Month: April 2013

About once a day,
someone tells me
she has a great idea for a book.

Having a great idea for a book
is a tiny part of the writing process
and
unless the rest of the process
is completed
(i.e. the book gets written
and published
and is sold),
the idea is worthless.
Success is all about executing.

As Gurbaksh Chahal,
serial entrepreneur,
shares

“A big turnoff is
when people approach me
and say,
‘I have a million-dollar idea
and it’s going to be amazing.’

They think just an idea
will make them millions.
That’s not the way business really works.
It’s about executing
the hell out of your idea
— better than anyone else.”

DO something with your great idea!

One of the best CEOs
I’ve ever worked for
(the CEO of a major beverage company)
would visit the customer
(grocery stores, restaurants, etc)
at least once A DAY.

He’d constantly ask people
what they were buying
and why they were buying it.
We knew
when we pitched a new product to him,
he’d look at it
from not only a CEO view
but from a customer view also.

As Jim Koch,
Founder of Boston Beer Co.,
shares

“As a business grows,
the people at the top are often cut off
from the market,
the customers,
and what’s really happening.

I still do a lot of street selling
and spending a lot of time
in front of customers,
whether it’s trying to get a draft line
or a better place on the shelf.

It teaches me the real challenges.
We don’t do a lot of market research
or focus groups,
but I see real customers
and to me that’s a lot higher quality information.”

See and talk to customers.

A loved one had a verbal deal
with a person he trusted.
He thought they both understood the deal
but it turned out
he interpreted it one way
and she interpreted it another.
It ended up costing him
a LOT of money,
money he could have saved
if he had gotten the deal in writing.

Serial lifestyle and beauty entrepreneur
Marcia Kilgore
shares

“Get everything in writing,
especially with business partners.
When you’re starting out,
things can be quite friendly and exciting,
but people’s memory can change due to money.
You can say,
‘Hey, so we don’t forget what the original deal was,
and I have a bad memory,
let’s just write it down together.’

Obviously, better to have a lawyer do it,
but at least have some written recollection
that you are partners,
who’s responsible for what,
and how much money each of you put in.

It seems basic,
but people still don’t put things in writing.”

This is why notes for meetings
can be crucial.

Avoid misunderstandings
and get it in writing.

BTW… if the other person
protests the need to get agreements in writing,
SERIOUSLY consider
whether or not you wish to do business
with her.

David Chilton,
a dragon on the Dragon’s Den
(the Canadian version of Shark Tank),
was asked about failing
and shared

“It’s the nature of the game.
You’re taking risks.
You’re trying things.

In fact, if you’re not failing a lot,
you’re probably not trying enough.

You try to limit the downside
and you make sure
you make the right calculations
but I’ve made all kinds of mistakes.”

Today, a marketing executive at a large publisher
told me I’ve been making a major mistake
with my back cover copy.
I have over 60 stories released
and this mistake has definitely cost me sales.

When you try new things,
you WILL make mistakes.
Don’t allow this
to stop you from trying these new things.

Lewis Schiff,
author of Business Brilliant,
shares

“An equity position is necessary
to get wealthy.
Ninety percent of the super-successful
say this is true,
versus fewer than half of the masses.

More importantly,
80 percent of “business brilliant” people
say they already have an equity stake
in their work.
Just 10 percent of the middle-class
have an equity position of any kind,
and the vast majority
(70 percent)
say they’re not even trying to get one.”

An equity position could be
a piece (or all) of a business start up,
stock options,
owning company shares,
royalties.

Own a piece of your workplace.

Tim O’Shaughnessy
Co-founder of LivingSocial,
shares

“When pitching investors,
clearly identify the problem
and how you propose solving it
— in 30 seconds or less.

It needs to be that simple,
where you can say:
‘This happens in real life.
This sucks.
We can make it better for people
and here’s how.
The end.’

Then you can go into
what you’re going to do
and the capital you need.”

This is great advice
for pitching to
ANYONE,
including prospects
and employees.

Refine your 30 second pitch.

One of the reasons I love
writing romance novels
is because the endings are always
happy
and hopeful
and optimistic.

I set a romance novel down
and I see opportunities every where.
ANYTHING is possible.
I do more.
I create more.

As Bert Jacobs,
co-founder of
Life Is Good,
shares

“Optimism is powerful.

If you look around
and see obstacles everywhere,
you’ll focus on obstacles
and they’ll be difficult to overcome.

If your disposition is
to see opportunities,
you’ll be drawn to them.

It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Find your sources of optimism
and allow yourself
to be fueled by them.