Time… The limitless Commodity

STOP thinking of time as a limitless commodity.

Find your urgency.

You don’t have unlimited time to “figure it out” or “get to it soon” – the clock is ticking on you.

So many young professionals feel they have forever and a day to put it all together; when they get there, if they get there, they’ll figure it out.

You need to shift that and start trying to figure it out now and plan how to get there sooner than later.

15 Things You Should Know Before You Hit Your 30’s

Knowing these simple 15 things might make all the difference...

Success, at this point in your life is defined as setting the table and building for the future. This is not the time to enjoy the feast. Understand that this isn’t your time to “practice” or use it as a “dress rehearsal” – this is the real thing! Use this time to explore, refine, find passion, find purpose, find talents, and lastly, learn to serve the greater good. Bring value to people and people will invest in your talents.

1. Invest in your friendships.

No, don’t give all your friends money and call it a day. Spend the time to figure out who you can count on and who is always there for you. Find the group who cares about your goals, your ambitions, your dreams, and hang out with those guys. Invest in the growth of your friendship with this group of people. The benefits are endless in the long-run.

2. Happy Birthday.

Two words, they come around once a year. Write down all of the birthdays of the people closest to you in your calendar. When the day comes, call, text, email, send a dancing telegram, anything… Why does this matter? There is value in being the person who always remembers birthdays and anniversaries. It takes nothing from you to remember, but means the world to the person you remember for. Do the little things.

3. Time.

Stop thinking of time as a limitless commodity. Find your urgency. You don’t have unlimited time to “figure it out” or “get to it soon” – the clock is ticking on you. So many young professionals feel they have forever and a day to put it all together; when they get there, if they get there, they’ll figure it out. You need to shift that and start trying to figure it out now and plan how to get there sooner than later.

4. You have talent!

You have a gift. Think about what things you do better than anyone else. It could be time management, it could be motivation, it could be your diet… anything! Think about how that talent can serve people. Start planning to build your empire around that talent.

5. Stop the texts.

Business opportunities are conducted over the phone. Stop hiding behind your text messages. Have something to say? Call that person. There is no value in driving up your text message counter when you can simply call someone and resolve a problem. Stop being a sissy and pickup the phone. You’ll thank me later.

6. Nice job! Stop sitting around.

Someone took a gamble and gave you a job. The absolute worst thing you can do is sit around and wait to be told what to do. These people invested in you and gave you an opportunity. Firstly, be so grateful that you don’t even think about wasting their money. Have nothing to do? Find ways to bring value to the company. Research something, read the website for spelling errors, compile marketing information, do something OTHER than sit there! The approach should be to do too much and not too little.

7. Upgrade your resume content.

Let me guess, you are proficient in Word, Excel, and Power point…. who cares! Everyone is proficient in Microsoft Office Suites. What is going to set you apart from the 30 other resumes you are competing against? Think about becoming proficient in these categories to start separating you from your competition: HTML, iOS, Google Adwords, CSS, WordPress, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, etc.

8. Relationships.

No, not your sweetheart. Learn how to build relationships with different types of people. Contrary to popular belief, your skill set and a polished resume will only take you so far. You need relationships to push you to the next level. If you can’t talk to people, if you can’t SELL to people, you can’t be successful.

9. Be smart with your money.

I know how attractive that Euro-trip looks right now. Don’t spend the last $11,000 you have saved up to go to Europe for a few weeks then come back broke as a joke. Same goes to the next 11 weekends where you spend $1,000 to “live it up with your friends”. Work for your future, not for this weekend.

10. Investments.

Don’t know how to invest? Don’t worry. Nobody else does either. The one thing about investments that everyone can agree on is to start. Even if that means you put $50 a month into an interest earning account. The magic of compounding interest will keep earning you money as you get older. Every financial advisor will agree that the sooner you invest, the better off you will be. Find a dollar amount you like, and start. START.

11. Friends.

Ever hear “you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” – now look around… What do those 5 friends look like? Are you comfortable being the average of that group? All those friends you swore you would never lose touch with… well, you will! I won’t go into too much detail on this, but if you need to divorce some of those friends, read THIS.

12. Get out of the cubicle life.

Get out as soon as possible. I get it, it’s a job and it pays the bills. Fine. Work in a cubicle. Now, find a way to get out as soon as you can. Chances are, if you are working in a cubicle, you don’t have a plan for life. The other chance is that you are stealing money from the person who gave you an opportunity to work for them.

13. Great ideas mean nothing… yet.

Everyone has ideas. People sit around, come up with ideas, dream about the money it would bring them… then wake up at 8am and go back to work. The key to these ideas is execution and determination. The get rich quick schemes have all been discovered and are now obsolete. The trick is to take your idea, and plan out the entire life cycle of this business. The key question might be: Is this something I’m willing to invest the next 10 years of my life for?

14. Debt.

Find ways to eliminate it. I know, your initial thought is I need to make more money to pay off debt. That is what our minds are programmed to think. Your true thought should be to cut spending to pay off more of my debt. You need to eliminate as much of this debt as possible so you can start planning to afford things like a home or a nice car. Debt is so powerful it will end up stressing you to sleep every single night until its gone.

15. Mentors.

Emulation is the sincerest form of flattery. Find someone who is willing to give you free advice and guidance. Word of caution: Don’t start sending messages to everyone on Facebook asking for them to become your mentor. Find ways to provide value in the lives of the people you want help from and you’ll be shocked at how much they are willing to give back. The trick is to find ways to provide value. TIP: Don’t send them a message asking how you can provide value. Do your own homework.

Remember, these are all recommendations to make the next stage in your life a little better. Take all this with a grain of salt and adjust it to fit your lifestyle. Remember, not to take life too seriously. Nobody gets out alive.

Related Posts:
7 Reasons to Divorce Your Loser Friends 
6 Reasons Why You Lack Motivation
7 Tips to Crushing Your Goals

 

6 Reasons Why You Lack Motivation

De-motivation: Its Effect on You, Your Brain, and Your Future

Motivation is defined as the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.  You are excited to do something special, you have the desire to do something special, but you can’t gather enough inner power to act on your idea.  You should be questioning what causes me to lose motivation?  What causes me to lose focus?

1) Own your goal.

We all go through these random times where we get motivated, we set goals, we obsess over our success to the point where we lose sleep over it. This goes on for a few days, then out of nowhere, we suddenly lose motivation, we lose focus, we lose clarity. Why?

Simple answer: Stop doing so much. A very common mistake people make with such a simple solution. You lose energy when you become super-human. You need to take a step back, choose the goal more important, tackle that goal, then repeat. In a perfect world, your second goal would be directly tied in to your first goal making it a perfect harmony.  Need help with your goals?  Read this.

2) Read, Research, Learn.

Sometimes the quickest way to re-motivate yourself or to push yourself out of a slump is to learn about what others have done. What methods have they used for success. What tools have they used to make themselves more productive.

You should have a vast knowledge of books / magazines / publications in your field and constantly be reading these sources. The more you read, the more you learn, the more motivation will re-spark inside of you.

3) Build your support group.

Who better to kick you in the butt when you need a good kicking than the people who are always there for you, and more importantly, the people you trust. It’s always hard to accomplish something in silence and alone. Build your support group, may it be an in-person group, an online group, a Facebook group.. any group! Just build it.

4) Build. Track. Repeat.

How do you stay motivated when you have a mile long task list to tackle? This is why tracking is so important. Whatever system you use, you have to make sure your lists and progress is trackable. If your goal is to pay off a certain credit card, you need an Excel sheet with your plan, and measurable progress so you can stay on track. Looking at this sheet on a monthly basis will prove to you that the methods are working.  Once you prove to yourself that a certain method is working, it will be easier for you to stay on track and repeat.

5) Organize.

Nothing demotivates you more than a cluttered mind. The bigger the project, the bigger the organizational task at hand. Take the time to mind-map the entire project out of your mind and onto a system that works for you. List tasks, list deadlines, schedule events, then work on completing tasks in a timely manner.

A large project which seems impossible, suddenly becomes possible broken down into stages and manageable items.

6) Whatever you do, don’t quit!

It’s hard being your own boss. You can’t blame anyone but yourself, your sleep routine suffers, and you constantly think about your business. These are all problems faced by entrepreneurs every day and every night. Your mind is trained to doubt and constantly assess risk. If you give your mind enough time, it will convince you to quit. You need to work through the pressure and keep reminding yourself why you started. In the grand scheme, think about how far you have come vs. how much farther you must go. The process should bring a sense of accomplishment and a sense of urgency to your life. This is what should drive you to keep moving. Remember, it won’t be easy, but it WILL be worth it.

Take away:  Don’t settle for something easy, like watching TV or reading endless news articles on the Internet.  Find the true cause of energy depletion and tackle it with everything you got.  It is the single most important step to get yourself back on track.

7 Tips to CRUSHING Your Goals

Francis Bacon said “If we are to achieve things never before accomplished we must employ methods never before attempted.”  If you have yet to start focusing on your goals, use this as your warning!  Start now.  

1) Patience – Crawl.  Walk.  Run.
The natural progression takes time, self-discipline, and tenacity.  If you stress over the “easier” goals, your expectation of crushing the difficult goals with road blocks and challenges go out the window!

2) Define goal purpose. 
Everyone sets goals.  Most people set them and forget about them.  Make absolutely sure that your goals are things you want to wake up for.  Goals that are synced with your purpose are easier to wake up for and easier to accomplish.  I’ll use a quote to help with my point:  “Work with purpose is passion.  Work without purpose is punishment.” -Jillian Michaels 

3) Document! 
Everyone I speak to about setting goals, we talk about journaling and documenting progress.  Some goals take 3,6,12,16 months to accomplish.  When you look back on Month 6, you should be able to see some sort of progress.  Something has to show the work you have done until today.  If you have goals of achieving weight-loss, pictures every week will help you document your goal and actually see results along the way.  Seeing your documented results will keep you determined and motivated every step of the way.

4) Short-term goals MUST support Long-term goals. 
Why does this matter?  If your short-term goals don’t ultimately support your long-term goal, it’s time to re-evaluate.  These goals should be tied together from the top down to achieve the result you are aiming for.  Use an app, a worksheet, something to track your goals and your progress.  Here is an example of a Goal Sheet you can use starting today:

Long Term Goal:  This is something that is at least one year or longer out.  One thing.  
Short Term Goal:  Now break down the long-term goal into short-term mini goals.  What do you need to cross off this list to get closer to the One Thing above.  These should be 5-6 items that can be achieved within the next 3/6/9 months.
Short Term Goal Breakdown:  Now let’s break down each one of those 5-6 items into the following list – (You should have these 5 steps done for each one of your short term goals):

*Specific:  Make sure your goal is as specific as possible.  The clearer the defined goal, the easier the process will be.
*Measurable:  How do we measure this goal and document the progress?  How will you be held accountable to achieve this goal?
*Achievement:   How do you achieve this goal?  What steps do you need to take to make progress towards achievement?
*Realistic:  Is the goal realistic to your life?  Do you have the drive to accomplish this goal?
*Timely:  What is the time frame to accomplish this goal?  How will you be kept accountable?

This exercise will help specify and define your overall goals into smaller, more achievable steps.

Daily Goal Breakdown:  Now list daily goals into your daily checklist.  There will always be checklist items that have nothing to do with your goal.  That is completely normal, whereas, you are still expected to live a normal life while you work towards specific goals.  If you go too many days where the majority of your list is not geared towards the larger goal at hand, you need to pause and reflect.

Set.  Achieve.  Repeat.

5) Excuses.  Excuses.  
The more excuses you have the harder your goal becomes.  The longer you procrastinate, the harder your goal becomes. Anything that deters you from accomplishing your daily task list will inevitability push your goal farther out.  You can’t slow down or justify excuses to yourself.  

6) Failure.  Lessons.  Change.  
If you were afraid of failure, you would not be this far into this article.  I wish I could tell you that you won’t fail and everything is going to work out perfectly.  However, I can’t.  I won’t.  You will fail.  More than once.  Then again after that.  If failure was detrimental  there would be no companies trying to change the world.  Failure is the first step to success.  Fail, learn from it, change (or better yet, improve!) and re-do.  It becomes a cycle.  So many people give up or crawl into depression after failure that they never learn the lesson.  The lesson is the most valuable part of your failure.  Without the lesson, there is no progress… there is no change.  

7) Don’t give up.  Ever. 
You know when you try and explain things that explain themselves…. this is one of those moments.  Here is a quote to help: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” 

35 Reasons to be an Entrepreneur

Once you work as an entrepreneur, on your own terms, for your own goals, it becomes very difficult to give up complete control of your time, entrepreneurship, and your priorities to go back to working for someone else.

#1:  I have to be a better entrepreneur than yesterday.
#2:  I have to lead daily.
#3:  The possibilities are endless.
#4:  I contribute to the success of others.
#5:  I meet and learn from people all over the world.
#6:  The entrepreneur reward is immediate.
#7:  I have the ability to empower others to start businesses.
#8:  It never feels like work.
#9: I set my own schedule.
#10:  I can’t get fired.
#11:  I can solve the problems I choose to solve.
#12:  I can say Yes! or No! when I want.
#13:  I am all in.  On myself.
#14:  I decide if we help you or not.
#15:  I always have something to do.
#16:  I get to say “I am an entrepreneur”
#17:  Your co-workers become family.
#18:  Work from anywhere.  Anytime.
#19:  Is it 5pm already?
#20:  I can cut the meeting short when I get bored.
#21:  I produce more, consume less.
#22:  I learned to manage risk.
#23:  I keep enabling productivity hacks.
#24:  I learn life-long skills.  Skills you learn as an entrepreneur are life-long skills.  You have to learn to sell.  You have to learn accounting.  You have to learn to communicate.  You have to learn how to work with teams.  You have to learn to put others first.
#25:  I became an expert.  When I started, I thought I knew everything about computers.  The more I thought I knew, the less I actually knew.  Being an entrepreneur forced me to learn and understand more and more every day.
#26:  I have become a very organized entrepreneur.
#27:  The more I teach, the more I learn.
#28:  I became a flexible entrepreneur.
#29:  I love building teams.
#30:  The end result is the result of my entrepreneurship.
#31:  I enjoy the “when I open my eyes to when I close my eyes” business hours.
#32:  Is it 6pm already?
#33:  Vision.  My vision.
#34:  Developing my idea is more important than developing other peoples ideas.
#35:  Entrepreneurs have the ability to change the world!

7 Things Standing in the Way of Your Entrepreneurial Success

If someone asked you where you see yourself 10 years from now, do you stare back blankly or do you have a plan for success?

1) Love your success?
Are you in love with being a success? Is success the only thing on your mind every day and every night? You say yes because you want the lifestyle of the successful. Are you willing to put in the work of the successful? If this isn’t what you breath and live, this isn’t what will make you successful. In turn, it is standing in the way of your success.

Take away: If you don’t love it, you will only put in 50% of the effort required to achieve 100% results. At 50% effort, you might be better off helping someone else build their dreams of success.

2) You don’t need other’s approval.
You stand in the way of your own success every time you make decisions that are aimed to please others.  I am reminded of the famous quote by Winston Churchill “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks”.

Take away: Your decisions have to be based on your success. You will ultimately be the person to pay for your own decisions. The more you worry about what others will think of your decisions, the more you will delay the inevitable success you are going to enjoy.

3) Excuses, excuses.
Your success is halted by your excuses. Do any of these sound familiar?
“Sorry, I can’t today”
“I don’t have time”
“I am too tired”
“I don’t know what to do next”
“I don’t have the resources”
“I don’t know where to start”

Take away: If it is important to you, you will find a way. The secret here is to want it bad enough.

work-hard-to-success

4) Time, stop wasting it.
Everyone who chases success at one point or another has to stop wasting time. How guilty are you when it comes to these time hogs:
a) Needless drama around you.
b) Comparison between you and your next door neighbor with the new BMW.
c) Living in the past with mistakes made and water under the bridge.
d) By allowing others to use and manipulate you.
e) The perfect time will never come. Its now.
f) Lack of appreciation and gratitude towards you.

Take away: Most people value two things when it comes to their business lives: Time & Money. In the case of the startup, time is the one thing that will lead or break your success. Make sure you know exactly what you are spending your time on.

5) Private life vs. Work life.
Everyone always talks about balance and keeping a healthy distance between the two. They are not separate. The longer you try to keep them separate the longer you will prolong your success. Everything you do in your personal life should somehow fit into your goal for your business life. Success comes from the collection of the roles you play: Entrepreneur, husband, wife, friend, lover, client, boss, leader, mentor, etc.

Take away: I was recently at a Hall of Fame induction ceremony for a good friend of mine and was sitting at a table with a bunch of other people who were also friends of other inductees. The person next to me started talking to me about business and what I do…. Naturally, I asked him what he does. He had a very interesting business he had just started but was unable to provide me with a business card. So he took my phone, and added himself as a contact in my phone. You never know when or where you will meet the next person who will drive your success. Be prepared!

6) Write ’em down.
Do you have a place where you jot down your goals? Are they broken up into Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly, 5-Year Goals? If not, here is your chance. When you just think about a goal the chances of that thought disappearing is very high. Once on paper, it has a life of its own. You can re-visit it, re-read it, move it, re-write it, etc. You don’t have to do it all in one sitting. It can be a compilation of goals put together over time to ultimately help you reach your level of success.

Take away: There is something special about seeing your own goals for success written down in your own handwriting. There is something even more special about putting a check-mark next to something that you wrote down 6 months ago and achieved today! Your success is counting on you writing it down!

7) Ask for help, sissy.
I love quotes. I feel like they do the thinking for me when I can’t put the right words in the right thoughts at the right time. Cesar Chavez said it best “You are never strong enough that you don’t need help”. Your success might be dependent on that one person… when you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

Take away: Ask for help. Don’t expect handouts or financial help, but help that will drive your success. It can be a friend, a co-worker, a parent, a mentor (Read about finding the right mentor HERE)

Mentorship: 8 Tips on Finding the Right Mentor

This mentorship post is a continuation of my series on young entrepreneurs.  If you haven’t read Part 1 & Part 2, click here:  Where to start as a young entrepreneur – Part 1 and 12 Startup tips for a young entrepreneur – Part 2

Mentorship is the oldest form of education.  As a young entrepreneur, you need a mentor to take you to the next level.

Why do you need a mentor?
Mentorship is the oldest form of education.  As a young entrepreneur, you need a mentor to take you to the next level. The mentor of your choosing has one thing that you still don’t. Experience. A good mentor can challenge you to think thoughts that might have never occurred to you before.

A good mentor has a network of professionals and friends who you might stand to benefit from. In the worst scenario, a mentor can act as your personal cheerleader and coach. They can provide praise and clap for you when nobody else will. The old quote servers true here: “Pay close attention to people who don’t clap when you win”

Common mistakes young entrepreneurs make when seeking mentorship:
1) The mentor will find me.
2) I have to ask him/her out to be my mentor.
3) My mentor will buy me lunch / coffee / food / gifts because they already made it.
4) Mentorship isn’t something you get; it’s something you do.
5) The first mentor I meet has to be my mentor!

1) Find someone you look up to.
Mentorship is always about the person and not about the money or the lifestyle. I know so many people who try to leech on to take advantage of “perks” that the mentor has worked a lifetime to achieve. Your mentor should have qualities as a person that you feel are valuable to you and you can learn from. Ask questions of yourself that you feel your mentor should guide you with. Here are a few samples:
a) What do I need to learn from my mentor?
b) How often would I like to meet with my mentor?
c) What are my weakest points that my mentor can work with me on?
d) What am I really good at that my mentor can benefit from?

2) Study your new mentor.
Take the time to study your mentor. Ask questions that will help you with understanding how they do things. Understand everything you can about how they conduct business and the process they use for business transactions. By transaction, it could be a phone call, an actual sale, a networking event, a new agreement, etc. If they have a blog, or a website that they journal in, make sure you read it and understand everything before you meet with them and ask questions.  Nothing shows your preparedness level more than asking a question that your mentor just recently wrote a blog about.  Do your homework to avoid the embarrassment.

Mentorship Quote

3) Lifeguard.
Your mentor is not your lifeguard. Don’t go swimming into $120,000 in debt then call your mentor for advice. If they weren’t a part of getting you in the hole, the expectation can’t be for them to get you out of the hole. Go ahead, ask for advice, but keep the expectation at advice and not a life line.  The value of a mentor will keep you out of the dangers of rising waters; granted, you want to be kept out.

4) Let the relationship grow.
Look for someone who you feel comfortable with and can relate to. You want a mentor who can easily answer an e-mail or answer a text message without treating you like an interruption of their time. Your comfort level should include the ability to sit at a coffee shop or at a lunch date with your mentor and not feel intimidated or belittled. Your ability to get comfortable with your mentor will actually take the pressure off the mentor to be open and candid with you.  Keep watering the relationship with your mentor.  The closer you become to your mentor the more likely they are to bring you into their circle.

5) Feedback.
Your expectation should be for your mentor to be brutally honest with you. Most mentors are successful entrepreneurs who run their own network of businesses. They don’t have the time to sit back and sugar coat every piece of advice they give you. I recently had a mentor of mine look at a new pricing structure I have been working on for my company; his response to my e-mail was “work harder…” – I don’t need anything more from him than to send me back to my drawing board to make it better. Of course, when we do our meeting, he will give me more feedback but the expectation is for me to work harder to be ready for that meeting so I don’t waste his time.

6) Take. Give, Give, Give.
Most mentors will be “repaid” for their mentorship by your success. They want nothing more than to see you make it. Just because mentors know how to be humble doesn’t mean you are off the hook! Find ways to give. Find ways to add value.  Sometimes you can spring for lunch, sometimes you can buy coffee. If you actually spend the time to get to know your mentor (read tip #2), you should have a good idea of how or what you can do to provide value. Gratitude is key.

7) Commitment.
Be mentor worthy. If you pickup nothing more, pickup that one piece.  Be mentor worthy.  Anyone willing to help you and spend time with you wants to make sure they spend their time wisely. I have been stuck in situations before where I give advice to someone and they clearly go the opposite direction, no problem.  However, don’t come back and ask for more advice for the road that you traveled and expect me to change my advice up to fit into your decision. Don’t waste anyone’s time if you aren’t ready to be mentored.

8) There can be only one.
Once you land that all important mentor, what do you do? Now get another one! You aren’t limited to any number of mentors. If you do your homework and are really honest with yourself, this portion becomes easier. If you know your shortcomings, it is easy to utilize mentors in every aspect of what you are trying to achieve. Look at the big picture… a “Board of Directors” is actually a board of mentors for the organization they serve.

There is no right or wrong time to get a mentor.  My advice to you, is to get one now.  It is the single most important thing you can do to help your business grow.

This is a good read when it comes to making mentors work for you:

12 Startup Tips for a Young Entrepreneur – Part 2

This is a continuation of my series on young entrepreneurs.  If you haven’t read Part 1, click here:  Where to start as a young entrepreneur – Part 1

Entrepreneur

Founding a startup as a young entrepreneur gets difficult if you don’t know where you are going.  This guide will help you get started.

In the last week, I have had several people ask me for a list of requirements that I felt were important.  I complied a list, and here it is in no particular order:  

1. Focus.  Refocus.  Focus again.  
When building your entrepreneur empire, your thoughts are always to jump at every opportunity that comes your way.  Every opportunity you hear about, you see dollar signs.  Don’t let false hope and false dollar signs derail you from your business goal.  The more time you spend investigating each opportunity, the more time you have to spend to get the train back on track, the more time you lost focusing on your business.  Do one thing and do it well.  Its better to be 100% proficient on one thing vs. being 10% proficient on 10 things.  Most failed startups are the direct result of spreading too thin and being greedy when it comes to opportunities.

2. Purpose, not money.  
Simple answer?  Add value.  Find ways to give and to add value to peoples lives.  The money will come once you become a value to someone.  Sit down and truly evaluate your ability to add value and what you can offer to clients that others can’t.  If you are a personal trainer, what sets you apart from the other 102,302 trainers living in your area?  What do you do better?  Put yourself in the client’s shoe… why would I hire myself to train me?  Find the value… Warren Buffet says “You should focus on building a customer base, reputation, recognition, and loyalty.  Money follows after.” 

3. Be frugal. 

Remember that $600 chair you saw at Office Depot?  With the lumbar support and mesh backing so you don’t sweat on a hot summer day… Yeah, that one.  DON’T BUY IT!  You don’t need office space, you don’t need a brand new laptop, you don’t need a fancy chair.  All of the above can be accomplished at a Starbucks with a pair of earphones.  You want your cash to be in your account for as long as possible.  Watch every dollar and triple check every expense.  Will this expense help your business get to the next level?  If the answer is maybe, the answer is no.

4. Pitch.
Sometimes known as an “elevator pitch” – logic:  If you were an entrepreneur in an elevator, and a high level CEO walks in, you have until he gets off the elevator to convince him/her to purchase your product or to convert to your services.  What would you tell him/her?  You have about 25-30 seconds to give them your pitch and convince them that you are IT!  Work on this, practice this, try it in front of a mirror, work on it some more.  Yours took 31 seconds?  That took too long.  Work again.

I have looked around for some time and found this website to be the most detailed with helping examples to help put your entrepreneur pitch together: Creating an Elevator Pitch

5. Don’t flatter yourself.
Make sure you can deliver what you promise.  Don’t fall victim to your own false promises.  Don’t exaggerate the truth or your previous accomplishments.  There is always a way for people to find out.  More times than not, they find out and your reputation goes down the drain.  Your reputation is so much more important than the cash in your wallet.  Guard it with everything you have!

6. Hold yourself true to your brand.
Remember the old commercial for FedEx?  Absolutely, positively by 11am.  11:01am would be unacceptable.  Whatever you promise, you have to work day and night to make sure you deliver on time.  Your brand reputation is riding on your ability to make promises and deliver promises.

 

Entrepreneur 12 tips

7. Build relationships.
You have to do the foot work.  Sitting behind your Social media persona and posting about how wonderful you are will only get you so far.  If you want people to buy your product, or buy into your services you need to go to them and preach to them.  The more relationships you build, the more people you have out there who are vouching for you.  The more people who vouch for you, the more opportunities will arise from your relationships.   The trick here is to build your network of relationships before you actually need it.

You can read more on building relationships here:  Secrets to Business Relationships


8. 3’s a crowd in the kitchen.
A lot of entrepreneur sites recommend finding a co-founder to start a business with.  There are many benefits to this theory including splitting responsibilities and costs.  With 2 or 3 of you, it is easier to grow and reach more people in less time.  My rule of thumb is that if you have 3 cooks in the kitchen, somewhere, sometime, the food isn’t going to be perfect.  Also, remember $100 profit, split into 3 pockets is $33 per person.  

9. Make sure it makes cents.

I spoke to someone this morning who spent $300 a month marketing his brand on Facebook.  He has a small business in Pasadena, Ca; he budgeted $300 / month using Facebook ads.  The problem?  He marketed his company to a nationwide audience. 

He has a small family owned coffee shop.  Why would anyone drive from Washington to drink coffee in Pasadena?  What if you are driving through town?  Then your radius marketing of 5 miles will nail them!  Free advertising from yelp! is more valuable in this case than $300 a month from Facebook.  Make sure you know where you are spending your money and what the return on your money is.  If you spend $300 a month on advertising, how many cups of coffee do you need to sell to break even?  Is your goal to break even or just bring people in the doors and hope they become lifelong friends?

10. Take advice, but not that advice.
The old saying “Are you the smartest guy in the room?  If so, you are in the wrong room” comes true again.  While you are new, you have to surround yourself with people who have been there and done that before.  You need people to give you advice, to bounce ideas off of, to help proofread information, to help plan next step goals, etc.  You need people.  As you start to get better, you will realize that the more you do, the more success you find, the more people line up to give you free advice.  I like to listen to all advice because I never know what I’m going to love.  I take everything with a grain of salt and perform my own analysis on the advice.  Sometimes, it’s brilliant!  Other times, it’s trash!  My brain does the processing, but my gut is what leads me. 

11. Get another job.
Welcome to entrepreneurship!  As a young entrepreneur you should sit back, relax, and wait for the money to come rolling in!  WRONG!  You have expenses… business expenses, personal expenses, etc.  The money has to come from somewhere to help ends meet until your startup matures.  You need a job to help pay for your startup.  I’m not telling you to go work somewhere just to waste some time and bring home a paycheck.  I want you to strategically go work somewhere that will help your startup grow:
1.  Learn how others are marketing in your industry.
2.  Learn how much they charge.
3.  Learn how they maintain relationships.
4.  Learn what types of relationships they abandon.
 

The more you can learn, the less mistakes you will make on your own dime.  The best part about this model is that someone else is paying you to learn these lessons through their business.  

The downside:  Make sure you don’t get so focused on your job that you forget to focus on your business.  You need to find a happy balance between the two for this to work.  At the end of the day, you are making a honest wage and must pull your weight to keep your job.

12. Feedback.
The customer is NOT always right, and neither are you!  I recently had one of my top 5 clients decide to leave us and join a partnership with another IT company who was open 24/7/365.  In my last call with them, we went over all the access passwords and server locations.

In order to turn a negative into a positive, I asked them to send me a list of things that they felt we fell short on.  The immediate response I received was that they didn’t want to throw mud back and forth between us.  I lost my cool a little bit and replied with a harsh “I understand, but I would love to know what ways I can take care of my existing clients better” – the next morning, I had a list of 12 things they felt we could have done better in our time together.  Some of them were absurd, but others were so on point that we changed our internal procedure the very next day.  Sometimes feedback is brutal, but it’s the only way to get better.

Want more tips?  How about 6 tools every entrepreneur should use in their business?  

Where to Start as a Young Entrepreneur – Part 1

I got a random text message from someone I had crossed paths with a few years back… It was so random that I had to pull the “Sorry, new phone.. who’s this?” – introductions aside, he got straight to the point and asked if I would be willing to listen to him and his business ideas.  Me listening turned into a 3 hour conversation on launching his business. 

In the next 3 days, two more people called me for similar type conversations.  

I figure if I get 3 calls in a matter of 3 days, there has to be more people looking for this information, (aha! moment) I will document this journey with my 3 new entrepreneurs so everyone can benefit from our conversations.  

We spoke about:  

1. Passion.
How in love are you with your business idea?  How much time do you spend thinking about it?  How much true passion do you have for that line of work?  (Queue Confucius)  “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” 

Picture this:  You’ve had a very rough week but a very productive week.  You busted your ass all week and closed some major sales and made some nice money.  It’s now Friday afternoon at 2pm, are you exhausted from your work week?  Are you tired and ready to go to a bar to drink with the guys?  Did you just post TGIF on your Facebook page?  Or do you keep chugging along to finish the week off even stronger?  I know it’s very superficial, but understand the concept and not the example.  

So if I have Passion, I can make it as an entrepreneur?  No.  You need more.  Keep reading.  

2.  Work.
We are all lazy.  I’ll say it again.  We are all lazy.  Give us all a way to do the least amount of work, while earning as much money as possible…. This model will ensure your failure as an entrepreneur.  Every day, every time.  

Let’s break it down a little more.  How much work is enough?  How much do I need to work?  Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that if you aren’t hitting the 60 hours a week mark, you aren’t working hard enough. One of my favorite bloggers, Neil Patel openly states that he works 60 to 80 hours a week.

We talk about putting in the work; everyone is always game.  Everyone always says I am willing to put in the work… Nobody imagines how much work 60 to 80 hours a week is until they do it for a week.  Still wondering why entrepreneurs are such a special breed of people? 

Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week. -Lori Greiner


3.  Brainstorm.

Grab your notebook and jot down all of your thoughts on your new business.  Jot down ideas, opportunities, strengths, weaknesses, threats, competition, everything.  

Sketch visuals of your website.  How will it look?  Where will the information go?  How will it flow?  What type of content will you have on the front page?  How will people contact you?  What do you want them to know about you?  

This should be long; it should be a work in progress.  I keep a notebook by my bed incase I have a brilliant moment at 3am while I am feeding milk to my 1-year-old.  

The secret to writing notes down is that there is no right or wrong.  Just write, jot, draw, and sketch.  When you review later, you can always cross things out or move things to new sections.  The rule is, there are no rules.  Develop a system that works for you.  

4.  Website.
You need a .com for your business.  I know you can buy a .net, .tv, .rocks, etc.  You need a .com.  Instant credibility.  

Lately, I have been recommending to everyone to go look through thousands of WordPress Templates online and find one that fits the model they liked during the Brainstorm stage.  Find one that flows like you had envisioned.  Can’t find one that works?  That means you lied during the Work stage.  Put in the work, you’ll find it.

Themes are fairly inexpensive and are great for keeping costs down while creating a presence online.  Why is an online presence necessary?  Read this:  6 Reasons Why Your Small Business NEEDS a Website

5.  Brand-Awareness.
Everyone’s favorite section.  Go create your social media pages.  Go! 

Which platform works for your business? 

Google+: 2,500 Million users
Facebook:  1,590 Million users
Tumblr:  555 Million users
Instagram:  400 Million users
Twitter:  320 Million users
Snapchat:  200 Million users
Pinterest:  100 Million users
LinkedIn:  100 Million users 

Protip:  Don’t use one of those account linkage things that allows you to post on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at the same time.  If a client is looking at your social media pages to validate you as a business, seeing the same post across all platforms looks lazy and unplanned.  

Reminder:  Be passionate about your work, but not putting in the work will turn your passion into your work.  

Related Article:  6 Must Have Tools to Start Your Startup

The 8 DON’T’s of Resigning from Your Job

Before you decide to resign from your current place of employment, there are a few things you should think about and consider.  (Two weeks notice would be really nice and professional) 

WARNING: If you are leaving to start your own business, my hat is off to you and I wish you nothing but the absolute best as you enter entrepreneurship. As a word of warning, read my post about Double Employment. Still ready to start your business? Let’s go!

1. No venting allowed.
I know. You hate your boss. You hate your job. You hate that company. Quitting is the best thing that ever happened to you. Keep it gracious and professional. Your resignation letter will be in your employment file and it can always peek its head when you least expect it. Don’t write about how much your boss was terrible. Don’t write about how much you did and nobody ever appreciated you. Gracefully submit your resignation and wait out your time.  

Side Tip:  If they ask for an exit interview, grant it.  Be positive.  Maintain the bridge.  

2. Don’t steal that pen!
A pen, who cares right? You don’t want to be known as that former employee who walked away with the pen, the stapler, the hole puncher, the wireless keyboard & mouse, and the box of free folders. I know, this one might be out of line. It is just a friendly reminder to keep you honest and thinking about the big picture.

3. Turn the negatives into positives.
Surly, you have to tell a few of your co-workers about your resignation. Don’t get into the gossip trap of talking bad about the company, your boss, or your co-workers. Nothing good can come out of you bad-mouthing the entire family tree of the company. Instead, tell your co-workers what a rewarding experience it has been for you to work there. You never know when one of these co-workers will leave and call on you to join their new company. Leaving on good terms is critical.

4. Nobody cares about your new job.
I know. You went from the absolute worst job in the world to the absolute best job in the world. Nobody cares. Count your blessings and move on. No need to rub it into others faces or gloat about your new found luck. Maintain relationships as you leave.  

5. Mind your manners. Say goodbye.
It is perfectly acceptable for you to send a goodbye e-mail message to all of your co-workers letting them know you are moving on. Remember to include contact information so they can stay in touch. You never know where your next big opportunity will come from. (It might even come from your former company, since you left on such positive vibes)

6. Keep working. For two more weeks.
You hand in your two weeks’ notice – translation: I can now sit here for the next two weeks and wait. WRONG. Do not be that employee who forgot that down the road, you might actually need a letter of recommendation from these people. Your willingness to train your replacement or tie up loose ends before you leave a company will go a long way in helping you maintain that bridge between you and the company.

7. Don’t tell Facebook or Twitter too soon.
Make sure your manager or your boss is aware of your resigning before going public with it. There is nothing worse than having to explain a leaked social media story about your resignation before the powers that be actually know about it.

8. Don’t resign unless you mean it.
Weak threats to get what you want. If you threaten to resign, do it. Don’t be the guy who talks big and doesn’t act on words. Have a plan. Make sure you have money in the bank. Make sure you have a solid written offer from your new company. Make sure you have the support of your friends who are starting your new company with you. Just make sure. And make sure again. Now resign.

Related Articles: 
The Top 7 Tips for Starting Your Own Business
4 Secrets to Building Better Business Relationships