One of the best parts of what I do is hearing suggestions from all of you. I’m not always quick to respond because, like you, I’m running a business. In May I got an e-mail recommending a book, and I need to tell you about it!

Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques was written by Michael Michalko, a creativity expert. I’m part of the way through it (an easy read) and have already applied and taught two concepts! If the well-worn definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results, then Thinkertoys is a terrific antidote to what may be ailing us! I think you will find reading it to be time well spent–especially if you apply it!

As if this weren’t enough, it really is time to start planning for your success in 2009. Many businesses slow down in summer. That doesn’t mean you get to slough off, too–it means you have some time to really step back and think about your business: What’s working, what isn’t and what you would like to change, add or drop. Reconnect with your vision for your business. Dreaming, visioning and planning–what a wonderful way to spend the summer!

Remember–dream big!

Late one night recently I found myself wide awake wondering what to make of all the negativity. Should I give up and pull down the website? Should I change my expectations? What to do?

Here’s what I decided:

1. I would take each of the negatives apart to see if there was something I could learn.
2. I would go back and check the sources and how they might have benefited from their gloom and doom. Did it make them seem more expert? We all know that bad news sells and good news languishes.
3. I would see how their points applied to my business in particular.
4. I would compare their findings with what I have seen and heard myself.

I felt much better. Isn’t it amazing how being proactive helps our outloook? Here’s what I learned:

1. Each of the points had merit, but they were also opportunities! In response, I have added solid information to the site and will continue to add more regularly; I added the ability to respond to each other anonymously. I will shortly be adding fun, clear ways to learn to use the website.
2. Some of the authors were men–very knowledgable, but they haven’t lived our experience and perhaps don’t know the correct questions to ask.
3. Where the points applied to Silver Vixens, I mined them for the gold I knew was there.
4. We all know how easy it is to trust “experts” over what we intuitively know. I remembered that the worst mistakes I’ve made occurred when I didn’t trust what I really knew. All my knowledge has worth!

Yes, it pays to see what the experts have to say, but let’s not blindly accept their “facts.” Silver Vixens continues to grow and to make a difference!

We see that owning our own business frees us from organizations that don’t appreciate their employees–and for true entrepreneurs, our business never leaves us. It’s always sitting at the edges of our mind. What can we do better? How can we improve a situation? Is there a way to control costs? Improve a design? Reach a new market?

I love the concept that in our freedom to start and grow a business, we find ourselves immersed in some of the most fascinating questions we can think of. Always occupied, but still free.

Hope the fireworks set off lots of great connections! Happy Fourth of July!

I want to encourage all of you to make firm plans to “step out” and meet new people on a regular–if not continual–basis. You’ll hear yourself talk about your business and might be surprised by what you’re saying or how you’re saying it. As you watch people’s reactions to your comments, you can learn a lot!

• What points do you emphasize?
• Are there areas you tend to minimize or glide over because you are not happy with them?
• Are others responding to something you hadn’t thought of?
• Do you like the responses you are getting?
• What would you change?
• How could you generate more interest or enthusiasm?

As you look ahead to the remainder of 2008, make it a point to broaden your horizons and spread the word about your business. You will be pleasantly surprised at the positive feedback (a welcome memory on those days when nothing is going the way you would like!) and unexpected connections and benefits.

1. Show up. No matter what the batter did the previous time at bat, he still showed up. It made no difference whether he was having a good day or not, he showed up. It also made no difference that Soriano, one of the team stars, went onto the six-week injured list the day before; he showed up. It also made no difference when the crowd was on its feet screaming encouragement; he had a job to do, and he showed up and did his best.

2. Be prepared. Even though the game went extra innings, the Cubbies won in a totally unexpected way–with the bases loaded and no outs, the batter was hit by a pitch. Instant winning run! Yes, they won in a weird way. But the bases were loaded and there were no outs. Odds were, they would have won anyway. Keep loading the bases and you’ll score. I cannot believe I am using sports analogies! It must have been the sun.

3. Keep perspective. Yes, I felt guilty not working, but there was abolutely nothing more important yesterday than sharing my husband’s delight in being at a Cubs game with his daughter and visiting grandson. Sometimes using your time wisely means going to a ballgame.

Wow! All this wisdom and a red hot.

What is most on my mind today is how important it is to know your market. Whom do you think your product or service will most benefit? I was fascinated to hear attendee after attendee (and if the truth be told, almost everyone was male!) ask how to reach the boomer market! As if boomers are one market!

There are left-handed boomers, blue-eyed boomers, boomers who like Birkenstocks, boomers who like earrings. You get the idea. When we come up with our great idea for a business, we imagine hoardes of people lining up for it, but we stand a far better chance if we take the time to understand clearly our best potential customers and get to work with them in mind.

If you are working in your business, you are doing the day-to-day tasks of keeping the business humming. This may include, but is not limited to, order taking and fulfillment, inventory control, manufacturing, customer service–you get the idea. Yes, absolutely, all these things need to be done. Do they all need to be done by you? Are they the best use of your time?

When you are working on your business, you are looking at the big, strategic issues–where do you want your business to go? What will it take to get there? These are the executive type of questions that determine the future of your enterprise. They are vitally important, yet often get short shrift because you are busy being an employee.

Take a minute and think about how you are spending your time. Are you spending too much time on the urgent issues at the expense of the important ones?

Every woman I have written about in my column has started or maintained her business not only to make money, but also because it is a true expression of who she is as a human being. These businesses model good business practices, but they are also a forum for expressing to the world how these women would like to be treated and viewed. I am sure there are exceptions, but each of the women I have interviewed is a fanatic about customer service. They have experienced the frustration of not having someone listen to them seriously about a problem and, at some level, vowed that if they had a business they would do it differently. My friend Barbara Luther, a very entrepreneurial intellectual property attorney, says that behind every successful woman is someone who dissed her (cleaned up here for younger eyes!). After I stopped laughing, I thought about it and find that it’s generally true.

In more ways than one, we are changing the world one business at a time. Now this is exciting!

No, I probably can’t work a 30-year-old under the table–but, then, I don’t want to, either! I hope that in the ensuing years I have learned a thing or two about efficiency and effectiveness. Not everything worth doing is worth doing perfectly. Not everything needs to be done by me. Hard to believe, but I am not an expert in everything–I like to hire out for things I don’t like to do, too. But give me a task or project that taps into my Silver Vixen passion, and I have energy to spare!

Several of the women I have written about in my After 55 column started their business after this magical age. They are having a ball. So–if you want to feel alive, have fascinating challenges, feel the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory–start your own business. You will have great respect for yourself and your creativity, and others will, too! Have at it and let me know what you are doing!