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Small Biz Survival

The small town small business resource

7 Ways You Screw Up Your LifeToday

Marti Lawrence has pulled together an all star cast (including a small contribution from me) for her third book, 7 Ways You Screw Up Your Life.

All the principles apply straightening out your business, as well as your personal life, and Marti presents them in a clear and amusing way. 

The Foreword is by Chris Brogan. There is also an interview with Jeremiah Owyang. The guest author contributions include my bit on Failing Well, Upbeat Living Despite Chronic Pain By Susan Reynolds,The Roller Coaster Theory By Terry Starbucker, and Cherishing Failure By Liz Strauss. That's a pretty impressive crew.


I asked Marti a few questions about her bringing this book to completion. 

What kicked off this book project?

I sold used books on Amazon - stuff I picked up at garage sales and thrift stores.  As

I fail on almost a daily basisYesterday

I fail.

And I fail on almost a daily basis.

But at least I know I am trying to be a better person, what are you doing?

--

David Snyder


Failure is brutally important to your future. If you spend all your time afraid of it, you'll never move forward.

I hope lots of people will read and follow David's 10 Rules for Not Being a Complete Douche Bag. (OK, the title is rude, but the post is excellent.)

Hat tip to Chris Brogan for pointing this one out on Twitter.

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Small town biz interview by Zane SafritNovember 28

Friend and co-author Zane Safrit interviewed me on his BlogTalk Radio show. We spent an hour and a half talking about small business, rural development, and living in small towns. Marketing expert Jay Ehert called in to share some of his views as well.

Listen to the whole hour and a half long interview, or download the MP3 and listen later.

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Be thankful in the Brag BasketNovember 27

Each week, I open the Brag Basket. This week, we're opening early for Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for?

 

Obviously, it's designed as a fun place for you to share your projects and accomplishments. But you can also cheer for other people, give shout outs, congratulate, and even give someone a well-deserved pat on the back.

The Brag Basket is open for everyone, whether from a small town, a big city, or anywhere in the world. (But it's true that I love small town brags!)

Will you put something in the Brag Basket this week? You can brag on a friend, your own project, yourself, others, anything! You don't need special permission, and you don't have to be from a small town. Just leave a comment right here. There's no deadline, so you can brag anytime during the weekend, and I'll open a fresh Brag Basket each Friday.

Brag Basket graphic by BJ Novack, KickAss Web Design.

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Five things you might not know about meNovember 27

You know a lot about me, but friend/mentor/buddy/rockstar Chris Brogan has tagged me for the 5 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me meme. After putting it off for weeks, here are five new things you probably don't know about me.

1. My first business venture was washing cars in junior high school.

2. In a previous tight economic time, I went to work in the local laundry and dry cleaners for six months. I lost 15 pounds, learned a bunch, and gained a serious appreciation for my great-grandmother who worked in a laundry for many years.

3. One thing I wish I could do well is sing.

4. At conferences, people frequently ask me how I got into high tech from a small town. Seems to surprise them. Mom bought us a computer when I was 7 or 8, and I learned to program. I've been into high tech things ever since.

5. Because I live in a small town and have a cattle ranch, people think I must ride a horse and rodeo and listen to country music. Nope. I don't rodeo, I don't like country music, and my only horse is the Mustang in the garage.

As a bonus...
Chris is pitching the attention back to the person who tagged him, Dominick Evans. Chris recommends checking out Dominick’s blog and following him on Twitter.

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