In business you learn from your mistakes or at least I hope you do. You also feel satisfied when you do something great like the act of giving or making profit from a business transaction. Bartering is one of those practices that can benefit or backfire on you. It's good business etiquette to do in-kind donations for some people or barter with others, meaning you do a tradeoff of service between you and a client. 

No one loves your startup business more than you do, however that could be a big problem. If your business is so great then everyone else should be singing heavenly choruses about it right? Instead you can hear crickets chirping as your business lay quietly in a vegetated state. If it's not obvious you need to wake up, your startup is slowly becoming a zombie business.

Every week loyal readers visit Erookie to get the latest startup business tips from Wade or Priya. Most times the posts are targeted to small business owners and startup entrepreneurs in general, but every now and then we throw something specifically focus at women or moms in business. For those who follow us here or on social media, you recognize right away whose hand pened those words. It must be Priya if it's about women in business. Let's just say I'm a startup business expert, but I'm a man, so therefore I'm not qualified to give tips about moms and women in business.

When was the last time you woke up at 4am with a bruised nose or knot on your forehead, from falling asleep while nosediving into your keyboard? I'm not talking about self-inflicted abuse. If you're like most diehard entrepreneurs you probably have a story or two about getting a rude awakening from slamming your head on your laptop keyboard accidentally after nodding off to sleep. What can I say, when an idea is hot you have to get it on paper or computer before you lose it.

We get really amped when we find good paying customers. Who doesn't like money, it's the lifeblood of your business next to great customer service. What happens however when that great paying customer wants you to do something you know would eventually spell disaster for their project or just can't be done at the moment? Do you cave in or do you rely on years of experience to help make the right decision.

Hey there - wanted to share a story with you - have to say that I think of your website and the story of how your daughter's busing situation was giving you grief and once you left your full-time job, everything fell into place.

This is exactly how I feel -- when I was working full-time, I left the boys with a wonderful daycare center for nearly 10 hours a day and I struggled to make my boss happy while making myself unhappy -- nevermind not seeing my children all day everyday. After I realized we'd be happier at home with each other, I quit my manager job at a great multi-national company and knew my family would have some lean times, but we'd be fine financially. Well, the former employer hired me as a part-time consultant working from home and I was able to form my own consulting company and also service additional customers.

The road to owning a business is not easy. In our modern and very competitive society people want success and they want it NOW. But about 99% of business owners do not have over night success. A trust must be developed between the public and your products before any success can be made. Now you do have the 1% of businesses who are overnight sensations because of some freak marketing success or built in customer base salivating for your products but reality is your business will be in the 99%.

Yes, I said one good business idea. Out of all your options to make money which one do you think has the possibility to make an impact?

How many of you wake up in the morning and wish you could spend your life working to fulfill a dream instead of a stack of bills? Probably a good 80% of you will say yes to this or convince yourself that you love your current job because you feel there is no other option. Has life really come to that?

Why be like everyone else? I look around at some companies and competitors and I am bored with what they have to share! Do these people think that marketing and advertising = BOREDOM? Or do they think we deserve to be bored out of our minds? What is up with this??