As a young investment broker, there were three pieces of advice given to me that I've never forgotten.

Well, the beard is long gone. But the mustache is non-negotiable.

This soldier has always had to work at knowing when to stop.

And if you're like me, that line between "living to work" and "working to live" is often blurred for us typical business owners.

You may disagree with me, but I actually don't think "balance" is achievable for entrepreneurs like ourselves.

Our normal is [...] Read More>>

They’ve been the subject of movies, tourists’ photos, stares, fascination, and ridicule.

They are the Amish. America's "Plain People."

Living in rural Pennsylvania, it’s not uncommon to see Amish buggies sharing the road with cars. In the spring, fields are dotted with men behind teams of plow horses.

What has never ceased to amaze me is how a community who ends their children’s formal education at grade eight…

Wears plain clothing, frowns on adornments like buttons (other than on shirts) and forbids the use of zippers…

And shuns modern technology - they don’t own cars, computers, radios, televisions or tap into public electricity...

Still [...] Read More>>

Remember watching The Karate Kid for the first time?

Daniel, the new kid in the neighborhood, is repeatedly targeted by some hard-core bullies. To defend himself, he trains for a karate tournament with Miyagi as his mentor.

And in the famous climactic scene where he assumes the “crane” stance, he pushes through intense pain and is declared the winner! Everyone cheers. Daniel gets the girl and the respect of his nemesis.

Daniel is the hero.

Miyagi is just the guide who helps Ralph earn his hero status.

Like Miyagi, our role is to make our customers the hero...we just help them get what they really [...] Read More>>

More is not always better.

In our quest to get our message in front of our perfect customer, we talk too much. We can’t help adding more and more content to our website.

And then we wonder why when eyes start to glaze over and a polite “Sorry, I need to run” is mumbled. We can’t figure out why visitors leave our website without buying anything.

Here’s a clip from the movie Jerry Maguire that I love.

In reality, our Holy Grail of marketing is to hear our audience say, “You know, I’m interested in your product…tell me more.”

Then and only then do we [...] Read More>>

Just when this 50-something technology-challenged male finally figured out what LMAO means, I started to see YOLO and FOMO all over Facebook.

Talk about feeling like the gramps of the Internet! 🙂

So while my nephew's friends are posting “I didn’t have time to study for the test because I stayed out late partying #YOLO”...

And while emails are pressuring me to “register early to avoid FOMO”...

I’ve come up with my own buzzword: FOFB (or fear-of-falling-behind)

I’m going out on a limb here and assume your business has a web presence. And chances are you currently want to make at least a few tweaks to [...] Read More>>

So you want to offer a new product, course, service. Something you absolutely know that your customers need and will love!

Or are you a little unsure if they will actually buy it?

In our Armenian home growing up, lamb was a staple especially on Sunday. I still love it!

Eggplant, on the other hand? That is another story! Fried, stuffed, mashed. Couldn't stand it then - still can't stomach it.

Now if my mom would have surveyed my sisters and me ahead of time on all our favorite foods, we could have made her shopping so much more efficient!

A boy can dream, right? 🙂

As [...] Read More>>

Cheryl and I were featured on a Podcast, Infusion Cast, with host Jason Hartman of Hartman Media to chat about what Barron Marketing does for our clients using...

You guessed it...automated marketing. You can see the original page here if you’re looking for a solid podcast about how other companies are using Infusionsoft to grow their businesses.

/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hartman-Media-IC6-Automated-Marketing-with-Art-Basmajian-and-Cheryl-Hunt.mp3 Transcript

Intro: Are you ready to grow sales? Save time? And make money? Automated marketing has never been easier! And Infusion Cast bring you hard hitting interviews with the thought leaders and experts in small business sales and marketing that will give you inside tips! tricks! hacks! And [...] Read More>>

God help the small business owner.

Had you known what you were getting into, would you still have taken the plunge?

Or would you have chosen the more-traveled road?

In the 30 years of being the captain of my own ship, there have been moments when the 9-5 life of a car salesman seemed pretty darn attractive.

But at the end of the day, joining the ranks of clock punchers just isn’t an option.

Webster defines a paradox as a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.

So here are 11 [...] Read More>>

You’ve seen it before.

It’s called highway drafting.

I’m talking about those crazy cyclists who hang dangerously close behind a truck, trying to catch the truck’s draft.

The bike is able to go faster because in that sweet right spot of the wake of the truck there is less drag on the biker which in turn lowers the amount of energy required to maintain speed or speed up.

I don’t recommend what seems insanely dangerous behavior, but there a pretty fascinating lesson we can take away as entrepreneurs.

The major retail players with multi-million dollar online websites have a lot in common...one being that they [...] Read More>>

“It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure.” – Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

We have moments when we want to quit.

Days when we're brain-dead from exhaustion.

But we get up and face the next day determined to close that next killer sale or rank #1 on Google.

Facing challenges head on with resolve and gusto is in our blood. Conquering the impossible is what we live and breathe for.

My motto for all of my adult life has been “Second Sucks!!”

Give up? Not even in my vocabulary.

Reality is, though... most [...] Read More>>