The Easy Way To Start a Profitable Business

To paraphrase Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille, "Anyone can start a business, but only the fearless can be great."  Fear is the great debilitating voice in our heads.  There is no reason to have fear, yet we all do.

Starting a profitable business is very different than starting a business.  Starting a business is simply buying something to sell or getting paid for your services without being an employee.  Starting a profitable business means that you are able to earn your living from your business, and for most people it also means that your "living" from the business is better than it was with your "job".

So is there an easy way to know if your business will be profitable?   Many restaurants go through two or three different variations at a single location before they become profitable.  Most small businesses that offer professional services take years to really make money.  My CPA started a bookkeeping firm.  It isn't making the momentum he had hoped for.

Starting any business that is going to be successful and profitable, requires one simple thing.  Customers who are willing to pay enough that you make money.  While this sounds easy, it is amazing how many people start a business thinking that they had enough customers.

In the retail world, you might make a profit simply based on product and location.  A well placed mall shop or cart with a unique product at the right price might do well.  For a while that is.  Once the copycats show up, the business might be in trouble.

For every other business, the success out of the chute depends on one thing.  The people in your rolodex or contact list.  Keller-Williams has every new agent enrolled in Bold! training call every single person and announce that they are in real estate and ask if they know of anyone who might be in the market to buy, sell or invest in real estate.  My bet is 50% or less actually do it.  The question is why and the answer is a form of fear.

When I added my Real Estate license on Facebook, I got a few sneers about being a Real Estate Agent.  I didn't have any fear about it so I did it.  So what if they make fun of you for starting your new business.  If you can't tell all of your contacts about it, how are you going to sell complete strangers.

The truth is that I buy real estate as my retirement investment.  I like real estate income as much as the dividends from great stocks.  I have a license because agents were reluctant to make the offers I wanted to make.  Why?  Fear.  You might label it other things, like lack of self esteem, or self image or whatever.  It comes down to a fear of being accepted for trying to be different than who you are now.  Step one, get over it, fear is what keeps you down, not "the man".

An interesting conversation a couple of days ago got me thinking about this.  Two men told me they tried "flipping" houses and couldn't make any money.  There just wasn't enough margin to make a profit they said.  The way they buy houses, they were right.  Being an agent, I have better access to "wholesale" deals and occasionally help other people when they ask.  No matter what I said to these two guys, fear was telling them making money in Real Estate can't be done.   My deals are "anomalies" and I am "lucky" were the responses I get.

If you want to start a profitable business, look at your contact list.  How many of those people will buy from you and why?  How many of them won't and why not?  Looking at these guys, they would buy a house, clean it up and try to sell it.  Did they even try to sell to friends as an investment or rental?  Nope.

This little review will be your first clue of how your business might do.

When I started business that became my biggest "lesson" (some would call it a failure), I didn't follow this simple review.  All of my friends bought stuff from the business, but only at a significant discount.  They wouldn't buy at retail, in fact many times I was lucky to cover shipping.  That was my first sign the business was off to a rocky start.  I was lucky to get away from that one.

If you want to start a profitable business make sure your contact list will buy from you, and buy at a big profit so you can pay your bills and grow the business.  If your list will buy from you, chances are your business is off to a good start and your list will start growing as they refer their friends.

Is The Government Shutdown Fooling Anyone?

The Government is "Shutdown" and yet everyone is getting paid?  Wait a minute here, as a taxpayer if I am paying my taxes and the taxes are going to eventually pay the government employees, why aren't they at work?

I guess it makes sense that neither side is in a hurry to settle this, everyone is getting paid and a bunch of people are getting a paid vacation.  If I were one that had to come to work I would be pretty steamed.  So what is this all about?  At the end of the day it is about raising taxes.  My healthcare plan provided through my work doesn't meet the little window so I will have to pay more taxes.  Call it a healthcare fee, it is taxes.

I won't hide the fact that I am against "Obamacare".  As a military veteran, this is a socialist policy no matter what you call it.  Stalin would be proud of us.  At the same time people who are going to be "forced" to buy healthcare will quickly figure out the "tax" is cheaper and they won't pay either.

So is the "shutdown" fooling anyone?  This almost appears to be an exercise to test the apathy of the voters, taxpayers and residents of the United States.  The whole thing is just bazaar to me.  I have written my congressman and my senators, and I hope you have too.  

I don't care if you are for or against "Obamacare", you should write to end the stupidity of paying people to not work and saying they have "jobs".  Instead at least furlough them and let them collect unemployment like regular people.

Of course you should read all about the healthcare bill and decide if you agree with it or not, and then write your letters.  Is the debt ceiling important? Of course.  When the president was a Senator, he voted against raising the debt ceiling and called those who want to raise it "irresponsible".  Today he has flipped to the other view.  I expect this though, he is a politician after all.

For me, the debt ceiling is plenty high, and we don't need the health care bill to make it higher.  No business can survive this way, and so far in history, no government has made it either.  Someday this house of cards will crash. The question is when.  Not likely in the next three years, so President Obama,  knows he is safe.  

This is the land of freedom and opportunity.  Do you want to keep paying for the rest of your life, and do you want your grandkids to keep paying?  

The government shutdown is nothing more than political grandstanding on both sides.  Yes we need to address the debt ceiling, but paying people not to work isn't fixing anything.

So do you believe the hype?

Do Nothing Get Nothing, Do Something You Might Get Something

The cynical among us read that title and said "Yeah, but you might do something and get nothing too." They would be right.  There are dozens of sayings like this.  The basic premise is if you want something to happen get off your butt and do something, unless you are a writer, I find writing easier when I sit.

There are a lot of angst ridden people in the world.  They feel like they are doing so much and getting so little.  I have felt this way many times, and I am sure you have too.

We attend seminars, read books and watch shows that are supposed to make us feel good and help us get more out of life.  So with all of this help out there, why do we feel like we aren't getting enough?  How come we sometimes feel helpless.

The Secret

No not the movie or the book, but the real secret.  Do you want to know it?  There is a comedic irony to life, and once you discover it and more importantly once you start living it, you will feel like you are getting enough because you will be getting more than you believe you will get today.

Now some people will start off by telling you to be happy with what you have and live with it.  They will try and tell you it is all in your head.  Some of it is.

The part that is in your head I like to call the Schleprock syndrome.  My wife has a little bit of it still, and when I see it I shut it down quickly.  You might have it too.

The Schleprock syndrome is a low state of constant worry.  The other day my wife answered a text to be available on Saturday, and then took another gig Friday night.  When she started to worry about an early work time on Saturday, I looked at her and said "This is easy, either cancel one now, or if Saturday is too early, get a hotel or better yet, tell them you are no longer available."  Having valid options stopped the worry and sure enough, Saturday was cancelled anyway.

When I had my largest business, the first time I had to skip my own salary to make payroll, I spiraled into Schleprock syndrome.  From then on I was more worried about making payroll than building a business.  Some will tell you that you have to worry about making payroll as the owner, and I will tell you that is bunk.  If you can't make payroll the business can survive.  If you don't get new business it won't.  It really is that simple.

This is the part of the book "The Secret" that I think is valid.  If you spend all of your time focused on the bad things that can happen in your life, you will do things that increase the likelihood of them happening.  While the reverse is true, being focused on the positive things does lead to more positive, it doesn't magically make a rock star parking space appear at the mall on black Friday.

Now that I understand the Schleprock phenomenon and can see it in others, the question is how to break the spell?

Yes this part is a mental game, in fact all of it is.  Unlike the teaching of an author once made famous by Oprah Winfrey, whose career stalled about that time by the way, this isn't about being happy with what you have and staying put.  The only people that plan works for are buddhist monks.  The rest of us thrive on change to live life.

We might have a little fear of change, but we need it to grow.  Being happy is just one ingredient of the recipe for success.  Some comics who are successful and miserable prove happiness isn't even required for financial success.

The Chicken and the Egg Question

Starting where you are today, where do you go next?  Do you fix your mind and stop worrying, or do you focus on the positive and the worry goes away?  I bet you have heard about or read about both ways.  Has either of them worked?  I bet not.

What happens in both cases is the mind is already trained to think a certain way.   You have triggers all around you that start certain thought patterns.  Leaving that unpaid bill on top of your desk that you know you can't pay this week doesn't help.  You might see your highest paid employee and think "I need to cut payroll" and your day begins its downhill slide.  You might see an invoice that you can't pay on your desk, and your day begins a downhill slide.

So if you can't just stop worrying or thinking positive, what do you do?

To begin with, simplify.  My experience both personally and as a coach is that simplification is the key to getting started.  You may have already put some events into motion that make that very difficult.  Tough decisions have to be made here.  They are clear and easy but tough because we don't like letting other people down.

Some of the easy methods center around de-clutering your life.  Make time and mental space for yourself.  A file folder for bills that you can't pay now gets them off your desk.  When you get a big check, open it up and feel good about paying as many as you can.  When you are done, put it back and move on.  Looking at the bills every day when you don't have money to pay them isn't going to help you get more money.  It just wastes time you could be using to find or generate income and starts your worry spiral for the day if it hasn't already started.

If you have a family, you may need to sacrifice some or a lot of family time to really achieve what you want.  If you have a business, you might need to let some people go and take over those responsibilities yourself for a while.

It isn't about which to do first, you must make a phase shift that covers both.  Getting positive without eliminating worry doesn't work nor does eliminating worry and being negative about everything.

The place to start is by looking for the best all of the time.  Look for the best in yourself and others, look for the best in events in your life.  At the same time look to simplify.  Say "No" to anything that isn't helping you get where you want to go.

Making a list of goals isn't the answer either.  Everytime I meet a new client who does this, they are doing it very wrong.  Most of the time if we really talk about the goals, we find that the goals are counterproductive and limit each other.  For instance, "Being the best dad" and "Being a great singer" can't happen at the same time.  One must come first.  Once you master the first one, then move on to the second.

The Simple Path To Being a Millionaire

Even when I get people to a single goal, or "mini-mission", a deep review will find several activities or sacrifices the person isn't willing to do.  Gary Keller wrote a fantastic book that will make anyone a Millionaire who is willing to follow it.  In fact he wrote two of them.  The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and the The Millionaire Real Estate Agent.   At Keller Williams offices these are affectionately known as MREI or the "Blue Book" and MREA or the "Red Book".

For those of you that don't know, I have a real estate license for my  own investing.  It is one little step that Gary missed.  If you are going to be a pro investor or a pro agent making seven figures, I think you need to take the classes, get the license and know what is going on in the industry.  I also don't find helping friends who are getting bad information from agents that don't even own a home or are on salary so they don't care.

For business owners, actors and consultants there are hundreds of similar classes that will give you a roadmap to success.  These should be taken in addition too, not in lieu of the formal training classes for your craft.   The best always are studying and learning to get better.  If you don't enjoy learning more about your craft, your first step is to go find a new craft.

95% of the agents I meet have never even heard of either of these books.  The dozen or so that I know that read them have changed their goals.  Instead of following the checklist to become a millionaire, they decide to do less and make a lot less.

My friend and mentor, Dean Graziosi, also has several great books with step by step methods to making money in real estate.

Both Gary and Dean describe quite clearly the actions you mist take to achieve the goals they set for you.  It is very simple, but not easy.  They are both telling you exactly how to "be" if you are going to be a real estate millionaire in five years or less.

Here are two authors, which with a five year investment of your time and effort are the closest thing to guaranteed financial result that I have ever seen.  So why do I tell people about these books and risk increasing the competition in my investment business?  Simple, most people won't do it at all because they might have to sacrifice a little luxury in their life, and another group will lose focus in the initial days weeks or months, and finally competition forces you to get better.

The irony and secret of life is this.  You will only be paid to be the best when you are the best.  Of all the things that you can do in life, there is one that you will be the most successful at.  Likely it is something you already do or free and don't think anything of it.  The better you get the more you will make.  The competition is ready for the job, you need to be better than ready.

Success is simple, but the road that leads to it isn't easy or lazy.

Great Customer Service Without Asking - Tresanti Wine Cooler

Customer Service isn't something we are used to any more.  At least I am not.  When my Tresanti Wine Cooler started getting louder and louder, I really thought I was going to have to take it back to Costco.

As a small business owner, I have a love - hate relationship with Costco.  I know how many small business owners lose business because things cost less at Costco.  At the same time, the quality is very high, and the ability to return anything except electronics forever is very appealing to me.

The ability to return stuff forever has had another effect.  This week I had two large heavy purchases from Costco fail, and both customer service lines get a five star rating from me.

People that know me, understand that I let a lot of stuff slide.  If it bugs me I'll bottle it up and hope it goes away, and when it doesn't then I make big changes quick.  I have been known to dig up an entire yard because I let a sprinkler problem go too long and then one day BANG for whatever reason I wanted it fixed that day at any cost.  Emergency contractors love guys like me.

When my Tresanti Wine Cooler got loud enough and my wife wasn't around, I called the local Costco, and they had one left.  The plan was to run it back and get a new one before she knew about it.  Costco shoppers know this is a hazard of shopping at Costco.  When they run out, you are out of luck.  Anyway, I started emptying the cooler, planning to load it in my truck and return it to Costco.

As I was emptying the top drawer, I found the tag with an 800 number that my wife left in there.  She must have known I would do this when she wasn't home.  I called the number and said "The fan is loud, really loud".  The guy says "Ok, there are four, can you tell me which one?"  I could only isolate it to the bottom compartment so he says, "That is good enough, I'll send you both fans for the front and the back of the bottom section."

I unplugged the cooler while I waited for parts.  When the fans showed up, I was impressed at how well thought out the cooler was for repairs, and how easy it was to repair.  Now it is nearly silent.

Most things today are snapped or glued together so when they break they go to the dump and you have to buy another one.  The Tresanti Wine Cooler was assembled with screws and was very easy to take apart, replace the fans and put it back together. A great buy from a company that was thinking ahead and backed their product.

I had a similar experience with my Sentry Safe.  Have you had any great customer service experiences lately?

Simple Design aka The KISS Principle For Business

When I first entered the military in 1984, we got beat in the head with the KISS principle.   While I am sure you know that KISS means “Keep It Simple Sir”, I wonder if you have applied it to your business, your marketing and your life.  

Successful products offer a simple solution to a problem in our life. If the solution isn't easier than the product, the solution simply doesn't sell.  The same is true for businesses of all kinds. For some reason though, the entrepreneurial curse makes us feel like we must do everything.  The secret is to do everything in the background.  One of my early mentors said “list everything you do, down to the last wire and charge for it, show your customers where the money went.”  I did that for a while and it didn’t help at all.  In fact it just took up a bunch of my time and cluttered up my brain.

Instant Results, Limited Efforts

Let’s take the iPhone for instance, and even now the Windows phone with "Tiles".  They each do one job very well.  The job of these “phones” is to help you “stay connected”.  That’s it.  Nothing else.  All of the magic that keeps you connected is in the phone and the service.   Instant results, limited effort.

Yes, you have the choice to buy games and other apps, but the phone comes ready for you to connect.  Connect to friends, connect to customers, connect to the internet, connect to email and connect with text.  And all of this is easier than doing the same things on that little flip phone you used to have or you wouldn't have bought it now would you?

Windows Tiles for Windows phones and the Microsoft Surface is a hit because it takes one step out of the process.  Tiles  show you a picture of your world without you doing anything.  The flaw (Mr. Balmer are you listening) is that the purpose of a desktop pc or even a laptop isn’t the same as a phone.  Staying connected isn’t why I have a PC, it is why I have a phone and a tablet.  

SImply put, Tiles on a work PC don't work, because I need my PC to do work.

Single Purpose Wins.

Maybe a better example is the new NEST thermostat.  This is a very simple device that packs a lot of brain power in a small package.  It is All you have to do is turn it up or down to set the temperature you like.  It learns and eventually you do nothing.  No more programming schedules that leave you in the cold on those winter holiday mornings because it is Tuesday and you should have gone to work.  No more cooling the house while you are on summer vacation because you forgot to reprogram the thermostat.

The elegance of the design of the NEST is that on the outside, there is very little interaction, and on the inside is a massive amount of logic.  If you want to be the super nerd and watch your energy usage on the fly, the NEST will let you do that, but like all new toys, the novelty will wear off and the only time you’ll even remember you have a NEST is when a visitor says “What’s that?”.

The easier the interface is for the customer, the more likely they are to play along and also pay.  We can’t be experts in everything, and nobody really wants too.  Business is no different.  The easier you can make the connection to the customer, and the more “magic” you can take care of in the back ground, the happier your customer will be.  

As customers we all say we want to know what it going on.  The truth is, we just want to know the progress and know when we get what ever it is we bought.  Think about it.  If you file bankruptcy, do you care about every form, court date or filing unless you have to go to court?  No, you just want to know that the creditors will stop calling, and the nightmare is closer to an end right?  When you buy a car, 99% of us never have a clue what the engine looks like.  Why?  Manufacturers have covered it with a big piece of plastic to make it look nice.

I have a new voice activated GPS.  While it is pretty smart, it is no Siri.  I have four portable GPS devices sitting in my garage.  The one in my truck is simply the easiest to use.  It has XM traffic so it does magic while I just listen to music and drive.  I don’t care about the magic or how it works.  I could use my iPhone with Siri, but quite frankly, her new maps and navigation don't compare (Apple map guys are you listening?).  KISS doesn't mean make the product simple, it means make the inputs to and from the customer simple.

What is your "Secret Sauce"?

It is funny how many times a new client will ask me how we do it.  SEO clearly isn't that easy or everyone would do it.  

I just respond, “We don’t sell the secret sauce” and yet my book is right here for sale.  The big picture of what we do is all right here for under $20.  The difference is followup.  When you pay me, you will be reminded to simplify at every corner.  Your marketing is never put on the back burner and as you simplify your business, income will go up, relative costs will go down and so will your stress level.

What is your Secret Sauce?  Can you do it better and cheaper than you customer can do it for themselves?

If you still have that entrepreneurial urge to go out and do more, I can’t do a thing about it right now.  I took up Chump Car Racing, paddle boarding and bought a new bike.  What will you do?

How to Fix A Midlife Crisis

What is a midlife crisis anyway?  

Elliott Jaques defined a midlife crisis as a time where adults come to realize their own mortality. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as children leaving for college, the death of parents of the loss of a job. During this time,  people may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The sentence which is really the key to unlocking the real problem is “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” 

Beginning with our first experiences at school, we are taught to “go with the flow”, yet the human psyche doesn't go with the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.   All of us know this to be true, and a midlife crisis is the realization of that truth.  At some point,  what I like to call the "busyness" of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

Another way to think of a midlife crisis is as a "mature realization" that we followed someone else’s dreams.  We conformed our lives to someone else's wants, or conformed for convenience.  Personally my life shifted the day my dad past away.  From the time I got the call to the time I was sitting at a funeral home was a couple of hours.  Right there I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  I didn't see it at the time, it is only with some careful reflection that I could see my realization or midlife crisis and where it began.  

During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  Towards the end when I realized what was happening, it didn't take long to fix it and get out of the "funk".  I wish someone had given me a swift kick in the butt four and a half years sooner.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.  Ironically my dad would have done that.

All through our lives, What is a midlife crisis anyway?  Wikipedia defines it this way:

Midlife crisis is a term coined in 1965 by Elliott Jaques stating a time where adults come to realize their own mortality and how much time is left in their life. A midlife crisis is experienced by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over. Sometimes, a crisis can be triggered by transitions experienced in these years, such as andropause or menopause, the death of parents or other causes of grief, unemployment or underemployment, realizing that a job or career is hated but not knowing how else to earn an equivalent living, or children leaving home. People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation, such as in career, work-life balance, marriage, romantic relationships, large expenditures, or physical appearance.

The last couple of sentences are really the key to unlocking the real problem.  “People may reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams.” is a very telling statement and most likely the core of the problem.

Our society trains us starting at a school age to “go with the flow”, yet the human cause is counter to the flow.  We have an inherent need to change the world around us, and when we go with the flow nothing is changed.  What I like to call the busyness of life takes our attention away from what we really want.  It is the point when the busyness takes a break that the midlife crisis kicks in.

I prefer to think about a midlife crisis more as a mature realization that we followed someone else’s dreams or worse, accepted their fears.  Many of the transitions mentioned in the Wikipedia definition all hover around the same thing, a major change in your life.

Personally my life shifted the day my dad died, within hours I was sitting in a mental state many would call a midlife crisis that lasted for nearly 5 years.  During that time I made a lot of poor choices in business and financial management.  The faster you see through your own midlife crisis or mature realization, the quicker you get to move on with life.

Every time you decide a job stinks and we find a new one, you have matured a little and decided to move on.  We have mini realizations all the time.  some like the midlife crisis are just bigger and more mature realizations that something isn't right.  It might be that you realized that you made a bad choice taking the job, or that someone else misled you about the job.  Either way, you woke up and made a change.  

The big realization we call a midlife crisis happens when there is a much bigger change in your life.  Something so big it can disrupt the busyness of everyday life.  The real problem with the midlife crisis is that you don't know what to do.  That is the "crisis" part.

Buying a Porsche, divorce, getting remarried to a younger new wife, finding a new job, are the male midlife stereotype.  The stereotype clearly reflects the symptoms but doesn’t address the issues.  All of us have different issues, and the good news is working through them is basically the same.  Even if you don't know what to do, there are ways to work through it.  I wrote a book about this process.

When I wrote So, Now What?, I was focused on military troops leaving the service and helping them find a better job and create a better life in the civilian world.  I didn’t want the troops that worked with me to come home and just get a "safe government job".  I have always felt that we do people a disservice by letting them take "safe" jobs until they retire.  While this is a great socialist view, the human spirit isn't challenged and doesn't grow.  Just look at the local motor vehicle counters, is anyone really happy or smiling.  Then go to a thriving business, and look at how happy people are to work and contribute.  

i wanted them to use this opportunity to teach them grasp the realization, and move forward with their dreams.  I have always believed that everyone should do two years of government service, even if it is just working the motor vehicle counter.  If you go to a state funded college, maybe you do four years.  All of the people that worked for me or me in the military have done their service, so I wanted to help them grow their own energy and life. 

Writing So, Now What? to help more of them also helped me.  First it talked me through my own realization, saving my family life and moving me to a place where I wanted to live.  It also helped people I knew reflect on their lives and make a major change, helping me to learn what people needed to know to get through their own mature realization or midlife crisis.  Some acknowledged the book was the catalyst right away.  Others made major changes without really saying why.  Either way it has been a fun ride, and I learned that all realizations can be corrected with the same process.  Your age and maturity level don't matter.  You can have a mature realization at 20 or 80.  That is why I don't like the term midlife crisis.

Last week I was out surfing, and something happened which inspired me to write to you.  Surfing of course, is part of my “dream life” that wasn’t happening at my McMansion in Texas.  While surfing, I met a guy I'l call "Bob".  We talked for a while and my answers were starting to sound rehearsed, I realized that So, Now What? not only changed my direction, it changed how I interact with people.

Instead of giving advice to Robbie, I just asked questions and let him come to his own conclusions.  Last week I received an email from a reader saying he liked my book because of the worksheets.  I wasn’t telling him what to do, I was helping him find out what is right for him.  At the end of our conversation, I could see a light in his eyes that wasn't there when we started talking.

All of us have our own dreams and demons.  Getting advice from friends and family just keeps you going with the flow or following their dreams.  People don’t like change unless they are comfortable with their life to the point of boredom.  The only person who will know what the right exit strategy is for your midlife crisis or mature realization is you.  Asking how other people see you will help, asking them what you should do probably won’t.

From the emails and feed back I get, the hardest part of reading So, Now What?, is doing the worksheets after every chapter.  It is also the most important thing to do according to the people who send the "thank you" letters.  

So many people just want the quick and easy answer.  All that will lead to is another mature realization at another point in your life.  That is why I don’t like the term midlife crisis.  You don’t have to be midlife, and you don’t have to let it become a crisis.

It will take some time to invest in yourself and find your dream life.  If you don’t take the time, you might end up right back in another crisis.  Are you worth the time?  I think so.

Follow the Rules or Make the Rules, What Do You Do?

Rules and structure are a funny thing in business. On any given day you can pick up a business magazine and read about someone who is successful by creating rules and processes like Henry Ford invented the assembly line.  The same magazine will have an article about some guy who is successful who didn't follow any of the rules.  So which is it?  What is an up a coming business owner to do?

The great thing about business is you can do either.  The important trick is to look in the mirror and really understand who you are.  If you are a risk taker that never follows the rules like Steve Jobs and Wozniak, you might build the next Apple.  If you understand the rules of the game like a young Bill Gates did, you might create the next Microsoft.  I don't think any of those three will ever be labeled as "unsuccessful" or worried about money.

Most people have been conditioned to be the worker bees.  They show up, learn the rules, do the job and leave.  If that is all you want out of life, stop reading.

Some of us haven't bought into the whole "be happy with what you've got" philosophy and are always looking for a way to improve our own lives. Simply put that happens one of two ways.  The first way is the Apple way, don't follow anyone, blaze new trails and do things differently.  These people and companies are the high risk high flyers that change the world and how we see things every day.

The second method is the structured approach.   Follow the rules and make incremental improvements.  Test the changes and move forward with those that work.  There are a few Microsoft fans out there rolling their eyes wondering how they got into this category.  After all hasn't Microsoft changed our world too.

The answer is yes and there in lies the answer.  You can be successful by managing and owning very low risk businesses like the family that owns In-N-Out.  They didn't change the burger business, they just made it clean and simple.  No chicken, no fish, no frozen foods ever, well except the milk shakes.

Microsoft was created after Bill Gates acquired the rights to an operating system and then smartly followed the rules laid down by IBM.  His competitor was "busy" and didn't follow IBM's rules.  Bill got in the door and got the deal.  DOS likely became a household word because of that one event.  If the other guy had answered the call, we might all be using CP/M or whatever the other guy had.  Microsoft has been making incremental changes to DOS ever since.  Windows was an add on to DOS.

Apple on the other hand changes everything from the inside out, every time they change something.  Check out the article in Fast Company about Steve Jobs this month, and read about how the iMac almost never existed.  While you are there read about Homeboy Industries too.

Figure out where your strength is, structure, tweaking structure or breaking structure then set your sites on a target that is just out of reach today and go for it.  Never stop, never give up, never quit, just keep moving towards the target whatever it may be.

How To Do More By Doing Less

There is a saying that “If it were easy, everyone would do it.”  Last night I was watching the Amazing Race.  It was interesting to watch a team try and land a LearJet simulator.  As an experienced pilot I found it remarkable how frustrated the teams got.  The last place team took twelve try’s and that was just a landing, no emergencies or bad weather.

Before I could laugh at the teams results, my wife said “Wow, I could never do that!”  and she has been in simulators.  Having nearly 12,000 hours of practice flying airplanes and simulators, I am pretty confident I could have done it in one try.  Two at worst, and if it took two I would be pretty embarrassed.  If asked to fill in for one of the teams like a “phone a friend” I would have gladly stepped in because after all of my years of practice it would be relatively easy for me to do.

Many books have been written on mastering a skill with 10,000 hours of practice.  The idea is that if you do anything for 10,000 hours you will be pretty good at it.  There are two other factors though.  One is natural talent.  

Are The "While We're At Its" Killing Your Day?

The Four Hour Christmas Tree and Train

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt like you didn’t get anything done?  One of those days where you are sitting at dinner an hour late and can’t seem to remember actually doing anything?

Have you ever had a project take several times longer than expected?  Something you thought would take a day and it took a week or maybe even longer.  

Does this happen to you on a regular basis?  It used to happen to me all the time.  When I ran a custom home electronics company, something most people would call a “Home Theater” business, it plagued us regularly,  The builders we worked with called it the “While we are at its”.  During construction the homeowner would see something they missed or didn’t like and decide to change it mid stream and poof, two days are added to the project.