The Escape Hatch

This is the first of a two-part post.  Next week’s post will be titled “Do It Yourself.”  Probably the first in a string of deliberately infuriating contradictions in which I take particular delight. Last week was the final round of the stand-up contest that I wrote about previously.  From an initial pool of about 70 [...]

What is it about fear that has us running for the hills?  Hiding under the covers of mediocrity?  or drowning in a sea of unrealized potential? I think FDR was onto something when he said “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”…when you really think about that its true!  Its the feeling [...]

I know what you’re thinking.  You can’t ‘make’ inspiration.  That goes against the very meaning of the word.  By definition, inspiration has to arrive organically and without design. Au contraire, mon ami. One week ago today (as of the writing of this post), I lay in bed for hours on end, my mind in a [...]

The new Escape Hatch™ Newsletter is out today.  In it, I talk about what toddlers and entrepreneurs have in common – as witnessed on my recent vacation. You can also find information about buying The Bootstrap Sessions, the webinar that I presented with Nathan Hangen – the package includes the webinar recording, slides and quick [...]

You know you’re an entrepreneur when you see things…and no, I don’t mean dead people… … Entrepreneurs see opportunities and business ideas everywhere, they practically breathe them. I just got back from my desperately needed vacation and I got just what I needed:  uninterrupted time with family, cherished memories and rejuvenation.  I love vacations because [...]

(If you look real close you can see this post being written on my laptop) #1 – You can work from anywhere.  I’m sitting in a restaurant in a hotel on the outskirts of Chicago.  I’m typing this blog post.  I managed to get a late check out which gave me a couple of extra [...]

Entrepreneurs have ideas ALL the time.  Sometimes they come in droves, other times they come singularly and don’t stay for long.  And often entrepreneurs might experience what writers refer to as “writer’s block”, ideas can be coy, unwilling to play and you have to pull out your butterfly net to have any hope of securing [...]

I’ve been talking the last three weeks about geosocial/geotagging tools that are the most widely used.  Today I want to talk about a consolidator tool called check in (which I found out about through the great Katy Tafoya) and also about how you might use these tools as an entrepreneur or solopreneur. Check in is [...]

The solopreneurial life can be lonely at first.  You’re completely dedicated to building your mini empire.  You’re swamped learning all the intricacies of the latest social media craze, crafting your elevator pitch and managing clients & customers.  At some point though – it will become more and more important to be around people who know [...]

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Abroms as our Escape PODcast interviewee this month. Rachel began her professional career in the entertainment business, where she was involved in the casting of such major Broadway successes as Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.  After running Warner Brothers’ New York casting office, Rachel then moved to [...]