Jennifer Kushell is one of my favorites in terms of goal setting, you can read her book entitled “Secrets of the Young & Successful” and learn about how to reach your goals fast and efficiently. A friend of mine told me she also published a book entitled “The Young Entrepreneur’s Edge” way back in 1999 where she discusses the steps towards becoming a successful entrepreneur and I came across a section where she points out the disadvantages of being an entrepreneur. If I had read this one six months ago I might have avoided it, but I still feel it is a blessing to go through all those mistakes because the lessons tend to stick when it is learned the hard way… I’m glad she included a couple of tips to avoid it so I’ll be prepared the next time it happens.

Disadvantages of Being An Entrepreneur and Ways to Get Over It

1. Lack of Credibility - I’m quite used to this because as a young entrepreneur you will be stepped at every time the big players are around. But there’s nothing to worry, it’s part of the process of growing. Get around this roadblock by:

• convincing others that you are worth a chance
• align yourself with people who has credibility
• become someone important
• know what you are talking about
• do what you promise to deliver

2. Lack of Maturity - this comes in with a price tag of “pissed-off clients.” The only way you can get out of this is by being professional and I believe this needs time to develop through experience.

3. Lack of Experience - everyone has to start somewhere and that somewhere for me was zero. I want to become a established motion graphics artist and put up my own studio but my degree diploma says I was trained to be a Biologist. And I worked my way up the ladder of experience, often crashing back down along the way but nothing can stop me. It’s quite good to know that some of Kushell’s tips I’ve done personally even before I read the book:

• work for someone who has experience even if it is for free
• read everything you can read about your industry
• attend classes and seminars
• join related associations and organizations
• build any related, yet indirect skills (you can learn photography even if your major field is writing)

4. Overeagerness - I paid the price dearly for this… When clients come in, you get the feeling of being powerful and invincible that you start to forget that there are much more to learn. You’ll know it when clients are starting to call, and you’re behind schedule, short of budget, and exhausted to death… These are the things you might want to avoid if they ever happen to you:

• hiring people prematurely
• overspending on the assumption that it will be created anyway
• getting involved in projects without the necessary skills
• taking on too much responsibilities
• appearing too anxious about the project
• openly admitting you lack the experience
• not taking time to be properly trained
• not taking time to plan the business
• neglecting to write a business plan
• ignoring advices of skeptic people

5. Isolation & Loneliness - I never felt this way since my wife has been very supportive to all my projects. And besides, I like working alone most of the time, it makes me feel secure that everything is in place and under my control. But if this is something that scares you the most, you might take note of the following:

• maintain communication with the most important people in your life
• be honest with people close to you when you are having a hard time
• make sure you have a solid group of mentors

6. Lack of Leadership - perhaps the most important of all. Nobody will buy your product or follow your instructions unless they sense the leader in you. Develop this early in life and you’ll have an edge over the others, even if they are more skilled than you are…

7. Difficulty Motivating Yourself - this was a major problem I had to deal with. I ended up lazy on my second month with nothing but savings and no clients. Having so much time in your hands can be very dangerous for you and your business so be careful. Here are some tips to get you going:

• get into a strict routine
• schedule early morning meetings
• pack your schedules with appointments
• do things right away, don’t procrastinate
• take advantage of time when you have the energy
• place in a small reward system for yourself
• have other people work with you
• remind yourself of your purpose consistently

Wow, that was a long list and I hope you’ll find something useful in it. These will only be disadvantages if you allow it to, remember that the road to wealth will not always be as easy as you can tolerate. But as long as there are people like Jennifer Kushell guiding us, we will get through it just fine…

ONWARDS!!!

I have to apologize to my readers who missed this part. All the while I was thinking that I have posted the 6th part of the 7-part article I created 7 Ways To Get Started, but I just found out that I didn’t so please forgive me for those who were expecting it. Anyway, I have passed this stage in development just recently and I’m doing my best to turn down some offers that do not fit me well anymore. This part showed me which of the roads are available for me and it has come to a point where I have to choose. I hope you enjoy reading part 6 of 7 Ways To Get Started and I’m sure that it will help you along the way in making your first million pesos!

Advantages of the approach

Remember your friends use to tell you about your suitors, “collect and select”. This clearly takes advantage of that statement. You get to choose which of the things you do you would like to retain in your life and throw away those that you don’t like. I’ve been a biologist, an artist, a programmer, a web designer, a video editor, a motivational coach, a teacher, a stage performer, a writer, a painter to name a few… But after doing all of those, i can clearly see which ones are working well for me and otherwise. After having a clear focus on what you really want, you tend to shift on that direction most of the time since you excel on it. In the example above, if you are really a good writer, you will have more writing job requests and you will lose time doing all the others. And if you are totally happy with it, that becomes your profession. Then you can go back to clients on the other things that you do and tell them, “well, i’m not interested in painting anymore, i shifted my attention to writing and i am pursuing it as a career now, if you will be needing my writing skills, i am here to help you”.

And also, you won’t have any of those what-if’s in life thinking about what might have been if you’ve taken another path. I once was to become a doctor (that’s why i’m a biology major) but after the experience of pre-med, my thoughts were crystal clear, I do not want to become a doctor. But I was really passionate about it at first. Passionate that I was hearing my heart pound on the thought that i’d be able to cure illnesses and diseases… You see? If I didn’t take the time to experience it myself, i wouldn’t know if it was for me, i will always wish i’ve taken that direction.

When do you stop?

Believe me, you’ll be bugged by a million people when taking this approach. You will be asked to help in all directions and money will start to come in. When you have a good product/service people who at first got you for free will now compete for your time. You then start to become valuable. This is when you have to learn how to say NO. Additional indicators might be, you start to get bored, or you cannot manage your time anymore despite all your efforts, and you start to get regular return clients. Return clients means “you are good at it and they want more.” And when your business becomes sustainable, it’s a clear indicator to turn down offers in the other fields and concentrate on building a business. I’m actually here at the moment. KAIKO, a video production company I started is now getting regular clients to a point that I can already use other people for employment as freelance giving income opportunities to other people. But it is still unstable since it can only sustain itself up to a month and it will gradually eat the resources again. I believe it only needs time to grow so I will let it that way for a while, get clients every now and then while I pursue other stuffs.

Things to do:
1. Try to come up with a list of friends who in anyway might need your help
2. Expand your experience as possible to know how far you can stretch
3. When you have a ratio of the skills they wanted you the most, try concentrating on it
4. Try to build a business among the top two or three

One thing to consider also when helping people is to identify which of them REALLY needs your help so that your efforts will not go to waste. And don’t hesitate to offer your help, that will come back in one way or another and sometimes in ways you can’t imagine.

So there, I hope this article gets you started to your road to wealth. Until next post!!!

ONWARDS!

The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace Delois Wattles

Reading the book in just one night is quite an experience because every chapter tends to connect seemlessly with the others. I want to thank Tim Bennett for letting me borrow a PDF version which you find you can find on his website www.millionaireanonymous.com for a very minimal fee.

There are no tangible instructions here like get into the stock market, save money, do entrepreneurial stuff and the like. All that you can find here is the whole concept of ‘getting rich’ in its simplest and basic form, like the fundamental mathematical processes (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) which, in combination, will create the most complex equations. However, the book stresses on ‘moving onto the creative plane’ rather than competition which eliminates the idea of scarcity. If everybody has the power to create, then the whole world would be so much abundant!

The following are short descriptions and/or reactions on each chapter:

Chapter 1
IT concentrates in convincing you that wanting to be rich is a natural state of mind and in fact a necessity in order to enjoy life to the fullest. Without these things in mind, you cannot understand its concept and accept the information that will be presented. I think this chapter will change how you think about money.

Chapter 2
THIS chapter logically explains how it is possible to get rich regardless of your state or business. It compares the idea of getting rich to all the other sciences like math and physics which has laws. And these laws, if mastered (which is referred to as ‘doing things in a Certain Way’), will guarantee riches!

Chapter 3
IF you are thinking that being rich is only for rich people, you must read this chapter and rethink your premise. This chapter shows how the universe is so full of resources that it can actually make us all rich and still leave room for more.

Chapter 4
THIS chapter explains that all things come from one ‘formless substance’ which takes shape through thought which man imposes on it. Faith that you can create riches using these ‘formless substance’ and that the state of poverty, diseases and alike are all forms which man has taken shape using their thoughts.

Chapter 5
THIS chapter will teach you to forget about scarcity and limited resources. Life is continually expanding and increasing and so as the resources. If you will be able to take your mind off the competition and on to creating things, you may acquire anything that you need and even provide more for the others to enjoy.

Chapter 6
THERE are three points here to be pondered upon: that you must give more in value what you take in cash; that value is very relative to the person who defines it; and that you have to hold the image in your mind in order to get it. This is the first chapter that tells you what to do.

Chapter 7
BE grateful about everything good and concentrate on it. Do not talk about the bad, diseases and the like because thoughts on it will take form in your lives as you think about it. Better be thankful of the good things you have and more of it will come. Other than the thoughts about, this chapter has nothing else to offer.

Chapter 8
THIS chapter’s concept is simple but very heavy in my opinion (maybe that’s why i’m not rich yet). It discusses that you have to hold a picture in your head with a faith so strong that it realizes itself through your actions. Your thoughts about it must be 24/7 in order for it to be realized. Over the other chapters, this one should give you a boost of energy and start thinking about your direction in creating wealth.

Chapter 9
HOW to use your Will Power is such a revelation for me. It is quite the opposite of what I think. The chapter suggests that Will Power should not be imposed on anybody else but yourself. I thought Will Power was suppose to control people and results, it is not! And you will learn more about it by reading this chapter.

Chapter 10
DO not think about anything else but being rich in a creative way. This chapter discusses nothing more but this idea.

Chapter 11
ACT now! The core of this chapter lies on the idea that thought without action is merely a wish that will not transform itself to something tangible. Thought must be combined with action so that it will manifest itself. Thought brings you closer to the thing that you want, but it’s your action that grabs it.

Chapter 12
EFFICIENCY of your actions makes your vision realized. Do everything you can do for the day and do it as efficiently as you can. Your vision will start to take actual form when it is mixed with efficient action.

Chapter 13
THIS chapter teaches you how to get into the business that you have to be in. It discusses that you are best-fitted to the business that you have talent for, however, if for some reason you don’t want that business, you can work your way achieving what you want by using the business you are in right now. But if what you do right now is not the business you have talent for or not the kind of business that you want, you are very much in the wrong place. You can only engage yourself in a business that you do not want if it will be used to get to where you want to be.

Chapter 14
THE impression of increase must be in every transactions that you make, to every word that you use. You must give impression of increase with everyone around and everybody will gravitate to your business. I could personally attest to this, people love to speak with you and hear your opinions and ideas when you talk like abundant people do, alive and enthusiastic. Also, the chapter tries to warn the reader against the lust for power over other people. Being rich is about abundance and creation, not competition. So when you stand on this perspective, you naturally won’t think that people will get ahead of you, instead, they are there to help you further your own cause.

Chapter 15
YOU must improve your status every time. And when your position becomes too small for you to fit in, you must try another position bigger than your space. This chapter brings us to the idea of continuous improvement whether you are employed or an employer. It worth to note that rich people are the people that grows continuously, trying to fill-in the current position and move on bigger ones when opportunities present itself.

Chapter 16
SOMEWHAT a reitiration of the previous chapters. You can actually read this one and have all the necessary instructions to get rich. However, action without basis or proof is quite useless, so I still recommend reading previous chapters. But towards the ending, tries to justify that failures exists in order to lead us to something better, that failures are actually success turned up side down.

Chapter 17
SUMMARY of the whole book including its instructions. In its very simplified form, several short paragraphs only, it’s quite hard to understand its concepts. But as it is, it is a good reminder of the whole book!

Overall, the book serves its purpose very well. It’s like reading ‘Think & Grow Rich’ stripped with all the unnecessary clutter which might cloud your concept of ‘getting rich’. The concept is so much simplified that you can actually rename the title to ‘The Science of Success’ and it won’t make much of a difference. The whole idea is given each chapter and the way you will execute it is really up to you.

You always complain about your lousy boyfriend, beat yourself up whenever you come in late, always have your room like WWIII just ended, and you can think of a hundred more things you don’t want in your life but still it exists and why is that? Why is it that the thing you hated the most still sits there beside you waiting to ruin your every day? It is the Law of Tolerance…

The law states that: Things around you exists because you tolerate their existence.

Let’s have a deeper look on this.

Suppose you are late for work, in a middle of a traffic jam, and still an hour away from your destination. You just sit there and say to yourself “Oh my God, why now when I’m in a hurry? I can’t take this anymore!” and… uhm, you just sit there… minute after minute, you just sit there… And an hour later you finally got passed the traffic cursing the whole hour you spent on it… Well, I thought you ‘can’t take this anymore!’, but you obviously had a lot more patience sticking with it the whole time. You can still ‘take it’, because if you can’t, there are more than enough solutions to your problem:

Solutions to heavy traffic on your way to work:
1. You could wake up and leave early to avoid it.
2. You could find other routes to go around it.
3. You could find another job near to your place.
4. You could move closer to your work place.
5. You could forget about your job and build your own company and live in the office.
6. And, If your life depended on it, you would get out of the car and run!

But instead you sat there and wait… you sat there and tolerated it… and it will never go away as long as you tolerate it… You obviously had several options you didn’t think about because you actually liked it that way (in a way) based on results.
The LAW

This law cuts across all the aspects of your life, be it relationship, financial, spiritual, health and in all circumstances. It is neither good nor bad, it’s just the way things are, and now that you know it, you must learn to work with it, not against it. Picture a millionaire getting broke compared to you (supposing you are not a millionaire) getting broke. Notice that there will be two different reactions to the same situation. You might just shrug it off at most and accept it, but a millionaire will immediately draft a plan and work his way up again without missing a single minute. See how the Law of Tolerance worked differently for the same situation? And it is all based on your level of tolerance. Now that you know that, would it be better to adjust your tolerance accordingly to the way you want to live your life like jumping up to action like a millionaire when he’s broke and be a millionaire yourself? You can be much more than you are right now working with the Law of Tolerance.

When I used to work for a company, whenever I go home, I see my place as a disaster. Nothing is in place, the sink is filled with dishes to be washed (on its third day), door knob is still not fixed for two weeks now and you can go on and have like two sheets of paper filled with this sorts of stuffs. But finally I said to myself, I won’t tolerate this anymore, wealthy people don’t live like this, people more than I am don’t live like this, so in order to be like them I have to have the same standard of tolerance as they have. What would a wealthy person do in such situation? He’ll start with whatever is nearest and never stop until everything is done… and so I did and it took the whole night to finish everything and it felt so fantastic I said to myself, ‘this is how I want to live my life’. The following morning I woke up and all of a sudden I see things differently. I saw a piece of paper on the floor, which I normally don’t notice, picked it up and went straight to the trash. Unbelievable! I finally found it much easier to make my place orderly just by adjusting your tolerance. Now the sink has to be clean before I go to bed, I could argue about it with my wife but if she doesn’t do it, I won’t have the job done. So instead of arguing, like what most people would do and blame it on others, and because I don’t tolerate a dirty sink, I will clean it myself if I have to! And it’s because you can’t take it anymore… period.
Change Everything

Find out things that you don’t like happening in your life and change your level of tolerance on it. What would your ideal person do about it? How would he react on it? Answer the questions and do it. You’ll find that when you have successfully changed that, other things in your life will start to change as well, like a ripple effect. Change enough of those things and you’ll have a completely brand new you!

The Law of Tolerance cannot be changed, it doesn’t have to, you just have to learn how to work with it, use it to your advantage and achieve your ideal status without fearing of springing back to where you were because it will always lead you to your natural and stable state, the one that you tolerate… Now ask yourself, ‘why am I not wealthy yet?’, you know the answer…

Try this one, close your eyes and focus on a certain color, let’s say yellow. Now when you open your eyes look around you and try to remember all the items that are yellow around, ten seconds will do (please do the exercise before you read on and you’ll be astonished by its results!) Now shut your eyes again and try to remember anything blue… Chances are, you won’t remember any… And that’s because your eyes were so keenly setup to see only yellows that it blocked everything else… Guess what… This happens to you everyday of your life! You only see things the way your eyes were setup to see blocking everything else that doesn’t agree with it. And there is a good thing about this discovery, now that you know how it works, you have to make it work with you, not against you. And your mission is to change your perspective.

Seeing things differently is an advantage… Shifting your perspective can and will show solutions that you never knew was there all along. A change of perspective is just what you need in order to proactively seek opportunities. Before I knew of this, my eyes would just wonder around magazines, television, mall stands and opportunity after opportunity, I missed it all! How did I know? Because now knowing how the mind works, I got back to the same things and I was blown away with how much opportunity was there! You’ll even see how other opportunities were taken by those who saw it before you and they are making big business.

To illustrate let me share to you my experience. When my daughter was in a singing workshop, their recital then was to be held in Teatrino in Greenhills San Juan. By then I was broke and had no job (I just resigned, believe me when you’re in this status, you really have to change how you look at things). Then I decided, let’s give the idea a try, i will be thinking of nothing but ‘how can i make money with the things i’m seeing’… guess what, it works almost instantly and even gave way to my baby video productions company KAIKO. As I was looking around the workshop and the concert itself, I noticed nobody was video covering the whole event! I myself would love to see my daughter on tape and she would love to see it too when she grows up, now there’s a market right here that nobody is servicing. So I went to talk to the director to give me a try and we did our first coverage with a rented video camera and help from friends, I edited everything, put it in a good packaging and gave it back… Now, we have all the succeeding contracts and all concerts which will be produced by the same director! And out of the same experiment I even saw other opportunities that other people might think profitable such as costumes, gowns for rent, and many more, I’m sure there’s even a lot that I missed to see. Projects will come in two-months interval but that’s a start. What I have to do now is fill in the gaps with other directors who might need the same services.

You see the power of changing your perspective is barely tapped by the experiment and yet a business was made, so I don’t see any reason you won’t be able to start up with the things I have shared with you. Use it all with the spare time you have and watch your progress unfold.

The Process

Scan - look around you and try to see if there are opportunities out there waiting for you to take. Anything that interests you the most might be a good thing to start with. It’s hard to just see things in your head only so you have to physically go out and explore, read books, and experience the world around you. You can use an already established businesses model (for me it was video coverage) and see if you can provide it. Or create something else which is much better (another business I’d like to venture in is Naughty Panties, printed panties with a twist!) DO NOT limit your ideas with the things you can do. You can share those other opportunities with one of your friends who might be interested, they will love you for it!

Plan - if you have found the opportunity you’ve been looking for, plan how you can actually make money out of it. Think like the project is already yours and it has more than enough budget to cover you (this mindset will force the best out of you). And think how you will present it. Profit is not a good front, it might be better to give an impression of helping out (because it’s all about that!) and you are interested in making THEIR business better.

Take Action - everything will be such a waste if you don’t actually DO IT. In the end, it’s action that produces results. It won’t work the first time, believe me, if it does YOU are sooo lucky! It took a number of proposals to gain the confidence, it took some time to shrug off failures and start again. But in the end, it all pays off. I think the lesson I learned from this experience is priceless because it will move me forward in life no matter what.

My mentor told me he got started with his own business knocking at doors for six months trying to find somebody who needs his services. And I did just that, but it didn’t take me that long since my services are quite cheaper than his (200k laser light show versus a 20k full video coverage). And it worked so successfully I had to hire other people to help me as I my schedule was full, providing income opportunities for others!

You won’t make any progress or start anything without doing anything! Don’t be afraid, mistakes are obstacles that makes you stronger every time you come through it. Mistakes are the actual treasures of experience so accumulate so much that you have no room for another (well, make it a point you only do one of each).

A month ago I came across this study made by Saras D. Sarasvathy of the University of Virginia which addresses the question: What makes an entrepreneur, entrepreneurial? We all know what entrepreneurs are and we know what they do but the question of where do this actions come from and how do they come up with such ‘plans’ are as elusive as their source of ideas. And what if this way of thinking can be duplicated, taught, and learned? This questions got me excited as i read, so here is the study as i understand it:

There are two types of reasoning:
1. Causal Reasoning - achieve a goal using given means finding the optimal alternatives
2. Effectual Reasoning - goals emerge from the given means

Causal Reasoning revolves around the logical way of thinking. In business schools, it would have the following process:
1. Market Definition
2. Segmentation (using relevant variables such as age and status)
3. Targeting (an example would be expected returns)
4. Positioning (use of marketing strategies)
5. to reach a CUSTOMER

Now this way of thinking has been used for years and years because of its ability to predict the future using the data that came in with the research (feasibility study as I would understand it), however this entails costs, time, effort and not to mention its probability to still fail after launching the product. To solve the problem (very unconventionally), entrepreneurs do the process the other way around.

Effectual Reasoning:
1. CUSTOMER identification (through Effectual Reasoning Means)
2. Customer definition (strategic marketing and selling)
3. Adding Segments and Strategic Partners
4. Definition of one of several markets

Effectual Reasoning Means:
1. Who they are
2. What they know
3. Whom they know

Using the means above, an entrepreneur would maximize his resources rather than come up with the resources. A customer then is defined by the value you could give them rather than creating the value that they need. Now instead of launching the product big time (advertisements, promotions, etc.) with how much budget they have, entrepreneurs tend to sell it directly to the nearest customer reachable or to friends and relatives who might be interested. From there, an entrepreneur would exploit other customers based on the sales made initially. What are the qualities of the people who bought the product, where do they live, what do they do? These are some of the questions that might help reach other customers. Then an entrepreneur, based on the defined customers would find strategic partners, people who have the same interests in furthering the cause and a relationship is made (this is something that is not taught in business schools). Several markets will emerge in the process creating a vast array of opportunities available for entrepreneurs to exploit. Of course, the most profitable will be chosen and refined further.

To sum up the process, here are the major differences:
1. Causal reasoning concentrates on expected returns while Effectual reasoning emphasizes on affordable loss (instead of targeting a market, an entrepreneur would bring the product to the nearest possible customer with zero resources)
2. Causal reasoning depends on competitive analysis while Effectual reasoning builds on strategic partnerships (the challenge is to pick a partner whom you could leverage early on before even taking capital out)
3. Causal reasoning exploits pre-existing knowledge and prediction while Effectual reasoning stresses leveraging on contingencies (the ability to turn the unexpected into profitable)

Focusing on the last point, entrepreneurs uses the ready-fire-aim approach model. They don’t think too much of the outcome but test the product as it is and adjust as they go along developing it. This approach will actually do more in the long run. Added to that, entrepreneurs don’t like the idea of predictable future, they like to ‘create’ the future. Not all surprises are bad and it is not the contingencies but the leveraging that entrepreneurs do.

Here are the principles behind each reasoning:
Causal reasoning - to the extent that we can predict the future, we can control it
Effectual reasoning - to the extent that we can control the future, we do not need to predict it

To illustrate the principles above, let’s say that an urn has a given of 10 red balls at 100 points each and 10 green balls at 0 points each, causal reasoning would risk 50 points for every draw since the chances of getting a red ball is 50/50. However, with the premise that life has no given colors and number of balls to be drawn upon, the only way to predict the future is carefully noting what you draw each time creating the ratio as you go along. In essence, one of the interviewed entrepreneur explained:

Whatever the initial distribution of balls in the urn, I will continue to acquire red balls and put them in the urn. I will look for other people who own red balls and induce them to become partners and add to the red balls in the urn. As time goes by, there will be so many red balls in the urn that every draw will obtain one. On the other hand, if I and my acquaintances have only green balls, we will put them in the urn and when there are enough, we’ll create a new game where green balls win.

Entrepreneurs don’t like the idea of predictable future, since there would always be the smarter and the richer who could use this predictability to their advantage, whereas contigencies help entrepreneurs shape the future.

This idea doesn’t mean Effectual Reasoning is more effective. In fact, the more knowledgable an entrepreneur is on both reasoning, better results come out. But when do you know when to use which? As I read through the study, the pattern would somehow be like this. Effectual Reasoning is better used in the early stages of development until a business is established, however, Causal Reasoning will have to support the business as it grows bigger. So knowing both acts as a leverage for entrepreneurs. In addition, Effectual reasoning may not necessarily increase the probability of success of new enterprises, but it reduces the cost of failure by enabling the failure to occur earlier and at lower levels of investments.

And finally, what makes an entrepreneur entrepreneurial? And i’m quoting Sarasvathy on this:

Entrepreneurs are entrepreneurial, as differentiated from managerial or strategic, because they think effectually; they believe in a yet-to-be-made future that can substantially be shaped by human action; and they realize that to the extent that this human action can control the future, they need not expend energies trying to predict it. In fact, to the extent that the future is shaped by human action, it is not much use trying to predict it - it is much more useful to understand and work with the people who are engaged in the decisions and actions that bring it into existence.

“It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know…” A lot of times, clients would come in not through the usual way like phones calls or emails but through referrals, and this is specially true to startups who most probably get clients from relatives, friends, and immediate family members. And what does this tell us? It means that your circle is very small or your company name is not that well-known in your field to actually get a completely unrelated client (meaning not connected to you in anyway). The solution is NETWORKING. There are certain tools that are out there in order to maximize your potential in getting clients:

Business Cards

This one is very important and you have to be very careful about what you put here because a lot of what you are could actually be revealed here (which is the concern of your graphic designer).

Make it clear
One of the very first projects I got through my business card is an AVP (audio visual presentation) for a religious group which was having an annual celebration. I got a text message saying: “I saw your card which says ‘motion grahics’, do you do film, AVP or presentations?” and I answered: “Yes, I do all of those, anything on screen and moving…”, and she replied back: “So, do you do AVP’s?”… and this went on and on and I finally gave here a call and asked about what I can do for her and it ended up and an AVP project. After this incident, I thought of how many more of those who got my card had the same question “what do you do?” How many of them hesitated to call because it was unclear what my business is? How many clients have I missed because of this mistake? The answer I wouldn’t really know but the thing is, THE BUSINESS CARD IS NOT EFFECTIVE! Business cards are suppose to communicate who you are and what you do not just a card to make you look professional to your friends. Rather than placing vague, fancy terms try more familiar terms, so instead of placing ‘motion graphics’ try ‘AVP, corporate video presentations, etc.’ this increases the chances of them calling you.

Make it big
Acquaintance No.1: “Where have you printed this? I looks really nice! And the texture is very unique…”
Acquaintance No.2: “Can you write your email address at the back? Your font is so small…”
OK, OK, I get it… Designing your card well is a good point especially when you are in the art field but having the information in it readable is one of the things you must consider first. Remember that the information it contains is the message you want to get across first, the design second.

Make it speak
It’s ok to make it look normal like the rest, but the chance of getting noticed or be recalled, especially when your card is in a mountain of contacts, is very very slim. You might get better chances in the cellphone phonebook! To be noticed it has to be unique and it has to tell something about what you do. I’m very proud of how my card was designed but this card is far better than mine combined with all the other aspects I’m talking about.

Meeting People
It doesn’t matter what occassion it is but you must meet people at a regular basis. Considering that you would most likely get referrals rather than phonecalls, it is very important to invest time and money being acquainted with potential clients. If you are not a very social person (like I am, I hate politics and small talk) you might consider befriending one or two who has big networks in different circles (HINT: these people love small talks and politics). Through this, you’ll get better chances of getting projects, in fact, 90% of what I do at the moment came to me through people I know with one degree of referral at most, meaning my clients are the ones I know directly (DIRECT) AND/OR recommendations by those I know directly (INDIRECT). Either way, you must ensure quality work to get return clients which are very important in establishing your name in your field.

Marketing Yourself
Websites, Brochures, Bazaars, Tradeshows, etc. are all vehicles for marketing your business. Consider having each to let your clients know that you exists and show some of the things you offer. A registered business name would be very helpful at this point since most of your communications/transactions would go through it.

What you do and who you market it to spells the future of your business. Force yourself to increase your circle in order to reach more clients and watch how your company will grow.

Things to do:
1. Be sure to have a business card that works, if you don’t have it yet, you are wasting precious connections
2. Arrange to meet different groups of people at least twice a month, especially those who might need your services
3. Have an introduction of what you do ready anytime, be bold about your statements, remember nobody likes the timid
4. Be ready at all times, you might bump into a big shot someday and you’ll be thanking the gods for having a business card and an introduction ready under your sleeves

Sorry it took awhile to make another post… many projects are coming up since I started to change perspectives and I hope you will also in the near future…

ONWARDS!

Client: Can you do this for us?
You: Yup! (with much enthusiasm)
Client: How long have you been in business again?
You: Uhm…

That’s not the answer your client wants to hear but you don’t want to lie either, lying might just get you into trouble. Should this send you back to applying for a job again? NO, it shouldn’t! The message you want to get across is “Yes, I’m fairly new BUT I CAN DO IT!” Now the problem is that the message doesn’t get across through words like “uhm…”. Solution? Embed it inside your product.

You might not believe it but the rate of success is almost a hundred percent. And as far as my experience is concerned, nobody turned my proposal down… but only when I brought the product first.

When I was at Pilita’s Restaurant in Greenhills, I saw that their menu board was quite a design disaster and not a really good match for the cozy place. I’m not an expert but I’m sure I could do better design than that so instead of going straight to Carlos (Pilita’s husband, the chef and owner of the resto) I planned my way to get the menu board design project. Normally you’d go looking for supplies with the lowest price, see how much time you’d spend with it and compute it against your rates, and draft a good looking proposal… to hell with that! First of all that’s too much time just to get rejected, trust me it’s quite frustrating. Secondly, a well-drafted proposal doesn’t get your real message to your client and it’s “I CAN DO IT” and you even lose the chance to say it when they see your price! By this time I was busy with other projects I was working with so I gave this opportunity to my wife who happily accepted it (take note, the project is still not ours by this time). It took two days to produce the actual menu board and guess what, we got the project instantly! His only comment was that the food photos was not his, now that’s so minor for a revision! We are just waiting for the photo shoot and we’ll be done with it.

This was actually the second time I applied the idea, the first time was with Tim Bennett’s motivational books collection CD which gave me the idea actually. When I attended one of his seminars, He gave us a free CD which looks crap! (Sorry Tim). However, when I opened it, I was blown away by the content. Some of it I was actually looking for. But it didn’t show in the packaging. I suddenly saw an opportunity, I can improve it in a way that it would sell. So I went producing the cover, the cd interface and the case. And the response was instant, “If you want the project, you got it” he said.

These are just some of the results but I used this idea several times and it hasn’t failed me ever as of this writing! If you still doubt it why don’t you give it a try? Competition? There are no competition, not much people use this approach.

This would take a lot of effort on your part since you have to work as if the project was already awarded to you. Added to that is the risk that you might still not get the project. But based on results, it’s worth all the effort. Now you have their actual product right before their eyes as if saying “I’m fairly new BUT I CAN DO IT and I’ll do it like this!” There are two major components of this approach, seeing the opportunity and action.

Seeing The Opportunity
You have to look at things differently. Whenever you see something and you hear yourself whisper, “I can do better than this”, you are actually seeing an opportunity, you just have to add “and I’ll prove it” on the whisper and it’s almost complete.

Action
As Steve Pavlina would put it, “It’s only action that produces results” so unless you do something about your statement earlier you won’t get anywhere. So shut your mouth and let your product do the talking.

I hope this with all the other tips get you started soon!

ONWARDS!

Most people are trying to catch the big fishes, there’s nothing wrong with that, but the problem is you aren’t big enough to catch them yourself because you are just starting out. And the chances that you’ll get a big fish is very slim right now. Just imagine a few hundreds of guys like you going for the same thing. You must really have a name first before the big fishes starts to notice you and how do you do that? FIND SMALLER FISHES and eat them, trying bigger and bigger fishes when you get the chance until you grow bigger yourself. This is how strong companies grew!

Keeping this in mind you’ll avoid the competition. While everybody else is trying to catch the big fishes, you just sort of wait for smaller fishes along the way that you can take. And before you know it, you’re big enough to compete with the others. With the experience you’ve had, you’ll have a better understanding of your clients increasing the likelihood of doing business with them.

One disadvantage of this idea is that it takes TIME. You have to be patient and consistent enough in order to grow. Slowly but surely as they say.

Things to do:
1. Identify your niche
2. Sort the big and smaller fishes and try to catch the smaller ones first
3. Do it consistently, regularly setting the bar higher each time (quantity)
4. Try a bigger fish next time (quality)

Don’t get disappointed thinking that you are under utilizing your capacity. It might look as that but what really happens is that you get stronger and more efficient each time you do it, what I mean is, you don’t lose in the process.

If you can, try to make up in quantity instead, to bring up the challenge. See how far you can go. When you’re boasting each time “hmmm, this is going to be easy…” try getting more and more of the easy stuff and you’ll be surprised of how complex and hard it will get. Time management and allocation of resources are skills which would improved at this point.

It’s really hard to get started. And trying to reach for something big at this moment might blind you from the opportunities around. Remember, you can only eat smaller fishes today but soon you’ll be big enough to catch the big ones. However, it is POSSIBLE to catch bigger fishes when you’re small… How? That I will discuss in another post, so check us out often.

ONWARDS!

May 20, 2008 (tuesday) Millionaire Anonymous (MA) had their weekly meeting at the Radisons Building in Aguirre St. in Makati city. This is where our quest for a Million Pesos started and this is where we will start once again.

Tim Bennett, the man behind MA, started us off to a race to 1 million. We had different ways of getting money or earning that income to add on to our current status. Different members of the group had different levels. Some were already at 32 thousand pesos, while others who have been with the group since the beginning were stuck at 2 thousand. Tim wanted to shake things up a bit and on May 20, 2008 he announced to the group that everyone will go back to ZERO and will be broken up into teams. He told everyone that the money that we have saved in the previous race is already now open to spending. He said we can do anything we wanted with it because it is not included in the new race. Some might want to spend it, save it, or give that money away. But I decided to pursue my own race. I will continue on the path that I have already started on my own but I will also actively participate in the new race with my team members.

The rationale behind this was Tim wanted to instill change in the current set up because some of us are just not progressing the way it should be done. The race started to become a crawl to 1 million pesos instead of a fast paced climb to 1 million as it was intended to be. The Team game follows the basic rules but this time we are responsible for everyone in the team. No one can advance until everyone reaches the level that we are currently at. We were broken into teams and I am part of Team 2 ( EMERALD CITY) and was selected to be team leader. Emerald City team members consists of Amiel and Joanne and Me. Other teams are RISK TAKERS, GOLD RUSH and GREAT ENERGY. As an added feature to the game Tim has put up a point system for all the teams. 4 points is awarded to any team that first finishes the level, 3 points to the 2nd team and so on and so forth. The points will be tallied in the end of the race and which team finishes will the highest point total wins a prize.

Notes: It was Tim’s birthday last May 20,2008 “happy birthday Tim!”

I will be doing 2 races. 1 personal race to a Million and a team race to a Million Pesos

Team Race entails that everyone in the team has 1 million pesos EACH!!!