From left to right: Emilie and Tony at a recent Habitat for Humanity work day; Emilie after packing and donating 54 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child; A happy lil’ shoe box recipient in Mexico. For many of us, we set out to become business owners in order to make the world a better place through our collective skills and talents. We believe in doing things differently—and better—for our clients and the business world, and it’s become part of our origin, or founder’s st

Ever wonder where you should be investing your time and money to create a successful business? Well, look no further. It’s your brand. A company called Kantar Millward Brown has been tracking the top 100 global brands since 2006. They have found that compared with the S&P 500 and the MSCI World Index, the top brands significantly outperform the stock market. Let’s look at the numbers more closely. If you put $100 in the MSCI World Index in 2006, it would be worth $150 today.

I love the idea of compound interest. It’s the concept of earning interest on your interest. Being a business owner and hanging out your shingle is all about whether or not people have an interest in what you’re offering. Marketing compounds interest in your business within the minds of your prospective clients. It maximizes what you’re already doing for your business when you’re out networking. Want your business to work for you even while you sleep? It’s marketing. Marketin