I get to meet and hang out with a bunch of people who are teetering on the edge of the entrepreneurial dream.
They know that they want the freedom, wealth and happiness that small business success can bring. Some of them are keen to build an empire!
They also have read books that drill in the “be passionate about what you do” message.
Problem is, these people still end up utterly stuck and frustrated. Sound like someone you know (perhaps really well)?
This morning I sat down for the first of 17+ days of professional development.
Actually, I’ve committed the 28 days of February to this development – but for 17 days, I’ll be attending a super high-level (read: Jedi) NLP training.
The trainer (and good friend) Heidi Heron, astounded me with this simple congratulation:
“You’re giving yourself 17 days of deliberate, focused learning out of 365. That is rare.”
And it is. When did we, as adults, decide that our focus was “work” and no longer “education”. Regretfully, I’ve been putting off this training for years – simply because I refused to give myself 17 days.
What would you do, if you took a month off to learn?
PS Blog updates will continue as normal – if anything, they may get better
PPS Photo above was taken from my bedroom window, here on Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast.
Two game-changing launches have/are happening this week. They’ll both send major shockwaves through the world of business, entrepreneurs and more.
The first is Seth Godin’s new book Linchpin – Are you indispensable? which is all about shaking up the way you think about what you do all day… and how you do it.
The second is Apple Computer’s launch of their (revolutionary) Tablet device, to be formally announced in San Francisco at 10am tomorrow (local time).
You’ll be talking about these two products and the ideas they create for years to come, guaranteed. If you haven’t already, click the links (blue) above and be among the first to get the scoop.
I’d love to know how you think either of these will affect your future – in business or life in general. Leave a comment below.
- Peter
I’m always pushing my clients and readers (and myself) to shorten the gap between actually doing stuff (important business activity)… and just thinking about it.
As entrepreneurs, it’s a psychological game that we struggle with. The more “intellectual” our background, the more we tend to “plan” and over-analyse things before taking action.
Here’s a new angle you might not have considered: This Thinking-Action Gap affects our customers too!
On a sunny day last week, I walked through the historic Sydney suburb of Glebe for no other purpose than to enjoy a cafe lunch and browse 2nd hand book stores.
What I was to discover, however, was startling proof of “The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma”.
This is a social-psychological phenomena that plagues innocent business owners – sowing the seeds of self-doubt and financial disaster.
Want to know what it is?
Cold calling tips and sales techniques leave most sales-people in the cold.
Most companies and biz owners would rather pretend cold calling doesn’t work than spend time calling freezing cold prospects.
Don’t let yourself (or your business) ignore these cold calling tips while your competitors are (secretly) using it as a bottomless goldmine…
BEST PART: The tips below literally make cold calling so comfortable, your grand mother could do it (and make loads of sales).
Smart entrepreneurs know the value of landing that “big fish” client or customer. Check out the business networking tips cheat sheet here…
Business networking is the only proven strategy for reeling in that big fish. Networking is the 80/20 principal in action – just a tiny bit of time invested can generate 80% of your business!
The reason? The clients really worth having will never beat down your door to meet you and probably won’t respond to your advertising either.
If you’re in retail or there is no such thing as a “big-fish” customer in your industry, then you could use the following tips for establishing relationships with the best suppliers or strategic partners.
Seth Sternberg, CEO of start up dotcom company Meebo, yesterday published a “how to” guide on literally “start-ing up” business ideas. From idea to empire – he covers it all off with the wisdom of a true geek entrepreneur.
I took the following two points away – from this practical, how-to guide:
My internet activity has taken a back seat in the last few days.
Unfortunately, this happens from time to time – due to the reality of “real world” business.
The cool thing is, real world busy-ness usually means there are some big profits around the corner.
Why?
It is still enormously easier to make money as an entrepreneur in the “real world”. If you’re struggling, then use these three tactics to bring in more profits:
The last blog article I wrote was all about identifying a target market and giving them what they want…
Even if “what they want” isn’t something you’d normally offer.
Basically, the big biz opportunity lies in being unique by offering something (or a combination of things) that no-one else does.
This business tried to use the technique that the dog-lovers cafe was so successful with, but got it tragically wrong…
