Question of the day

Do you try or do you Do?

Related Article: Say Goodbye to Why and Try

You Tube Video: Michael Phelps wins 8th gold medal

Quote of the Week

In spite of your fear, do what you have to do.

Chin-Ning Chu

Related Article: Put Fear in Perspective

Interesting Fact of the Week

The average business user spends 2.6 hours per day reading and managing their emails.

Related Article

Question of the Week

When was the last time you looked at your business plan?

Related Article

Keiserism of the Week

Magic pills, magic wands, and gurus are best kept in the Fairytale books. The tools you need to grow your business are Leadership, knowledge, and self-discipline.

By 2010 $13.9 Billion per year will be spent on self help techniques. Although I am a firm believer in self development, it is frightning to see how many of us invest large amounts of time and money on finding the secret to their success and happiness. For some it can become an addiction, going from one self help book, seminar, retreat to the next. Your happiness and satisfaction lie in your accomplishments. Think of all the happiness and satisfaction you would have achieved if your were as committed to having it as opposed to achieving it.

I recently watched the movie "Into The Wild" Christopher McCandless went on a quest to seek the truth, he thought the magic pill would be found in the Alaskan wilderness. He paid the ultimate price to find something he already had.

Book Recommendation of the Week

Today’s book is……………

How To Become a CEO by Jeffrey Fox

Quote of the day

"Genuine leadership comes from the quality of your vision
and your ability to spark others to extraordinary performance."

— Jack Welch: Former General Electric chairman and CEO.

Jack Welch Bio

Book Recommendation of the week

Today's Book recommendation is........

"Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ"
by Daniel Goleman

Related Article: What's Your Emotional Style?
By Daniel Goleman

Quote of the week

Today's Quote is.........




"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."- Henry Ford: was the founder of the Ford Motor Company




Related Article: Why Most People Will Never Reach Their Goals! by Ken Burgess

Keiserism of the Week

Today's Keiserism is........

Take the things you learn and blend them into your style. When we copy another's philosophy, it is the equivalent of wearing someone else's shoes. They may fit, but you know they aren't yours and people will start to wonder why you are walking funny.

Related Article: Are You a Cool Kid? Or, Just Trying to Be One?

Question of the Week

On Tuesday's we provide a question of the week. Today's question is......

How many hours per week do you

spend putting out fires?

How does it affect your business?

Quote of the week

On Monday's we provide the quote of the week. Today's quote is.......

"Problems cannot be solved by the same

level of thinking that created them"
— Albert Einstein, Genius

It Takes a Village

The old African proverb states, "it takes a village to raise a child". No man, woman, or family is an island onto itself. We venture into a new role, undertake a new project or set out to do what no man has done before. Whatever direction we choose to take, we go there with limited knowledge and experience. “The Village” can take many forms, but the one commonality is we seek the knowledge of those who have come before us.

Entrepreneurs are a proud and independent group; we have a better way and are willing to assume all the risk to deliver our product to the world. Unfortunately, pride and independence can work for us and against us at the same time. An entrepreneur is someone with the courage and passion to take a concept and turn it into a business and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their desired outcomes. An entrepreneur can also restrict themselves to solitary confinement and resist the aid of “the village”.

Why do we resist?

• Fear of looking bad
• Need Permission
• Didn’t know the option was available
• Waste of time
• Don’t know who to ask

I am a mother and an entrepreneur. As a new mother I also resisted “the village”. How could I admit that I didn’t have the faintest idea what to do with this child? All I knew for sure was that I loved her, and wanted to take the best care of her. I soon realized that I wasn’t alone; my mom shared how she felt after I was born. “What a relief, I may actually have a shot of raising this child.” From that moment on, I sought out the expertise, took classes, surrounded myself with other parents, and got involved in activities to help support the village. We are now the proud parents of 2 teenagers who openly communicate, take pride in their work at home and school, and set goals for their own future.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the same rules applied to entrepreneurship, and it took me a little longer to get acquainted with “the village”. How could I admit that I didn’t have the faintest idea what to do with this business? All I knew for sure was that I had a better way, and wanted to deliver the best product in my industry. Someone recently asked me “why I do what I do, and what makes me good at it?”. I do it because it gives me joy. I am good at it because I eventually got tired of solitary confinement. I got tired of repeatedly making the same mistakes. I grew weary of the paralysis of my fears. I looked at the areas in my life that I was the most successful, and applied them to my business. “The village” has become my greatest resource. The residents of the village are fellow entrepreneurs that have shared with me their experiences, and expertise. In return, I gave them the gift of my experience and expertise. They come in the form of my accountant, my attorney, peers, clients, and most importantly my Mastermind group. My mastermind group has become the governing branch of my village. They have shared with me their experience, supported me when I have fallen, been patient, and never judgmental. They have helped me to align myself with my business, take leadership, and look at the business for what it is and what it can become.

We all posses the power to accomplish what we set out to do, some take the long route and others seek the direct route. When we accept the village we remove the fear, and isolation that can stunt our progress.

Related Stories

http://www.justpeace.org/village.htm

http://www.villagetalkradio.com/

Networking Doesn’t Work?

Would you like to come to my networking event? You are cordially invited to attend my networking event. Come meet and network with 50 – 80 local business people. I bet you receive an invitation such as this or one with a similar message at least once a week (if not more). Networking groups are popping up everywhere. Breakfast groups, lunch groups, dinner meetings, after hour socials, pick a time and there are 5 business events to attend every week. One could say that attending networking events could be a business all its own. So why do I hear over and over that networking is a big waste of time? I will agree with that not all groups/events are created equal. The main reason networking meetings don’t work is because People don’t know how to do it or they are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Networking is the conduit that leads to relationships. Strong relationships are the basis of our business and personal growth. Unfortunately, networking has become a buzz word, so for our purposes let’s call it relationship building. Relationship building, when done properly, is your best source for new business resources and education.

Successful Relationship building Strategies:

Networking and Sales are separate: Always walk into a business event with the understanding that you will never do business with anyone in the room. They aren't your customer.

Prizes are not awarded to the attendee who collects the most business cards: The intention of giving out your business card should serve as a reminder to follow up with that individual. The card is the tool to reconnect with that individual at a later date to learn more about their business, and build the relationship.

Plan your event: Spend some time reconnecting with old friends and new acquaintances. Also, make a point to mingle with the other guests that you haven’t met before. Most important is to come with a purpose. Let your peers know what you are looking to accomplish.
Some examples:
1. My bookkeeper just quit, I am looking for a referral to a bookkeeping service or a new hire.
2. Our company has just launched a new product; I am looking for ways to market this service.
3. My ideal customer has XX characteristics; I am looking for referrals to those individuals.
Please note the examples above are most effective once you have established some level of rapport.

Respect the name tag: Name tags can be a relationship builder or breaker. Name tags are intended to help identify who you are speaking with. Playing the name tag snub game can hurt your relationship building experience. Remember Networking and Sales are different. Initially, give everyone a chance to show you who they are.

Some example questions to ask:
1. Do you participate in any other organizations?
2. What other careers did you have?
3. Where did you grow up?
4. Do you have any hobbies?

Pay attention/ Listen: Many of us will give part of our attention to watching the door, or others in the room making sure we don’t miss anything. Being in the moment is crucial to successful relationship building. Pay attention to the person you are talking to NOW. Perhaps you will find out the ONE you were hoping to meet is standing right in front of you.
Be a resource: “It’s better to give than receive” this is a very trite, but true statement. When building relationships, a great way to build trust is to give something away.
1. Make an introduction
2. Help solve a problem
3. Share an experience
4. Follow up

Here is the tricky part, give without any reciprocal expectations. The word will get out, your integrity as a business owner and peer will speak volumes.

Affiliate yourself with a group that will meet your needs: This is one of the most crucial factors in successful relationship building. Enter the room as a peer ready to give and receive. Referrals are one piece of the relationship building process. Entrench yourself in your business organization. Become a part of the community, take a leadership role.

We have been building relationships since we were children. On the playground it helped us get invited to sit at the lunch table or invited to a game of hopscotch. Later these skills helped us form friendships and find romance. Today these skills help us enhance our careers.