Statistics show that 70% of entrepreneur-owned businesses do not survive the founder. Did you work this hard, for this long, to see your life’s work implode?

One of the most important features about good marketing process is its impact when it comes time for the owner to move out. Whether you plan to sell out or pass the business on, having a system installed that generates leads and converts them to loyal, profitable clients will significantly improve your business’s value.

Your marketing system should include a clear statement of how you are different and better; a complete sales kit filled with persuasive reasons to do business with you; a lead-generation process that includes the internet, advertising, public relations and referrals; and a process that effectively and efficiently converts leads to loyal customers.

Succession planning is more than just marketing, however. Here are seven other areas you need to consider:

1. Retirement isn’t death. Small business owners don’t plan for succession because they genuinely hate the idea of not working-no control, no work, no identity …so only about one quarter have a plan. Not planning leaves your staff and their families incredibly vulnerable.

2. Retirement isn’t just deciding not to go into the office anymore. It’s ensuring you have enough money to retire on from the sale of your business. Will your business even carry on or will you sell it? Who’s going to manage the business? How will ownership be transferred?

3. The biggest business “killers” are taxes and family discord. So succession planning is about management, ownership and taxes. Will an owner manage the business or not? Will all owners have the same number of shares? How will you reorganize the company to reduce your taxes?

4. Outsource. If you’ve been successful, you already depend on a network of help to manage your financial, tax, and legal; maybe even marketing, distribution and HR issues. Small business owners are typically too emotionally involved to make good succession plans, so let someone else you trust do it for you.

5. Train and mentor your successor(s). Okay we know you hate this one-who has the time? But how can you expect your business to continue to thrive without you if you don’t train? And remember, you’ll be throwing away your life’s work if you don’t.

6. Start business succession planning early. Okay we know you hate this idea too. But five years in advance is good. Ten years in advance is better. Many business advisors tell budding entrepreneurs to build an exit strategy right into their business plan.

7. Read. You owe it to yourself, your family, your employees and your suppliers to know the issues that will affect them once you’ve left.

I'm an epidemiologist, a word derived from "epidemic", which means that I'm supposed to know something about diseases. This past week, several people have approached me for "expert" commentary on the emerging swine flu pandemic. I'd like to declare for the record that while I've written a few articles about pandemic influenza, I'm by no means an infectious disease specialist. However, I thought I'd say a few defensible things about swine flu nonetheless.

We have reports of the first death in the USA, while Canada's tally holds at 13 cases, but no fatalities. These numbers are to be expected. They are the result of travelers returning from the endemic zone of Mexico. As far as I can tell from news reports, there have been no cases in Canada of someone contracting the disease from someone who has just returned from Mexico. This means that the system is working as it should: those returning from Mexico with the disease are being quarantined and treated... for the most part.

The fatality rate thus far is about 5-7% (which is actually higher than the 2.5% rate of the world-changing pandemic of 1918). Also, the cases in Canada have all been of the mild variety, which means there is a reasonable expectation of full recovery for each case. This is not the Bubonic Plague. In other words, if current controls are kept in place, there is every expectation that our very thorough and professional public health infrastructure will keep civilization quite safe from this disease.

As for what we can do to protect ourselves, do remember that I am not a medical doctor, but a research scientist, so my advice carries no medical authority. However, my opinion is that we should just do what our mothers told us: wash our hands, sneeze into our elbow pits, don't touch our faces or mucous membranes before washing first, avoid extremely crowded areas (like sporting events, theatres, etc) and keep ourselves in good health to maintain robust immune systems. We can do the latter by practicing good daily health: eat fresh foods, particularly fruits and vegetables; enjoy moderate exercise regularly; get lots of sleep; drink lots of fluids; avoid stress; practice basic hygiene; and avoid unhealthy products like alcohol, tobacco and preservatives.

This is a peculiar time for an entrepreneur whose business is public health. On the one hand, there is an opportunity to capitalize on public fears and anxieties by positioning oneself as either a calming or inciting authority. Or one can view the opportunity in different terms, as a responsibility to apply one's unique skills for the betterment of the public good.

I'm not a fan of profiting from fear, yet I will likely make a few bucks here and there by writing articles about pandemic flu. The danger is falling prey to the seduction of the moment, of overstating the risk posed by the disease because, frankly, we are all subconsciously motivated to create an environment where in our skills have heightened value.

For this reason, I am making a concerted effort to avoid saying too much about swine flu. Or at least that was the plan.... and yet here I am still talking about it!

I guess I'd better stop :)

Harley-Davidson fans are known for the overt pride they take in their machines. A T-shirt that one devotee made reads: “Put your ass on some class.” Whether that motto has been officially sanctioned by the company or not, that is exactly what hundreds of thousands of bike riders around the world have done. With more than 33 models of touring and custom Harleys, which are sold by over 1,300 dealers, Harley-Davidson remains the only major American manufacturer of motorcycles, and dominates sales of the more heavyweight bikes. How did four young boys from Milwaukee turn their shed-bound experiments into a thriving enterprise and a cultural icon of America?

Innovation: If there is anything the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. is known for above all else, it is the never-ending stream of innovative designs and manufacturing techniques of its bikes that have surfaced over the decades. From the sidecar to the front pedal brake, the company prioritized the process of innovation. People who bought a Harley knew they were buying something on the heels of the future.

Exhibition: Harley and the Davidson brothers began racing motorcycles because they loved being atop their own creations and proving that they were the best. But, in doing so, the savvy entrepreneurs also saw the opportunity to raise their visibility and build a solid and reliable corporate reputation.

Dedication: If any of the children of Harley or the Davidson brothers wanted to see their fathers, they would have to pay a visit to the company’s factory. With the exception of Christmas, even birthdays and other holidays were spent devoted to their business. The four founders established a habit of hard work that became ingrained within the corporate culture.

Passion: Even if their company had not achieved the success that it did in their own lifetimes, there is little doubt that its four founders would have nevertheless devoted themselves to their bikes. Harley and the Davidson’s loved what they did and it was for that reason that they wanted their company to not only succeed, but also to be the best it could be.

Branding: The Harley-Davidson logo is almost instantly recognizable even to non-motorcycle aficionados. Through early attempts to create a loyal customer base, such as with The Enthusiast magazine, to the later development of the Harley Owners Group fan club, the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. has been one of the most successful American companies in history when it comes to having established an effective brand image.

The Harley-Davidson story is not just a story of success in the early part of the century. With 2005 annual growth standing at 6.6 percent, and income growth at 7.8 percent, the Harley-Davidson Motor Co. remains an industry leader. Hundreds of thousands of motorcycle fans continue to embody the passion for their machines as once did William Harley and the Davidson brothers. Today, the company is as much known for its bikes as it is for the loyal cyclists that sit atop them, which speaks volumes to the legacy that the four original Harley-Davidson entrepreneurs left behind them

Someone had to say it. It’s a mess out there - that’s all the more reason to shout it from the rooftops, “THE ECONOMY IS DOING FINE!”

You are an entrepreneur for the next 60 seconds. Not a citizen or a spouse or an employee or a consumer. Right now, you are an entrepreneur. Believe me, there has never been a truer statement in your working life.

Necessity is the mother of all invention.

Okay. As at this date, my parents have lost 70% of their portfolio. Our neighbours to the South are bailing stage left every other week. Meanwhile, this great nation is playing politics instead of talking government. Spending is down. Property is down. Confidence is down. Lending is down. You are up.

Because necessity is the mother of all invention.

Whether you own a corner store or sell homemade jewelry on Saturdays, you understood something long ago. At some point in the history of “you”, the light went on and you acknowledged that your future rests exclusively in your hands. That was the day you became an entrepreneur. I remember that day to the moment.

Your revelation bound you to a whole new set of rules. Many of them made for great dinner conversation. Things like working when and where you wanted, or choosing what and how you got things done. Or how about reaping the fruits of your labour?

Then there were the rules that didn’t start as many conversations. Things like owning the outcome, self-preservation and an inverse relationship to the status quo. These are the rules that have consistently given you security in tough times. They have been your flag in the ground - the starting point for solving the problem.

Necessity is the mother of all invention.

As at this date, you don’t attribute your loss of sales to reduced spending - you’re too busy trying to adjust the way that you deliver a better product and experience.

As at this date, you don’t curtail investments in your business - you’re too focused on preserving your reasons for moving forward.

As at this date, you haven’t noticed a downturn - you’ve been too busy working harder each time you hear someone complain about the status quo.

As at this very moment, you haven’t given a second thought to this post - you’re too busy building your future.

In case you were wondering, the economy is doing fine.

There are some who say that what Popeil has been able to accomplish in his career is nothing short of magic. To create an empire out of seemingly nondescript kitchen wares is without a doubt an impressive feat. It was not, however, magic. The secrets behind Popeil’s success are as simple to follow as the instructions on his Veg-O-Matic.

He put the product first: Most television viewers have at one point or another seen one of Popeil’s infomercials, but few would ever be able to recall his name. That is because whether he was selling on the streets of Chicago or live on his infomercials, Popeil always put the product ahead of himself. He understood how to make the product come across as appealing as possible, and from design to distribution, that was his sole focus.

He used clever marketing: 60 percent of the way into the infomercial, you made your first sales pitch. And you did not just make it once; you made it three times. That was just one of Popeil’s handy little marketing strategies. Popeil left no stone unturned when it came to his pushing his products. Every step of the sales process was part of his carefully crafted marketing strategy to bring in as much profit as possible.

He created his own products: Popeil was a firm believer in the fact that product development and marketing went hand in hand; without a clear handle on one, the other would rarely be successful. It was in designing and manufacturing his own products that Popeil developed the know-how and the passion that would see his marketing through.

All of these factors come down to what Popeil believes are the two most essential keys to success: quality and reputation. In fact, “It’s all I have,” he says. By building up his reputation for quality kitchen and home products, and by making his infomercials strategic and as entertaining as they could be, Popeil was able to generate a loyal customer base. His products and late night infomercials may have been parodied on everything from “The Simpsons” to “Saturday Night Live,” but with his multi-million dollar fortune under his belt, it is Popeil who is now having the last laugh.

Read the complete Ron Popeil story here.

Coming up at the end of this month I will have the privilege of speaking at the University of Toronto. This is the 4th such occasion for me, but truthfully, it is among the most fulfilling parts of my mash-up career.

The lecture will be to a 3rd year management class on “New Ways of Work”. This particular occasion has some added pressure in that Prof. Chris Bovaird has returned from his one year sabbatical to launch this new course in parallel with his new book on the topic.

‘New Ways of Work’ seems to me, broad enough to describe at least one-third of today’s careers. Freelancers, consultants, full-timers with hobby projects, small businesses - the means with which we can define a career have grown exponentially in the last decade. This is being mirrored inside enterprise organizations as well, as seen by the volume of new job titles being created every year.

The definitive line between entrepreneur and employee has been blurred. I can make a case that I belong to either group (as can many others). What it comes down to, is the level of risk you can tolerate at this moment in time. There are character traits that will play into your decision to assume a risk, but at the heart of every person is an equation that says,

The expected value of the things I want, is equal to my probability of success versus my desire to realize that outcome (“the payoff”) .

I’m still early in my career. In many ways this is the ideal time to start my own business. There is less to lose, less responsibility and accountability, and the energy is there. In many ways it is also the worst time to start my business. I haven’t exhausted the learning I can do with other people’s money, I haven’t seen markets shift over 5 year timeframes, and I do not have the capital or investments to hold me over.

And so I keep on working for the man. Okay... I’m not slaving away as employee #2810482. I’m working for small companies in important roles. All the while learning lessons (very openly), through them. I’m seeing what works, what fails and why. I’m maintaining two or three incomes by having a full-time job and some side projects that allow me to apply what I’m learning to different business models (whilst consulting to others on how to do the same).

This is the level of risk I choose for myself, today. One day I will venture off in the truest sense, but not now. Right now I desire to purchase a home, travel and grow my investments. You can’t do all that while risking life and limb. By some accounts I’m sitting right smack on the top of a fence. But hey, I can do that in today’s career climate. And better yet - I can jump down on either side depending on what I want most at that future moment in time.

Proudly on display in the front of Rachael Ray’s home is a sign that reads: “Martha Stewart doesn’t live here.” She may not be Martha Stewart, but Ray has found her own equally successful style of cooking and presenting herself on the road to success. How did this young woman who never stepped foot inside a culinary training institute become on of the industry’s most popular and well-known cooks?

Lesson #1: Keep Your Fire Fuelled by Having Fun

“I was raised in a household that taught us that everybody has the right to have a lot of fun,” says Ray.

Lesson #2: Make Yourself Accessible To Your Customers

Rachael Ray has a secret ingredient to her success, but it is not the cayenne pepper or diced garlic she uses in her recipes. What makes Ray stands out from her peers and the likes of Martha Stewart is that Ray is human. She makes food with regular ingredients found in a normal grocery store and she does not apologize if she goofs up on air, which she does. Ray is just like the rest of her viewers, and it is that down to earth nature that has propelled her to the top.

Lesson #3: You Do Not Need to Be a Pro to See Your Business Grow

“My first vivid memory is watching mom in a restaurant kitchen,” recalls Ray. “She was flipping something with a spatula. I tried to copy her and ended up grilling my right thumb. I was three or four.”

The fact that Rachael Ray did not know where she was going makes where she wound up today all the more impressive. Despite never working at a five-star restaurant, attending a single cooking class, or training under a revered chef, Ray has made a name for herself as one of the industry’s most successful cooks. She is one of Food Network television’s most popular hosts, the author of numerous bestselling cookbooks, and editor-in-chief of her own magazine. More recently, Ray stepped out even farther into the limelight with her own hour-long daytime talk show, “Rachael Ray”.

Read the full Rachael Ray story here.

Frederick W. Smith is one of those very few people. Born on August 11, 1944, in Marks, Mississippi, this future founder of Federal Express was forced to grow up at an early age. His father passed away when he was just four years old, leaving Smith with few male role models in his life. “My childhood was autonomous, in the main,” he recalls. “I had a lovely mother, but not having a father influence, I learned a lot of things on my own. I think that would be the best characterization of it.”

“I would like to sit down some time and put a few thoughts down on paper,” says Smith. “I've got a few observations that might be useful for someone. It'd be fun for me to do it, and I intend to at some point. Other than that, I enjoy my family, enjoy the business and get to see a lot of the world, so I have no complaints.”

And so he shouldn’t. With Federal Express ranking fourth on Fortune Magazine’s 2006 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies, Smith has little to complain about. How did this one-time pilot become one of the most successful businessmen in America?

Lesson #1: Be Willing To Roll the Dice
“In retrospect it was ridiculous to try to put this system together,” says Smith, “which required so much up front money, and required changing a lot of government regulations, but I didn't know that at the time…I didn't know that I couldn't do this.”

Lesson #2: Never Stop Putting Up A Fight
“I was very committed to the people that had signed on with me and if we were going to go down, we were going to go down with a fight,” says Smith. “It wasn't going to be because I checked out and didn't finish it out.”

Lesson #3: Learn To Put People First
“First and foremost is our corporate philosophy, which we call PSP: People, Service, Profit,” says Smith. “If you're going to run a high service organization, you have to get the commitment of the people working for that organization right at the start. If you don't, you'll never be able to deliver at the levels of expectations of the customer.”

Read more about Fred Smith here.

“I still consider myself a little, fat kid from Hawaii,” says Kiyosaki. He may still be from Hawaii, but Kiyosaki’s impact on the world of personal finance has been anything but little. Today, as one of the leading authors and motivational speakers in America on strategies of achieving personal financial freedom, Kiyosaki has achieved a cult-like in the millions. How did this little, fat kid from Hawaii become a big, strong player in the extremely competitive industry?

Investing: “The values or points of view between the middle class and the rich are exactly opposite,” says Kiyosaki. The number one difference between the two? The rich focus on buying assets while the poor are consumed with their liabilities. According to Kiyosaki, people need to stop working so hard for their money, and instead learn to invest wisely so that their money can start working hard for them.

Education: “You have to be smart,” says Kiyosaki. “The easy days are over.” If you cannot even create your own financial statements of assets and liabilities, says Kiyosaki, there is no way you can be leveraging your investments to their greatest potential. It is never too early, or too late, to begin minding your own business – understanding what money is coming in, how it is going out, and what you can do to get more.

Vision: According to Kiyosaki, you could have the most lucrative opportunity staring you in the face, but unless you have trained yourself to see those potentials, it will most surely pass you by. It is only by first imagining what you want and seeking it out that those very opportunities will come your way.

“Remember to dream big, think long-term, underachieve on a daily basis, and take baby steps,” says Kiyosaki. “That is the key to long-term success.” Job security today has become something of an ox moron. By guiding millions around the world towards financial independence, Kiyosaki has created his own, and then some. With more than 26 million copies of his books sold, take it from someone who knows.

Learn more about Robert Kiyosaki’s story here.

Schwartz is 66 years old this year but has no plans of slowing down. As Chairman and CEO of one of Canada’s most successful companies, Schwartz’s goals for the future remain the same as they have for the past quarter century: “More people. More transactions. Larger amounts of capital. Identical philosophy,” he says. How did this son of an auto-parts dealer become one of the Top Ten Wealth Creators in all of Canada?

Lesson #1: A Company Is Only As Strong As The Team Behind It

“One of the hallmarks of Onex is that since I started the company in 1983, every professional who has joined the company at our Toronto head office is still here,” says Schwartz. “We’ve had no turnover.”

Lesson #2: Know When to Hold ‘Em and Know When to Fold ‘Em

Over his long career, Schwartz has come to recognize that there will always be another deal. Success, however, only comes from investing in those that he has sufficiently investigated and deemed appropriate. Because of its impressive stature, Onex is now informed about whenever any major company comes up for sale anywhere in North America. Schwartz and his team then inspect the books of each company and their respective markets to determine their futures. Schwartz is also keen on finding his own potential acquisitions, ones that have yet to be advertised and that are hiding in their larger parent companies.

Lesson #3: Create Long-Term Value For Your Shareholders

Before Schwartz ever made a decision to acquire a company or not, he would always ask himself one question: what can this company become? Schwartz was not interested in making short-term profit. Instead, his number one goal centered around creating value for his shareholders. “Every decision Onex makes is made on the basis of creating long-term value,” says Schwartz. “Our philosophy is to operate like a forever owner of an asset.”

Most Canadians might not know who he is by name, but Schwartz’s impact on the landscape of Canadian business is almost unmatched. After founding Onex Corporation in 1983, the holding company has grown to become one of the largest in the country, with annual revenues nearing $16 billion and almost 90,000 employees around the world. Today, this motivated and perfectionist son of an auto parts dealer stands out as one of Canada’s wealthiest and most well-connected individuals. It was, however, a fate Schwartz knew he was destined for.

Read the complete Gerry Schwartz story here.

From a dyslexic high school dropout to a thriving billionaire and adventure capitalist knighted by the Queen of England, Branson carved a unique path to success using his personality as his greatest leverage. His career has spanned over thirty years and his brand has become one of the most recognized globally. How did he do it?

Lesson #1: Be A Good Leader

“Having a personality of caring about people is important,” says Branson. “You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.” Branson is often criticized for his management style – or lack thereof. He holds no regular board meetings, has no business headquarters, and has no idea how to operate a computer. But, with his brand name licensed to over 250 companies, Branson has had to develop the necessary leadership skills to ensure his survival.

Lesson #2: Build A Powerful Brand

In 2005, Branson said his goal was to turn Virgin into “the most respected brand in the world.” Branson is not far off from achieving his goal. Virgin was recently found to be one of the UK’s top three favourite and most respected brand names and both the brand and the man behind it are known throughout the world. “In the beginning it was just about the business – now it’s about the brand,” says Branson. “Back then we would create a company based on frustration at other people’s service and suddenly realized we had one of the most respected brands in the world.”

Lesson #3: Keep Flying High

“Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming,” says Branson. Branson is no stranger to failure. Known for his often wild and dramatic ideas, Branson always knew that he would encounter letdowns along the way. But, the secret to his success has been his ability to make a strong recovery. More than perhaps any other entrepreneur in the 20th century, Branson has been able to successfully move from one venture to the next even after experiencing bitter disappointment.

“I was never, ever interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur,” says Richard Branson. At 56, despite his intentions, Branson has become one of the most successful and eccentric billionaires of the 20th century. He is the man behind one of the most recognizable brands in history and is sitting on an estimated fortune of $3.2 billion.

Read the complete story here.

I was going to begin by saying that we’ve all heard of the value of polarizing markets, but then it occurred to me that I might have taken for granted the amount of times I’ve seen this in my line of work – the web.

We probably all heard the story of Arla, the Danish dairy giant that published caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. I’m not here to debate the right or wrong of it. I’m more interested in what happened in the aftershock.

Arla went from $480M in sales in the Middle East to zero. That was big. The Middle East accounted for 6-7% of their worldwide revenues. In a reactionary mindset, Arla decided to issue apologies as fast as cartoonists use George Bush for comedic relief.

Then something worse happened. The Danes, among the world’s biggest free speech proponents, saw the backpedalling and got mad(der). The only difference was that the Danes made up over 20% of Arla’s worldwide sales and when that number dropped, they had a bigger problem on their hands.

I think there is a lesson here for and about entrepreneurs.

There will always be those who seek an opportunity to be more efficient, raise quality and, in doing so, not cause too much of a stir. Then there will be those who polarize markets. You either love them or you hate them, but either way you remember them.

Donald Trump. Bill Gates. Steve Jobs. Mark Cuban. Howard Roark. Richard Branson. Barack Obama. Their products, purposes and practices typically follow their personalities. They polarize people.

What’s that old saying about “you can’t please all the people all the time?” It would seem to me that sitting on the fence or teetering back and forth on your principles (as Arla did) will get you nowhere with anyone. Sure you’ll do fine while your competition scrambles to duplicate your economies of scale or technological advancements, but in time, you will need a brand. And I don’t mean a lofty statement – I mean a brand that you live out daily.

As I build a business, one of my most important indicators is who I’m winning over and who’s tuning me out. These are my poles – one represents my (business’) brand, the other, mediocrity.

He never dreamed of being a banker when he was a child, but today, there is nary a student of retail banking who does not know the incredible story of this determined entrepreneur. A son of poor immigrants, Giannini helped build the first national system of banks for the ordinary person, all the while fueling California’s economic development and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs. What were Giannini’s secrets for success?

Lesson #1: Think Big About the Little Guy

Growing up in the produce store of his stepfather, Giannini was surrounded by farmers, merchants, and other labourers. He got to know them, their businesses, and their business needs, in what proved to be an experience he would not soon forget. In fact, the lives and stories of these workers would come back to haunt him when he first took the job with the Columbus Savings & Loan Association. For, it was during this time that Giannini began to recognize that there were entire groups of people – workers – who were readily denied access to bank loans and credit.

Lesson #2: Keeping Your Connections to Customers is Key

The faith and courage with which Giannini gave out loans became something of a legend all throughout the Pacific coast. He made loans on a handshake to anyone who was interested, and he never turned someone away. His moral integrity attracted streams of clients from all over. But, Giannini wouldn’t look at what he did as risky. After all, he was a people person. He knew not only the names and faces of all of his clients, but also all about their families and their financial situations; these people were a part of his family now.

Lesson #3: Don’t Let Anyone Keep Your Ambitions in Check

When Giannini first came onto the scene, the banking world was a very different one to that which exists today. Most banks were single, stand-alone entities, and had limited capital, which meant that they could only lend out the amount of money they had in reserves. Giannini helped to change all of that by building a large branch network in California, and with a dream of going national, but none of it happened without a fight.

Home mortgages, auto loans, installment credit – they may be taken for granted today, but before this son of Italian immigrants came along, such things didn’t exist. Amadeo Peter Giannini – A.P. to his friends – revolutionized the banking world by focusing on "the little people". Giannini passed away in 1949 at the age of 79. By that time, the bank he had founded, the Bank of America, had become the largest bank in the world, with $7 billion in assets and more than 525 branches in over 300 American cities. Today, Giannini stands out as one of TIME Magazine’s Builders and Titans of the 20th century – the only banker to make this list of the century’s most 100 important people.

Read the complete story here.

“One of the things young people always ask me about is what is the secret to success,” says Gardner. “The secret is there is no secret. It’s the basics. Blocking and tackling.” Gardner has gone from homeless to Hollywood, rising from the depths and despair of poverty to become not only a millionaire stockbroker and successful entrepreneur and author, but also the star of a major motion picture. How did he do it?

Lesson #1: Find Something That Gets You Excited

“You have to be committed, and you have to find something that you are passionate about,” says Gardiner. “And forget about money. I’ve learned that money is the least significant aspect of wealth.”

Lesson #2: Make A Commitment To Be The Very Best

“My first ambition in life was to be Miles Davis,” recalls Gardner. “I didn’t want to be a trumpet player, an artist or a jazz musician – I literally wanted to be Miles. My mom said to me, ‘Baby, you can’t be Miles. There ain’t but one, and he got that job.’ But I made a commitment at an early age that I wanted to be world class at something.”

Lesson #3: Don’t Forget Where You Came From

“As busy as I am wherever I am, I try to get out and walk the streets,” says Gardner, “to remember how far I’ve come and appreciate every baby step of the way.”

Chris Gardner wears a $10,000 watch on each wrist. On the right hand is a Cartier set to Chicago time, and on the left is a Roger Dubuis set to South African time. “I was late once and it cost me $50,000,” explains Gardner. “I figure it was cheaper to wear two watches.” For a man who not too long ago had only two suits to his name and could not even afford to pay rent, Gardner has come a long way. From living on the streets and bathing in public restrooms to owning a successful multi-million dollar stock brokerage firm, Gardner is living out the American dream.

Read the full story on Chris Gardner here.

Here is another of the ideas participants find most helpful in my Schulich School of Executive Education course Advanced Account Management and High-Yield Selling.

• How Executives Make Decisions
  The heuristics senior managers use to decide what to do under pressure

Many of you will already know Dr. Tom Sant, founder of The Sant Corporation. Tom was named one of the Top Ten Sales Trainers in the World in 2005 by Selling Power magazine, and was named one of the first Fellows of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the profession.

Check out the Sant website for super podcasts and white papers that will focus, or refocus, your interactions with high-potential clients and prospects.

I found Dr. Sant’s work, along with that of Dr. Janet Barnard, particularly helpful when it comes to effective interactions with senior executives.¹

Let’s face it, talking to a C-Suite decision-maker when you’re not one yourself can be pretty intimidating. Especially when your client or prospect doesn’t let you get past slide two of your carefully-prepared presentation.

Over and over again, participants in our courses ask us to give them the magic formula for encouraging executive audiences to keep quiet!

At the same time, senior executives who ask us to help their staff with presentation effectiveness tell us these presentations make them nuts - they are boring, irrelevant and tedious.

Why are we doing this to each other? Because we don’t understand what senior executives want from presentations, or how they make decisions.

Failing accurate insights, we fall back on the thing we know best: talking about ourselves.

Here are some quick tips that will make your next senior executive meeting powerful and positive:

• As a subject-matter expert, executives expect you to act like a peer to them, not an employee or supplicant.
  
• More than anything they need you to provide a business case for your proposal. Someone else can take care of the details.
  
• Consider how your proposal impacts their firm’s ability to compete -quickmba.com has an overview of Harvard guru Michael Porter’s classic Five Competitive Forces you can use to your advantage.
  
• Understand how your audience makes decisions - and stop being surprised when decisions seem fast, not based on your brilliant argument or the available evidence.

Decisions that look impulsive are actually based on one of a few decision heuristics (ways they have learned work for them in the past)²:

People’s decision-making tends to come in two flavours: satisficing and "fast and frugal".

• Satisficing: decide what you need, then pick the first acceptable solution. Don’t even look for alternatives.
• Fast and Frugal: derived from experience. Collect all the data from past experience, and derive which offer the best decision with the fewest inputs. Often this ends up being one of:
  
  • Take the Best" assuming we know "the best" is from experience.
    
  • Pick the one we recognize.
    
  • Do what we did last time.

So What?
So, if you know how the decision is likely to be made, build your pitch around it.

If your audience includes “satisficers”:

• Probe for needs
• Stress speed
• Stress completeness of solution compared to needs

If you are in “Fast and Frugal” land:

• Probe: what factors they will use in making a choice? How have they made similar choices in the past?
• Supply good arguments for certain criteria
• Provide data, test scenarios and results
• Provide proof that you are the best: testimonials, reference stories
• Provide proof that recognized others recognize you

(With apologies to Robert Fulgham)

While dealing with the first snow of the season recently I got to thinking how many business principles would apply to moving snow. With best wishes for the holiday season, here’s my light-hearted list, which might even help with the next snowfall:

1. Location, location, location: having a driveway that faces the sun most of the day is at least half of the battle.
2. Any colour you like as long as it’s black: asphalt is wonderful for capturing energy and melting snow. The blacker, the better!
3. Choose the right tool for the job: snow pushers work fast in light snow; snow shovels require more effort but are the only thing that works on heavy snow
4. Look after your tools and they will look after you: a quick spray of silicone lubricant or WD40 will stop snow sticking to your shovel.
5. Don’t let a small problem turn into a bigger one: clearing an inch of snow three times can be easier than doing it all at once. You get the “black” melting effect three times, and you can probably use pushers, not lifters.
6. Dress for success: success in this case is keeping the snow from drifting down your back and into your socks.
7. Know your competition and note their direction: don’t pile your snow on the left of your driveway; the snow plough will pile it all back.
8. Plan ahead and avoid having to redo things: if you’re moving snow to the right side, start shovelling on the left.
9. Smooth out the bumps as you go-avoid nasty surprises later: have you ever left a small piece of ice which partially melted and refroze as an immovable bump? You really don’t want to hit one of those at full speed with a snow pusher-especially if the handle is in front of your body!
10. Automate when the payback exceeds the costs: a snow blower probably costs less than a full course of chiropractic sessions.
11. Know when to outsource: paying the neighbourhood kid is sometimes the best option!

And of course:

12. The customer is always right: especially when the customer is your wife and she’s telling you to get the snow off the drive so she can go out and shop for Christmas!

Next month, I’ll get back to the last part of the series on the hidden costs of having a website.

To many of us, being an entrepreneur is a gateway to changing the world. It could be our own personal world, the industry we care to develop, the people we affect on a daily basis, or the health of the economy in which we and our fellow entrepreneurs operate. For some folks, changing the world literally means changing the world.

I’ve had the recent pleasure of meeting Mr. John Wood. The Microsoft folks will remember Mr. Wood from his book ‘Leaving Microsoft to Change the World’. If you’re wondering what would cause a man to leave behind his ‘rising executive’ status for the world of philanthropy, one need look no further than the captions found on the Room to Read web site. John founded Room to Read after his trek through Nepal revealed a shocking lack of resources when it came to basic education. Among the alarming numbers that most of us will never put a picture to;

“Of the 770 million adults in the world who cannot read or write, 2/3rds are women”

“There are over 115 million children of primary-school age who are not enrolled in school”

Since the organization’s inception in 2000, Room to Read has built 287 schools, 3,870 libraries, published 1.3 million books, donated another 1.4 million English-language books, provided 3,448 girls with scholarships, and built 136 computer labs. These numbers are nothing short of incredible.

John’s results may have reached the mainstream (Bill Clinton is a leading supporter and Oprah has opened up her show to John), but it is the way in which he brings these results into perspective that allows all of us to help this noble idea along.

It takes but a single book to inspire a mind.

John does not run his donations through criss-cross patterns. You know that your donation (no matter how small) is helping to pay for THIS book, in THIS school, in THIS city, for THESE children. This is how the allocation happens.

Room to Read does not deliver materials to remote locations by Land Rover. They do not pave the roadways into the village so that it feels more like the familiarity of home. They pour all the money into their (and our) greatest resource - children.

As I stood amongst the who’s who of Canadian business, nothing mattered except the reason we were there. John stood at the front and challenged the room with donation targets that would have made any corporation wish their shareholders out of hearing range. We had expected ambition from a former top executive - we weren’t prepared for a pipe dream. And then we saw his eyes.

Room to Read is one of the fastest growing not-for-profit organizations in the world. John has hit his astronomical targets every year and every year he raises the bar beyond what people think to be possible. It makes you reconsider how you define possible.

The problem Room to Read is trying to put right isn’t complex. It does not require a complex org structure, complex financing or a complex business model. The problem is just big - big but simple. Room to Read won’t stand for distractions - if that is a strategic advantage, then it is one we should all be looking into.

In the last article, I asked: “Why do you need a web site?”. This time, I’m asking: “If you start one, can you afford to keep it running?” Most people understand the two basic ongoing costs, domain registration and hosting, and probably have a vague idea that paying someone to design and create the thing may cost a penny or two. However, in my experience, what comes as a shock to many is the time and effort that needs to be expended to maintain web site content after it’s up.

If your site is intended to stop at providing basic information to your clients, then not too much needs to be done. If you move, change a phone number or your opening hours, then update the relevant page and that’s it. If you go a bit further and keep the specifications of your products, then depending on the volatility of your line, you will have some extra regular maintenance to do. However, this category of sites is manageable, and suits many small businesses, clubs and non-profits. Just don’t have a page that says “Current Events” filled with ancient offerings!

Are you looking to create some advertising revenue as well? The good news is that you can set it up and watch the income trickle in. The bad news is that if you want to maximise that flow, you need to attend to many more details. However, bringing customers to your site tends to increase advertising revenue, so looking after your own good will typically do the job, so long as the advertising doesn’t get in the way of letting your clients buy from you.

Supporting Sales needs a bit more work. Typically, you will need to keep up with changes in prices, new models, shipping costs, taxes and a host of other details if you want to provide all of the data a potential customer demands before they are willing to commit to a purchase from you. At this level, the technology is not a do-it-yourself proposition, although so long as the basic structure doesn’t change, non-professionals can probably do the updates. You will need to take a long hard look at the data you commit to maintaining, though. A photo, or even a photo gallery of each product really helps a potential buyer, but consider the time it takes to set up the product in good lighting, take studio-quality shots including close-ups of details, and edit and crop everything in an attractive and consistent manner. Now multiply this effort by the number of new items you want to feature each year. Even using plain text, how long does it take to describe something accurately and in a manner that attracts customers?

Now suppose you want to actually sell from your site. If there is a problem, you need it fixed yesterday. You need someone to keep track of the traffic on your site, and manage service levels so each customer has a good experience, not an agonizing wait and abandonment. If your service really takes off, are you prepared to add the necessary capital investment to keep up with the business, and do you have the staff to do it? Outsourcing technology expertise is probably the way to go; just make sure they have the capacity to keep up with your growth!

Obviously, I’m just touching on a number of issues in this article, but I trust I’ve made the point that a “make it and leave it” website will bring results at a basic level. It’s still worth having for a large number of people, but at the point where you ask if the web site is pulling its weight, that’s when some heavy thinking is needed-is your business willing to put in what’s needed to go to the next level?

You may have noticed that I haven’t even touched on Marketing. Suffice it to say that in marketing a web site, Content is King. You’d better believe that maintaining good content doesn’t come cheaply!

They turned their $5 for an ice cream making course into a successful multimillion dollar business, and they had a lot of fun in the process. But, Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just about the delicious ice cream. From taking a stand against nuclear weapons to discussing America politics and corporate social responsibility, founders Cohen and Greenfield are taking the vision for their business to the wider world. How did two anti-corporate hippies become millionaires and respected business leaders in the 21st century?

Lesson #1: Business Benefits When You Behave Responsibly

“Ben and I built Ben & Jerry’s on the idea that business has a responsibility to the community and environment,” says Greenfield. “If you open up the mind, the opportunity to address both profits and social conditions are limitless. It’s a process of innovation.”

Lesson #2: Remember that Happy Workers are Harder Workers

In 1987, Greenfield came up with the idea for a Ben & Jerry’s Joy Gang, with a mission “to infuse joy into everything we do.” The Vermont hippies wanted fun to be an official part of their company culture. Initially, the Joy Gang’s activities were limited to providing free pizza and 15-minute massages to staff. However, as the company expanded, so too did the range of the Joy Gang’s projects.

Lesson #3: Two Heads Are Better Than One

“We thought, why don’t we get together and do something fun and be our own bosses,” recalls Greenfield, “and since we liked to eat we should do something with food.” From sharing the cost of the $5 Penn State course on ice cream-making that they took - for which they received 100s on all their tests - to deciding to go into business together, Cohen and Greenfield realized early on the advantages of working together. Not only did they have a trusting relationship and share many of the same operating principles, but they also knew how to have a lot of fun with each other.

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” proclaims Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of one of the most popular brands of ice cream in the U.S. Indeed, the success of Ben & Jerry’s since its launch almost thirty years ago seems to support his claim. From the $5 correspondence course in ice cream making Greenfield and his partner Ben Cohen took from the Pennsylvania State University in 1978, to being named “U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year” by President Reagan in 1988, the childhood friends not only achieved tremendous success, but they did so on their own terms.

Read the full story on Ben & Jerry’s here

Here is another of the ideas participants find most helpful in my Schulich School of Executive Education course Advanced Account Management and High-Yield Selling.

• The Chunk Outline
  How to decide what to say in any situation even with 5 minutes or less to prepare

You’ve all been there. The Big Client calls and wants an update right now, or you’re in a meeting and the accountant needs a status report you hadn’t counted on giving.

How do you pull your thoughts together so you sound polished, even though you are frantically rummaging through the drawers of your mind searching for the missing sock of last month’s numbers?

Our experience is that sounding prepared has less to do with content than it does with how your comments are structured.

In fact, when we test this in seminars with small business leaders, they always rate well-structured presentations, even those with weaker content, as more satisfying than those where the presenter rambles around tossing out stray facts as they occur to him.

Here’s the process.

Let’s assume you are in a meeting and someone asks you to expound on a topic you know reasonably well, but have not prepared. Ask for a minute to gather your thoughts (really! Junior people are afraid to appear unprepared. Senior people know they are, and take the time to get it right.)

1. You need an agenda of no more than 3 points. Always advance-organize listeners with an agenda, even if you are only speaking for 5 minutes. Never have an agenda with more than 3 items. We like the “What, So What, Now What” approach. It sounds like this:
   
   
   • “I’ll cover where we are today, the implications and then the action plan”
     
   • “I’ll answer your question by reminding you of the situation and how we see its impact, and then I’ll share where we’re going with it.”
     
   • “Well we all know what’s going on, so let me quickly summarize our understanding and what we’ve learned, before I go over the action plan.”
     
   • You could use another organizing principle if it works better for you of course: national situation, local situation, next steps; past, present, where we go from here; what A said, what B said, what C said…in any case, the trick is to make the audience feel comfortable that you have a handle on the content so they can relax and listen.
     
     
2. For each agenda point, touch on no more than 3 to 5 key facts in the same order as the agenda. Do not give in to the desire to teach everyone the minutiae of the situation. They are not interested, and it will take too long.
3. Summarize each agenda point. Say, “So, the key messages are …” in the same order as the agenda.
4. Close by clearly recommending a course of action, and indicating what you are prepared to do to make it successful. Say, “As a result, I am recommending…and I am prepared to…if you will…”

The Chunk Outline Summarized



Next time I’ll close this system with How Executives Make Decisions, the 6 heuristics senior managers use to decide what to do under pressure.

Pardon me for reinforcing the Generation Y stereotypes, but I’d like to share with you my most recent adventures in small business.

While I remain an emotionally-invested strategic advisor for the boutique interactive agency I helped grow over the better part of the last year, the ongoing balancing act that is my time, has just absorbed a very recent shock.

I’m 3 weeks into a new position as employee #1 (as in “the first”, not necessarily “the best”) for an eLearning company that has recently been broken into two parts; Custom Solutions and Products (I am heading up the Product division). An old professor of mine once told me that ‘success gives you a false sense of security, because with every degree of success comes a ceiling that requires planning in order to reach the next level’. Using the number 21 (as in ‘employees’) as my threshold, I’d like to point out some observations I’ve made during my time in my new environment.

1. Office Protocol
   Under 21 employees: “What’s this protocol you’re making and are you using your cell phone to dial?”
   Over 21 employees: “Please read the Employee Handbook and if you see the CEO tomorrow, tell him to do the same”
   
   
2. Knowledge Sharing
   Under 21 employees: “Why don’t you all roll your chairs over here and I’ll show you what I mean”
   Over 21 employees: “I’ve got an idea I want to show you - let’s go to the boardroom and by boardroom, I mean the room with the board in it”
   
   
3. Primary Objective
   Under 21 employees: “Sell, because we have to eat”
   Over 21 employees: “Sell, because now we have a quota”
   

In general though, there are still some things that will frustrate you on a daily basis. Files don’t follow naming conventions, business development is not, nor will it ever be, centralized, and some elements of the brand are consistently inconsistent. But as I reflect on what it takes to scale an organization by building capacity, I take a moment to remember that the common ground between any small business, is an unwritten code that says ‘THE GOOD IDEA WILL ALWAYS PREVAIL’. To me, that is the single biggest indicator of when you’ve hit a ceiling. Once the good idea is thwarted, that’s when the Generation Y genes will kick in and it will be onto the next challenge.

So as you continue to grow your business, remember that all the tools, all the processes, and all the controls should be integrated in the spirit of scaling ideas, and not just scaling for profit. Ideas are a means to an end - the end will inevitably be profitable.

Going green for your business doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of green. There are so many practical things you can do to do your part in running a socially responsible and sustainable business.

First tip may seem obvious but if you’re not using it, turn it off. This includes all the electricity in your space and all those tech products when they’re not in use (even those power bars that are flashing red - turn those off too!).

By now, hopefully you already are recycling the paper and all the waste around your office. If not, start. You can also reduce the amount of paper you recycle by printing less by duplexing (printing on both sides).

The next step in recycling: finding ways to donate or ethically dispose of old computers, cell phones and other electronic equipment.

So those are some simple steps that will actually save you money. Here are a few other things to consider.

When your lights are on, use those CFC light bulbs. Sure they’re pricier than regular light bulbs but think of the long-term gains. You’re saving the planet you and your loved ones live on and realizing greater cost savings in reduced energy consumption over the long haul.

If you’re making new capital investments, look for ENERGY STAR graded electronics and the appropriate rebates/tax breaks offered. Consider furniture and accessories made from renewable resources such as corn and bamboo, or made from recycled materials.

A friend of mine recently put in new bamboo flooring in her office and not only does it look great but the price was much cheaper than oak or maple hardwood. And yes, Bamboo is much more environmentally friendly than other forms of hardwood.

Consider using toxic-free products like natural cleaning products. Believe it or not, a little vinegar and water is one of the most useful cleaning products you could use and you and your employees will be breathing better with less toxic chemicals in your space.

Consider enrolling your business in an energy saving program with your local utilities company and enjoy lower overhead costs. In fact I recently enrolled with an alternative utilities company that provides 100% clean energy. I would mention their name here, but if you’re interested, drop me a line and I’ll tell u all about it.

Hope this helps and remember, not only will going green make you feel better, it can actually help you make more green.

In an earlier post, I pondered the motivation for seeking a life of self-employment. I concluded that, for me, it was more about freedom than anything else.

I suspect, however, that for many, the primary lure is a payday that is potentially grander than would have otherwise been possible through traditional employment.

As much as the lure is the potential for wealth, the terror of self-employment is the uncertainty of work: Will I make enough to pay the bills this week? The temptation is strong, therefore, to view each contract as merely an avenue of avoiding, for another month at least, starvation (and, worse yet, return to the employed life).

How to respond, then, when the receipt of payment brings with it an ethical thorn?

I have a client in the poor nation of Kenya, for whom I recently completed some scientific work. The client is a non-profit NGO committed to combating HIV/AIDS among the mostly rural poor of that besieged African nation. Knowing this, the fee schedule I presented to them was much denuded from my regular rates. Still, the total I would need to charge for my few weeks of work would exceed the yearly wages of many of that nation's workers.

How could I bring myself to extract so much wealth from an organization that would surely otherwise use those funds to effect much good at orders of magnitude greater than could be done in Canada?

Yes, the client had agreed upon my rates before I commenced the work. Yes, the work was completed satisfactorily, though a little beyond the agreed upon schedule. In terms of strict business ethics, I was perfectly within my rights to issue an invoice for the agreed upon sum.

Yet, to be completely candid, I don't need the money. Other (local) clients, whom I bill at much greater rates, more than make up for any cash shortfall represented by my lost fees through the Kenyan client. So, again, can I ethically accept this money, knowing that I would not miss it, and that it would otherwise be spent to great positive effect in Africa?

There is a greater ethical issue that speaks to the impact of globalization: the trend of moving foreign currency from developing nations, thus exacerbating the widening rift between rich nations and poor. Instead of employing a foreign "expert" to do the work, the Kenyans should have sought local expertise; surely it exists somewhere in that great nation. And instead of allowing them to employ me, perhaps it would have been more appropriate to have insisted that they find local expertise, and offered my support in a cheaper, supervisory capacity, thus effecting some knowledge transfer into that knowledge-hungry country.

These mental gymnastics were not furthering my search for a solution to my ethical question. So, in the end, I chose to issue an invoice... with a healthy 20% discount to assuage my liberal guilt. Is the best solution? Clearly not. But it will do for now.

Well, just what kind of question is that? Everyone should have a web site, right? OK, now put the emphasis on the word “you” or the word “need” instead of the word “why”. Too many people just wake up one morning and decide that the world won’t go on unless it has their web site running in it, and then they find someone who would be only to pleased to save the world and accommodate them. Unless you have thought out what a web site is going to do for your business, you are probably wasting a large proportion of your investment.

Here are four possible reasons to have a web site which are fairly easy to rationalise, and one that needs some more consideration. So let’s start with the simple ones.

Provide information to your clients. A web site can contain more information than a business card or brochure, and lots more than a 2-line entry in the phone book. If you want to reduce the time you spend giving directions, your opening hours, product specifications or shipping rates, even a simple web site can do this, and it does it 24-7!

Support Sales. By providing all of the information a shopper requires, and possibly a means to compare prices and or specifications of other products or suppliers, a business can “make” a sale (and if it has the technology, complete a sale) which would otherwise have not existed. Many shoppers these days will browse for information, shoppers reviews and hard specifications, make up their minds on a product and supplier and complete their purchase. Anyone without a web-site or whose website does not capture the shopper’s attention does not participate in this market.

Perform an on-line service. There are many models for this, most of which actually sell a variety of goods which can be easily shipped. Other services could include digital design, product support, proprietary information services, preparation of tax returns-in fact just about anything that can be performed with little or no human intervention. These services may enhance an existing business or they may be the business.

Create advertising revenue. Whatever the primary reason for the site, or even without having a primary reason, a web-site can generate revenue by including ads from other companies, who pay when a viewer clicks on their ad. Many sites today apparently have no other reason to exist than this, but usually ad revenue is a secondary objective for a site.

The other reason I often hear is Marketing. This sounds like a reasonable enough objective, until some thought is given to how a web site will do that. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that a web site per se does nothing for Marketing. Maybe this is just tricky semantics, but the best web-site in the world won’t bring in a single new customer who wasn’t actively looking for its product. It’s like printing a glossy catalogue and keeping all of the copies in your warehouse and waiting for someone to ask for one. While a well designed web-site can assist in the marketing of a product, the real marketing effort is in getting visitors to come to your site.

So that’s several good reasons to have a web site and one that needs more examination. I like to tell clients that having a web site is a business necessity like having a telephone number. However, while the basics can be covered with little expense, meeting many of the other objectives which can be supported by a web site is a very different proposition, and the initial ease of getting a basic web-site with your very own domain name and e-mail address should not lull you into a false sense of simplicity.

Next month: Beyond the basic web-site: Perils and Pitfalls. What it takes to keep a web-site working for you.

We’ve been sharing the ideas participants find most helpful in my Schulich School of Executive Education course Advanced Account Management and High-Yield Selling

Here is another winner:

• Curiosity
  The secret weapon to create meaningful and relevant client relationships

Successful business owners are addicted to two really powerful hallucinogens: their own stuff, and being right. Now I confess to being addicted to both of these in the past, so I know what I’m talking about.

Here’s how it works: we spend hours working up a sales proposal, bolstered by our own expertise, facts, research and opinions from other smart people.

Maybe we spend more hours writing a document or the ubiquitous Death by PowerPoint presentation, with graphs, and exhibits. Perhaps two or three other people in our organization look at our work, give us their received wisdom, and we rewrite it maybe two-three times, more if it’s for a big contract.

Then we present it.

So let’s suppose someone in the audience at your presentation disagrees with you. Do we engage in a thoughtful exchange of views? Heck no! We argue the point with the customer, in effect telling him or her how wrong they are, and how right we are, because we have so much invested in our proposal we can’t give up being right.

When was the last time you spent a lot of money with someone who told you how wrong you were about your own business?

I’m with an old boss of mine who said, “Let’s be wrong all the way to the bank.”

Give up being right, and start focusing on winning the order. Here’s how: be curious! Don’t tell, ask. People do business with people they know, like and trust - and who better than someone who’s so interested in your point of view he or she gets you talking about it?

Here are some questions people have found provocative, enlightening, and winning:

Open-ended probes that earn you the right to probe further

• General Probes:
  • Run me through your thinking on this
  • How did we get to these assumptions?
  • Tell me more about how you (moved from these facts to your conclusions)
  • When you said... did you mean...?

• Issue Probes:
  • What's the most significant issue you currently face?
  • What would you like to accomplish with this (program, idea, information)?
  • To what extent is (growth, budget, deadlines, staffing) important?
  • What other challenges do you foresee?

• Implication Probes:
  • How do you calculate (how much money being late is costing you)?
  • How does (system downtime) affect (your customers)?
  • What would happen if (worst case scenario)?

Closed ended probes that demonstrate your competence
Asking intelligent and relevant questions tells clients you offer a higher level of competence, credibility and value. Prove you are an expert the customer can trust by asking technically demanding questions.

• If you compare the top 20% of your revenue and profit to the bottom 20%:
  • What accounts for the top 20%? Your bottom 20%?
  • How do your distribution and associated costs compare?
  • How does the buyer for the top 20% differ from the buyer from the bottom 20%?
• Describe your cost structure for each segment

You’ve find good reading on this subject in Secrets of Question Based Selling by Thomas A. Freese.

“If you want to be successful over a long period, you have to have some idea why you were born and what life is about,” says Monaghan. “I don't know how anybody can function without thinking that through.” It may have taken him a while to realize it, but Monaghan certainly came to know what he was meant to do with his life. From dropping out of school and shredding cheese in his one-man pizza shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, to exporting his recipe for success to over 8,000 Domino’s locations around the world, Monaghan pioneered his way - and his pizza - to the top. How did he do it?

Lesson #1: You Can Achieve Anything You Set Your Mind To

“I believe everyone on earth has a certain goal/dream in life,” says Monaghan. “I also believe anyone can achieve this if they set their minds to it.” In a self-described “Horatio Alger story”, Monaghan was able overcome the early poverty and tragedy in his life to create one of the greatest success stories in recent American history.

Lesson #2: Religion and Business Can Go Hand in Hand

“No matter what I did, I knew I had five priorities in life,” says Monaghan, “physical and mental health, as well as the social, the spiritual and the financial. But the most important thing I could be was a good Catholic. That is my No. 1 priority. There's no compromising that.”

Lesson #3: Get Your Motivation from Love, Not Money

“I was distracted by some of the rewards of success, which was hurting my business,” he says. “If you're successful in business it's because you've served other people; you've served your employees; you've served your customers. You're creating jobs. Don't just create an empire for yourself and an imperial life.”

When Tom Monaghan was a young boy, he wanted to be three things: a shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, a priest, and an architect; founder of a multi-billion dollar pizza company was not on the list. However, that is exactly what Monaghan would become. Since launching Domino’s Pizza in 1960, Monaghan has grown the company into an empire, with over 8,000 locations in more than 54 countries around the world, and sales that exceed $4.6 billion.

In the corporate world, one gets all kinds of hints for when you’re spending too long on a task. Your boss will tell you. The department you’re doing work for tells you they wanted it yesterday. Your spouse phones to tell you to come home. And in the end, in many environments, it doesn’t matter that much if you did “too good” a job, because it’s all coming out of the same purse. As my own boss, I sometimes find that the time I want to spend on a project, to get it the way I want, appears extortionate to me when converted to billed dollars. If you’re wondering why that’s a problem, maybe I can borrow your conscience for the next few years! For the rest of you, here are some solutions which have helped me balance quality and cost.

• Where the project allows, provide an estimate, and try to live with it. A clearly defined project with a definite price takes all the billing guesswork away-even if it does put all of the risk on you.
• After you work with a client for a while, you will get a sense for whether they like basic service or value added; then you can start in the right ballpark, and keep fine tuning.
• If you run into problems because your experience is lacking, or your design was poor, “stop the clock” until you are back on track. My only exception to this is if a client wants me to do something outside of my current expertise, and they clearly understand that a certain amount or trial and error will be involved.
• When in doubt, communicate! If you have a choice of ways to do something, and you have time, ask what they want. (Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.)

One other course I have taken may be at odds with the conscience thing - I used to have different rates depending on what I was doing and where I was. Database development cost more than editing a word document, working away from my office was more expensive than working at home. Non-profits and seniors got a break. No more! My time is my time, and I let my clients decide whether it’s worth it to them. I’d like to think that I provide extra value on some mundane tasks, but in the end, it’s up to the client. It makes billing and quoting much easier.

My experience has been that clients appreciate good work and honest billing, and that often what seems expensive to me is a bargain to them, especially compared with what they were used to putting up with before. I’m providing services that my clients either can’t do themselves, or don’t have the time to do themselves, and despite my misgivings, they keep coming back. I do still get a hint when I’m taking too long: my wife doesn’t have to call me to come home any more-but she will sometimes ask if I’m ever going to bed!

And if I still can’t sleep at night, I can always throw in a freebie or two.

Spending good times with good friends is what’s most enjoyable about the summer. However, even with the summer holidays over now, there’s no need for you to stop spreading your sunny cheer around especially when it comes to your business. A whole plethora of online tools can keep you socially active. Open your business up more this Fall. It's the open source revolution.

Some experts have used the terms Peer Production, Open Source, Business Transparency or even Wikinomics. I’m going to use the term, Sharenomics. By this, I’m not talking about that diva who was married to Sonny. Brighter days though, will emerge for those who are opening up their business and sharing ideas and information in a way that facilities mutual collaboration to build a better business.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

It's not like information sharing has never happened before, but the online channel is making things a lot easier with the displacement of time and space.

Think of social peering (i.e. Facebook), blogs or wiki (What did we do without Wikipedia before?) tools where individuals are continuously sharing and expressing themselves online, anytime, anywhere. The result is a sharing of culture, camaraderie and commentary.

Scientists are using online communities to share new information about new discoveries or breakthroughs; programmers are using open sourced environments to co-develop better running software; and publishers are using blog and wiki tools to modify or redistribute content much more quickly.

Now imagine harnessing all the creative expression and power of your communities to co-develop better services, products or tools.

Using an open sourced online environment, imagine your customers helping you choose designs for some of the new products/services you’re developing? Some businesses are already doing this and have actually enlisted their communities to help them co-develop things such as their website and even their marketing materials. Free labour or just liberating your masses?

Other businesses are using online tools to allow their employees and customers and partners to openly share content about customer experiences/feedback/usability and then collaborate together for next steps. We’re all family right?

Too complicated? What about simply using a blog or wiki to remain connected with your customers with news, events, and other information on a timely basis? For example, some businesses are using a presence on Facebook to reach out to new and existing customer communities.

More and more businesses are opening up and sharing with their employees, customers, and partners in new collaborative ways to build better products and services.

By empowering all your stakeholders in such a manner, you tap even deeper into the true value of your community. Think about how you can share more this Fall with those who matter most to you.

“Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse,” Disney said. He created the world’s first multimedia empire and he did it by making people smile. An entrepreneur with a natural flair for animation, Disney became one of the world’s most well-known and respected entertainers, creating a company that continues to gross over $30 billion yearly. What was the secret behind the magic?

Lesson #1: Chase Your Dreams

“Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true,” Disney said. “This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence.”

Lesson #2: Stretch Your Brand

“It's something that will never be finished,” Disney once said of Disneyland. “Something that I can keep developing and adding to.” Disney was a management mastermind, a pioneer in the field of branding and merchandising. Constantly thinking of how far he could stretch the Disney brand, Disney set new industry standards for his ability to capitalize on his name.

Lesson #3: Use Your Imagination

“I believe in being an innovator,” said Disney. “Tomorrow can be a wonderful age.” Since its inception, Disney has always been an innovative and imaginative brand. From his animations to his theme parks, Disney was always looking to the future; he was in constant search for creative ways to improve his products and thrust his business forward. It was the company behind everything from the first ‘talking’ cartoons in 1928 to the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT), both of which pushed the limits of existing ideas and technology.

“The era we are living in today is a dream of coming true,” Walt Disney once said. Indeed, Disney’s life was of the stuff dreams are made.

Learn more about Walt Disney’s success factors here

Working in a startup has several unique features that, although they may be found in large corporations, don’t have nearly the same impact or resonance. I suppose I should explain what I’m talking about.

Every decision is big when you’re starting out. The things that most folks take for granted (like a business card or a client payment plan) are not yet built. Sure, you can pinch best practices from your neighbour and you can accept the first design iteration, but then what are you really building?

When every partner has to be in high gear in order to keep a business afloat, the line between what constitutes a good decision sometimes gets a little blurred. We all have respect for each other’s private lives and of course, what you choose to do outside the workplace is your own business - but at what point do we, as partners, overstep the groupthink and start demanding more accountability of each other, whether that means more weekends, more analysis, more listening, or more progress.

It’s inevitable, when you work so close together, that everyone will eventually share a camaraderie that often borders on friendship. This is a natural phenomenon that stems from sharing long nights, little victories and moments of weakness. It also makes for a very touch-and-go work environment. When you have to make a decision, whether a new office policy or a strategic direction, the temptation to avoid stepping on toes can sometimes interfere with finding the right answer.

Suddenly everything you say seems to have the potential to rock the boat. This is where you need one of two skills in your back pocket; people skills and integrity.

People skills are what I’m most thankful for having internalized while attending university. They are skills that are honed through hours of experience in different scenarios. Conversely, integrity is not something you learn. You either have it or you don’t, and if you are in a situation where you find yourself working with people with questionable integrity - I feel sorry for you. When people have integrity they get the benefit of the doubt. When they don’t, their actions come into question far too often, even without just cause.

All this ranting is very “after-the-fact” - but what do you do to avoid finding yourself in this situation at all?

In general, when I’m making a big decision (I’m talking about a legitimate business decision this time), I always hold one variable higher than the rest - my gut. Of course it’s an old adage! Did you expect different? I trust my strength of character enough to know that if my instincts are screaming at me to re-consider my approach towards a person (or even working with that person altogether), I need to listen.

The only way to be sure you are making the right decision is to maintain your own integrity. Think of it like maintaining a brand’s consistency. Ask yourself if the decision before you does justice to the parameters you’ve set for yourself, your team, and your work. If the answer is yes, great! If not, take action and chart your course.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Hughes never knew what it was like to be anything but rich. But, it was the degree of his wealth that would drastically change over time. From inheriting $1 million to becoming North America’s first billionaire, Hughes would prove to be one of the greatest and most-talked about entrepreneurs of the 20th century. His significant feats were a result of the following factors:

Lesson #1: Never Compromise on Your Goals

“Once you consent to some concession, you can never cancel it and put things back the way they are.” When Hughes’ mother ignored his pleas and forbade young Hughes from having a motorcycle, he built his own. Assembling his own motor and adding it to a bicycle, he refused to let his mother get in the way of his dreams. Much to the frustration of others, Hughes stubbornness and determination to follow through with his ambitions would be one of his distinguishing trademarks in his later years and also one of the key factors behind his huge success.

Lesson #2: Surround Yourself With the Best

“Never make a decision,” joked Hughes. “Let someone else make it and then if it turns out to be the wrong one, you can disclaim it, and if it is the right one you can abide by it.” On Thanksgiving Day, 1925, Hughes made one decision that would forever change his life - he hired 36 year-old Noah Dietrich to be his accountant. From that point on, it would be the decisions that Dietrich made on behalf of Hughes that would help create the massive Hughes empire. Upon inheriting the Hughes Tool Co., Hughes shrewdly recognized his inability to manage the family plant and sought out someone with more extensive business experience.

Lesson #3: Think Big, Act Small

When Hughes said as a child that he wanted to be the richest man in the world, he had a clear vision about where he wanted to go, but he did not yet know how he was going to get there. That is, until, he began taking one step at a time towards achieve his dreams. Hughes recognized the importance of setting high goals and thinking about long-term possibilities, all the while taking small steps in the short-term to achieve those goals.

“I’m not a paranoid deranged millionaire. Goddamit, I’m a billionaire.” While he was perhaps known more for his eccentricities and womanizing than his good business sense, Howard Hughes was indeed one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century. He managed to turn his $1 million inheritance into a $2 billion fortune. Equivalent to $6.6 billion in today’s dollars, Howard Hughes was and still would be considered one of the richest men in the world.

Learn more about Howard Hughes.

I don't know why most entrepreneurs choose the path of self-employment. I can fathom some guesses: the potential for great wealth, the attractiveness of a flexible schedule, a distaste for authority, a thirst for risk, or the inability to direct one's career in a satisfying manner within the constraints of the employer-employee relationship.

For me, the transition was compelled by a single realization: that one of my nightmares in life is to look forward to the end of the day. You know what I'm talking about; we've all done it. At some point in our working lives, we've been in an office, factory or store praying for 5:00 or whenever our shift is over, trying to will the clock to move faster. Or we count the minutes, hours and days till the weekend and mourn the passing of Sunday into Monday. The term "hump day" for Wednesday is particularly troubling, as it implies that the progress of the week is a thing of laborious unpleasantness that must be endured, rather than celebrated.

That is my nightmare, to experience the totality of my working life within that paradigm. Our lives are short. As we age, time seems to go by even faster. In a couple of decades, I fear days will flit by like minutes. Time is the one resource in our personal ontogenies that is truly unrenewable; so it is a grave sin indeed to waste it wantonly. It seems to me, then, that to wish our days to pass quickly is nothing less than a tragedy.

Hence my attempts to create a work experience that prevents me from wishing the day to end, that instead causes me to relish each working minute --or, at the very least, to not cause me to dread those minutes.

Last week, I decided to travel to New York for a number of reasons, both personal and professional. On the way to Manhattan, I stopped by a relative's mountaintop upstate home to take in the fresh air and to watch the deer frolick on the front lawn. I had a conference call with a client in Kenya, which I took via voice-over-internet on my laptop, while sitting barefoot on the grass; and spent the rest of the time doing statistical analyses interspersed with long walks to the reservoir, accompanied by flocks of wild turkey and the occasional flash of an orange fox in my periphery.

That was a WORK day. I got the work done and simultaneously enjoyed every living moment of that day.

See, that's why I chose this path: to make work a subset of life, and not the other way around.

Last time, I started to tell you about the ideas participants find most helpful in my Schulich School of Executive Education course Advanced Account Management and High-Yield Selling

We’ve reviewed The Atom of Work; now let’s take a look at:

• Clientship
  The four attributes that must be present for high-margin, loyal client relationships.

The four non-negotiable secrets for high-margin, loyal clients
Years ago, I was involved in a project that hoped to solve problems facing retail bankers: how to improve customer loyalty, and, not incidentally, how to keep bankers from burning out as they ran between being super sales people, and advisers in the incredibly stressful world of complex financial decision-making.

A core issue was defining the relationship bankers had with very profitable, loyal clients.

How come these customers thought of themselves as the clients of a professional and happily took their advice with no questions asked, while others made decisions based on price and cost the bank a ton of dough?

How could the relationship be more like the one we have with our dentist?

When the dentist recommends cleaning, filling or even root canal work, we might blanch at the cost, and we might negotiate it if we don't have insurance - but we still buy with no questions asked. And we don't tell the dentist what to do as she works, or change the specs on the job half way through or decide at the end of the project we're not going to pay, or even switch dentists in spite of the discomfort of having the work done.

There seem to be four key attributes, and I'll bet they are familiar to you from working with the clients you like best.

Trust: Your client trusts that you will keep the promises you make, and act ethically. You trust that your client will do the same.

Superior Knowledge: You have the requisite expertise in your discipline or business to perform the work. Your clients accept that you know most about the product or service, and feel no need to challenge that knowledge. You accept that your client knows most about his or her needs, and feel free to probe for understanding.

Process Credibility: The fit between the results you promise, and the means you use to achieve the result makes sense to your client. The fit between your clients' actual needs, and what they ask you to do, makes sense to you.

Single Source Accountability: When something goes wrong or there is a problem, your client holds you accountable - no questions asked, no excuses offered. When your client sees fit to inquire about the work, he speaks to you, not a "Stand in". If there is a problem in how or when you get paid for your work, you hold your client accountable under the same terms.

I'll leave this post with a couple of thoughts for you:

Do you have any relationships like this right now?

What would you have to do differently to create a “Clientship” relationship with more of your customers?

There are many reasons to start your own business. It may be that you have a hobby that you’d like to take to the next level for your own enjoyment. It may be that you want to supplement your income with something small and manageable. Or, it could be that you are seeing an opportunity, getting on board and then planning to get out once the future looks bright enough to sell.

For those people out there who are observing and capitalizing on market opportunities or industry trends, this post is intended to slow you down - just a touch.

First things first - trends are sexy and markets change all the time. What I mean is, don’t force the issue. I recently made the mistake of spending a couple hundred hours developing a business plan for the sexiest part of the web today - social networks. While I may have learned a great deal about the arena, I was trying to tackle 5 or 6 gaps at once (that was how many critical elements I felt were missing from today’s social networks). Since that time, I’ve narrowed my focus to solve one gap for the social network I know most about. Facebook began at a single university and didn’t “go public” until recently. Likewise, applying your ideas to the domain you know most about is a great foundation on which you can build.

Next - take the time to cover your bases. If you really care about your idea and you want to build a business that actually focuses on business as oppose to squabbling, then spend the money on legal. Find out if an LLC is right for you. Get your Partnership Agreement signed early on in the process. Make sure to get advice on trademarks, intellectual property, shareholders and of course, how to make your company attractive to a potential buyer down the road. Running up $5-10K in this area shouldn’t scare you - it should help you rest comfortably at night from the piece of mind it brings.

Cash flow planning is a skill you have to practice. You’re going to need money to get started but you’ll want to ask for just enough to keep you creative in how you spend it. Some areas (like legal costs) are worth accepting as “must-spends” and other areas (like marketing) should be thought of as a lump-sum amount that you can play with. Often times I’ll stick a random number in the marketing section of the business plan. This forces me to work within constraints and focus on the highest returns I can earn on my oh-so-valuable penny. Many things in business can eat through your cash flow - make sure you set hard caps.

People will want in, so know where you need them. Picture your business at its moment of launch. It’s you, a partner or two, and a couple advisors on day one. Now imagine how growth would look and decide on what a reasonable way to achieve that growth could be. In any growth strategy you’ll quickly realize that different areas of the business will grow at different times. If you’re a software or web business, you’ll be looking at programmers first. You may follow that up with a small crew of marketers who can help generate the buzz. Following closely behind would be the sales staff you need to support your new levels of awareness. Plan your growth in stages in advance.

Starting a business once is difficult enough. You definitely don’t want to get caught doing things twice. If you build your business with the future in mind at all times, you’re well on your way to creating something that has value to more people than just yourself.

This was the subject of an article by Jon Bentley, published March 1985 in the British Computer Society’s Computer Bulletin. It has survived many of my paper purges over the years because I so liked the concept: a few rough calculations scrawled on the back of an envelope can save huge amounts of time and money when they unearth some basic flaw in the assumptions. OK, today you’d use a calculator, but who’s going to read an article titled “The Calculator”?

I recalled this article recently, after a consultation with a client who was finding that he wasn’t bringing in as much money as an entrepreneur as he had hoped; in fact it wasn’t even as much as he had been earning as an employee. He had come for advice on improving marketing, so he could do more business. As we heard more about his process, it became clear that each job was taking at least two weeks of mostly full time activity, and was netting him around $1,500. Even if he spent no time on marketing, and still by some miracle filled his year with 26 jobs, he would be bringing in $39,000 a year. $25,000 would be a more likely result allowing for down-time and other overheads, and that wasn’t what he had in mind when he decided against the traditional employment scenario.

A quick calculation on the back of an envelope would have revealed that better marketing was not the issue. In fact he really couldn’t afford to take on more of the same business, if he was to improve his income. That particular consultation continued with us providing advice on pricing and on reducing the time spent to produce his product.

While most small business people develop a business plan when they are first starting, as time goes on, they forget to revisit the plan. Every new job or process should be quickly reviewed to see if it makes sense, and existing practices looked at from time to time to see if changes are needed.

Reality checks need not be confined to financial numbers, either. Without going overboard, think about measuring and estimating every major aspect of your process. Time, space, weight, effort, impact… you name it, it can be measured, and with more numbers, you can make better decisions.

• You can make $10 on the resale of a fancy pillow - but have you worked out how much space 10,000 pillows will take up in your home-based business?
• Concrete garden gnomes are going cheap from your distributor, but you’re a mail order business-maybe your carrier has a maximum weight limit, or stronger cardboard boxes will cost too much. And how many can you put on your storage shelving before it collapses?
• You’re going to build up a mailing list by hiring someone to surf the internet for e-mail addresses-better do a test to see how many valid addresses the person can record and test per hour. Will it be worth it, and will the proposed recipients really appreciate another piece of spam?

When a measurement isn’t available, make an estimate and err on the side of caution. If your pessimistic calculations indicate that the project is feasible, then you’re probably OK, and it’s worth your while to look more closely. If the numbers don’t work out, then investing more time to get a better estimate may not be worth your while. If you do want to get a better fix, do a quick sensitivity analysis on your calculations and re-check the estimates for the numbers that make the most difference to the bottom line.

Whether you use the back of an envelope, a cocktail napkin or a calculator, doing some basic math can help you build a better business.

His father might have started the company, but by all accounts, Watson Jr. was the one who gave IBM its teeth. At the time of his passing, Paris’ Le Monde wrote of Watson Jr., “He made the company into a formidable technological and especially commercial engine, and gave IBM its international dimension.” He took six years and three schools to get through high school, but this youth who was “convinced that I had something missing inside” was able to turn his life around, give up his partying ways, and help create what is now the largest information technology company in the world. How did he do it?

Lesson #1: Make Your Company a Great Place to Work

“One of the proudest claims is the fact that people say IBM is a good place to work,” said Watson Jr. “I like to think that as we continue to grow we are not only going to live up to that claim, but make IBM an even better place to work.”

Lesson #2: Don’t Try to Tame a Wild Duck

“You can make wild ducks tame, but you can never make tame ducks wild again,” said Watson Jr. “One might also add that the duck who is tamed will never go anywhere any more. We are convinced that any business needs its wild ducks. And in IBM we try not to tame them.”

Lesson #3: Customer Satisfaction Means Your Satisfaction

“Service has always been the hallmark of our company, and looking at the years ahead, I think that the margin between our success and failure will be measured more and more in terms of the service we provide,” said Watson Jr. “I am speaking not only of the service we agree to provide by contract but also of that quality of urgency expressed by people who desire to do a little more than is expected. To respond cheerfully and willingly to the needs of customers, fellow employees and everyone we meet in our business contacts.”

When Thomas Watson Jr. stepped into his father’s shoes as president of IBM in 1952, he knew they would be hard ones to fill. Until not long before, Watson Jr.’s life had consisted in large part of drinking and partying. IBM had always been a part of his life, but only in the context of his father’s job. Was he ready to take the reins of this multinational company? Could he break out from his father’s shadow and create his own legacy? Indeed, Watson Jr. would not only create his own unique legacy as a businessman, but he would go on to become named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the 20th century. Under his leadership, IBM’s revenues tripled and the company experienced a rate of growth that few other companies can rival even today.

I teach a seminar at York University’s Schulich School of Executive Education called Advanced Account Management and High-Yield Selling . There seem to be three kinds of people in the course: those who love new concepts, or frames of reference (i.e. saying the same thing in a different way, so you can see new approaches to a problem); those that love the analytical tools; and those who find the very structured approach to tasks a huge time saver.

I thought I'd take some time over the next few articles to share the ideas participants find most helpful. Thanks as always to my pal Al Offstein, who shares so much of his wisdom with me.

1. The Atom of Work
   How to guarantee you will get rave reviews, and maintain high margins for every product or service you provide a client.

2. Clientship
   The four attributes that must be present for high-margin, loyal client relationships,

3. Gap Analysis
   There are only 6 gaps you have to identify and narrow between you and your client

4. Curiosity
   The secret weapon to create meaningful and relevant client relationships

5. The Chunk Outline
   How to decide what to say in any situation even with 5 minutes or less to prepare

6. How Executives Make Decisions
   Understand the 6 heuristics senior managers use to decide what to do under pressure

The Atom of Work
How to guarantee you will get rave reviews, and maintain high margins for every product or service you provide a client.

Think of every project or interaction as a conversation between 2 players - the provider, and the client. Clients can be colleagues, direct reports or customers: anyone for whom you as the provider perform a service or deliver a product.

Before you can start work, there has to be an overlap between what's important to the client, and what's important to you. If you sell trucks, and the client doesn't need to transport goods, chances are you won't do work together. Or if you are an IT guru, and the client is my 86-year old mother, working together is possible, but unlikely.

It's interesting to think of work, or projects, or interactions - however you want to call it - unfolding in 4 steps centered on what's important to the 2 main players.

The steps seem always to occur in the same order:

1. Preparation: what are we talking about here? Are we on the same page? Do we have the same expectations?
2. Negotiation: what do you and the client mutually agree Value looks like? How will the client assess the end product or service you are providing? (note: if it's price only you're often better off to run away and not play!) Do you agree on the value of financial return, environmental impact, and other ways your work might be judged?
3. Performance: this is the stage when you deliver what you have negotiated. A word of warning: don't make a commitment to deliver something you haven't negotiated! And don't forget to go back and renegotiate as conditions change during the project's life.
4. Assessment: the client assesses how well you delivered against expectations. If you are really good at negotiation, you will always get rave reviews, because you will always deliver exactly the Value your client agreed

You don't get bad reviews for your work because you are incompetent.
Most often, you've left out a step: your basic premise for the project doesn't match your client's; you don't know how the client will judge your work, or you guess and you guess wrong; you don't renegotiate what will make you client satisfied with the work as conditions change. As a result the process or working together becomes so painful it's not worth whatever the final deliverable is.

I left off promising updates and they have arrived in boatloads. After a full year out of school I have finally settled down with a company, Boxx3G. In addition, I’ve been laying the groundwork for a Social Marketing practice, Open Slope Media, and have secured my first clients. I’m headed to the cottage next weekend to review the handful of quotes I received from companies regarding the development of my fantasy sports web application. Tack on that I’ve got a new blog and I’ll be doing some volunteer brand work for the Parkdale Village Arts Collective and you might wonder why I’d entertain any more ideas (one of which is ready to emerge from the pipeline courtesy the good people at Vdot Media). So much for self-promotion I guess. Rest assured, I am about to make a point.

The world she is a changing. You couldn’t have this type of career 10 years ago. Even if you did, you certainly wouldn’t talk about it openly. It is still a bit risky to share even today, but alas, I’m aging with Facebook by my side and sharing is more common than resume tweaking these days.

Now please understand, I’m exploring these unchartered and diversified waters for the first time and I’m not prepared to recommend you take in any of what I’m saying without a grain of salt. The benefits thus far are that I don’t feel defined by my job. I work 7 days a week and only on rare occasions does it actually feel like work. My ADHD is completely satisfied and I’m always learning many things at once. In the month of May for example, my project management skills, sales techniques, and media planning abilities all jumped to new heights in parallel. The downside is that I’m constantly balancing diversification with spreading myself too thin. I’m missing out on some of the personal things I’d like to do, like working out for example. Oh, and companies have stopped calling to suggest I apply for positions.

And with that, here are the 3 most important things that have helped me balance my career and maintain my sanity while at the same time, ensuring that everyone involved is pleased.

• 1. Open, Honest, Firm - you cannot achieve a balance if you have to worry about masquerading about. I made it very clear to Boxx3G that I was an entrepreneur who was sincerely interested in growing their business while at the same time opening doors for myself and others - they approved.

• 2. Manage Expectations - In addition to being open and honest, you have to make sure you are always exceeding expectations in everything you do. My new policy is to only take on things that I feel I can help make great. This is a Seth Godin inspired revelation.

• 3. Synergy - Entrepreneurs are alike in the sense that they are opportunistic. They start businesses where voids exist. They change directions when the world gives them a sign and they get bigger when the timing is right. If you play in the world of entrepreneurs, my advice is to always think about how what you are doing in one area can help make another area better. Look for the common threads between the things you are doing. For me it’s about bringing business and creativity together on the web - this applies to everything I’m involved with at the moment and it sure makes it easier to think about everything in a big picture.

When it comes to starting your own business, you always hear, “do what you love and the money will follow.” Those are easy words for some business guru to spout, but if you don’t know exactly what you love, where do you begin? And how can you tell if what you want to do will make people open their wallets?

Start by making a list of all the things you like to do, even if they don’t relate to your work experience. From this list, you’ll hopefully be able to discover how to capitalize on your favourite activities. For example, could you provide consulting services for home computer users or give guitar lessons to the neighbourhood children?

Determining what you want to do is only the beginning-you’ve still got a lot of homework and a lot of research ahead of you. In fact, finding a good business idea is the easy part. The trick is being able to successfully put that idea into action. As you are choosing the right business idea for you, it might be a good idea to look around-are there any similar businesses in your area? Maybe your idea is so unique that no one else has thought of it before. In the beginning, that’s not necessarily a good thing-for a first business, it’s smarter to pick the tried and true over the radical.

Although you’re gung-ho to start your business, the people in your life might not be so supportive. Many people around you won’t encourage you to become an entrepreneur. Some will envy your courage and some will resent you for having the nerve to pursue your dreams. Don’t let these pessimists succeed in swaying you from your plans. Sure, starting a business is risky, but if you carefully consider what you’re doing and get the help you need along the way, you can reduce the inherent risk and still succeed.

Don’t let the fear of risk keep you from moving forward with your plans. Ask yourself what you are actually risking and then assess the dangers. What are you willing to give up or lose if things don’t work out? Don’t risk more than you can afford-for example, your home or your health-but if all you have to lose is some time, energy and money, then the risk is probably worth it.

His association with ‘freaks’ and clowns has often led to him being overlooked as a businessman, but Barnum was indeed one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 19th century. He started with nothing but determination, and used that to build a brand and an empire that continue to thrive today. How did he do it?

Lesson #1: Playing it Safe is Not Playing at All

When Barnum was just 19 years old, he started the weekly newspaper, “The Herald of Freedom.” Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the paper was meant to be controversial from the onset. Barnum wanted to use the four-page “Herald” as a platform from which to argue against religious oppression and the militant Calvinism in which he was brought up. On every issue was even printed Thomas Jefferson’s famous saying, “For I have sworn upon the Altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

Lesson #2: Promotion is Your Company’s Best Punch

“Without promotion something terrible happens,” Barnum once said, “nothing!” A master promoter himself, Barnum understood the importance of making a splash and just how to do it. He first started his circus at a time when every Tom, Dick and Jane had their own traveling road show. Thus, he knew he had to make his just a little bit different than the rest in order to stand out. Indeed, it was by using showmanship and promoting himself to no end that Barnum succeeded where the others failed.

Lesson #3: There is a Danger in Dreaming Too Big

“Many persons are always kept poor, because they are too visionary,” Barnum said. “Every project looks to them like certain successes, and therefore they keep changing from one business to another, always in hot water, always ‘under the harrow.’” When Barnum was struggling to find his way in the work world, he did just that - struggle. His early career paths were as varied as could be. From a lottery agent to a store clerk to a newspaper editor, Barnum tried his hand at a number of different ventures. However, he learned the hard way that was a danger in spreading himself so thin. None of the schemes proved especially successful, forcing Barnum to re-examine his priorities, interests and capabilities.

The Fiji Mermaid, Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker, General Tom Thumb the Midget - besides being considered “freaks”, they all had in common one man, P.T. Barnum. He was a master showman whose rise to fame came in the 19th century thanks to his traveling “freak shows”. But Barnum was more than that; he was above all else an entrepreneur and a highly successful salesman. Barnum knew how to get people talking. Today, the legacy of his work lives on in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, still billed as ‘The Greatest Show On Earth.’

5. Be extraordinary!
Seth Godin is a genius in this regard. He preaches about things that are exceptional in business. It’s no longer good enough to be good enough. If you aren’t great, you’ll never find your way out of mediocrity. I see examples of this everywhere. Partially because I’m launching a web-based business and on a daily basis there is news of a start-up that has cloned an existing (and successful) company but added a new technology that enhances the user experience. Let me just say this, a new soft drink that looks like Coke, smells like Coke but tastes a bit better than Coke, will never attract a market.

4. Brand yourself and watch how many people stop talking to you
Recently I updated my LinkedIn profile. Personally, I’m thrilled with it. It’s a much better reflection of me and when I say ‘me’, I mean the everyday me. I’m someone who is off the cuff, will poke fun at himself, will gladly cause a stir and will admit when he’s wrong. This is who I am everyday. I don’t put on a tie and assume some alter-ego that suits my business persona. My business persona is my regular everyday self. Ever since I updated my profile on LinkedIn, I’ve heard two types of responses, a) “This is awesome and it’s just how I know you to be” and b) “Andrew, you’re shooting yourself in the foot by saying these things”. Both opinions are right. Branding means that some people will really love what you’re about and others won’t want to be within 100 yards. The good news is that you’re no longer stuck in obscurity where no one really knows you or what you’re all about.

3. Stamina
This was the biggest lesson I took from Hugh MacLeod’s manifesto ‘How to be Creative’. Stamina can really mean a number of things, but Hugh’s advice is simple - don’t try to do it all in one grand dramatic scene. People who decide that “Today is the day I quit my job, sell my house, move to Palo Alto and follow my dream” are still very much asleep and dreaming. Being an entrepreneur is something that doesn’t start on Day 1 and end on Day 1000. If you want to write a book for example, write that first page tomorrow. You don’t need to quit your job and buy a new desk that overlooks some lake in cottage country. Granted that would be some inspiring scenery, but it shouldn’t stop you from living your dream today. Just be prepared to do a little bit everyday. Man would never have reached the moon without first flying a kite.

2. Focus on the idea
This is one of the most critical pieces of advice I can give. I’m drawing back to my recent venture into web 2.0 simply because of the amount of change that happens on a daily basis in this field. It didn’t take long before I found myself “enhancing” the idea, making it bigger, better, and more feature intensive. After a while I had forgotten the real reason why I was pursuing the idea. I took a couple days off from planning and cleared my head. When I came back to my desk, I wrote out very simple hypotheses that had led me to believe I was onto something special in the first place. If you feel like your idea has been bastardized by a bunch of self-imposed constraints, it probably has. Return to your roots and go back to the very first problem you knew how to solve.

1. Embrace the struggle - this is who you are, not what you do!
This has been my biggest hurdle to date. I know deep inside that creating value is what I love to do. I know that coming up with great ideas is what keeps me young at heart. I know that being there to listen to someone else’s idea is what inspires me to keep going. I understand that money is nice to have. I appreciate that there are 9 down’s for every up. I know that what I do can be stressful, risky and might even prevent me from ever being attractive to a big corporation somewhere down the road. But I really just like being me. Even a bad week comes with a 5 minute window of enlightenment brought on by a great idea. To me, those 5 minutes are worth their weight in gold. Entrepreneurship isn’t something I do because of what it might yield me in the future. Entrepreneurship is a way of life for me. It allows me to stay creative, always be learning, and no matter whether I succeed or not, I am always trying to change the world. People often say they’d be happy selling coconut juice out of some grass hut on a beach in the Caribbean - to that I say, ideas are my coconuts and my beach is always right beneath my feet.

My approach to science entrepreneurship tends to be one of advocacy. If making money at all costs had been my goal, I certainly would not have chosen my circuitous path through the physical and biological sciences, conspicuously avoiding medical school and other avenues of more obvious pecuniary reward.

Instead, my path has been one of engagement, first through laboratory science, then through teaching, then through policy work, and now through business.

But despite the new commercial face of my career, the underlying ethic has remained the same: using science to enhance our society, while educating society about the powers and limitations of science. It's just that now I also need to print up business cards and dress marginally better than usual!

As part of my mission of engagement, I write newspaper articles and speak to community groups on issues in science. One of the more enjoyable aspects of this practice is the visiting of schools and youth organizations. While I still have in my possession a piece of paper licencing me to teach high school in Ontario, I nonetheless find public schools to be foreign and sometimes intimidating places. But there's no place better to have your message critiqued in the most honest and objective way possible.

An adult professional audience has become accustomed to bewilderment and to speakers trying to gloss over problematic portions of a presentation. Kids do not tolerate such chicanery. If something is unclear, they do not hesitate to point it out. I find that their viewpoint keeps me on my toes.

I'm fortunate to enjoy a long time association with an organization called "Let's Talk Science", which brings real scientists into contact with school kids in an effort to demystify science and to encourage a degree of excitement about science that textbooks and traditional lessons cannot confer. Through LTS, I've been able to re-examine projects that I've pursued solely for money, and to reconsider their scientific, social and educational value, sufficient for communication to public school kids. This represents an invaluable opportunity to grant even more emotional and social value to activities that often are mistakenly dismissed as the mere money-making scurryings of a profit-based business.

Occasionally, a science public outreach exercise will find me in strange circumstances indeed. There was a time when I suddenly found myself at a meeting of Brownies, holding hands with a dozen little girls and prancing about an imaginary mushroom. I'll take that over a boardroom encircled by stuffed suits any day.

When I first announced that I was going to try the dangerous (yet exciting and potentially lucrative) world of entrepreneurial self employment, a friend who had long tread this path gave me some sage advice: "Never say no," he told me.

What he meant, I assume, is that a private consultant or contractor cannot afford to plant any seeds of doubt within the minds of actual or potential clients. So when someone comes to me and says, "Do you know anything about so-and-so," and I really know very little about the topic, it behooves me to couch my response in such a way that I nonetheless project a degree of confidence or even some marginally related expertise. In short, I may not know the topic well, but I have the intelligence and capability to learn about it in a very short period of time.

It's important, though, never to lie or misrepresent oneself. It is possible to admit to shortcomings while nonetheless proceeding with the acquisition of relevant skills and expertise.

A couple of weeks ago, I agreed to give a lecture on bioterrorism in a political science class at the University of Florida. It's not the first time I've been asked to give authoritative input on this topic. I was living in Washington, DC, around the time of 9/11, after all, and media types were all in a flurry trying to find anyone who could spell anthrax correctly, let alone discuss its weaponizability with a degree of lucidity.

The problem is that I am not an expert on bioterrorism. I have never worked in the field, nor have I ever had anything to do with the military or national security, though I've written a couple of articles cursorily about the topic.

But a consultant who is flexible and creative can mine his own stores of experiences to find places where his true areas of expertise overlap with those of the topic in question. In my case, there was a clear common ground between bioterrorism and epidemiology; they both have to do with health risks to large populations!

As a result, I was able to both guide my media connections in Washington, DC, and the class in Florida fairly authoritative input into this complex and volatile topic. The lesson? Not so much that one should "never say no", but rather that we each have within us skills and expertise that may be more relevant to a client's need than we may at first suspect.

First off, let me apologize for taking such a long time between entries. You’ll see why this apology is ironic as you read through my list of lessons learned. The last month has yielded a whirlwind of high’s and low’s (which I will be sharing in the coming posts) that I felt should really be shared with others who will take solace in knowing that someone else is living a life of polar extremes too. I can’t take credit for articulating many of these lessons. Although I may have experienced them first hand, the clarity behind some of the concepts is inspired by folks like Hugh MacLeod, Seth Godin and Steve Poland. If you aren’t already reading these folks, I suggest you commit 20 minutes a day to their blogs. So without further adieu…

10. Don’t feel inadequate because you don’t know everything - this is often to your advantage
I recently submitted a business plan to two U.S. competitions (YCombinator and TechStars). My plan was to build a social network. I knew when I started playing in this arena that I wouldn’t be able to analyze the web technologies as well as say, a computer engineer. At the same time, I knew I had a great idea that responded well to a need in the market. As we (my engineer partner and I) got closer to the submission date, I began feeling inadequate about my ability to keep up with trends (there’s two new web 2.0 start-ups launching everyday). As this started to weigh on my confidence, a colleague gave me the best advice I could ask for - she said, “sometimes it’s better not to be so immersed that you no longer see where to innovate”. This is so true. Often times we learn all the ins and outs of what we are doing and we forget what’s preventing people on the outside from joining the rest of us on the inside.

9. Always speak in English
This isn’t quite as literal as it sounds. By speaking in English, I’m really just saying you should avoid the use of jargon. There was once a point where trendy business jargon could really win you credibility. This is no longer the case. Jargon like “We plan to facilitate the integration of leveraged web technologies into a multi-platform communications tool” isn’t nearly as effective as saying “We think we can build a window that let’s people see all their online communities together”. Stick to a conversation format and I promise you that you’ll end up having better conversations.

8. Everything takes longer and everything costs more
Planning has a limit to its effectiveness. You should plan to be delayed and over-budget even if you think your estimates are conservative. I’m telling you this from one planner to another, if you think you can lay out a plan and follow it to a ‘t’… you can’t. I’ve worked with some of the best and most detailed planners I’ve ever known - and even they can’t avoid this reality. The key is to aim for the best case scenario and have a bunch of options in mind that you can pursue when it doesn’t work out.

7. Having no money is the best thing that will ever happen to you
It pained me to get those words out of my mouth but I know they are dead on. I’ve been getting by over the past year on scraps. I’ve held down restaurant jobs, taken consulting contracts as they come and have applied for more credit cards than I care to remember. Every penny spent has been an investment. I take care in putting my money towards the things that matter most. Right now, as I’m starting my new business, I am treating every purchase the same way as would someone buying a new car. Necessity is the mother of invention and when you are living on the poverty line you tend to be very inventive in everything you do. Besides, success is relative and you won’t feel satisfied until you’ve seen both extremes.

6. Don’t apologize
Yep… this is the ironic part. I opened this post with an apology. This tells me I’ve let people down and this is the direct result of that vicious circle that we all fall into at one point or another. While I may have been busier over the last month than at any other time in my life, there’s no reason why I couldn’t find one extra hour to stay in touch with you. If you make a rule for yourself to never apologize, you’ll quickly notice that you keep more of your promises and you focus more on the right things. Sure you can’t do everything, but you’ll be able to tell which things are important (like these posts) and which things are not (like writing cover letters over and over again). Then it’s just a matter of leveling with those people who ask things of you that are outside your important area. Don’t be sorry about it, just be honest.

"Without the strength to endure the crisis, one will not see the opportunity within. It is within the process of endurance that opportunity reveals itself".
-- Chin-Ning Chu

When I started my company 4 years ago I didn't really know what was going to happen. Was I going to be successful? Could I survive in my first year of business? Would I be able to handle the criticism that I knew people would have no problem giving me if I wasn't successful? These were some serious questions that I honestly wasn't sure I would be able to answer both in my personal and professional life.

I read a lot of books on the how to's of business, you know the ones I am talking about how to write a business plan, how to brand, how to get clients, how to advertise and yet I wasn't sure how to endure in my business. I tried everything to figure out how to endure the emotions, the set backs, and all of the other negatives that can occur at the start of a new business but I felt like I was stuck and I felt as though I were I trying to climb a mountain without a rope which we all know is a pretty silly thing to try and do so what was I thinking by starting my own business without the rope?

I needed to learn that in order to do good business I had to endure the hardships, the not so great parts about owning and running a small business, the parts that make you want to run out and buy the newspaper so you can look for that full-time job and forget all about running a small business, the parts that make you wake up at 3:00am wondering what your next move is going to be.

I made a decision that regardless of what I was going to have to endure I would endure it and I would persevere through all of the emotions and trials and tribulations of running a small business. I decided that if I was going to make this work and be successful then I was going to have to in no uncertain terms "suck it up" and learn how to deal with running a small business. That was the best attitude adjustment I had ever given myself and guess what I didn't need an emotional plan I just needed to trust myself and trust that I could succeed at small business.

Remember Strength and Endurance Build Good Entrepreneurs!

"Succeeding is not really a life experience that does that much good. Failing is a much more sobering and enlightening experience".
-- Michael Eisner

You wouldn’t take a vacation without planning ahead, would you? Of course not. You’d research flights, hotels and restaurants long before you left for your trip. So why would you even consider starting a business without a plan?

A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals and serves as your anchor when your business finally starts taking off. Many entrepreneurs avoid writing a business plan because they think it’s too difficult, but in reality, you can make your plan as simple or as complex as you like. A business plan is a fluid document, always changing and growing-so what you put in it today doesn’t have to stay there forever.

Writing a business plan is the best way to nail down exactly it is that you want your business to accomplish. It defines what service or product you’ll provide and shows who your potential customers might be. And if you need funding for your business, either from a bank or from a venture capitalist, a well-prepared business plan that outlines your financial potential is absolutely necessary.

A basic business plan can be divided into four key sections: the description of your business; marketing; finances; and management. Once these four basics are covered you can go ahead and flesh out the plan with any further information that you like. There are no hard and fast rules about what has to be included-as a personalized document you can make it as complex as you like. However, if you will be using it to get funding from an outside source, a detailed financial forecast must be a core part. You must prove to investors that your idea can make money.

Your business description is the backbone of the whole business plan-it clarifies exactly what it is you wish to accomplish. Here you provide a detailed description of your product, your service and your target market. It should also include what makes your business special and how you will run your business on a daily basis.

Marketing you business takes thought and preparation-the marketing section of your business plan will lay these plans out on the line. This is where you learn about your customers, their likes, their dislikes and their needs. Researching your ideal customer allows you to develop a successful marketing strategy. You should also take the time to learn all about your competition so you can avoid their mistakes and build upon their good points.

Next comes the nitty gritty stuff-the financial information. This includes such things as budgeting, sales forecasts, break-even analysis and cash flow projections. This is the section your bank will go over with a fine-tooth comb when you apply for a loan, so you must spell out exactly how much cash you need to earn in order to turn a profit and how long it will take to get there.

Your management profile details the most important part of your business-the people. This is where you sell yourself to investors. If you don’t have a particular skill that’s needed to run your business, be honest and say so. Then put a plan in place to get someone on board who has the skills and talents you’re lacking. It’s better to be honest about your shortfalls from the beginning then trying to cover up any misconceptions down the road.

A thorough business plan is the best way to show bankers and other investors that you deserve their financial help. Prove that you have what it takes to make the business a success by planning ahead and knowing your business inside and out. Even if you won’t be using your business plan to get financial backing, you still need one to keep your own mind on track and heading in the right direction. You know what they say…if you fail to plan, you plan to fail!

“What else could I do at my age?” Kamprad asks. “Grow tomatoes in an allotment behind the house? I don’t know how to do anything apart from sell furniture. I am your classic, specialized idiot.” From one of the most remote, poverty-stricken corners of Sweden to becoming one of the world’s richest men, Kamprad broke the rules of retail when he created IKEA. And, it worked. Just how did Kamprad do it?

Take Your Cue from the Customer
“The temples of design in places like Milan or God knows where overflow with beautiful, original furniture that costs extortionate amounts of money,” says Kamprad. “The vast majority of people don’t have six figure amounts in the bank and don’t live in enormous apartments…it is for just such people that I created Ikea. For everybody who wants a comfortable house in which to live well. A need that crosses all countries, races and religions.”

The Best Leadership is by Example
“If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example,” says Kamprad. “I have to do so for all the Ikea employees.” Kamprad may be worth $28 billion, but to look at him you would never know it. He drives a 13-year-old Volvo 240 GL, of which he says, “It is nearly new, just 15 years old, or something like that.” When not driving his old Volvo, Kamprad can be seen taking public transportation in Switzerland, riding the bus alongside other commuters. He also continues to fly economy class and avoids luxury hotels when out of town. In a document Kamprad wrote in 1976, entitled “A Furniture Dealer’s Testament,” he suggests, “IKEA people do not drive flashy cars or stay at luxury hotels.”

Time is an Entrepreneur’s Best Asset
“Time is your most important resource,” says Kamprad. “You can do so much in ten minutes. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Ten minutes are not just one-sixth of your hourly pay,” he says. “Ten minutes are a piece of yourself. Divide your life into ten-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity.”

Kamprad’s career has not been without its controversy. But, it is in surviving the tough times that Kamprad has distinguished himself as one of the most savvy and successful entrepreneurs of our time. He maintains an integral role in what has now become one of the largest privately held companies in the world. On the future of IKEA, Kamprad says, “I don’t think any of my sons are capable of running the company, at least not yet.” Time will tell how IKEA fares down the road, but one thing can be said for certain of its past - it had one of the most successful runs of any company in the history of the world.

“Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” Sumner Redstone - CBS & Viacom Chairman

Taking the leap from my ‘job’ to being “self-employed” to being a “small business owner” caused a major amount of disruption in my life in everything from my finances to my personal life but the disruption didn’t come in the form of situations it came in the form of emotions. I can honestly say that I have experienced every emotion that is possible to feel as a small business owner and have managed to see my way through the sometimes overwhelming and almost swallowing like emotions that come along with small business territory.

Of all of the emotions I felt and still feel today fear is by far the one that is the most persistent and grueling of the emotions to deal with. I recognized early on that without dealing with the emotions of being a small business owner I wouldn’t make a very good business owner so I accepted that as part of the initiation. I realized that fear in particular was not an emotion that was going to go away it was an emotion that I was going to have to deal with on a daily basis and learn how to overcome it in order to be able to use it to my business advantage. There are so many fears for a small business owner that it is almost next to impossible to narrow them all down because not unlike the small business owner fears come in different forms too, there is the fear of failure, the fear of losing, the fear of the infamous “what if?” the fear of truth, the fear of criticism and the list goes on.

The thing that helped me the most in my business was understanding that if I was able to get through the never ending list of fears then I could take what I had learned and use it to my business advantage I could take the information that I had gained from that emotion and turn it into something positive. I could take that information and be better prepared for the next round of fears that I knew in my gut I would be experiencing even though I didn’t know exactly when.

Remember, as a small business owner that fear or any emotion that you experience along the way is the reality helping you to build your business and build yourself as a business owner, it is providing insight and answers to questions and situations that your experiencing now and will continue to experience as you grow your business. Fear will provide the strength and inspiration to help you move forward with your business and let you know how to make better business decisions.

Be inspired by your emotions! Be inspired by your Fear!

I am a fortunate man, indeed. I just returned from a month in Guyana, South America, where I was one of several consultants working on a Canadian-funded multimillion dollar public health project, focusing on HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and Tuberculosis. I'm lucky not just because I spent the worst part of February in the tropics, but because the work I was doing is well beyond the magnitude of that typically given to epidemiologists of my relatively young career level.

It was, I believe, the fact of self-employment that garnered me this remarkable opportunity. I've been consulting on this project for five years already. But not till I severed all ties with the world of salaried employment a few months ago have I been able to afford the time and focus to apply all my skills and energies on foreign soil for such an extended period of time. Indeed, the act of consulting affords opportunities otherwise inaccessible to those who are traditionally employed.

Part of the project involves the creation of a national health information database. One of our programmer-consultants is fresh out of university. He commented that most of his peers are employed building small websites for grocery stores and such, while he has the honour of creating a national information system for a whole country, because he had the courage to accept the adventure. Similarly, I find myself in a leadership role in developing a national Tuberculosis surveillance system, a task that would have been given to a team of extremely senior individuals and organizations in a developed country like Canada or the USA.

Therein lies both the challenge and opportunity inherent in this kind of self-employment: by accepting the physical and emotional stresses of international consulting, coupled with its associated job insecurity, we are offered a world of professional opportunities and exposures that would have otherwise been held from us until after years or decades of traditional work. As a result, we are compelled to enhance our skills at an accelerated rate, and to add additional skills in project and time management, client relations and cultural sensitivity.

But this is not for the faint of heart. The terror of failure is palpable. With such greater professional challenges come higher stakes. In the case of international health consulting, the price of of failure or of doing a bad job is not just a poor review, but potentially the exacerbation of the poor health of the entire client nation. We are thus well motivated to succeed.

From the plain and humble beginnings of his Mennonite family to becoming one of the richest men in America, Hershey’s passion for chocolate was matched by nothing except his love of children. Although he smoked between eight to ten cigars a day until his death in 1945, Hershey lived a long life, filled with both failure and success, lots of hard work and determination, and a concern for his fellow man. What was Hershey’s recipe for success?

#1: Give Back To Others

“One is only happy in proportion as he makes others feel happy. And only useful as he contributes his influences for the finer callings in life.” The wealth that Hershey had amassed throughout his career enabled him to devote much of his life to philanthropy. But, it was his sense of concern for others that made him do it. Both because it made good business sense and because he felt compelled as a fellow human being, Hershey demonstrated that giving back to others is indeed one of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur.

#2 Try And Try Again

When Hershey first tried his hand at entrepreneurship, it seemed he would forever take after his father, with one failed business attempt after another. Although he had determination and ambition and he had begun working towards his dreams while he was still a teenager, Hershey found himself unemployed and nearly bankrupt by the time he was 30. Through a combination of hard work, sheer willpower, and luck, Hershey was finally able to get his business off the ground. Three businesses and five cities later, Hershey had at last achieved his goals.

#3 Go On A Quest For Quality

“Give them quality,” said Hershey. “That’s the best kind of advertising in the world.” Throughout his career, Hershey remained dedicated to providing the best possible product and value for his customers. With a reputation for being a hands-on perfectionist, Hershey made it his mission to ensure that every single chocolate that went out with his name on it was up to his standards of approval - a tough measure in and of itself. But, it was his quest for quality that differentiated Hershey’s chocolates from his competitors.

Through The Hershey Chocolate Company, The Milton Hershey School, and the numerous other community institutions that Hershey helped to create, the legacy of Milton Hershey carries on to this day. His products are known throughout the world and his generosity continues to move thousands of people each day.

As my bio indicates, I’m not only a scientist but an author, as well. This is not as unusual as it may first appear. Think about it. Each one of us is a complicated whole being with many interests and skills and many -sometimes contradictory-dimensions to our personalities. It’s a function of society that we are so often constrained to define our identities by a single selected profession. After all, at any social event it’s guaranteed that someone is going ask, “So, what do you do?”

This forced constraint of identity is certainly unfair and maybe illogical, but it’s to be expected. Typically, our jobs are what we do for a third of our day. The rest of the time we are parents, spouses, siblings, friends… and sometimes writers, musicians, social convenors, webmasters, painters, sculptors and more. It’s a conscious decision to identify ourselves according to our paid professions rather than by our hobbies or personal pursuits.

For an entrepreneur, the manner of self-identification can be a little more complicated. On the one hand, we wish to present ourselves in a concise and pithy manner: “What do you do?” “I’m self-employed.”

On the other hand, we wish to be accurate and inclusive. Every social event, after all, is also an opportunity to advertise our services: “What do you do?” “Well, I’m a lawyer who also does specialized writing, contract research, policy advisement and some kinds of program evaluation, blah blah blah…” Clearly, this can get tiresome and unattractive.

We need to be selective about which aspects of our complicated personas to communicate as being truly and immediately representative of both our identities and our services. It is useful to distinguish between our “soft skills” and “hard skills”. By soft skill, I mean the ones that have required and benefited from the lesser amount of formal training. In my case, clearly, science constitutes a hard skill, while writing represents the soft skill.

By packaging together my major skills sets -the science and the writing-I’ve learned one important lesson: often it is the soft skill that garners the most attention and thus the most business. It’s almost a truism now that the number of people trained in doing complex calculations, technical appraisals and other scientific tasks is inadequate for our societal needs, but nevertheless relatively high. But the number of people capable of communicating the details of the aforementioned tasks is vanishingly small. Therein lays my access to a truly specialized market niche.

“I’m a scientist” gets some attention at a party and probably some good conversation. “I’m a writer” gets different kinds of attention. But “I’m a scientist who is also a writer” garners the kind of attention that increases business opportunity by effectively transmitting those aspects of my personality and skills set that speaks to a needed societal niche.

“We provide food that customers love, day after day after day,” said Kroc. “People just want more of it.” In unjustified simplicity, Kroc attempted to describe what made his business the global empire it is today. Indeed, it was not as simple as just providing tasty hamburgers and fries. Kroc was an ambitious entrepreneur who embarked on a strategic plan of expansion that would cover nearly every continent. Kroc not only created an immensely successful company, he also built a global brand and revolutionized the American cultural landscape. How did he do it?

#1: Take Your Business Seriously

“I didn’t invent the hamburger,” said Kroc. “I just took it more seriously than anyone else...We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else.” Time Magazine dubbed Kroc one of the world’s most influential builders and titans of industry because he did just that - he built a small business into a billion dollar enterprise and, he did it by focusing on the details and caring more about his business than anyone else.

#2: You’re Only As Good As The People You Hire

“None of us is as good as all of us,” Kroc would say. A strong proponent of teamwork, Kroc understood that his growing company could only continue its meteoric rise up if it had the support and the dedication of its workers behind it. In order to ensure staff loyalty and motivate his employees, Kroc did his best to guarantee that they were treated with respect and were able to operate on an equal playing field.

#3: Effective Marketing Makes All The Difference

“We're not in the hamburger business,” said Kroc. “We're in show business.” Kroc understood that it was all in the message; the success of McDonald’s was going to be based on how the company was perceived by the public. Thus, Kroc spent much time and effort developing an effective marketing plan.

First and foremost, Kroc decided to focus on marketing at the local level. It was by thinking big, but acting small that Kroc was able to expand the chain into a global powerhouse. In the eyes of Kroc, each McDonald’s that he helped erect was a local business and also part of a local community. Thus, each franchise had to be marketed and tailored to its unique needs and those of its surroundings.

There are many roadblocks to small business success, such as a lack of funding or a lack of emotional support from family members, but thanks to the Internet, location is no longer one of them. While real estate professionals tout ‘location, location, location’ as the be all and end all, anyone can operate a successful global business with the right marketing tools-there is nothing holding you back from getting customers from around the world, even if you live in a small town.

Which is my situation exactly. The majority of my marketing clients come from Toronto, Vancouver and a variety of locations within the United States, even though I live in the small town of Fergus, Ontario, which has a population of 10,500. Not exactly a whirlwind of marketing activity.

But the growth of my business doesn’t depend on the size of my town and my clients don’t care that I’m not local to them-in fact, they like I am not located in a major center because I can offer them better pricing than my big city competitors.

Of course, the most important way to build a global business is to have a website. No matter what product or service you sell, you will sell more if customers can find you on the Internet, learn about what you offer and contact you directly.

A well-optimized site (that doesn’t repeat the same keywords over and over again just for the sake of increasing keyword density) is a must. Your site is your calling card to the world and it must be professionally designed and written.

One mistake many small businesses make is thinking they can do everything themselves. While most people wouldn’t dream of learning HTML in order to design their own website, they do cut corners by writing their own web content. Unfortunately, this means there is a lot of bad writing out there on the Internet. If your site is not well written, your potential clients will click away almost immediately. Always use a professional copywriter to create your content and update it regularly.

One way to stay top of mind is to offer a free newsletter and allow your potential clients to opt-in as subscribers-even if they don’t buy from you now, they will be reminded about your business every time they receive a new issue. And make sure you publish regularly. Your copywriter will be happy to keep you supplied with new material each month.

A web log, or blog, is fast becoming an essential part of any small business marketing toolkit. A blog allows you to give your clients new information whenever you like, even daily if you decide to update it that often. And your subscribers will be contacted every time you update your blog, which is one more opportunity to be top of mind and the first one they contact when they’re ready to buy. Blogging is one marketing tool that doesn’t have an upfront cost attached but you may wish to use the same copywriter to maintain style and continuity with your other marketing materials.

Building a global business isn’t just setting up a website and waiting for customers to come calling-you have to approach you ideal customer directly, even if they are halfway around the world. This is another opportunity to use professionally written marketing materials-a powerful direct mail letter is a proven way to promote your business.

Because the Internet has opened up so many opportunities, the world is literally at your doorstep these days. There really are no valid excuses for failing now-if your business isn’t doing well with the clients it has, expand your horizons and find more customers, even if they are two time zones away. Yes, it will take work and it won’t happen overnight, but when the money starts rolling in you will be happy you made the effort to go global.

I’ve just returned from Chicago, Illinois where I spent the last few days attending a concert and of course, doing some Christmas shopping.

As someone who gets inspired by finding a good insight, I am required to tell you that there are plenty to be found in every city that are specific only to the inhabitants (and tourists) of that particular city. Chicago was certainly no exception and could even be described as a good example of my point.

Being Toronto born and raised I embrace individuality at every step. Toronto is one of the world’s most multicultural cities, features the tastes and styles of a collage of ethnic groups, and doesn’t necessarily frown on anyone’s perceived style whether skater, gothic, preppy, jock, urban or punk… just to name a few. Toronto welcomes any and all who want to express themselves outside a business suit (the suits are welcome too but for the purpose of this discussion a suit makes us all look the same).

As this was my third trip to Chicago I had some idea of what to expect. My previous two trips I had stayed in the suburb of Oakbrook and only perused Michigan Avenue once per trip. This time I was staying at the Wyndham in the heart of downtown Chicago… and I was expecting to see all the little quirks this city had to offer.

There are only two styles of people in Chicago (other than the suits) - urban hip hop types, and clean cut Abercrombie & Fitch types. I didn’t see a single skateboarder, goth, punk or any other style other than the two I mentioned. Even I was cast a few judgmental eyes as my style (which is very much my own) didn’t jive with the two looks. They perceived me as an imitation whereas in Toronto it might be considered rather original.

And so I reflected on Toronto. I thought about the many styles I see everyday represented through fashion, music, taste, and activities. I thought about EQ, my favourite skateboarding shop, Play Da Record where some of my old school favourite records can be found. I thought about the Danforth where I love to eat. I thought about the obscure shops that are fun just to walk around in, the mom and pop convenience stores, the live music on Queen’s St. Suddenly, it occurred to me… Toronto is a great place for small business. Chicago may love their Top 40 and granted if you can crack that Top 40 then a ‘rags-to-riches’ story is sure to follow - but Toronto is about the one’s and two’s. If Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail, could be embodied in a city, Toronto would be it (Canada also happens to lead the race in embracing new technology).

I guess my point is that we all tend to lean towards businesses that we ourselves would like. It’s kind of the old “wouldn’t it be cool if we could…” routine that you talk about amongst your friends. There is nothing wrong with that. For every little product or service that you would cherish, there is likely a niche in Toronto that would thank you for making it happen. Just remember what got you that niche when you are thinking about how to grow and expand. Like I said, the Top 40 is reserved for new business models or ways to gather many niches together. Toronto however, is about servicing that one niche, getting some loyal customers, and waiting patiently while your style makes its way into the spotlight.

If you have a home business do you often find yourself working for 14 to 16 hours and stopping only for a coffee break or two? That can lead to feelings of isolation and make coping difficult. How familiar your concerns are! When the office is only footsteps away, it's tempting to slip in to get "one little thing" out of the way before breakfast, and to return after dinner to complete a job. The result? You never seem to get out of the office. And that is bad for you and your family.

Frequently the problem develops because self-employed people have to handle all the jobs that would be delegated or shared in the corporate world. Unless you are unusual, you are your company's typist, file clerk, marketing department, and salesperson. In short, whatever needs to be done, you do.

Still, most self-employed can reduce the time they spend in their home office, if they really want to. The first step is to recognize the problem and start looking for solutions to it.

Here are a few suggestions to make more time to enjoy all the good things in life you're working so hard to achieve:

1. Keep a log of your activities for a week or two. Record the time it takes to complete each thing you do, and then evaluate the log. You might use the calendar program that is part of Microsoft Outlook or check out Live.com for a free calendar program. Did you waste time on "busy work" such as self-imposed chores you could have skipped? Were all your phone calls necessary? Are you interrupting yourself by investigating one new business idea after another, without completing projects already scheduled? Eliminate such time-wasting activities, and you'll shorten your workday.
2. Get some help by hiring a full- or part-time assistant, if possible. This will reduce your workload, and force you to maintain a more business-like appearance. High school students and college students, stay-at-home parents who want to work while their children are in school, and retirees often are interested in part time work, either to gain job skills or keep busy.
3. Force yourself to take a break by scheduling free time for yourself during the day. Make sure you stick to the schedule by making appointments to meet others for lunch, tennis, golf, or any enjoyable activity. While you may resent the interruption to your day initially, eventually you'll find you accomplish more when you take a break than you do when you work nonstop from morning till night.
4. Join a networking group so you get to meet other people who are in the same boat that you are. It will give you a break, a chance to exchange information and many times an opportunity to pick up new clients.

If you follow some or all of the above tips you’ll be amazed at what a difference it will make to your life.

This is arguably the most straightforward question for any entrepreneur and yet often times we lose sight of the reason why we are doing things.

Recently I’ve done a lot of fiction and personal development reading (I recommend putting down Drucker and Porter every now and again). My reasons for choosing these reads have to do with understanding myself and re-visiting why I chose business in the first place and where my inclination towards entrepreneurship stems from. I’m a proponent of tearing down your self-image as often as you can in order to reflect on how you constructed it to begin with.

There are some very obvious motivations for people to start their own business - money, self-sustainability, a sense of risk, a sense of accountability, and of course the need to prove to yourself that you can succeed in creating a new and lasting contribution to the world. It’s important to identify how these priorities fall in your agenda. At the very least it will give you a framework by which to make your decisions. At the very most it can attract like-minded individuals to share in your goals thereby creating the unique team dynamic that gives many small companies a competitive advantage based on the synergies of their people.

Do not feel compelled to “stick your guns” if your self-reflection reveals that your priorities have changed. That was my case as I was originally struck by the lack of a ceiling inherent in entrepreneurial activities - for me it used to be all about the money. As I progress into my twilight years (a slight exaggeration as I’m still only 23) I have new reasons, new motivations, and new goals. Now it’s about the right mix of elements.

The TEAM. I want to build my company from the ground up but I want to do it with others who share my passion and commitment. I understand that I will have to stick my neck out and be accountable at the end of the day but I want everyone else on board to contribute to something bigger than themselves. How often do you see a company where the go-to-market ideas are the result of a collective effort? In the end I want ownership to extend beyond shares and salaries and become ownership of the brand, the vision, and the ideas. Your working life is at least twice as long as your schooling so I plan to enjoy the company along the way.

Shared VALUES. This is a quasi-extension of team dynamics but it goes a little beyond a collaborative work environment. There are many things that we try to embody as individuals. We all have a sense of what we want to represent and where we put our beliefs. To be able to create a company that puts strong values on display and lives up to the expectations that go with them… that is something truly inspiring. Consider work-life balance as an example. Every company launches their respective HR initiative to convince employees that they sympathize with, and want to overcome, a poor work-life balance. However, a company built on the idea that their employees are people whose shelf-life doesn’t exist in order to be exploited, they won’t ever need their HR department to voice their sympathies.

PROOF. This is a big one for me. I need to know that I can build something sustainable. I’ve started 3 different ventures in my young career and I’ve consulted (independently) to a handful of varying organizations. Above all this though, I need to know that I can build a sustainable business that contributes something of value to the world I live in. It’s my understanding that entrepreneurs will fail a handful of times before they succeed. I think that a lot of that occurs not because of a lack of good ideas but rather because it takes us awhile to truly believe we are capable of something. It’s human nature to test our limits in increments - entrepreneurship is no different.

So there is my take on what motivates me. I’d be lying if I said I never thought about the money but I’d also be lying if I said that it was something I would use in a pitch when recruiting talent. This is no slight to everyone who has gone into business to make some good coin. My only advice then is to be honest with yourself and those who you’ve convinced to take the plunge with you. If you do happen to find a reason that serves a different kind of purpose, don’t be shy about rallying people around it. I mentioned this once before but I’ll say it again - everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

I want to tell you about my favourite café. It’s called the “B Espresso Bar” and it’s in a cool area on Queen Street East in Toronto. It is my favourite café for many reasons. The food is fabulous. The music is great. The décor is funky and even the bathroom looks like it belongs in a high end boutique hotel. All of these things are true about B, but it goes much deeper than that. They embody their values in every single aspect of their service. To say that they pay attention to detail would be understating it. To say that they live and breathe their values and their brand in every second would be much closer to the truth.

We spend a lot of time looking at corporate and individual values in our work with clients. We talk about how to embody those values and how to create the desired impact on employees and customers alike. We sometimes see organizations with a list of values that they would like to have, instead of what they actually hold and those companies are easy to spot. They’re the ones with the fancy branding campaigns that promise one thing, but every point of customer contact beyond the expensive ad campaign creates an entirely different experience.

Not at B, though. They really get it. I don’t need to see a poster on the wall listing their values - I can experience them every time I’m there. At B they don’t just value customer service, they actually love their customers. It is not uncommon to be greeted by an enthusiastic “Ciao bella!” when you walk in, as one of the friendly, good looking servers comes out from behind the counter to give you the authentic Italian double-kiss. The chefs are often out front interacting with the customers, making sure that the food is beyond our expectations. The owners of the café are busy cleaning tables and the other day one of them let me sample a soda before buying it. I didn’t like it and he said “no problem, choose another.” The icing on the cake, so to speak, is when they hand you your latte and they’ve carefully drawn a heart in the foam. They really love their customers.

In addition to loving their customers, they value aesthetics. The place belongs in a design magazine. They value everything Italian and it shows in everything from the servers who often speak to each other and customers in Italian, to the Italian books on the shelves, movies playing on the big screen TV and music that is pumping at just the right volume. Again the authentic Italian experience was heightened as I walked in the other day in time for the last ten minutes of the Italy-Australia World Cup game. The place was wild.

Finally, they value fun. Every time I go in there, I can’t help but leave with a huge grin on my face. The servers are often serenading the customers, joking with each other or even dancing around the restaurant. They don’t just focus on customer service - they are committed to creating a phenomenal customer experience. And it works.

So the next time you’re thinking about what you want your values to be and how your personal or corporate brand will reflect that, remember, it’s just about what you do, but most importantly how you “b”.

Now it’s called networking and in some circles it elicits the same sort of reaction that the word ‘sales’ used to conjure up back in the days of the door-to-door salesman. So why did we have to fancy it up? Is networking really any different than making friends? Should it be?

Okay... lots of questions just now. Let’s think through this one together.

When we were young our parents encouraged us to go out and make friends. Making friends was the key to arranging play dates, sports team, and being socialized into circles that your parents had no access too (thank goodness). To be honest, I can’t recall making a friend by chance. There was always a context - something we could share - that served as the platform for a friendship. It was the local Lego king but my neighbour could draw the coolest mazes. I taught him and he taught me. Even though the friendship grew far beyond these tangible things, that’s where it’s origin was.

I fail to see how networking is any different. Recently, many of my colleagues have been asking to tap into my personal network (and I theirs). Some are graduating in the coming months and others just want to begin integrating themselves into a world much larger than their current one. I have yet to hear a disconcerting reason about why I should help them network. And so I wonder why everyone always feels so guilty about it.

I credit my business partner, Dan, for hammering home the ground rules of networking. There aren’t many but they are important. Ironically enough, they all relate back to making friends. Here goes my rendition...

1. The basis for everything we choose to do in life, whether email, pleasure reading, or peeing in the snow - shares a single characteristic… it adds value to our lives. Think value-add when you are communicating with people. Chances are you are interrupting something in their life that is already value-add so you need to be cognizant of that and make sure that YOU are also adding value.
2. Think before you speak. Your personality alone is not a value-add feature. Take the time to learn about the world around the person you wish to speak with. What do they do? Where are they going? What’s standing in their way? Find out anything you can. Once I used a brief 30 second chat at a conference to discover who someone’s preferred author was. It seemed inconsequential at the time but in my follow up email I recommended them an author of similar style and genre. That to them was value-add. It used to be as easy as asking “Do you like Lego?”
3. You can be honest… people prefer it. Small talk isn’t value-add so get right to the point. Be sincere in your request and be receptive to the idea that you might hear ‘NO’. When someone tells you ‘NO’ that’s their right… they are just being honest (hopefully that didn’t sound too much like your sixth grade sex-ed lecture).
4. The ‘I love you mom’ rule is simple. Don’t only come calling when YOU need something. Your new friends have needs too just like your mother needs to hear ‘I love you’ on occasions that don’t end in a transfer of money.
5. Be aware of the type of relationship you are building. Recently mine have been with people much older than myself. You need to treat these meetings with integrity. Let the other person dictate what the comfort level will be. As the relationship gets stronger you may lose some formalities but you should never lose your integrity i.e. don’t get caught smoking in front of your best friends parents even if you call them by first name.
6. BE YOURSELF! I know plenty of folks that try to be what they think the other person wants them to be. Sounds like we’re back at the playground again. I recommend you just be yourself and let the chips fall where they may. You can’t please all the people all the time but you can please some of the people… all the time.

These rules apply across the board. Don’t for a moment think that networking to get a job is any different from negotiating with Venture Capitalists. Both sides have a need for value. That is the only need you should be pre-occupied with honouring. These suggestions you can take straight to the bank. If you can handle the basics you’ve just upgraded yourself from selling vacuum cleaners to selling Microsoft software (shameless I know).

Whether in sports, corporations, or start-ups - you can’t fake hustle. Call it work ethic, effort, energy, or whatever else you want… the bottom line is people notice when you kick yourself into high gear. It’s very contagious. The boss who stays at the office sweating it out with the folks from marketing, because he knows that if THEY have to finish by midnight then HE has to motivate ‘til midnight. The entrepreneur who, when told of a production process problem, puts on a pair of gloves and jumps right into the faulty machine, refusing to leave until people notice that it doesn’t take an engineer to tighten a few screws. And my personal favourite, the athlete who has less skill than everyone else on the team, was drafted in the 39th round, plays sparingly but gives you everything he has in the tank. These are the people who win championships, build empires, and succeed in new ventures. These are the hustlers.

Now don’t get me wrong - I love a lazy day as much as the next person, but generally speaking, if I want something I’m going to give everything I have to get it. And with that, I took out a $1000 loan, hopped on a plane, and took off for Dunedin, Florida - home of Toronto Blue Jays Spring Training.

Here’s the deal. I want to work for a Major League Baseball franchise. It’s a calling more than anything. I believe everyone should want to wake up in the morning and love going to work. At the same time, I am still very much an entrepreneur. I have a plan for whatever franchise will listen. I believe I can turn baseball into better business and do more to ensure profitability while not putting all the pressue on players to perform on the field. Obviously, being from Toronto, I thought I would see what the Blue Jays had to say about my ideas. And so I begin…

The first important piece to any crazy adventure is the first mate. Let me introduce you to my better half, Wendy. See ladies… paying attention to your man’s hobbies could land you a trip to Florida!

I think I’ll give you a play-by-play of the rest of the ramp-up to my trip…

2 weeks prior - I was looking at baseball stats (again) when the 1st mate notes that the crappy weather has decreased airfares across the board. Good eye 1st mate!

10 days prior - Book Air Canada down and West Jet back… 6 day trip… Air Canada tries to switch our flight rate so I decide to pretend that I’ll pull my mother’s business account off the table if they don’t rectify the price change (good thing they don’t call my bluff).

1 week prior - All final projects are being completed a week early. They’re overlapping with some of my midterms now… sleeping 90 minutes twice per day for a solid week.

3 days prior - Booked the shadiest looking hotels I could find. Trip is planned out… landing in Tampa… staying in 3 hotels in 3 cities (1 courtesy Aeroplan points, the other 2 courtesy my quickly-depleting pocket book)

2 days prior - Still looking to cut the cost of renting a car in half… For anyone looking - it doesn’t take much to get a discount in the States so don’t be fooled by the listed price!

On the day of my departure, I put on a collared shirt and vest on the off-chance that I might meet someone worth impressing. The 1st mate and I assume our economy seats and I am quickly beaming at the thought of what I’m about to do. Beside me is a nice fellow named John and we start to chat… about baseball of course. No sooner do I give my analysis of the Blue Jays roster when the gentleman in front of me turns around and asks if I’m headed down to Spring Training. I reply with “Absolutely, I’m headin’ down there to convince the guys at the top to give me a job!” No sooner do I get the words out of my mouth then this gentleman tells me his name is Victor Deschenes, Director of the Jays Care Foundation, the organization’s largest P.R. initiative. We hit it off pretty well and our 1st mates shared a laugh about our hopelessness in doing anything that wasn’t baseball related. As we landed, Victor recommended I speak with the Blue Jays Sr. VP of Communications, Rob Godfrey. He passed me Rob’s cell number and I did my best to contain myself. I was literally trying to remind myself to take things in stride. Good things come to those who wait.

I pick-up the rental car from the airport and we pile in. It’s 45 minutes until game time. We’re watching 5 games in 6 days in 5 separate cities. We get there in time for the opening pitch against the hometown Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I was the picture of juxtaposition - baseball glove on one hand and business cards in the other.

By the third inning the 1st mate had given me another reason to be thankful she was there. About 30 yards away was the one person who embodied everything I wanted in life… J.P. Ricciardi. I find that one commonality between entrepreneurs is that they know what they want. They have a clear image of all the pieces in the picture. Mr. Ricciardi, from what I can tell, is an unassuming family man who believes he’s been blessed and sees ‘rising to the challenge’ as something you live for, not something you do because it is required. But I digress. I hadn’t prepared an elevator pitch and I was literally just wiping the mustard off my cheek (a ballpark tradition). The overriding factor that pushed me to walk those 30 yards was the fact that I hate living with regrets and this had the potential for regret written all over it.

I opened with a lame ice-breaker, congratulating him on the off-season moves and for restoring hope in Toronto - cliché at best is what I deemed it in hindsight. No matter, what was to come would be far more spontaneous than even I could have hoped for. J.P. asked me if I was down from Toronto on vacation to which I replied, “Actually I’m here to convince you to give me a job.” BRILLIANT! Good show ole boy! I couldn’t believe what I had said - the words just flew out of my mouth. But then again… I was telling the truth.

J.P. would go on to recommend I go through human resources but I knew that I wasn’t looking for a typical post. The entrepreneur in me wanted to show him I could take his vision and execute it on several levels. In my head I thought, ‘a hustler doesn’t fly 2000 miles to click their way through an online app.’

The next few days were spent primarily on the road, going from city to city, taking in games and generally staking out a few places (like the Blue Jays practice facility on an off-day). This is another reason to take a 1st mate - when you’re so caught up in going after something, occasionally you need a reality check to remind you that you can’t sneak into a players only parking lot in hopes that you might get praised instead of arrested. Thanks 1st mate!

Since this article is supposed to contain some words of advice, I’ll leave you with the following vignettes from which you can draw what you want…

Day 4 of our trip I managed to contact Rob Godfrey via his cell. We scheduled a meeting for the next day at lunch. He was traveling across Florida but was willing to stop for a quite drink. My mistake… I didn’t state my purpose for calling, thinking he’d turn me down once he knew I was a student. The outcome… I got stood up after buying some dress clothes one hour before the meeting. Let it be known that this should not reflect on the character of Mr. Godfrey but should rather be a lesson to have pride in your purpose to begin with.

Day 6 of our trip I see J.P. Ricciardi for the second time in person. He remembers me from earlier in the week. I give him my brown envelope with a personal letter, CV, and Abstract. The outcome… he holds on to my package for a good 30 minutes of interviews without handing it off. Here’s hoping it didn’t land in HR before he had a chance to read it. I have faith that he did. Also on Day 6 the 1st mate tells me she didn’t get enough beach time. She wants to sneak back to our 2nd hotel (the Aeroplan paid-for hotel with the nice pool) and get some sun. I tell her that we’re not even in that city anymore. The lesson… don’t question the 1st mate. The outcome… while she sun bathes I overhear someone answer their phone with “Mark Lemmon here.” Mark is the Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Jays so I quickly use my entrepreneurial instincts. I call Toronto and my buddy Reid. I tell Reid I have to use his Dad’s name in order to facilitate an introduction. He laughs and says he won’t mind since his Dad is very close with Mark. Some chit chat later and I have another gentlemen who wants me to send him my CV.

All in all, this trip was a great experience. I haven’t heard anything yet but I did take in some great games and I learned that one of the most difficult challenges for an entrepreneur is to let things happen while at the same time giving them a push in the right direction. It’s a fine balance but one that you can’t overlook. Since my trip I’ve been building a report on how I can translate a franchise’s vision into execution. The plan is to send this report out to all 30 teams… I’ll keep you posted. I’ve included some pics below to show you just how much fun failing to land a job can be!

There are a lot of things that you can borrow as a new entrepreneur trying to make your way through the struggle. Your passion will convince some to lend you some coin (if it doesn’t you certainly aren’t off on the right foot). Your vision may lead you to perfect a great product in the image you had given it in your mind. The constant chatter that proliferates from your mouth with each new idea will no doubt be infectious and a source of spreading the word. Heck, even your first few (dozen) sales will likely be from parents, aunts, cousins, and your kid sister… and don’t think sympathy won’t play a part in these transactions. There is however, one thing you cannot borrow no matter how hard you try (and believe me, I have)… experience.

There isn’t a substitute in the world for having gone through the trenches. If there was, you wouldn’t be able to convince the best people in an organization to share their knowledge. But since you can’t replicate what they know because you haven’t been there yourself, they see no harm in leading you and your eager mind.

I’m a big believer in having a mentor as you may have already guessed. It’s the only way to avoid the rookie mistakes that can often cost you your business’ success. In addition, it’s also the only way to give yourself a hope in hell of getting a large sum of investment cash. Trust me… you need this mentor. They are your advisor and legitimizer.

Without divulging too much (for the purposes of keeping your attention), I really lucked out. Right around the time I was coming in to my own as a student, a person, and a businessman, I happened to walk into a class with a Professor who seemed to put a new spin on the questions I was asking myself. Let me be clear - he didn’t shoot out answers, he simply helped me see what important considerations were at play. In reflecting, that whole process was and will be invaluable to my successes in life and business. He taught me that if you can pick out the keys to every situation, then you will at least know you are solving it accurately. It occurred to me that this may just be the biggest hurdle businesses face when conflict arises. An entrepreneur’s world is constructed to generate ambiguity. Anytime you can reduce that ambiguity, even for a moment, you will find the clarity and insight required to take the next step with confidence.

So then what does it mean to have a mentor? Do you just call him or her up every time you want your solution double checked (I don’t recommend this by the way)? If you have cleverly disguised yourself as a budding entrepreneur and your newly recruited mentor thinks there’s an outside shot that you might just be sincere in your intentions (and you are), then the next step is to build a relationship. That’s right! Another reason to add to the many phone calls, emails, and face-to-face meetings you are already conducting with (hold your breath), your customers, suppliers, investors, employees, partners, and now your mentor. Business really is about relationships.

You can start by scheduling an interval time for how often you’d like to meet (every two weeks perhaps). You have to ensure that you’re not wasting your mentors time, so come prepared to these rendezvous’. Even if the only new development in your life is a series of teenage angst-ridden questions that may be more about growing up than they are about business - be honest with what’s on your mind and be objective about what you want to ask and clarify.

Once you’ve established a good rapport with your new friend (because not everything is about profiteering) you may be ready to take your relationship to the next step. Ask them for money and contacts you say? NO! Don’t spoil what’s genuine. Their knowledge is worth far more to you than their money and contacts so don’t get greedy. This is the time when you should be reciprocating. Offer to assist in some project that your mentor may be working on (since you should also be discussing their interests in your engagements). Tell them you insist on adding value to this relationship the same way they’ve done for you… and do it for FREE (obviously). This is a great chance to showcase your “A” game. Pro bono work can often be the launching pad to many great things because if done properly, you can establish yourself as not only capable but able to incorporate what you’ve learned from the wisdom that’s been passed down to you.

Yes, I suppose that eventually a camaraderie will exist and that there may be a business opportunity you’d like to pursue together or perhaps an idea you have that you’d like to solicit investment for. Don’t be ashamed to ask but at the same time I’d recommend that you allow this to happen naturally and in stride. As with any relationship, you know when you’re pushing the envelope. It’s at that point, that what was once an intrinsically satisfying experience becomes more calculated and dollar-driven. So be sure that what you’ve built is strong enough that your intentions will always be thought of as virtuous.