Sorry I don't think I'll be able to do this one, Lori. Good luck with the event!

All good points you make, Bill.

It's really not that difficult for businesspeople to keep themselves on the safe side. It helps to know where some of the red flags are for the IRS, but I'm glad you also pointed out the importance of keeping good records. It's really not that hard to do once there's a system in place.

It's also important to know who to call on when you need advice. Better to make the calls and get things straight before the IRS sends a letter. In my experience, most government auditors are much more lenient about old mistakes if they see evidence that things had already improved well before the audit.

Thanks for sharing this sage advice.

For events, I'd like to see Brainstorming sessions on behalf of entrepreneurs with questions/quandries.

For times, I personally like end of day sessions that don't cut too much into my evening (i.e., 4-6 pm). Sometimes weekend events would be nice, too.

Number/size: I like having all sorts of smaller events to choose from.

Location: I'd travel a county or two for an event, but I don't want to have to stay over.

Price: I'd don't mind contributing to the costs of putting on an event (in fact I don't feel comfortable not contributing), so long as they're usually low to moderate, $5-$20 for most events.

Thanks for asking, Lori!

Ladies:

That was a great event! I didn't expect to come away rethinking so many things about myself and my business, but I'm so happy that I did/am. Growth and change is where it's at!

I'd like to see you offering this again. I'll certainly recommend it to many.

Thanks again!

Thanks for putting on that class, Naomi and Meredith. I learned a ton! I'm going to get on my Facebook account and add some applications and see what I can do with it. As for Twitter, I think I'll watch that a bit more first. (I already spend hours a day on a computer for work and e-mail communications.) I'll check out Daimon's and Naomi's article links, too.

I sure like the tone at biznik events. Such great people belong to biznik!!!

Meredith and Naomi:

I'll be there if I can. If I don't, I'll certainly be missing out!

Kelly

What a great educational opportunity! I look forward to all that I'll learn, and to meeting those of you I don't yet know.

Kelly

Thanks for the great information, Kelleen, and thanks to the valuable additional comments by your readers!

I really enjoyed your articles, Elke.

You're right that it can be challenging to reconcile metaphysics and business, but it's not, really, if you know what you're talking about. And you do!

I'm looking forward to future articles.

That was a first-rate event!

I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about such subjects from folks who are so very knowledgeable. I understand so much more now about the thought process behind newsletter writing and about the systems that can be used to facilitate them.

Thank you, Lori, for organizing this, and thank you, Judy and Bob, for generously sharing your time and talents.

Thanks for the event, Joy. It was inspiring to be in such great company as the three of you. We must definitely continue the conversation!

Thanks for hosting this event, Joy and Tony. I see that only 2 of us have signed up so far. If you should choose to postpone it until more are likely to attend, I'll more than understand. This is my busiest month of year anyway!

Kelly

It really was a wonderful event, Lori. Thanks so much for putting it together!

I enjoyed meeting many of you for the first time and some of you again--I've never made so many great connections in such a short time! There's nothing like the energy of positive, like-minded, truly caring peers to convince you that the world is good and just getting better.

I shared:

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." a Maori proverb

Enjoy the season everyone. I look forward to meeting you again!

Kelly

Wow. You do have a situation. It sounds like you've been working in the right direction. I think that besides the capability levels of those with whom you're working, you're up against attitudes that are resentful of you and the position you've been given.

All I would suggest is to remember to show lots of humility and work really hard on supporting and coaching your team members. If they can get past the perception that you're a "golden boy" and to the point that they really feel you're their supporter and cheerleader, then maybe they'll find and use their greater strengths, too.

You've received some excellent advice here, Robert. One additional thing to consider is whether there's true autonomy being given these employees. Many times I see small employers give lip value to autonomy, though they then undermine it by continually micromanaging. Through initial and ongoing training, you should be able to give them the tools to make work decisions that you're willing to support. Sometimes it's difficult, but it's definitely empowering.

I'm also an advocate of good team building exercises, especially with new teams or new projects. Yes, it's time consuming, but if it results in team members who've bared themselves (emotionally) and learned to trust one another, they will be supportive of one another for the good of the whole.

Good points, Jenny. The differentiation between Values and Needs is a very good point. And as for me, I need to be reminded--often--to put my plans on paper! Thanks for that, as you prompted me to (finally!) type up an outline, which I did immediately after reading your article.

Thank you Susan. It is so good to hear others in the business community make statements outright(!) about character, courage, kindness and ungreed, as you termed it.

I've long stated that my question is not, "How much can I get?" but "How much is enough?"

I take up your call, "Ungreed is good!"

I, too, was electrified by the possibilities of biznik. Lara and Dan's presentation was so full of information that I agree with Bliss that it's probably worth attending again. I think they're a great team, too. Good for you for creating something so great together!

I'd joined a couple of other social networking sites in the past few months and had already found that the others were left in the dust. That was before I knew half of what biznik could do!

The main thing that excites me, though, is the ability to connect with others in my own community! I've often thought of trying to find a way to join forces with other small local business people for various reasons. Holiday Parties are a great one I never even thought of! I'm thinking, too, of occasionally sharing large purchases of products that come much cheaper in bulk--like QuickBooks W-2 forms, for instance...

I'll be seeing you all around, I'm sure!

I know it's been a while since this conversation happened, but Sarah, I definitely like your second option. It's more obvious what you do and didn't leave me puzzling over meaning.