imagines that Santa wouldn’t frown, even if the elves revolted or the reindeer just weren’t behaving properly that day. Your customers and clients should always feel like you love what you do, no matter what’s going on in your day (or the day of your customer service reps). They should never feel like a burden, but always like a joy.

Market yourself well.
Santa does an amazing job of marketing himself, doesn’t he? You can’t pass a grocery store without hearing the clang clang of the Salvation Army Santa, and you can’t visit a mall without seeing a line of children waiting to talk to Santa. You see, Santa has wisely set up a network of outsourced Santas who deliver exceptional PR for him, plus he’s made strategic partnerships with charities so he appears just about everywhere. And don’t get me started on merchandising. You can market yourself just as well as Santa does by setting up your own marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships. Get yourself out there and increase your visibility.

Do good.
Speaking of strategic partnerships, Santa does good in the world. He delivers toys to children who live in poverty and brings a certain measure of comfort to millions around the world. He lends his image to thousands of charitable causes and makes a difference in the world around him. I hear that every one of Santa’s elves is required to volunteer a certain number of hours each month. You can do good in the world, too, through your business. Business in Blue Jeans donates a portion of our profits to a list of charities that are meaningful to me, but you can make a difference in a ton of different ways. Always be on the lookout for ways to do good in the world.

Santa’s not the only one who can do an amazing job, delight people around the world, and make a big difference. You can do the same thing with your business…you just have to have the spirit of the holidays. Enjoy!

Last week was Mark Twain’s 176th birthday and The Christian Science Monitor ran an article about how  Mark Twain would’ve been booted from Facebook for not using his real name, Samuel Clemens.  To support this notion, Matthew Shaer, who wrote the article, cites the tale of Salman Rushdie, whose Facebook profile was deactivated as potentially fraudulent, then only reinstated when he used his real name, Ahmed (read more about that story and how Rushdie actually won his battle here).

So what, right? Wrong. Facebook wants us to follow their rules. Facebook is designed so that people can connect to other people, so they want people to use their real names. If you want to plug your business, then you can set up a page for that and use your company name.

Except that Facebook, like many large companies these days, tends to enforce their rules rather arbitrarily and, it seems, only at the top, with people who “count.” So you end up with small business owners who set up personal profiles using their business names and “personalities” who mistakenly think they can become more popular by leveraging the popular “Yellow Pages” method, whereby you use a character like ” ‘ ” at the beginning of your name so that you come up first in search listings.

But random enforcement of the rules isn’t really the issue, is it? I mean, we’ve come to expect that with a vast user database, it’s almost impossible to police certain things across the board, so that Facebook can’t quite keep up with all the “little guys” who break the rules really shouldn’t come as a big surprise.

The issue, at least in my opinion, comes down to the real intent of Facebook. What is Facebook for, other than sucking up a whole lot of time? Frankly, it’s a question I get asked over and over by my clients, who occasionally wonder at the true utility of social media as a viable part of a marketing strategy.

Facebook started out, as we all know, as a way to connect students on a single campus. It’s now evolved into a way to connect people around the world (and, lest we forget, provide valuable marketing data about each and every Facebook user to advertisers so they can make sure they’re selling you exactly the stuff you most want to buy).

I think we’re still supposed to be operating under the illusion that our personal profiles offer us the opportunity to connect with others on a personal level, but let’s pull off the mask for a second and acknowledge that there’s literally no way that one could engage significantly on a personal level with 5,000 people.

So even though I myself am getting dangerously close to hitting my own 5,000 limit on my personal profile and long ago started spilling as much of my professional audience into my business page and personal fan page, I confess that I think the Facebook friend limit on personal pages might be too high. The proportion of folks who befriend me on my personal Facebook profile but don’t actually engage with me once they’ve been approved suggests to me that the 5,000 limit ultimately creates a status game that creates the illusion of success for some, but ultimately, simply doesn’t bear business fruit.

On the other hand, what Facebook does well (and Twitter, to some extent) is to provide access to people one might want to connect with but wouldn’t ordinarily have an easy or direct method for reaching. And while I fully support that notion, and the access it has provided me (and the friendships I’ve cultivated as a result), I imagine in most cases, I could have forged those relationships without the “official” access.

So, if Facebook really wanted us to connect on a personal level via personal profiles and leave professional networking to our professional pages, then yes, I imagine that the enforcement of the “use your real name” rule makes sense to a certain extent, if Facebook enforces that rule across the board. But if Facebook really wanted us to connect on a personal level via personal profiles, then one has to assume that the friend limit would be much lower, since studies show that today, most people have only two close personal friends and a circle of around 150 people in total (and in fact, the average number of friends on Facebook is 130).

According to Psychology Today, anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Robin Dunbar suggests that having 150 reciprocal and personal relationships pretty much maxes out our brains. Our neocortexes literally can’t handle more relationships than that. So while you might be able to influence far more than 150 people, creating the kind of relationships Facebook suggests we cultivate on our personal profiles would mean the friend rate ought to be capped closer to 150 or 200. And since Facebook pages offer unlimited space on pages, if you want to engage with that many people, it would seem that the psychological research indicates that we would do better to relegate our “relationship overflow” to pages, rather than personal profiles.

What do you think? Should personal profiles remain totally personal? Would it be useful for Facebook to lower the limit of friends one can have on a personal profile to, say, 200, and to leave anything beyond personal relationships to professional pages?

Recently, my friend and informal mentor, Larry Winget, posted a fairly controversial blog post entitled, “Passion Has No Value.” When I saw that post, I knew that once again, Larry was going to light some fires. And indeed, after a week and a lively debate on Larry’s site, it seems I was right.

I might have opted into the dialogue on Larry’s site, but I wanted to spend some time with this one, rolling it around in my brain.

My initial gut reaction to Larry’s post was that indeed, passion itself isn’t enough for success. As Larry and I have always agreed, it takes expertise (and other things) to be successful. Ultimately, you’ve got to have the goods to back up whatever you promise, there’s no way around that. If you’ve got passion but no expertise, you can look forward to a short business life, leaving a lot of unhappy clients and customers in your wake.

But…the whole “passion has no value” thing…that’s got me feeling like a doorknob snagged my sweater: I can’t shake it loose.

I admit, I’ve evolved over the last year. I don’t really talk much about “passion” these days. I admit, I have talked about passion’s role in the micro-entrepreneurial business, but I never really felt quite settled about it. Passion is a word that has been overused and misunderstood.

These days, instead of “passion,” I talk about “fervor,” which the dictionary defines as “great intensity of feeling or belief.” Why fervor? Because just about every mega-successful person I know is intense in his or her own way, including (and perhaps especially) Larry. Passion, though, as Larry suggests, is a word that refers to an “uncontrollable” emotion, that frankly,  doesn’t have a place in business.

Emotion in general certainly has a role- it’s how we connect with people. After all, people do business with people and emotion plays a role in relationship-building. But uncontrolled emotion (passion) often gets in the way of an open, evolving, questioning mind, a necessary ingredient for success.

I do love working with entrepreneurs and I love helping small businesses grow. But I love the results I get more…and so do my clients.

And even if fervor and intensity are different from passion, they still aren’t enough for success. You can never exclude expertise from the equation. Without the “chops” to back up your fervor, you’ll never be successful (or at least, not for long). Successful business lies in the “sweet spot” that’s found in the cross-section of what you’re fervent about, what you’re really good at, and what sets you apart (the “power triad”).

I assume that Larry would agree with me that even if you’re great at what you do, you still have to find something that sets you apart, something that distinguishes you from the rest of the world (whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur). Why do I assume Larry would agree with me? I mean…have you seen his boot collection alone? Larry himself has build a successful brand that fuses his unique personality (and fashion sense) with what he’s fervent about (cutting through the nonsense) and what he’s really good at (communicating that “straight shooter” vibe through multiple mediums).

I’ve worked with micro-entreprenuers who set up shop solely under the premise of turning their “passion into profits” and failed before looking for help. I’ve worked with small business owners who focused only on what they were good at, but didn’t enjoyed it and didn’t find much success before deciding to make a change.  And I’ve worked with folks in both of those categories who never packaged their business in a way that set them apart from everyone else in their industry, couldn’t reach their audience, and didn’t understand why.

Fervor, expertise, and packaging (or branding) are the first keys in success. They’re not the only keys, but they’re a good place to start.

And as for passion…as Larry suggests, perhaps that uncontrolled emotion is perhaps best left to the personal realm. Passion is what you feel about the things you want to create in your life- the ultimate outcomes like more time with family or creating a feeling of stability, safety, and security.  Passion about what you’re working towards is what keeps you motivated…and that does have value.

It’s just not enough for mega-success.

If you’ve read my “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs” or if you’ve been reading my weekly e-mail newsletter, then you know that there was a time that my business had plateaued and no matter what I threw at it, money, marketing strategies, time, effort…I just couldn’t get the darned thing to budge over the bump to the next level. My business was doing fine, but I wasn’t satisfied and I certainly wasn’t fulfilled.

I started thinking that maybe it was time to walk away. In fact, I actually did walk away. I took a three-month hiatus away from my business and started to look at other opportunities. My husband and I looked at all kinds of businesses.

But try as I might, I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling in my heart that I still had more to do in my own business.

So, a month into my little sabbatical (about the time when I got really bored), I started working with a coach to get through the burnout and frustration to the heart of what was holding me back in my business. Because the one thing I did know for sure was that when you’re too close to something, it’s usually too hard to see the answers. Having the outside perspective of a coach or consultant can give you insight and a big picture viewpoint that you’d never have on your own. And if I was going to figure out what had kept me in that plateau, I knew I needed someone who could be for me what I am to my own clients.

For two months my coach guided me as I dug deep and searched my soul. When I finally came up for air, my mind was clear. And that’s when I discovered precisely what I’d been missing all along that had held my business firmly at that plateau.

It wasn’t just one answer. In fact, the answer to what was holding me back came in the form of seven simple lessons, and I’d been hearing them from my mentors for awhile. But sometimes you hear the right answers at the wrong time, you know? And that’s what had happened to me. I’d heard them, I just hadn’t gotten them.

As soon as I started implementing the Lessons in my own business, things started to change. Things didn’t change overnight and I did still have to work. That’s just how business operates! But the more in tune I got with the Lessons, the more things happened. Opportunities started to fall in my lap and people started to take notice. I felt an ease in my business that had never been there before, and my creativity soared.

I don’t know if now is the right time for you to hear the Lessons, but even if you’re not quite there yet, I’d like to encourage you to start learning about them. You can download my original “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs” using the form at the top of this page. Once you click the confirmation link in your e-mail, you’ll receive another e-mail with a link to the free download (sorry to make you jump through hoops, but it’s become necessary with bots and spammers; I promise the download is worth it).

If you’re not just ready to hear the lessons, but you want to see how dramatically your business can be changed like mine was, then join me for my free Webinar, “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs,” where I’ll share the Lessons in-depth and give you action steps for every lesson in a handout. You’ll walk away with a few ways to start seeing changes in your business now, even before the New Year.

If you’ve been feeling frustrated like I was and you’re ready to jump out of your plateau, this webinar is for you.

Join me November 29 for “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs” at 1:00 PM Eastern.

(Seriously, it’s free. And it’s not a sales pitch. That’s not how I roll. I’m just saying.)

Join me for a webinar on November 29

As an entrepreneur and small business owner, I know you probably struggle with the feeling that you’re never doing enough to grow your business. I know you probably wrestle with time management and getting more clients and customers. I know you probably grapple with knowing how to give your business the boost it needs when you hit a plateau.

How do I know? Because I’ve been working with entrepreneurs for fifteen years, helping my clients face those exact struggles. I talk with entrepreneurs and small business owners every single day who face these challenges and more.

Know how else I know? Because I’m an entrepreneur and small business owner, just like you. Used to be, when I put down a book or walked out of a seminar, I’d wonder, “What now?” I felt like there was something missing.

More than that, I wanted to know what I was missing so I could stop struggling, get out of a plateau, and then share what I had learned with you (and in this webinar, I’m sharing it for free). So I made a list of the most amazing, mega-successful entrepreneurs, authors, and experts, and I interviewed them to get real answers.

After studying the interviews and gathering the “missing pieces,” I discovered seven consistent, clear lessons. I’ve used these lessons in my own business to end my frustration and struggling, and now I’m ready to share…. Go ahead and register- this one’s on me!

Title: “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs”
Date: Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST

After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, or 2003 Server

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/894060686

P.S.If this isn’t your interest, or you aren’t able to join me, please feel free to share this with your friends, if it’s comfortable for you. This webinar is open to the public!

This is how fast my Sony Vaio seemed.

I’ve had a Sony Vaio laptop for three and a half years now. I used to turn technology over faster, back when I was doing more web development and technical stuff, but these days, most of what I do involves writing. Still, I’m what’s known as a “power user” and tend to overtax any computer I use, and the Sony Vaio is known for overheating and shutting down at random without notice…which is not cool when you’re doing something important and haven’t had a chance to save your work yet.

I decided it was time to make a decision: do I sent the Sony in for service (again) or break down and upgrade to something new? The answer came when I remembered a lesson my husband, Leo, shared with me, something he learned when he was a young musician. Leo is a drummer who has played professionally in bands around the world, and he told me that when he was starting out, he would only invest in equipment that could be used to generate income that would pay for itself and then some. The way he phrases it, “When you invest in your business, it always comes back.”

When I remembered him saying that, I realized that my laptop is an essential tool for my business and right now, the machine I had was holding me back- not helping me and certainly not paying for itself anymore. It’s time to move on and invest again in something that will “come back” again.

There are many ways to invest in your business. Making sure you have the right tools doesn’t just refer to technology, but also to projects like web design, consulting, and coaching. The question to ask when you’re evaluating a business purchase is, “Will this pay for itself and bring more money in?” If so, that’s an investment you should make, if you can.

Want to learn more? Why not come to my webinar, “The 7 Lessons of Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs” on November 29?