From Indecision to Leadership (Using BDA Tool 12)

Thought for today: Business people sometimes use imperfect information when making decisions.  There are no guarantees of outcomes, only ways to lower risks and maximize outcomes. We may get professional advice for the big-ticket items, but the decisions, ultimately, are ours. BDA Tool 12 “We are willing to be in charge and responsible for our business. Professionals such as accountants, […]

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How Bookending On Major Decisions Helps (BDA Tool 11)

Thought for today: For business owners, decisions are often complicated.  New situations seem to bombard us, forcing us to think on our feet.  With so much activity in our days, we can feel compelled to make spot decisions on difficult situations.  That’s why BDA suggests that we bookend – share on the phone or in person before and after serious […]

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Dealing With Difficult Personalities (BDA Tool 10)

Thought for today: Those of us who are self-employed are sometimes obsessed with problem customers.  We neglect preferable customers because we are fixing insignificant issues with the difficult ones. We need a healthy balance. BDA Tool 10 “We detach from difficult personalities and poor paying clients and put principles before personalities.” A member shares: “Letting go is hard for a […]

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Why Worrying Too Much About the Competition Is Counterproductive (BDA Tool 9)

Thought for today: Market forces can breed competition.  Fair competition is healthy.  It usually means that the prize we seek is worthwhile, that others appreciate the same goal, and that we are on the right track.  Without competition, innovation would stagnate. A business owner once shared at a meeting: “I worried all the time about the competition.  What […]

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Writing Our Own Business Agreements (BDA Tool 8)

Thought for today: Many of us in business for ourselves have used verbal or handshake agreements, only to find out later that the other person had a totally different idea of what we meant.  Without a signed document, we left too much room for misinterpretation. Other times we let the other person write our agreements for us.  This left […]

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How Promptness Improves Our Cash Flow (BDA Tool 7)

Thought for today: When we are aware of bill due dates, we are in a much safer place as a business owner.  We can pay our bills promptly, affirming good faith with our vendors, and reinforcing the concept that there is plenty of money for everyone. When we invoice our clients promptly we are claiming our […]

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Managing Our Profit Margins (BDA Tool 6)

Thought for today: In business, there are so many competing interests in the course of a day.  It takes vigilance to keep up clarity about profit margins.  Business Debtors Anonymous has a tool for that… BDA Tool 6 We maintain clarity about the overhead and profit margins of every product or service we sell. Members […]

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Spending Our Company’s Money (BDA Tool 5)

Thought for today: Business Debtors Anonymous is a part of Debtors Anonymous.  Business owners, or those who wish to open their own businesses, are welcome to join. The habits of debting, under earning and over spending can appear in businesses as easily as they do in people.  Business owners need to keep vigilant, and guard against frivolous expenditures. […]

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Humility As a Spiritual Tool

Thought for today: Moving through the Twelve Steps, we find that self-centeredness often run and ruin lives.  But we can escape the cycles of selfishness.   Humility is a gift that comes from the awareness of our selfish motives, and it can  guide us. A member shares: “I was humiliated by my debt.  Family ridiculed me.  I dared not […]

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Simplicity and Minimalism as Spiritual Tools

Thought for today: “Simplify, simplify!”  Thoreau said.  Living simply is liberating and profitable, if you release belongings on your terms, and you value what is left. A member shares: “I used to collect clutter.  Paper copies of every utility bill I had ever gotten filled several cartons.  Books I never even liked, and would never read, piled up in my closet. […]

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