THE SKILLS THAT MAKE AN ENTREPRENEUR
by Bill J. Bonnstetter
Harvard Business Review
Entrepreneurial-minded people (and the ideas they generate) are extremely valuable to an organization. At our research firm, we recently conducted a multi-variable analysis of a group of serial entrepreneurs and identified five personal skills that clearly make them unique. “Personal skills” — often classified as “soft skills” — develop slowly over time, and we used them to help identify what job-related activities a person has developed. We primarily looked at people who started multiple businesses and experienced both success and failure. More »
DO IT ANYWAY
Free Advice: You know what they say (I am not sure who “they” are-lol) about you get what you pay for but I hope this is helpful. This is a result of a conversation with a 40-somehting year old gentleman recently who said. “I do not know if I want to do this.”
If you are on my team, another company, or simply thinking about your future please accept this respectfully: Do not make your decision about embracing opportunity based on whether or not it is something you “want” to do. You do not buy a drill because you want a drill. You buy a drill because you want a hole.
Success is generally derived from doing things you do not want to do…things others will not do…so you can live like most people will never live.
Keep in mind, the question should be, “Will this get me what I ‘want’ in life?” If so, do it!
Regardless of whether or not you want to. If you told me digging ditches 8 hours per day would make my dreams come true I would simply ask for a bigger shovel so I could get there faster.
What do you want, not what do you want to do.
If you know “why”, the “how” presents itself… usually in the form of something you may not want to do. Do it anyway. I wish you all the best in whatever you pursue.
Always Lead,
Bo Short
Thanks, Sarah Stauber and Gary Burke
HOW I QUALIFIED FOR KENYA
Sandy Dietrich has qualified for the Kenya, African Safari and she describes here what she did to earn this incredible trip. Thank you Sandy for being the leader you are and for the example you’ve set.
Gary Burke
Good Morning Gary. As I read your message this am, I thought; “Yep,– I have a plan, I have a made up mind, and then I just do it – again and again and again.”
What struck me is how simple this business is. The hard part is “me” – having the discipline day in and day out to make it happen.
I spoke on the webinar yesterday about How We Earned Africa. I thought I would share my outline with you.
MY MIND CHANGED
1. My mind changed! I became determined and consistent starting about 3 years ago.
a. Stuck to a schedule for activity – no matter how many times it didn’t happen!
b. Worked on myself and refused to make excuses! (It didn’t matter if I “ felt like” doing Shaklee or not!)
c. Set a goal of 2 – 3 appointments a week.
MY FOCUS CHANGED
2. My focus changed! I worked on building relationships.
a. Listened and showed I cared – needs notebook
b. Stayed in contact – which leads to referrals and lifetime members
c. Did what it took to get lots of in-homes/meetings.
d. Had to be patient. No does not mean no forever.
e. 2-3 great people in my group have made all the difference!
f. Trusting God’s help and having those who prayed for and encouraged me, made such a positive difference.
MY ACTIVITY CHANGED
3. My activity changed! I showed the whole Shaklee story and I followed up.
a. I always tell: 1.The Company, 2. The products, 3. The Comp plan. – Stories!
b. Get a Wish list filled out for follow up.
c. Found there is always a next step with everyone – take it!
d. I am willing to work in Depth with anyone who will lead me to others!!
So Gary, thank-you for the crucial part you have played in my Shaklee journey. I’m looking forward to the rest of the trip!
Sandy
DON’T SEND YOUR DUCKS TO EAGLE SCHOOL
by Jim Rohn
The first rule of management is this: don’t send your ducks to eagle school.
Why? Because it won’t work. More »
HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE
I get a lot of questions about whether or not to try and build a Shaklee organization online — and how to do it. My first reply is that I’ve never seen it done successfully. I have seen people sponsored into Shaklee, and I have seen people sell a few products through lead generation … but I have yet to see all that translate into building an organization. More »
“IF I FAIL MORE THAN YOU DO, I WIN!
A great life and business lesson from the brilliant Seth Godin.
WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS THINK
WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS RESEARCH
1) The Price of the product matters, but only if our prospects don’t have a unique experience. Our job is to make sure they do.
2) The Overall Experience is key. Which means, how we treat our customers in the process matters more than we know. Sending them off to direct order heaven with nary a follow up contact is the single biggest mistake we make.
3) Previous experience with us, and with our product, is the key. If the experience isn’t good to great … they won’t come back. Can you blame them?
Do you know what the “right” problem is?
Got this email this morning from the guru of marketing guru’s — Dan Kennedy.
“Over and over throughout my 35 years in business, the lack of quality THINKING has led to a Hell’s half-acre of disasters and disappointments.
And it’s not only in thinking through the solutions to the gnarly problems your business faces…
more often than not, it’s the painful reality that you’re working your buttsky off to solve the WRONG problem!”
Magic Jack, a Laptop, China, India, and Global Opportunity!
Master Coordinator Bob Ferguson decided (and that’s the key) that he wanted to increase his overall OGV.
He understands that to make that happen, people in his organization need to increase their volume. Pretty simple mathematical principle. More »
Dates, Not Singles Bars
The value of a Lifetime Customer and the high cost of one-shot selling.
I was shocked by a conversation I had last week with one our leaders who attended the convention in Atlantis.
He told me about a chat he had with a lady from another organization that said to him…
“I really don’t care about the product. I care about the money. The product really doesn’t matter all that much.”
I asked if she was kidding. He said, “No.” More »
