Advice from Patty Block

Exit Blind Spots

January 27, 2026 Could I have your attention for a moment? I know you’re busy. There are so many daily demands pushing and pulling you in your business and personal life.That...

Stable Stagnation

January 20, 2026 “I have gotten scarily comfortable in my business. I’m grateful for steady revenue, loyal clients, and a strong reputation, but how do I know if I can actual...

Hidden Assets

January 13, 2026 You have a superpower. Do you know what it is?You build value so naturally, so organically, that you no longer see it as value at all. What feels obvious, ea...

Boutique Power

January 06, 2026 Grow bigger! Scale higher! Expand faster!’The business world pushes this single narrative: Bigger is better!But in a marketplace obsessed with size, I’ve dis...

The Bottom-Line Truth

December 09, 2025 I’ve long said that top-line revenue is meaningless. Saying you’re a five-million-dollar company sure sounds good, but revenue isn’t profit.It’s surprisingl...

When Is The Time Right?

December 02, 2025 When is the best time to plan your exit? Before you need one – and spoiler alert – that’s now!Too many women wait until they’re exhausted - or facing a cris...

Stored In The Heart

November 25, 2025 ‘Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.' – Lionel Hampton, American jazz musician and bandleaderI’m filled with g...

Redefining ‘Exit’

November 18, 2025 What does ‘exit’ really mean for you?You’ve probably thought about what it might look like to step away someday, but exit isn’t one-size-fits-all. There’s n...

Planning An Elegant Exit

November 11, 2025 At some point, you will exit your business, whether it’s voluntary or not. If you needed to step away from your business today, due to a health problem or a...

Thinking In Circles

November 04, 2025 Our thoughts, beliefs, actions, and habits frequently work to protect us. If I believe my pricing is “fine,” that preempts my anxiety of feeling hurt by ima...

A Puzzle Within a Puzzle

October 28, 2025 I love a puzzle. I love the cleverness that went into devising it. I love learning new things and creating new approaches.I love bringing others into...

The Break-Even Bombshell

October 21, 2025 Top-line revenue is meaningless.You could own a 3-million-dollar company but if your annual profit margin is under 5%, you’re essentially a break-even busine...

Back to Broken Cookies

October 14, 2025 The Broken Cookie Effect® was born from my experiences working with women business owners who price too low and give too much.You see, when I was growing up,...

Change of Pace

October 07, 2025 We have time management all wrong.Modern business is largely based on the corporate model developed in the early 1900s. It has a top-down hierarchy of leader...

Profitable ≠ Sellable. Here’s Why.

September 30, 2025 You’ve worked hard to build a profitable business. The numbers look good, clients are loyal, and you’ve got a steady team. But here’s the truth: profi...

Is Your Exit an Escape Plan?

September 23, 2025 Do you dream of one day riding off into the sunset like you’re in an old western movie? Your trusty horse saunters off with you in the saddle, as you relax...

What Is Your Business Really Worth?

September 16, 2025 Spoiler Alert: it’s not just revenue.Ask five people what your business is worth, and you’ll get five different answers. And in the world of service-based ...

Would You Buy Your Business?

September 09, 2025 “What do buyers look for in a professional services or consulting firm? What do they really want?”Another good question I’m often asked by women who w...

Are You the Business?

September 02, 2025 “Can I sell my business if I AM the business? I’ve built my brand around my name and thought leadership. Who would want to buy that?” I’m ask...

Plan This Before You Sell

August 26, 2025 Transitions are the threads that weave the tapestry of our lives. They come in various forms - career changes, personal milestones, evolving relationships, an...

Negotiate This Before You Sell

August 19, 2025 “I guess I better take it because this may never happen again…”Do you know what happens a lot? A potential buyer swoops in to buy a company, long before the o...

Lose This Before You Sell

August 12, 2025 Life is not an either-or scenario, and neither is business – but technical experts lean toward binary thinking.Linear thinkers generally get caught up in beli...

Learn This Before You Sell

August 05, 2025 A very wise colleague recently shared her thoughts about how to orient yourself to something new, as you’re managing a transition in your life or business. Sh...

Keep This Secret Before You Sell

July 29, 2025 Becoming exit ready is not a one-time event when you’ve reached a certain revenue milestone or financial target.It is a strategic and ongoing process that sets ...

Fix This Before You Sell

July 22, 2025 I see it over and over… one of the biggest mistakes women business owners make when they start thinking about exiting their business.It is such a big mistake th...

Avoid This Before You Sell

July 15, 2025 At some point, you will exit your business, whether it’s voluntary or not.And you're not just selling a company; you're transitioning a piece of your identity. ...

Prioritize This Before You Sell

July 08, 2025 Business owners often think revenue levels are the main measure of business value, but there is so much more to building real business assets.For expertise-base...

Find This Before You Sell

July 01, 2025 I see women business owners get hurt and hustled. All. The. Time. I feel protective of my clients and colleagues.So, I’m sharing tangibles for women to believe,...

Believe This Before You Sell

June 24, 2025 Exiting your business can happen in many ways – by choice or by accident.You can close the doors, sell or transition to someone you know, or sell to a stra...

Your Sage Advice

June 17, 2025 “The missing link for many women is to trust ourselves. We have amazing powers of intuition and perception – tuning into ourselves and others – but...

The Wicked Truth

June 10, 2025 “Remember this: Nothing is written in the stars. Not these stars, nor any others. No one controls your destiny.” ― Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times o...

Deciding for the Win!

June 03, 2025 “We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what shou...

The Path to a Classic

May 27, 2025 "When I think of normality I think of mediocrity." - Gillian Anderson, actress, activist, and writer, best known for her portrayal of FBI Special Agent Dana Scul...

The Shadow of ‘Shoulds’

May 20, 2025 “Don't wait for the stars to align, reach up and rearrange them the way you want...create your own constellation.” – Pharrell Williams, musician, music prod...

The Power of Potential

May 13, 2025 “Close the doors… fade to black… abandon ship…” All the metaphors running through my mind when the shock of changing course took hold.I was out of time and ...

Making Money But Having Little

May 06, 2025 “For business owners, it often feels like the need to serve is fighting with the need to sell. The spirit of self-sacrifice we learned from our role models steps...

Who is Going to Stop You?

April 29, 2025 “The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me." – Ayn Rand, author and philosopherThink back to why you started your business. ...

The Keystone and Cornerstone

April 22, 2025 “Effective pricing is not some simplistic formula. It's a framework that works when you speak with a buyer - every time. You feel comfortable and ...

Avoiding Absolutes

April 15, 2025 “Never give away your intellectual property.” This is advice I give often, even though I normally avoid absolute statements.In the real world, ‘always’ an...

Inside the Jar

April 08, 2025 “As a rule, we think the primary way to generate more revenue is to raise our prices. However, that is only one of many ways to make more money. You don’t have...

It’s Not Enough

April 01, 2025 “It takes courage to push yourself to places you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the ...

The Whirl

March 25, 2025 “Sometimes you just have to jump out the window and grow wings on the way down.” – Ray Bradbury, Patty’s favorite author and screenwriter, author of Fahre...

The Bottom Line

March 18, 2025 ‘Always start with the bottom line.’ It’s advice I give often and I’m now sharing with you.So here goes: The bottom line is that you will exit you...

Our Invisible Reality

March 11, 2025 “There is an invisible world out there, and we are living in it.” – Bill Viola, Contemporary video and installation artist The trees are swaying but t...

Your Metaphorical Skin

March 04, 2025 “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (1933-1945), diplomat, and activist...

Ready for Any Question

February 25, 2025 We’ve all felt it – that split second shock, that constriction and clenching of our bodies, that horrible moment when we don’t have an answer.We feel like t...

The Why Out

February 18, 2025 “I don’t see the way out, but I see the why out.” My client, Jill, has gotten very clear about why she wants to exit her business.Her firm is f...

Outcomes Versus Execution

February 11, 2025 “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw, playwright, political activist, and Nobel Laur...

Have You Built A Velvet Prison?

February 04, 2025 “I learned to always take on things I'd never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” – Ginni Rometty, First woman CEO of IBM, systems enginee...

Feeling Successful - and Stuck?

January 28, 2025 Are you peeking out from behind the closed curtain?For me, my business life breaks down like a play - in three acts.If "All the world's a stage…”*, your busi...

What is Your Next Transition?

January 21, 2024 " Transitions are almost always signs of growth, but they can bring feelings of loss. To get somewhere new, we may have to leave somewhere else behind." – Fr...

Are You Hiding in Your Business?

January 14, 2025 "You can't be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute." - Tina Fey, actress, comedian, writer,...

Are You Building a Legacy?

January 07, 2025 "Create your legacy and pass the baton." – Billie Jean King, tennis champion and social activist.Most women business owners I know are so busy with the day-t...

What is the Best Approach For…?

December 31, 2024 “Opportunities – the good ones – are messy, confusing, and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.” – Susan Wojcicki, Former CEO of YouTu...

How Do I Talk About…?

December 24, 2024 “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.” – Seth Godin, author, entrepreneur, and teacherWhen you make a major...

When is the Best Time To…?

December 17, 2024 Say what you will about Houston and its four seasons (drought, flooding, scorching and sweltering), there are days as summer turns to fall that are spe...

How Do I Get Prepared For…?

December 10, 2024 “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.” – Marie Forleo, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropistWhile I...

Can I Really…?

December 03, 2024 "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt."--William ShakespeareWe all have doubts, from small things to li...

Thanksgiving Memories

November 26, 2024 All the food in my refrigerator spoiled with the heat, and sleeping at night was impossible.July in Houston is searing under the best of circumstances, but ...

How Do I Avoid…?

November 19, 2024 I hate scary movies but love scary books. Why do I avoid one and not the other? I think it comes down to control.In my mind, I can control the pace and...

How Do I Know…?

November 12, 2024 I have long believed that the real job of an entrepreneur is to experiment. Be curious – ask strategic questions – try something new – succeed or fail – and...

Real Questions from Real Women

November 05, 2024 I’m trying something new. After writing almost 100 original long-form articles, I noticed some patterns in the questions women business owners are a...

Deconstructing the Dots

October 29, 2024 Finding our purpose is a tricky thing.I find great purpose in my work, but I also believe my role as a parent, raising good humans, has impacted where I...

Our Missing Link

October 22, 2024 One of my favorite quotes always makes me smile: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” (anonymous, often attributed to poet and playwright Oscar...

Unconscious Competence

October 15, 2024 “You can be miserable before you have a cookie and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie, but you can't be miserable while you are eating a cookie.” - ...

A Validating Surprise

October 08, 2024 “But I’m not ready!”“It feels great that someone recognizes what I’ve built but…”“I can’t believe what that company is offering…”“I guess I better take it be...

Why You Do The Work You Do

October 01, 2024 One of the most popular ways to talk about yourself and your business has a name: business storytelling.And while I believe in the power of a good story...

Your Best Mistake

September 24, 2024 “Eek, that’s a sour note!” she admonished.I knew it the instant it happened – maybe before it happened. I was playing an especially difficult piece of...

The Magic of Moments

September 17, 2024 I recently read a phenomenal book and there are many things that stuck with me.If you’re a fan of historical fiction, you won’t want to miss this one....

Does Your Business Have Legs?

September 10, 2024 Empowerment: an overused buzzword that I find irritating. The only person who can empower you is you!You don’t ‘empower’ your clients, and neither do I. We...

4 Root Causes of Epic Fails

September 03, 2024 We all know the game-show Jeopardy, where you are given statements and have to determine the question.Imagine you’re playing ‘Leadership Jeopardy’ with ‘De...

Not Knowing Your Way

August 27, 2024 There is no magic answer to running your business successfully. There is no one-size-fits-all formula. No one else has the recipe that will work for you....

The Doing Dilemma

August 20, 2024 “Hoping and wishing are excuses for not doing.” – Dr. Robert AnthonyI heard this recently and felt confused. I can see the wisdom behind it, but I still ...

I’m Not Sorry

August 13, 2024 Like most humans, I am extremely confident about some things – and not so much with other things.I’m cautious that my confidence doesn’t spill over into arrog...

The Diplomatic No

August 06, 2024 Crafting a message that is clear, concise, and conveys value will boost your confidence. You will feel more in control and less likely to feel knocked of...

The Confidence Game

July 30, 2024 Are you working too hard for too little?Have you fallen into the trap of thinking you need to work harder to make more money? Worse, have you invested time...

Our Tongue-Tied Tango

July 23, 2024 When someone expresses interest in working with us, we regularly make the mistake of thinking their interest is purely about the work.We may launch into te...

The Nuance Knot

July 16, 2024 Many years ago, I worked with a client who thought I hung the sun, the moon, and the stars. She sang my praises and told me how much she appreciated me and my w...

Plan Like a Politician

July 09, 2024 I was caught off guard last week – and I started thinking about what that really means.In that moment, I felt surprised, unprepared, frustrated, and a bit ...

Your Third Act

July 02, 2024 I felt startled by what she said – but not really surprised. How very sad.My client Jill recently told me: “I don't think I realized the level of dissatisfactio...

Strategic Repetition

June 25, 2024 There’s an old maxim for public speaking: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them”.Why does this struc...

Key Point Killers

June 18, 2024 Your primary role as a business owner is to position your company in the marketplace. Yes, you work with clients, run your company, and handle sales. But unless...

Anchors Aweigh!

June 11, 2024 Once upon a time…When I was growing up…On a dark and stormy night…There are as many ways to start an engaging story as there are to end it. Using stories to bri...

“Once Upon a Midnight Dreary…”

June 04, 2024 I can hear them in the kitchen – Mom talking, listening, and laughing with the ‘old folks’. One after another, every couple of days, she records someone el...

Just Done!

May 28, 2024 “I’m just done! I’ve had it with the daily frustrations, demanding clients, and bending over backwards to keep my staff happy. I want to spend my time on people ...

No Cookie-Cutter Approach

May 21, 2024 I typically don't read business books. I find that, rather than building on other people's ideas, I like to develop my own perspectives.In fact, I’m very protect...

Jumping Off the Revenue Rollercoaster

May 14, 2024 When my children were small, my home office doubled as a playroom for the kids. On this memorable day, all three kids were sitting at my feet, playing with toys ...

Painting Yourself Into a Corner

May 07, 2024 Judy is scared. I know because she told me. Flat out, direct, and honest, I can see the fear in her eyes.I get it – the stakes are high, and she doesn’t wan...

The Magic of Needle and Thread

April 30, 2024 “Shears, not scissors”, he growled. The giant metal shears were so heavy I could barely hold them, let alone use them.A talented tailor, my great-grandfat...

Betwixt & Between

April 23, 2024 Our foundational beliefs, especially as women, are limiting how we build, optimize, and exit our companies.As Henry Ford famously said: “If you think you ...

Crossing Thresholds

April 16, 2024 I’m not generally a fan of the Romantic Age poets, but William Blake enchanted me with his reflection:“In the universe, there are things that are known, and th...

The Wizard or the Witch?

April 09, 2024 “Would you rather be ‘the man behind the curtain’ or ‘the Wizard’?” he asked me.My colleague Mike and I were talking about how we promote our companies.In my v...

The Curse of the Linear Thinker

April 02, 2024 At some point, you will exit your business, whether it’s voluntary or not.Are you leaving your life’s work, your impact, and your legacy in the hands of f...

Better, Not Bigger

March 26, 2024 Small-business owners have a conundrum. Everyone around us uses the concept of scaling as the primary measure of business success.If you believe the road ...

Giddy-Up with a Steady Hand

March 19, 2024 Growing up in South Texas, my favorite times at our family ranch were riding a young horse named Red. He was chestnut brown, but his coat sparkled red in the s...

Claim the Whole Cookie

March 12, 2024 Currency is a symbol, and like any representation, it means what we say it means. In each country, the government defines the currency, flag, and anthem.O...

Revenue Versus Value

March 05, 2024 A break-even year?! Norah studied the forecast I built and couldn’t believe it. She and her staff were working way too hard not to realize a profit!As the owne...

Recognizing Red Flags

February 27, 2024 It’s a bright, sunny day – hot even by South Texas standards. But the sun is glittering off the water and there’s nowhere I’d rather be. I spent so muc...

♪♫ I Can See Clearly Now… ♪♫

February 20, 2024 There are many things you can control and many things you can’t. As women business owners, we often feel responsible for issues, people, and actions over which we...

The Succession Fallacy

February 13, 2024 I see it over and over… one of the biggest mistakes women business owners make when they start thinking about exiting their business.It is such a big mistake that it ca...

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