Month: October 2016

Today is Halloween
(in some areas of the world).

There’s a movement
to stop trick or treating.
Kids don’t need the candy.
It isn’t safe to be knocking on doors
(though an adult should be with the kids).
Parties are more efficient.

These are valid reasons
not to trick or treat.

But there are valid reasons
TO trick or treat.

Trick or treating is often
a kid’s first experience at ‘sales.’
She is knocking at a stranger’s house
and asking for candy.
She knows she has to do something
(dress up and
give the prospect an experience)
for the candy.
She also has to ‘ask for the sale’
by saying trick or treat.

Sales is a valuable skill
for everyone.

Kids have to interact
with people face-to-face
while trick or treating.
They aren’t messaging the person.
They’re talking to the person.

They’re exploring
their creativity
while thinking about costumes.
They’re actively thinking
‘Who do I want to be?’
They’re planning for the future
and looking at steps to achieve
that future.

Halloween is also a community building event.
It is often the one day a year
where almost everyone in the community
is involved.
I believe it is important to show kids
that a community can pull together,
can support a common goal.

These are the reasons
I believe in trick or treating.
Have fun tonight!

When we think of business mentors,
we first think of
people in the business world.

It IS good to have businesspeople
on our teams of advisers.
They’ve been there,
done that,
have been in similar situations
as we will eventually experience,
can guide us.

However,
educators can add value also.
They have a wealth of research,
connections to former students,
insights others might not have.

Gwen Whiting,
co-founder of
The Laundress,
shares

“When we conceived
of The Laundress,
the natural thing was
to reach out
to our Cornell network.

We knew
this was her specialty,
so we asked her
to meet with us.

She taught us
the science of detergency
in a crash-course weekend
and has been our mentor
throughout the journey.

As an educator,
she never told us
what to do.”

Consider adding educators
to your mentorship team.

There’s a niche
in the Romance Novel Industry
that is shrinking.
I didn’t know why this was happening
…until I wrote a story in it.

The readership for that niche
has very specific ideas
about…well… everything
– covers, titles, marketing copy,
the content of the books themselves.

And they are organized.
If a book doesn’t follow their ‘rules’,
they try to kill its sales
and they usually succeed.

So many writers have stopped
producing books for it.
The risk of failing
to meet the readers’ demands
is too great
and
the market is too small
to warrant that risk.

An overly demanding niche market
is unlikely to grow.
It will remain small.
Factor that into your business plans.

A client k reader
emailed me
about yesterday’s post
on Chris Evert.

She said it was easier
for Chris Evert
to become successful in business
because she was
successful in tennis.

She’s right,
but not in the way
she thinks
she’s right.

Being a recognizable name
will only get you so far
in business.
It might actually hurt you.

But Chris Evert was successful
in tennis
because she worked REALLY hard.
She surrounded herself with coaches.
She played all out
while she was on the court.

Those are the same traits
that help to make business builders
successful.

Success IS easier
for successful people
because they’ve discovered
the factors that help create success.

Learn from them.

Every January,
masses of newbie writers
decide they’ll write
their first books.

By now,
the end of October,
they’ve quit.

Not because they didn’t have talent.
They have sufficient talent
to build a career.

Not because they didn’t have time.
We all have the same hours
in a day.

But because they didn’t stick
with the writing.
It wasn’t as exciting as they thought
it would be.
It wasn’t a quick as they thought
it would be.
They gave up.

Chris Evert,
tennis player
and entrepreneur,
shares

“Get good advice
from other business people
and don’t go in over your head.

Be conservative
from the beginning.

Find a passion you love
and believe in what you are doing.

But, really,
it is most important
to surround yourself
with the right people
and keep at it.

Soon, you will see things
start to happen.”

Keep at it.
You can do this.
I believe in you.