Archive for the "Entrepreneur Notes" Category
May12

Entrepreneurial Dreaming

Posted at 9:50 AM • No Comments

Just finished reading (for the third time) The Big Idea: How to Make Your Entrepreneurial Dreams Come True, From the Aha Moment to Your First Million by Donny Deutsch. Yes, the same guy who hosted a CNBC show by the same name a few years back.

When I’m watching the news and feeling as though the economy is totally out of control (or at the very least I feel I have no control), I like to read books like The BIG IDEA. The entreprenuerial spirit needs to be re-fueled every now and then. This book definitely adds to that fire.

I find this book encouraging, thought-provoking, and full of resources. Of course, there is no get-rich-quick scheme here. There are no guarantees – merely the freedom to pursue our dream. But like a number of the other books I’ve reviewed on this blog, The BIG IDEA encourages you to run with your idea.

Are you one of those folks who has said, “Golly, I had that idea years ago but didn’t do anything with it.” Or maybe you commented that you didn’t have the money to follow it through, so you did nothing.

Well, that’s a major difference between the successful and the wannabe successful. You can’t be successful, if you don’t act on your ideas. I know, I know. That’s a pretty obvious statement to make.

But so often we forget the old saying, “Luck (success) is when hard work meets opportunity.” Without taking action on an idea, the rest just never happens.

Throughout the book there are stories of moms, dads, teens, grandmas and grandpas who ran with their ideas. In the majority of cases, they were either prodded by their economic situation, a need to care for family, or a desire to not be lost to a sense of boredom.

That’s the reason there are so many rags to riches stories. But what if it was an idea that merely added $1,000 to your monthly budget. No, that won’t get you to the Fortune 100 list. But would it add to your quality of life? Without a doubt!

In reading The Big Idea: How to Make Your Entrepreneurial Dreams Come True, From the Aha Moment to Your First Million I find myself thinking of my ideas and how I might use them to add to my quality of life. Surely I would love to be a millionaire. I admit there are days when I dream about what I would do with a million dollars. How I’d help my family. My friends. Start a foundation.

But I wonder how many great ideas actually made it to the ‘million dollar category’ by first being done to add to an individual’s quality of life?

Grab this book and give it a read. Then rather than “not starting anything,” consider one of your ideas and how it might be developed to add to your quality of life. Then just let it grow!

Keep your eye on the dream – the big idea. But by focusing on adding to your immediate quality of life, you’ll get started. Isn’t that often our biggest fear! Continue working the idea. Who knows… luck (success) may be just around the corner.

If you are successful in any way-  quality of life or millionaire status, please send me an email and share your story.

Here’s to your …. next step!

Warmly,

Ellie's signature

May6

The only purpose of starting is to finish…

Posted at 9:57 AM • One Comment

I’m still trying to take in all the wisdoms of the book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Seth Godin speaks to my entrepreneurial soul. I’m guessing he’ll speak to yours… or at the very least, ruffle some feathers. That, too, is good.

I’m most inspired by his statement from the title of this post: The only purpose of starting is to finish…

The artist, creator, inventor, out-of-the-box thinker tends to want to tweak something one more time. Wait, just let me ‘touch up the painting.’ Oh no, my proposal must be reviewed one more time. Please, let me get all my facts and designs all lined up. Stop, I have to organize my thoughts before I say anything. Wait, that label just isn’t the perfect shade of color. And the tweaking goes on and on and on.

But that’s also how the gifts of the entrepreneur, artist, creative person never make it to light. So an invention that might change humanity, a creative piece that could brighten the world, or the unique idea that could set your business above your competition, they never get shipped.

When your resistance gives you all the reasons for not shipping, the idea begins to die. Soon it becomes a pattern. We suffer silently and become part of the I coulda, shoulda, woulda crowd.

Seth writes:

I think the discipline of shipping is essential in the long-term path to becoming indispensable. … over time-rather quickly, actually-you’ll see that shipping becomes part of the art and shipping makes it work.

I can tell dozens of stories of business people and artists that I know who just haven’t shipped. They have the goods, idea, unique product, paintings, but never finish. They tweak. They talk about soon. They say tomorrow. But it’s never shipped.

All the stories we read of success in any area of life requires shipping! In other words, the Olympic Gold Medalist had to enter the first contest. The artist had to paint lots of paintings and sell them. The writer must send the manuscript to the editor or self-publish. But if it lays on her desk, it’s never shipped!

We wait for perfect. But the road to success is created by shipping the imperfect! Then we can tweak it. Ship again. Soon something quite wonderful can often happen. Something changes in our world. We have the possiblity of getting better at our art and our shipping.

But if it’s never shipped, it can’t be improved upon. It can’t be gifted to the world. Genius and creativity and out-of-the box thinking cannot be released to be savored by our world.

So to all of those folks out their with an idea: start shipping!

You’re right! It may not bring you success. It may not change the world. It may not be the right solution. But the certainty is that if it’s never put out there, nothing will happen.

Here’s to those who start shipping!

May5

Are YOU indispensable?

Posted at 10:19 AM • No Comments

WOW… all of my life I’ve been saying to folks who are trying to be perfectionists or working way too many hours thinking “no one else will/can do it like THEY do”, to remember that no one is indispensable, even presidents die and the country continues. hmmmm

Seth Godin’s book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
 has me reconsidering this response. But more importantly, he’s given me a new look at the character of “indispensable.” This oft repeated quote from Seth Godin’s book says it all:

Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It’s time to stop complying with the system, and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you must create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must.

At first reading you might be thinking, “Well, I’m no Einstein, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Mandela or even a Steve Jobs or a Bill Gates.” If you just did that, then you absolutely must read this book.

Seth Godin is not talking about the reported brilliance we read about  or see in movies or television. He’s not saying we should go for the Pulitzer Prize or Olympic Gold. Nor is he  saying you should do all the ‘busywork’ that prevents us from being our best selves.

He’s talking about the gift each of us has. Yours may be a better system for the production plant where you work. Possibly it’s a vision you have for reworking the displays in your employer’s store. Or maybe you’re sitting on a business idea that you’re just too afraid to move forward on. So you don’t invest time in creating a plan.

What he’s not talking about is ego, making millions, or even being noticed. Instead, if I can even come close to digesting this wonderful book, he is asking each of us to discover our ‘art.’ That’s right: our art! Yours – and – mine!

Art isn’t only a painting; it’s anything that changes someone for the better, any nonanonymous interaction that leads to a human (not simply a commercial) conclusion.

He goes on to discuss the ‘gift’ in art. Then takes that concept and moves through various paths to our economy, our work, our community, our sense of satisfaction.

The result of this art, these risks, the gifts, and the humanity coming together is both wonderful and ironic.

Now read the book. Tilt your head slightly and consider a different perspective. Discover your art and choose to make a difference. Hold fast to your vision and no longer wait for something to change. As Capt. Picard says in Star Trek: The Next Generation,

“Engage.”

There is no map because it is your vision. No one knows the gift you can give better than you know. So step into the universe and “Make it so.” (Picard on Start Trek: The Next Generation.)

Apr20

Small Business Owner or Entrepreneur?

Posted at 7:13 PM • No Comments

Everyone seems to want to be an “entrepreneur.” It’s used everywhere to entice, encourage, motivate and describe business owners today. It’s definitely a buzzword on magazine covers, in the news, with the SBDC and at various business programs and events. But I do not believe every small business owner is an entrepreneur.

When I first published my weekly advertising paper, I thought anyone who hung out a shingle was an “entrepreneur.” It took about 6 months before, out of sheer frustration, I finally acknowledged to myself that was not the case.

It didn’t take long to figure out that just because an owner had a particular area of interest and even more, a desire to be their own boss, did not make them anywhere close to “entrepreneurial.” In fact, I discovered that at some point they became relatively comfortable with their  income and didn’t want to reach beyond that if it required much change in their routines.

Oh, don’t get me wrong! They certainly talked a great deal about the many reasons they couldn’t get ahead: how bad business was, their competition, cash flow, etc. But, even when given opportunities, they rarely took advantage. “No time,” was the well-worn mantra.

  • Without a doubt business owners work hard.
    Entrepreneurs aim to work smarter.
  • Business owners seem to always be busy, but is it “business or busyness!”
    Entrepreneurs try to develop systems making it easy to delegate, thus able to continue to grow their business.
  • Business owners gnenerally think everything can be solved with money.
    Entrepreneurs know money helps, but also know that without the right plan, it could ruin them.
  • Business owners frequently blame: economy, taxes, competition, lack of traffic, the weather, etc.
    Entrepreneurs search for solutions, often turning these pitfalls into goldmines.
  • Business owners have some interesting attitudes regarding profit and making money. I so often would hear, “Well, I wouldn’t want to be rich like THAT!” (Another post for the future)
    Entrepreneurs intend to make a profit.

In coming weeks I’ll write in more depth about the comments above, hoping to clarify the differences and what a business owner or entrepreneur might choose to do.

Bottom Line: There is nothing wrong with either approach. But we have to know which one we are. Our satisfaction and enjoyment depends on it. Our success also depends on it.

Catch you next week with more thoughts on this topic.  Warmly, Ellie

Apr7

Info Confusion

Posted at 12:19 PM • No Comments

Do you ever find yourself spending an ENORMOUS amount of time reading the ‘newest, latest, and greatest’ information? Then immediately following that HUGE amount of imput, you are totally drained, exhausted, overwhelmed! Absolutely unable to make a decision. Frustrated because you have the vision but can’t figure out just where to start?

I highly recommend learning all you can from Jason Fladlien. Just google him. He’s got a number of products. But one of his ultimate products for those of you who suffer from information-overload is Jason’s Time Management program.

Yes, the above is an affiliate link. I may make a buck or two should you decide to purchase. But if nothing else, google Jason Fladlien and see for yourself. This 27 year old ‘kid’ (hey, I’m a grandma!!) is amazingly wise for his years.

I absolutely love information, but handling it is something else. If you’ve ever wondered why someone who seems so unworthy of their success keeps winning, you might find your answers with Jason.

Let me know what you think if you try any of his products. To your info-control…. warmly, Ellie