Justin Beller's blog

I’m currently taking part in a four-week workshop hosted by a fellow TVCNet member. Over the course of the workshop, it’s very likely I will be reflecting upon what I’m learning here on this blog (much like I’m doing right now).

The objective of the workshop is a develop your business around your lifestyle and not the other way around like so many entrepreneurs have. Unfortunately, their business becomes their lifestyle and starts to consume them. If this is the case, when your business starts doing poorly your personal life doesn’t do so well. Read More >

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a workshop hosted by Becky McKinstry of Open Lines called A New Outlook. The workshop was designed for small business owners to gain a new perspective on how they conduct sales in their organization. One of the things I learned from the workshop was how we as business owners spend our time.

In business, you can usually break your activities down into two groups. Read More >

I recently finished a report I found at FreelanceFolder.com on Why Some Freelancers Thrive. I started to think about TVCNet and the ways it helps to promote success among its members and helps avoid the common problems consultants encounter that bring about failure.

Let’s break down the elements of success and failure as outlined in the report:Read More >

I’m in the middle of reading a great book called Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. One of the ways to take advantage of the recent social media explosion in business is to listen to what others are saying about you and your industry. What they say, whether good or bad, is not necessarily about you.Read More >

Over the last few weeks I have been putting together an e-book on social media for consultants and small businesses that I hope to publish soon.

I noticed an often overlooked feature of Facebook profiles that many people fail to take an advantage of.  It’s an editable field where you can post a message or brief write-up about you.  This field is found below your picture in the upper left of your profile and can be edited by clicking on the small pencil icon in the field.Read More >

I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions. As one friend put it, “It’s not about changing. It’s about doing what worked for you and continuing to do it.”  I couldn’t agree more, but at the same time you have to change some things (the stuff that’s not working for you) in order to be successful.Read More >

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about next year and what I intend to do with both TVCNet and my consulting business. Most of this forward thinking is based on reflections and observations I made about this past year – what worked for me and what didn’t work.

Over the weekend I read a great quote which said, “You don’t find books, books find you.” That’s very true and it even applies to blog posts and articles. I found two that speaks to looking ahead as I plan out my marketing strategies for 2010:Read More >

Most of you know my work outside of Treasure Valley Consultants’ Network is as a trainer and performance improvement specialist. Diane Gayeski, PhD is a practitioner in the field of human performance technology (HPT) and wrote a wonderful article for Performance Xpress on Virtual Consulting: Effective Partnerships Across Time and Space. Read More >

Another question I get about consulting is what to charge for your services and how to charge. By that I mean your rate and a decision to charge by the hour or on a project basis.

Back in January I posted at the old TVCNet blog my thoughts about this very subject. I felt it was worth posting again at the new blog. Here it is again along with some additional thoughts:Read More >

Over the last week or two I have been compiling questions about consulting. These are questions I have heard others ask over the years or have had asked of me. While I may not have all the answers I’m sure readers of this blog, like yourself, can offer up wisdom to provide some answers.

One question, for instance, is when is the best time to start consulting?Read More >