I'm always curious to learn about hobbies and side skills that great business leaders have. Have you ever noticed? Successful people are NOT solely focused just on their business - maybe in the early days to get it going, and I'm not against that fresh sheen of ambition when you're building something. But I'm older now - hopefully a little wiser too - and I find that I want to run the business, but I don't want it to run me. I stopped writing music and books when I started my business. Not consciously, I just got consumed by work and stopped "playing". I'm making a conscious decision not to do that anymore. I'm writing songs again. I'm picking up my old hobbies and some new ones. I'm blocking time in my schedule. We have a rule in our family-run business, we don't take outside meetings on Mondays unless it is an unbelievably huge opportunity. Of course there is an exception - but in general, Mondays are called Shmonday in our business. We ease back in from the weekend (as if we weren't working all weekend!) and Shmonday has become almost sacred in that we reset, reconnect to the parts of the work that we love and we think. We mostly think on Mondays. We sleep in a little later, we sip an extra cup of coffe, we have no hurry or bustle and we're getting pretty good at not letting the external Mondays come in thru the door too. I cherish Shmondays and now that is also the day I work on my hobbies and write songs. What else do you do, outside of your work, for fun, to have a life? Share it!

Did you know that most people who are looking right into the camera and talking to you on reels or TikTok or even in videos on platforms like this are usually reading? They have turned their cell phone into a teleprompter. There are several apps to do this. My favorite is called BIGVU. You turn it on, type in what you want to say, I usually just use bullet points because I want to use my own words, but I don’t wanna feel like I’m reading, but it’s fine to read too. Then look right at the camera and read. You’ve got this. There are other tools that will hold your eyes forward even though you’re reading - the app called Captions will also hold your eyes forward so you could make your video using the Teleprompter app and then load it into captions app and get your eyes held forward. I personally chose not to do that because I don’t mind that my eyes are moving. I want to come off as human. It’s a bit of a differentiator and these AI times. But wanted you to know it is possible. Captions will also transcribe your your video and add captions for you quickly and easily. Just a little tip for those planning to add more video.

so i am curious, Out of the people here how many of you have figure out a trick or tip you want to share? it can be on software, around the house, for your ride etc.

There are small nonprofit organizations in every city in America that are funded by the government to help make sure small businesses - even those who don’t think they can get a loan - can gain access to capital to start or grow their business. They are called community lenders. Many go unnoticed in the communities they serve in part because they are not allowed to use their funding for advertising. But they are there to help, they will not treat you like a number, they treat you like a person. They have a lower threshold for acceptance than standard banks - they are not a bank. They facilitate loans for small businesses. To find one in your area, Go to https://lending.sba.gov/lender-match/ and look for one in your region. They are nonprofit orgs, their programs are free and almost free. In our upcoming funding class I will give you the checklist of what they ask for to qualify (you can look at their websites, many will post it for all to see!)

We can get so caught up in what's not working, what we need to fix, and who we need to become that we do sometimes forget to acknowledge the people who are already in our corner. So here's what we're going to do every Saturday in this community: we're going to drop some gratitude. THIS WEEK I'M GRATEFUL FOR... ONE CUSTOMER WHO MADE MY DAY: Got a really nice review on a class and it made my week, really ONE PERSON WHO INSPIRED ME TO KEEP GOING: My sister in law has a health issue that is debilitating, and when I don't feel like getting up and keeping on I am reminded that we are fortunate to be able to get up and keep on. She has real grit and stays soft and kind, even when she is in pain. Love that lady. ONE MENTOR WHO SHAPED HOW I THINK: My voice teacher in high school (a LONG time ago) saw me, gave me a shot and changed the trajectory of my life and I don't think he knows what it meant. ONE FAMILY MEMBER WHO BELIEVES IN ME: My husband, believes in me even more when I don't ONE FRIEND WHO SUPPORTED MY CRAZY IDEA: My friend Laurie is a real keeper. YOUR TURN Share your gratitude list in the comments below. Don't overthink it - just write from the heart about the people who are helping you on this journey, even if they don't realize it. BONUS CHALLENGE: Pick one person from your list and actually reach out to them today. Send a text, write an email, leave a voice message - just let them know you're thinking of them and appreciate what they bring to your life. WHY: Business is about relationships. The more we acknowledge the good people around us, the stronger our network becomes. Plus, gratitude has a funny way of coming back to you when you need it most. Let's make Saturdays about celebration instead of stress. Drop your gratitude list below and let's lift each other up! 👇