Excel spreadsheets, handwritten notes, emailing yourself details about a customer's preferences . . . all of these are ways that we input and track information about our leads, prospects and customers. Then there's the encyclopedic knowledge you or your team members have stored in your heads that no one else has access to. But what happens if you or a point of contact in your company gets hit by the proverbial bus?

This month we are revisiting the Barriers to Entry exercise—because it is a valid and honest look at how your company does business and can lead to improvements that will help you achieve your goals. 

Once upon a Hubspot Inbound Marketing Summit, I had the opportunity to listen to Dorie Clark speak, and began following her more closely.

Data analytics is a powerful tool for marketing, operational efficiency and understanding your business' future growth path.  Just like any other tool (a light saber, for example), it can be used for both good and evil. But while we can all agree that the flashy red light sabers are pretty cool, who wants to join the dark side?

(AKA - what Improv Taught is Teaching Me)

I started taking improv classes through our local community theater earlier this year. While my kids like to say I'm having a mid-life crisis (admittedly, I also signed up for a six week class on rain gardens at the same time - they may have something there), my objective was to recharge my creative batteries and get some practice thinking on my feet. I have to admit that sometimes I feel a little "depleted."