Category: New Business Development

China Market Research Group
recently studies billionaires
to determine
what differentiates them
from non-billionaires.

There were 3 core differences.
One of them was
that billionaires look at opportunities
from different angles,
many more different angles
than the average person.

“They recognized
that everyone else believing
or doing something
didn’t make it right.
But being a contrarian
for the sake of being contrary
was no solution either.”

They thought critically
about problems
and as critically about the solutions.

Solutions… plural.
There is never only one.

When I had my first romance novel published,
I asked
what sales were expected from a first time author.
No one would give me an answer.

As a result,
I struggled for years
with a product that wasn’t working.
I wasn’t happy.
My publisher wasn’t happy.

I’m now playing with another genre.
I asked my new publisher
what level of sales was expected
from a new author.
She told me.
My sales are double that.
I know I have myself a winner.
I’m writing a sequel.

Benchmarks are important.
They let you know
if a product or marketing program or ???
is jiving with the prospect.
If the product doesn’t come close,
you know to concentrate on something else.
If a product blows the lights out,
you know to consider expanding the line.

Without benchmarks,
you’re wandering in the wilderness
and usually end up wasting everyone’s time and energy.

A brand new author,
wrapped up in the excitement
of her first book release,
used an incorrect term
when describing her publisher.
It upset the publisher
and upset many, many authors.

It didn’t upset me.
What upset me was the reaction.
The new author was named
and
people jumped all over her.

For making a mistake.

I didn’t
because I’ve made many, many mistakes.
I plan to continue making
many, many mistakes
and I would prefer that
no one sends me hateful emails
when I do.

Unless you’re an absolutely perfect person,
cut other people some slack
when they make mistakes.

Feirong Yuan and Richard W. Woodman,
in a survey of 425 employees,
uncovered that worries about image risk
significantly decrease
the number of employee innovations.

What is image risk?
It is the fear that your coworkers
will think less of you
for suggesting an unpopular innovation.

Yuan and Woodman suggest creating a culture
of innovation,
making innovation a desirable image.

Another suggestion was to
“break job position stereotypes”
by requiring all employees to contribute new ideas.

I’ve never been shy about suggesting innovation
(because I realized long ago
that someone will think less of me
no matter what I do or don’t do)
but the best managers I’ve worked with
are proactive about innovation.
They meet with employees regularly
privately
and ask about possible innovation.
They also ask if the employee wishes to take credit
for that innovation.
Those with image risk issues say ‘no.’
Those that without say ‘yes.’

It sounds like a no-brainer
but how many entrepreneurs
try to force prospects
to buy a product
they THINK prospects
should want?

I know I’ve done this.

For the past few years,
I’ve been selling a product no one wanted.
I worked my ass off marketing and selling it.
No one bought it
because no one wanted it.

Recently I switched to another product,
a product prospects want.
No selling necessary,
no marketing necessary.
It sells itself.

Guess what?

It is A LOT easier.
Any decrease in
‘making the world a better place’ feelings
is more than offset
by being wanted.

Make a product people want.
If you have other goals,
try to incorporate those
into this product.
But start with a product
people want.

The first day on a new contract
I ask the same question –
‘What needs to be done TODAY?’

There always is something.
In my current contract,
the urgent thing
was supposed to have been done
days ago.
Every additional day
meant additional steep penalties.

If you are an entrepreneur
or a project person,
odds are…
there is something that needs to be completed
as soon as possible
every single day.

There will be panic moments
but it is important that you not panic
especially as this will be a daily event.

Chris Laibe, founder of Schedulist.com,
puts it best
“Learn to live with the fact that,
most of the time,
something needed to be finished yesterday.”

Jory Des Jardins
has a great article
on the wrong reasons
to become an entrepreneur.

The first one
is because you need a job.

A business is not a job
unless your job has you working 24/7,
charges you to work there
for months or even years,
and
requires you to fill every role.

If what you truly wish
is more control over your assignments,
flexibility with when you work,
and quick cash,
consider a contract position.

Leave the business building
for when you have an idea
to make the world a better place.

Big companies are often run
by folks with big egos.
Get two big egos together
and eventually
that relationship will end up in a pissing match.

The latest pissing match is between
Amazon and
one of their key business partners
Macmillan.
Amazon has pulled all Macmillan titles
from sale.

Amazon affiliates are sad.
Macmillan authors are sad.
Other online booksellers
and other publishers are not.

The savvy ones are taking advantage,
using these few days
(pissing matches last days at the most)
to grow their business
and their market share.

Some day in the future,
your industry leader will also
become distracted
with a pissing match.
Are you prepared to take advantage
of it?

Forbes has a wonderful article
on the greatest risks
successful people
have ever taken.

Many of the enterpreneurs
have forgoing compensation
during building years
as their greatest risk.
Not only their compensation
but everyone on their team.

Co-founder of Flickr Caterina Fake’s team
went without salary for two years.

50 people in Tim Westergren’s Pandora Radio
deferred salary for over two years.

Would you give up two years of salary
to make your business a success?
Do you believe in it enough
to ask others to do the same?

What is the biggest risk
you’ve ever taken?

A software company
recently launched a new program
aimed at assisting insurance brokers.
The program was slightly superior
to the others out there.
However,
the interface was so new and different,
it required initial training to use.

The brokers didn’t have time
for training.
Although they wanted the improvements,
the improvements weren’t important enough
to them
to warrant changing their habits.
They had choice.

They tried the system once,
didn’t like that first experience,
and then switched to a competing system.

The average person
(and I am certainly an average person)
is lazy,
wants instant results,
and has choice.

If your prospects have to learn
how to use your product
before they get results,
your product has to be
so good, so innovative, so status boosting, etc
that it is their ONLY choice.