Decision making is a key skill for any entrepreneur. Decisions you make ripple forward into the future. A decision you make today can be the difference between success 5 years from now or having to dig yourself out of a deep hole 5 years from now.

In this post, we'll look at one of the simplest (yet highly effective) tools to make better decisions immediately.

"Always be closing" is a common platitude in sales & marketing. Maybe you've been explicitly told to follow this motto. Even if you haven't it's implied everywhere. In marketing, it's normal to push hard and do anything to get the sale. 

Shove people into your funnel, smack them over the head with upsell after upsell. Make grandiose claims in your copy. Whatever it takes.

And the defense of these tacky, gross marketing tactics is inevitably: "it works!"

So what if it works? Did you start a business to become a walking infomercial? Or do you want to be able to sell with integrity?

And even if the tacky approach works, that doesn't mean that every other approach doesn't work.

In this post, I'll show you the motto I've been following, as an alternative to "Always Be Closing".

​I've been pursuing the "perfect" producitivty and project management system for over a decade now. Whether I'm working on a solo project or with large or small teams, I'm always looking for the right tech, tools & systems to make work as seamless and productive as possible.

Unfortunately, a problem snuck up on me that took me a long time to detect. I've recently experimented with a move away from "best in class" tools and found that it does indeed make for greater productivity...

​Of all the tools & technologies I've used, the one I get the most value out of (by far) is writing. 

If you've been through my focus & action productivity course, you know that I use different writing practices to problem solve, to optimize my workflow and to take care of my mental wellbeing. 

​In today's video, Ryan and I share 3 ways in which we use writing to become better entrepreneurs as well as better people.

​One of the things that will make or break your team's effectiveness is communication.

We’ve all experienced it before... ​trying to arrange endless meetings with multiple people, sending lengthy emails that never get read, and feeling disconnected from our team members.

This is especially true in the current global pandemic. ​Many teams are being forced to work remotely, which presents challenges in staying connected, and working ​together seamlessly.

​Scheduling online meetings can be time consuming and communication is never as smooth as we'd hope for. But relying on text communication (Slack, email etc.) means losing that human, face-to-face connection.

Luckily, there is a solution that can give you the best of both worlds...

​In previous episodes in this series, we've discussed what you can do on a personal level to thrive in the current crisis, as how strategic thinking has to change in times of great uncertainty. In this episode, we take a clear-eyed look at opportunities that will arise from the crisis.

​Every crisis and every recession causes all kinds of damage, but they also give rise to new opportunities. And since keeping economic activity going is in the interest of everyone, as entrepreneurs, we should be on the lookout for such opportunities. Ideally, we can add value to the world while maintaining or growing income for ourselves.

​Many businesses have been hit hard by the current crisis and many entrepreneurs are desperately seeking ways to replace lost income. And yet, other businesses seem to sail through even the worst of downturns.

What makes the difference? A huge factor is whether you, as a business owner, understand uncertainty and know the right strategies to respond. And in this video, we take a deep dive into exactly that.

​As I'm typing this, most of the world is in the depths of a healthcare crisis. Like countless others, I've been asking myself: what can I do to help? Apart from participating in social distancing, how can I contribute to the greater good?

Well, here on ActiveGrowth and also at Thrive Themes, it has always been our mission to empower small scale entrepreneurs. I believe that small businesses are a potential force for good in the world. And now, I believe that's more true than ever.

​I've recorded a series of conversations about what I think entreprneurs need to know and take action on, to survive and thrive through the crisis. This is the first of those conversations.

​The Coronavirus crisis is hitting many small business owners (and people in general) hard. We're facing a recession of uncertain duration, right now.

This post is my attempt to provide as much as possible in terms of strategy, tools and tactics that will help you generate an online income source and/or turn your offline business into an online business.

​Being a digital nomad is a dream for many aspiring entrepreneurs. It seems glamorous and exciting to travel on a permanent basis and to keep discovering exciting new locations, countries and cities.

​Unfortunately, it's a lifestyle that is really bad for productivity. In fact, it's a lifestyle that's incompatible with, well, a good lifestyle in many ways.

In today's post, we'll discuss why this is and what you can do about it.

Trello recently made a huge move: they integrated the "Butler" automation suite into the core features of Trello. Along with this change comes an updated and much improved user interface.

What this means is that Trello - even for free accounts - now comes with almost infinitely customizable workflow automation. Anything you had to do repeatedly in Trello, you can now do with the click of a button. Or even better: without having to click anything at all.

It's hard to overstate how much better Trello becomes with this addition. It was already my favorite project management tool before and this recent change puts them even further ahead of competitors.

Read on to learn how to use these new workflow automation features and to see ​examples of super practical workflows you can set up in your own boards, right now.

Do you have the right mindset to attract wealth and prosperity into your life?

There's no shortage of gurus out there who would have you believe that this is an important question. Who would tell you that if you're currently broke and struggling financially, it might be because of your mindset, because of limiting beliefs, perhaps because of misaligned chakras, even.

As you can imagine, I've got a slightly different take on the topic...

As not only the year but also the decade comes to a close, I'm taking a look back at 10+ years of entrepreneurship and asking: what are the most valuable lessons I've learnt along the way?

Out of everything I've done, all the successes and failures along the way, there are 3 things that stand out to me. These are my most valuable lessons and insights from the decade.

By now, it's common knowledge that multitasking is a myth. Multitasking makes you slower, less focused and less productive (sources).

BUT...

...is that true for all kinds of multitasking? Is a laser sharp focus on single-tasking always good for us or can it have detrimental effects as well? Indeed, are we missing out on greater performance and productivity if we aren't practicing "multitasking in slow motion"?

Read on to find out.

What's the best webinar software out there? This seemingly simple question can be frustratingly difficult to answer, as I found out in the course of this review project.

My goal was to field test every major platform in the webinar space to find out how they all stack up against each other and finally find something that serves my own needs for marketing and educational webinars.

Many webinar tools have added a directory feature in the recent past. The promise is intriguing: list your webinar in a public directory and you could get more traffic and attendees!

But does it work in practice? Should you consider webinar directories for your webinar marketing?

In this post, I'll explain why these directories are (currently) pointless.