Fortune is in the Failure, so writes Katie Myers in her first Business Book subtitled, What you say in business matters.

I could not agree more. What you say in business does matter. It matters how you say it, when you say it, and why you say it,

This month's book for Time for Books, is an eye-opener for many solo-preneurs and all entrepreneurs. I was so delighted when Katie told me she was writing a book, given I had been working with her for a good bit of time, and she was instrumental in both my work here in video, and my overall recognition that my love of working with women in business meant I should return to Lipsticking.com .

This book contains a wealth of information and training. It's a form of workbook, with select pages designed to be filled out by you, the reader. 

As we wind down April, I chose the chapter on Collaboration to be my final video. As I am pretty sure I mentioned previously, adding this important chapter closer to the end of the book is just brilliant. As Katie tells us,

"This stuff is hard. You cannot do it alone!"

(and I say, even if you could, why would you?)

Katie has a number of collaborative partners. They did not all materialize out of thin air, however. She didn't stalk them until they agreed to work with her. She did what every self-respecting business professional would do - she networked and met people who fit her style and business, and over time, both a friendship and a working relationship grew.

One of the first things Katie taught me was that I should choose clients I like. People I would like to work with. Not people who rubbed me the wrong way, even if they were waving big checks in my face. You just don't do as well with people you don't like, as you do with people you do like. And so it is with your collaborative partners. They should be folks you really, really like. And respect.

"I can't say it more plainly," Katie writes. "This shit is HARD. You must be on your A game every day, all day. You need to show up at networking events with a smile and an attitude that everything is 100 percent A-Okay. Well, let's be real. Sometimes it isn't! Sometimes you run into problems you had no idea existed. As an entrepreneur, you are faced with a plethora of challenges and obstacles. This is why your village is so important. These are talking-you-off-the-ledge, keep-you-from-quitting, kick-you-in-the-ass kind of situations. You need to allow your village to pump you up and push you back in the ring. 

Whew! I'm shaking my head, wiping off the sweat, wondering if she was looking over my shoulder last week. Because last week, when I should have posted a video book review - THIS video book review - I didn't. I failed. I felt so awful, I thought maybe I shouldn't do reviews anymore. I mean, if I can't keep my word, what good am I?

And so, my village, one of whom is Tom Collins, husband and life partner and founder of Old Dog Learning, gave me the shove back into things, and here I am. Below.

This month's book really helped me focus my thoughts on what I want to accomplish in 2018, and how to phrase what I need to say. As a communicator, I often think I know how to write or speak or communicate, and I can get huffy if someone pulls me aside to say, "was that really what you meant to say?" 

 When that happens, I have to pause and remember Katie's words that "what you say in business matters" and my mother's advice way back when, "say what you mean and mean what you say."

And, I do a mea culpa. Because, you got it, even I make mistakes and fail at the basic tenets of communication. sigh

Watch our final video, and get Katie's book.

She also does "Talk it Out Tuesday" on Facebook Live, every... Tuesday. 

Visit her website, CR Conversations, and consider having her speak at your next event.