Don Draper knows a thing or two about fixing what’s broken when it comes to business.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a job seeker, he’s got some lessons to share.

In last night’s season premiere of Mad Men, his newly formed advertising firm seemed doomed for three reasons:

– He bombs an important media interview.

– He alienates his colleagues and staff.

– He loses clients.

So what does Super AdMan Don Draper do?

He does what the rest of we mortal entrepreneurs and job seekers have to do:  he hits the reset button.

In his case, that meant recognizing the cold reality of having a new company with diminishing revenues and the need to do three things:

1. Clarify what it is that he wants.  (In his case better press, more and better clients.)

2. Find a way to increase the firm’s visibility and viability by identifying his audience, the market he wants to reach. (In his case, it’s a The Wall Street Journal reporter.)

And a third element:

3. Make sure he’s got contacts that allow him to try to try correct his mistake, or at least try a do-over.

In Draper’s case, a colleague’s contact at The Wall Street Journal, enabled him to hit the reset button by pitching a compelling story to another high-visibility media outlet.

Now if he could just figure out his personal life…

(photo by Salvatore Vuono)

What one experience do Oprah, Mozart and Eminen all share?  Mentoring.  Each of these individuals benefited from having a mentor show them the ropes.  In Oprah’s case, it’s been Maya Angelou.  For Mozart, it was Johann Christian Bach.  In Eminem’s case, it’s Dr. Dre.

How can mentoring help you find a job, get a promotion or start a new business in the 21st century?  Join me today at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern) to find out during my interview with best-selling author and mentoring expert Dr. Lois J. Zachary.  She’s co-author of the new book, The Mentee’s Guide, Making Mentoring Work for You.

Have a great week!

What’s holding back so many women entrepreneurs?

Is it women themselves, obstacles posed by stereotypes and misperceptions in the business environment as a whole, some combination of the two, or something else entirely?  The Wall Street Journal contributor Sharon Hadary, who’s also the former  and founding executive director of the Center for Women’s Business Research offers a survey of her findings on today’s edition of Money Matters & More at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern).  She’ll talk about what holds back women entrepreneurs in the 21st century, and what can be done about it.  To tune in, check out blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.com.

Have a great week!

How can you sell almost anything, no matter the economic climate–even when the “anything” includes “peddling nuclear power to environmentalists?”   Author, journalist and freelance writer David H. Freedman recently spent time with supersalesman John “Grizz” Deal and discovered Deal’s nearly fool-proof system for making a sale.

His article, On the Road With a Supersalesman can be found in the April 2010 issue of Inc. Freedman’s new book, Wrong:  Why Experts Keep Failing Us–And How to Know When Not to Trust Them will be published in June.

To hear today’s Money Matters & More interview with Freedman on Blogtalkradio, be sure to tune in at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern).  [Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more).

Have a great week!

Are you feeling stuck in your work and personal life?  Do you wonder why and want to do something about it?

Coach and consultant Kim George has some news for you:   no pill, person, information, motivation or circumstances will enable you to become great.  The truth is you’re already great.

Kim George joins me today on this week’s edition of Money Matters & More at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern) on Blogtalkradio to explain this good news.  To hear the live interview, click onto Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more. The author of Coaching Into Greatness. 4 Steps to Success in Business and Life George will talk about greatness and how each of us can eliminate the barriers that keep us from doing what we are able to do.

If you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or make a comment, please call the switchboard line at (646) 929-1832, between 10:25 and 10:45 a.m.

Have a great week!

In How to Start Each Day Motivated, an article written last month for Entrepreneur Magazine, Sid Kemp, a best-selling author, small business consultant and coach, makes the case that leading a business with passion can’t be left to chance.  Instead, he argues, it takes focused, deliberate and consistent effort.

Entrepreneurial passion–that’s the theme on today’s edition of the Money Matters & More radio show.  Be sure to tune into today at 10 a.m. (Eastern) on blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.  Kemp  joins me to talk about how entrepreneurs can succeed, even (or especially) when things don’t go according to plan.

Got a question for Sid Kemp?  Be sure to call into today’s show with a question at (646) 929-1832.

Thanks!

What’s in store for entrepreneurs on ABC’s Shark Tank next season?  Be sure to tune into a Blogtalkradio interview with one of the show’s star’s, Barbara Corcoran, successful businesswoman and savvy real estate adviser for the Today Show.  You can hear her today at 11 a.m. (Eastern).  To find it online, click onto blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.

Thanks!

Real estate whiz, Today Show contributor, magazine and newspaper columnist, ABC’s Shark Tank star and overall successful businesswoman Barbara Corcoran offers these tips for entrepreneurial success:

“Every great entrepreneur is a great salesperson…[Here are] three personal beliefs about selling anything.

1. People want to do business with someone they like.

2. Selling is nothing more than playing up the good and playing down the bad.

3. Always remember who’s in charge of the market you’re selling in.

Those are just a few of the bits of wisdom from Corcoran’s best-selling book, If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails (Penguin Group – Portfolio).

Although technical problems prevented today’s live interview with Barbara Corcoran, check moneymattersandmore.com posts for a new day and time.

Thanks and have a great week!

Real estate expert, columnist, author and popular speaker Barbara Corcoran’s story only reads like fiction…

– She earned straight D’s in high school and college

– She held twenty different jobs by the age of 23

– Decades ago, she borrowed $1,000 dollars from her boyfriend to start a business

– She sold her real estate business in 2001 for $70 million

That’s not the end of her story, of course.

The successful businesswoman, columnist and speaker joins me tomorrow for a 10 a.m. live interview on Money Matters & More on BlogTalkRadio (Eastern Time.) She’ll be talking about her success story and offer frank advice to entrepreneurs and anyone else who wants to get ahead in business.

To tune in, be sure to click onto blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more. Got questions for Barbara Corcoran?  Email them to me at moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com.  (Twitter: moneyandmore; Facebook: moneymattersandmore.)

Have a great week!

“To twitter or not to twitter?”

That’s increasingly the question being asked by entrepreneurs looking to reach new and established customers.  With apologies to Shakespeare for modifying his words, it can be tough to know whether, or how much time and effort to spend on social media, when so many small business owners have to tend to a myriad of tasks, from administrative to sales.

What’s the answer?  Are Twitter and Facebook worth the effort?  Sarah Needleman (see photo), staff reporter with the Wall Street Journal joins me today on the Money Matters & More radio show to help answer that question and to talk about her recent  WSJ column, Entrepreneurs Question the Value of Social Media, 10:30 a.m. Eastern on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Got a question before the show?  Contact at moneymattersandmore@yahoo.com, Twitter (moneyandmore) or Facebook (moneymattersandmore).

Thanks.