Month: July 2016

Since going Indie
with my writing,
I’ve been happier
and much more financially successful.

I know my niche.
I know what readers in that niche want.
I no longer have to sacrifice that
to keep a publisher happy.

Kerry Diamond,
co-founder of
Cherry Bombe,
shares

“We’re debt-free,
with no investors.

It’s nice to have something
independent and small-scale
with a really clear voice
and point of view.

The thing that worries us
is compromising our vision
at all.

As soon as you
take someone’s money,
you risk that.”

Your independence
is an asset.
Think before you give it away.

After yesterday’s post
on Donald Trump
and the power of repetition,
some client k readers
contacted me,
assuming I’m a Donald Trump supporter.

You don’t have to like a person
or support his policies
or think he’s an ethical person
to learn from him.

I prefer to spend time
with people I respect.
I believe we subconsciously
take on
the characters and ethics
of the people around us.

But we can learn
from someone
without spending time
in their presence.

Everyone has their strengths.
Learn from everyone,
even if they are your enemies.

Don’t ever tell me
you can’t start a business
because you don’t have the money.

You might not be able to start
the business you WANT to start
but, if you sending me an email,
you have the money to start A business.

Seth Godin
shares

“If you want to write,
you have the same writing tools
available to you
as the most successful writers
in the world.

If you want to join
a social network,
well, the software that connects
the titans of your industry
is the very same software
you can use.

If you want to learn,
do research,
make a ruckus…
your local library has access to
the same tools
as you’ll find in a skyscraper
in a big company.”

If you have a computer (or a phone)
and internet access,
you can change the world.

No more excuses.
Do it!

Before taking any sort of action
in my writing business,
I ask myself,
does this benefit my core readers?
If it doesn’t benefit my core readers,
I think twice about it.
If it HARMS my core readers,
I discard the idea.

In August’s
CPA Magazine,
self-made billionaire
Michael Lee-Chin
shares

“I asked myself,
how am I going to differentiate myself?
Because it’s your differences
that will remain indelible
with people.
How am I going to make sure
that I build the best possible reputation
and how am I going to make sure
that I really value my clients?”

Value your clients/customers.
They’re the reason
you’re in business.

My first impulse
is to be much more critical of other women
than I would ever be of men.

I KNOW I have this bias.
I deliberately stop myself
and ask, “Would I think or say this
if she was a man?”

I correct my thinking
and my actions.

Lindsey Saletta
has a theory
about why we tend not to help
other women.
She believes
it is because we don’t want to
draw attention to the fact
we’re women
in an usually male dominated field.

She
shares

“If we accept the idea
that being a woman
makes us an unwanted intruder,
we are much less likely
to reach out and help
the next woman
up the ladder.

The following woman in turn
feels no support
and is unlikely
to help her colleagues up either.

The results of this pattern
are entire industries
filled with women
who are isolated, distrusting,
and at a disadvantage.”

Figure out your own bias
(and I guarantee you have one)
and then figure out
how to offset it.

Change the world
by supporting other women.

I head to YouTube
at least once a day.
It is wonderful
for writing research.

It is also wonderful
for many entrepreneurs.
Million dollar businesses
are being built
on the video platform.

Michelle Phan,
Co-Founder
of Ipsy,
shares some of her tips.

“I wanted to create a story
and almost bring
a more theatrical element
to my videos.
If you’re always putting out
the same videos,
people get bored
and they move on.
I think because I constantly evolve
and grow with my audience,
I’m able to stay relevant.”

“You need to build solid content
on your channel
so that people know
it’s worthwhile to subscribe to you.
Consumers are most likely
to choose a brand
that they have a connection with.”

“Videos need to be high-quality
so people can watch, share and learn.
And uploads need to be consistent
so subscribers get something new
each time they come back.”

If you’re building a YouTube business,
treat it like a business.
Focus on
content, consistency
and collaboration.

When I worked
at a major beverage company,
cannibalization,
new products stealing
the sales of existing products,
was a big concern.

The thing is…
if we didn’t cannibalize
our own products,
the competitor eventually would.

Howard Yu
and Thomas Malnight
share

“The willingness to cannibalize
a company’s existing business
before its decline
was also a major focus
of Apple under Steve Jobs.

In 2005,
when the demand for the iPod Mini
remained huge,
the Nano was launched,
effectively destroying
the revenue stream
of an existing product.

And while iPod sales
were still going through the roof,
Jobs launched the iPhone
which combined iPod,
cell phone, and Internet access
into a single device.”

Embrace the cannibalization
of your old products
by your new products.

If you don’t eat your lunch,
someone else will.

When I create my to-do lists
for every day,
I have one or two tough tasks
and six or seven easy tasks.
The easy tasks buoy my spirits
and give me a sense of accomplishment.
That allows me
to have the energy
to tackle the tough tasks.

That should be how
you set your company goals.

Sanjiv Anand,
the Chairman of
Cedar Management
Consulting International,
shares

“Organizations often make
the following mistakes in setting targets:
either they only focus on financial targets,
or they tend to set too many aggressive targets.

If one looks at an organization’s strategy,
one will find in an average year
that out of the 20-25 key targets to set,
only 4 or 5 need to be aspirational;
the rest can be realistic and easy.

Too many stretch targets
break an organization’s back
and results in an accelerated depletion
of its people, financial
and other resources,
with no real guarantees of benefits.”

Only set a few stretch goals.
Make the rest easy to accomplish.

I thought I knew what it was like
to work hard
before I started my own business.
I had been on the executive track
at large corporations,
helping them launch new products
and new systems.
I was working 70 hour weeks,
every week.

Starting up a company
makes those weeks seem
like a holiday.

Nena Chaletzos,
founder and CEO
of Luxtripper,
shares

“Starting up a company is 24/7.

It can be stressful at times
and sometimes you will have
some very dark days
along the way.

But if you go into it
with your eyes open
and plan for the potential future risks,
it should be smoother sailing.”

Prepare for the hard work.
Changing the world
isn’t a part time gig.