Via BizJournals.com SBA turns to YouTube – Business First of Buffalo:

To reach a larger audience, the U.S. Small Business Administration is now posting informational videos on YouTube.

“With millions of visitors, most of them under 35, YouTube offers a prime opportunity to use current technology and the appeal of a popular online platform to further promote the agency’s programs and services,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “By expanding its outreach, SBA will be providing more current and potential entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to start, grow and succeed in their businesses.”

In a statement released Aug. 26, SBA said it is intent on reaching this audience with its message of entrepreneurship, the importance of small business to the nation’s economy, and information on the agency’s programs and services.

Check out the SBA Channel on YouTube here.
Here is a sample video, with “Top 10 Tips”:

And what are these magical tips? Here is a list:

1. Get a mentor
2. Test your idea
3. Hire quality
4. Stay on your game
5. Focus on your mission
6. Develop partnerships, carefully
7. Plan for the future
8. Set goals
9. Stay focused
10. Protect your brand

What are your top tips?

After reading the book “Young Guns” for last week’s review, I decided to expand on some of the ideas put forth by the author, Robert Tuchman. You can read all of these posts at the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Event site under the “7 Priorities” tag. The first two posts are up now, the remaining posts will appear on the next 5 Tuesdays.

Leave a comment there, I’d love to know what you think.

Inspired by a post by Rebecca Thorman at Modite: Gen Y Needs Boundaries

I like motivational talks. Like this one from Gary Vaynerchuk. I get all excited and pumped and ready to work.

Then I get stuck. Interminably stuck. Because I’m really excited and pumped to work, but for what? I’m a lucky person, but I wonder is this it? Really? Because I thought there might be more.

Marcus Buckingham of the Wall Street Journal gets it. “This is a deeply anxious and insecure generation,” he argues. “On the surface they look self-confident, [but] deep down they know that they don’t actually know what it takes to win.”

Apparently it’s going to take a decade of wandering for us to figure it out. New York Times columnist David Brooks describes this new Generation Y life stage as the Odyssey Years – a decade of exploration and experimentation (via Tammy Erickson).

This is part of my comment on that post:

Personal discipline, integrity, and accountability are issues that every generation has to deal with. I suspect that Gen Y will do a good job of it, especially as the current economic situation is creating an environment of limited choice for almost everyone.

Pressure makes diamonds, folks.

In that spirit, I give you a TED talk by Barry Schwartz:

Welcome to part one of the Periodic Review series of posts. Originally written in the Spring of 2007, my own practice has evolved and grown into a richer and more useful review appointment. Therefore I am up-dating this post and adding some additional details and practices that may make your own review practice easier and more productive. Today we will look at the building blocks of the review process, starting with the Daily review. From Getting Things Done, by David Allen:

“The real trick to ensuring the trustworthiness of the whole organization system lies in regularly refreshing your psyche and your system from a more elevated perspective.“

Your Daily Review

The daily review process involves two steps:

1. “Closing up shop” at the end of your day
2. Planning for your current day

You may be thinking that this is blindingly obvious, but let me tell you. Many of the people that e-mail me for help do not shut things down in an organized fashion when they leave their office. Oh sure, they may put things away, clear off their desk, turn off the PC and the lights. But they do not set themselves up for success on the following day. This is one of the most important lessons that I learned working in the hospitality business: If you do not re-set and re-stock your work areas at the end of your shift, the next shift coming in will face a disaster. When you do prep for the next shift, even if the next shift is just you, then that shift can come in and just start working. How very convenient.

Closing up shop

This is the easiest thing in the world to do, are you ready? Take 5-10 minutes at the end of your day and stop working. Start prepping:

• Clear out your in-box, if you haven’t already.
• Make a list of things that you have started but not finished.
• Jot down anything that is lurking in your mind related to your tasks for today and the future.
• Capture any thoughts or ideas about upcoming work, tasks, or meetings to be reviewed the next day.

Put all of this information into your system, be it paper or digital. Go home.

Plan for Today

Now you are ready to start your day, and you have a head-start because of the prep-work that you did last night. Even if you left work and went on a date, to see a movie or a game, or just plain stopped thinking about work for the whole weekend you are prepared to take up right were you left off – because you have that list. Now you can see, at a glance, what is going on. What tasks were left partially- or undone, and what your thoughts were about the upcoming events of the day.Now you can create and prioritize a task list for the day.

Every day next week I will be running a series of posts where we will discuss the Weekly, Monthly, and Quarterly Reviews, followed by a less-detailed version of the Periodic Review that is focused on accountability and goal-setting.