In light of Mothers Day yesterday, I’d like to take minute to highlight a group of mothers that I work with. Anyone who pays much attention to me has likely heard me comment that, “I love my moms!” Their story is indeed fun, and the story keeps getting more interesting and inspiring the longer I work with them.

When I first assembled this mom team a couple of years ago, I promised these women the chance to build their own businesses, and do you know what they did? They kind of blushed and laughed and said they couldn’t do it.

Now here we are two years later, and these moms have launched their first business. It’s called BeautySecrets101.com, a site where women can sign up to receive Ali’s Bling Box—a box full of name-brand fashion and beauty products for 50% to 70% off the retail price.

What’s the story? How did they go from giggling and questioning if they could run a business to successfully launching a big time beauty site?

First of all, these women are smart, talented, and passionate about learning and acheiving. They spent time zig zagging. They learned to drive traffic and manage a group of 80 Websites in the highly competitive coupon genre. They took ad campaigns from zero to full force. They sent press releases, built websites, and tracked financials. They fought off malware and struggled with Google algo changes. As they did this I watched their confidence and excitement for building and managing businesses grow. Now when I challenge them to launch a new business they jump on it.

Since the team is made up of moms their number one value is flexibility. Another value is “beleive in it” which means concentrating their efforts on businesses they are passionate about—which is exactly what they are doing with BeautySecrets101.com and the Bling Box.

The Beacon in the Fog for this mom team is to become financially stable and independent. As mothers they face unique challenges from my other teams. During meetings it’s not uncommon for someone to excuse herself to change a diaper or clean up spilled milk. One woman is working to support her family while simultatiously providing care for a terminally ill spouse. There’s PTA and carpool and bedtime stories. But in between it all there’s this passion to sell the Bling Box and to build this business to the point of providing for themselves.

So here we are one day after Mothers Day—and I’m rooting for this team of intellient, beautiful mothers because I’m delighted in their progress and their strength. Please join me in saying, “Go Moms!”

One of my major goals is to help young men and young women throughout the world. In about a month, I will take a group of 12 teenagers to Guatemala.

After we land, we’ll take a ten-hour bus ride out of Guatemala City, into a little remote village. The destination is a spot where they set up the first secondary school in the history of the region. This group of teenagers will help educate and teach computer skills to the people of this village–particularly the youth.

Many of you have reached out and approached and asked, “Rich, what can I do to help out with this education goal?” Indeed, now is an opportunity to help with this goal. We want to take at least 12 used laptop computers into this little village.

If you happen to have access to one or more used laptop computers that is:
-    In good working condition.
-    Available for donation.
-    Loaded with basic word processing
-    Loaded with Excel spreadsheets.

The teenager and I would greatly appreciate hearing from you if you are willing to help contribute to this cause.

I am so excited about this effort. Indeed the juice and the fuel that keeps me excited in my life is this–making a difference in the lives of youth.

As I wrote The Zig Zag Principle we did three start-up business tests. One was with a group of work-from-home mothers. One was with a straight-up businessman. And the third was with this group of teenagers. I am so thrilled with this group of teens. They created a successful business, and they indeed knocked it out of the park. These young men and young women are the ones that are leading the effort in Guatemala. It is going to be amazing.

I’ll make sure I take pictures and keep you posted with this wonderful experience. And I do appreciate your support and assistance in helping me educate these young men and young women throughout the world.

This past week I took my entire family down to the Caribbean for a grand family celebration.

My oldest son, John recently returned from two years in Japan, and my second son Matthew is preparing to go to Italy. During this short time we have when both boys are home, we decided to take the whole family on a trip to play and celebrate together.

The first day I found myself a little antsy reaching for my cell phone or other technology, but then an amazing thing happened. In no time I was weaned from the addiction and the technology bad habit. The result was that I was able to think on a deeper and clearer level.

I think so often the things we think are helping us be productive are no more than a noise or just “movement”. I’ve previously posted about the difference between motion and momentum. And indeed in creating a business the difference between success and failure frequently comes from engaging only in the momentum activities.

This week I’ve concluded that everybody needs to take time to unplugged for clarity and to get focus back in his or her life. I know I’ve come back not only resolved but also with clarity of thought in several areas that had been eluding me earlier.

Unplug. You’ll find great power in it. Give your full attention to your family and your loved ones for an extended duration. I promise it will have impact in your lives.

I am excited to be a part of the 12 Books Group this next month as their featured author during the month of May. Please come join us as we dig deeper into The Zigzag Principle. You won’t want to miss the exclusive giveaways, bonus materials, and excellent discussion with me and other readers.

This really is a unique opportunity because you are going to get a chance to glean knowledge from 8 different business authors from May through December. This will load you with great information to add to your zigzag strategy. 

Go to www.12booksgroup.com to sign up for a free account and keep checking in for reader discussion, video tips from me, and a live Q&A webinar at the end of the month. 

I hope you will come join us! 

Last week at the Gathering of the Titans I met some incredible people. One person I had the great priviledge of talking with was Bo Eason, of football fame (and much more). He’s a phenominal speaker. If you’ve ever seen him, you’d remember him as entertaining, motivating, and completely memorable. Here’s a short snippet of Bo and I talking about his style and how to present information today. It’s truly informative with a huge dash of comedy.

Rich: Hello everyone. I’m here with Bo Eason and we’re at the Gathering of the Titans. I’ve spoken several times with Bo and I always love to hear him. Bo’s got a really interesting background. He’s come out of the NFL. Bo’s one of the most articulate individuals I’ve ever met and he’s done really a lot of play work. He’s did “Runt of the Litter”, which was an amazing play. But I was fascinated and captivated by what Bo had to say this week. Bo, I want you to tell everyone the phase coming up is and why we need to be able to tell our story.

Bo: Yeah, the phase coming up in our era – we’ve just left the information age. That’s what all the futurists have predicted. And we’re stepping into what they’re calling the transformational age, or the “storytelling” age. So the key to the “key to the kingdom” now, “the golden goose” now is the ability to share yourself, the ability to tell your own story. Because you, as an entrepreneur and a business owner, you are the owner and the global brand and the face and the mouth of your business. So you’ve got to be able to share yourself. What we’re finding is that the more people are able to share themselves, and share their personal life story, with clients or potential clients, they’re making a lot more money and making a lot more difference out there.

Rich: And I think that’s absolutely true. And I think we all intuitively know that and until you see Bo move like…

Bo: vicious tigers on the stage!

Rich: talking about Rick Sapio being a monkey. It’s really interesting how you draw on the animal kingdom to do this. And I don’t even dare, but I’m going to because I’m vulnerable and at risk with my audience here. What animal am I? The big million dollar question…

Bo: Yeah, you’re some kind of predator cat.

Rich: Well, oh, okay. I’m good with that. As long as we’re keeping within the family.

Bo: Yeah, that’s right. I want you to work on that – that predator cat.

Rich: Okay, yeah we’re going to talk more about that offline. Because we’re not going to give all of your secrets away. So, hey everyone, Bo is a great guy, you’re going to love him. I want you to go to the link below and find out a little more about Bo. Great stuff here. Fundamentally aligns with the Pendulum – the concept of swinging back now into a community-type society. You’re going to love it.

I grew up in a rural community.  My father was completely blind.  I am the oldest of four sons, and as long as I can remember I have had entrepreneurial desires.  Despite some lofty ambitions, I was never any kind of a standout kid.  I was one of those boys who was often overlooked, and I spent a lot of time hoping I wasn’t the last kid picked on the basketball team. Nonetheless, I had this incredible and deep desire to do something of significance with my life.

I remember when I was eighteen years old and just finishing up high school, I wrote down some personal goals. I had always been goal-oriented, and my mother encouraged me to write down my goals. One of those goals was to become the CEO of a major company. Even though I wrote it down, I knew that was as far off a goal as I could have set.  I didn’t think that there was any chance or any possibility in the world of actually ever reaching that goal at that time; in fact, I might as well have written that I was going to sprout wings and flap my way to the moon.  But that became a powerful goal. It was my beacon in the fog.

I was very fortunate to have been able to get a good education.  After graduating, I worked hard and had some incredible opportunities.  And I ended up having the opportunity to work as a CEO and a general manager at some large and well-known companies.  Midway through my career in corporate America, I was given a leadership role in a large, international organization.  I was eager and determined to earn my stripes, and I basically committed to do so at all costs. I was a very young general manager of the U.S. division, and I was determined to do anything that was necessary to succeed. My commitment bordered on insane. I had a young family, but I was traveling hundreds of thousands of miles every year.  There were nights I would stay at the office all night long to do what I felt needed to be done.  I was going to succeed, and I didn’t care about the costs.  Then I learned the lesson that it is not worth risking everything of importance in your life to achieve success. The division I was over became very successful.  In the middle of our run, my mentor and boss, Dr. Peter Horne, called my secretary and said, “I need to have a visit with Rich.”  That meant jumping on a plane, flying to Atlanta, then from Atlanta to Amsterdam, and from Amsterdam across the channel to Birmingham, England.  Door-to-door, this was a twenty-hour trip. When I arrived, Dr. Horne pulled me into his office and sat me down.   He then said, “Rich, we’re really delighted with the progress you’ve made in the business. Things are coming along rather nicely.” And then he made this comment, which has stuck with me: “I want you to remember one thing though, Rich. You can replace almost anything in this world. You can replace a car. You can replace a job. You can replace money. But you can’t replace your health, you can’t replace your trust relationships, and, most importantly, you can’t replace your family.” Then he shooed me out of his office, and I began the long journey home. 

Those twenty hours, which I spent alone on a very crowded airplane, gave me plenty of time to think about what Dr. Horne had just said.  Most of my thoughts centered on my wife and children.  For years I had been telling my wife, “This next project is a big one for me.  I am going to give it my all for six months, so don’t plan on seeing much of me.  But once I finish it, things will be different.”   The six months would pass.  I would complete the project, and then a new project would come along and I would start the cycle all over again.  Those six months had turned into years as I kept promising, “If I give my all to this for six months, then we will have it made.” As we crossed the Alantic, I reflected on a trip I had taken to India some months before.  When I got home, all of my sons and I came down with whooping cough, or pertussis.  We had all been immunized, but somehow we contracted this miserable illness.  It was terrible.  I remember coughing so hard one day that I literally vomited, but I lacked the discipline to take some time off from my work to get better and help my wife with our sons.  My youngest son at the time was Nathan.  He was less than a year old when we all got sick, and it was life-threatening for him.  In fact, he ended up in the hospital, where my wife took care of him because I was too busy.

Flying home, I realized I was falling into the “all or nothing trap,” and I resolved that I was going to do better as a father and husband, and when I got home I made it a point to gather my young sons together, give them each a hug, and tell them I love them.  But when I went to pick up Nathan, he hollered and screamed.  As he pushed me away, I realized he did not even know who I was.  At that moment, I realized that achieving my goal of being a CEO was not worth losing the love of my family.  And I began to change both my priorities and how I actually lived my life.

When you are planning out rewards, you need to very specifically tie each reward to the zig or the zag you are heading toward.  I always establish timeframes, often in the form of quarterly goals.  When we make our quarterly goals, we sit down
as a team and decide what we want to accomplish.  Once we have established the goal, we spend almost as much time discussing what reward we will get when we achieve the goal.  Then we make signs and post them all over the office, with the goal written out over a picture of the reward.  

One of the signs I used in our office had a picture of people snowmobiling.  We titled it, “Plowing our Way to Victory.”  Around the picture were listed the goals of getting three new clients and having a financial target of monthly recurring profit.  Another goal was to hire one more engineer and to retain another engineering client. 

For the business my son and his friends work on, they helped me develop a very specific goal if we hit certain targets. They then posted pictures of the cruise ship we would all board if they met their goals, and also the ports we would visit.  Sure enough, each of then achieved their goal, and we went for a one-week cruise. 

As you set long-term goals, don’t overlook the need to reward yourself and your team along the way.  These in-between rewards are ones I like to keep random.  Then, when I see a team member doing a particularly good job at something, I will hand them a pair of movie tickets or a gift card. The other day, we sent one of our contract employees a special “thank you” that he was not expecting.  Ever since then, he has gone over and above on the work that he does for us because that little reward meant so much to him.  Sometimes, random rewards will actually mean more than guaranteeing a treat when you push the same button over and over. 

The work you’re doing is challenging and difficult, and as you hit each zig you take a break from the intensity, celebrate, and enjoy the fruits of your labors.  Then you can do a little jump and turn your skis in the other direction toward the next goal.  We humans do have some things in common with my little salivating dog.  When we align our efforts with little treats along the way, our resulting behaviors will lead to the achieving of our goals.  The rewards make all of the effort worthwhile.

On December 26, 1990 I rushed my wife to the hospital where she gave birth to our first son, John. I remember the excitement, the joy, and also the weight that came on me when my son first looked at me and I realized that this boy was now dependant upon me.

We took him home to our small basement apartment. The heat wasn’t working, so we turned the oven on and we baked that young man like a Thanksgiving turkey! We set him in front of the oven and got up every hour to check on him. The years that followed have been an absolute joy.

This young man has been a strong, good, honorable son. For the last two years my son John has been serving a mission in Japan.

Approximately one year ago we were woken up at three o’clock in the morning by a well-intending neighbor who asked, “Is John alive?” At that point we ask, “What are you talking about?” Then of course we were informed of the earthquake and the resulting sunami that hit Japan.

Johnny was a part of the cleanup and actively involved in some of the rescue, recovery, and service that took place in the devastated area.

Well, several days ago our entire family went up to the airport to welcome John home. He disembarked the plane, came downstairs to the waiting area, and immediately his mother ran to him and hugged this young man exactly like he was a newborn.

At that moment I actually realized that this young man has reached a new phase where he is the responsible one. He is now able to lead and go forward and teach me great things.

I have to tell you there is no greater honor than having a young man that does good—one who is service oriented, one who is goal oriented, and one who goes forward to do good in the world. It is thrilling to have a son return with honor and at the same time, set a good example for his younger brothers.

One of the businesses that we created as part of the Zig Zag Principle was a business started by Johnny. The last couple years while he’s been off serving, his younger brothers have been running the business. I pay respect and honor to Johnny. I respect him for not only sacrificing to go and live a humble, meager existence and to do good for these years, but I praise him for having the courage to follow the Zig Zag Principle and set up a business.

The final chapter in the Zig Zag Principle is The All or Nothing Trap. Indeed this week highlighted that the most valuable things in life are our family, our friends, and our trust relationships. I hope each of you experience the joys of family too.

I wish my son and this young businessman find success. I look for more incredible things to come from him.

Eating Own Cooking:

Last year my wife and I went on a little getaway to Las Vegas.  We had booked our hotel online, and we got a great rate on your normal room at one of the nicest hotels in Vegas.  When we checked in, the woman at the front desk took a liking to us.  She saw that we were on a romantic getaway, and she mentioned that most of the regular rooms were booked for a business convention.  As she handed us our key cards, she mentioned she had upgraded our room, adding, “I am not going to tell you about the room now.  You can thank me later when you see it.”

When we opened the door to our room, we gasped.  She had upgraded our $69 room to one of the presidential suites.  It was on the twenty-seventh floor and had a 180-degree view of Las Vegas.  The suite was 2,200 square feet.  It came with an entryway, a formal dining area, a living area, a huge bedroom, and two bathrooms.  My favorite part was the master bath suite.  It had an all-glass shower and a huge hot tub that overlooked the city.  And we did, indeed, thank this very kind front-end manager.

When I came back after this spectacular vacation with my wife, I was describing to Curtis this hotel we stayed in.  At this point in our business, Curtis was still working full time in his other job, and we were not making the progress we wanted in this new partnership.  As we chatted, it hit me that I knew what would motivate Curtis.  He wanted to take his wife on a vacation and stay at the same hotel my wife and I had just enjoyed—and in the same room!

I told him I had a reward in mind, and we made a list of four or five things that needed to happen.  We posted this list in the hall of our office, along with a picture of this fantastic resort.  The goal was that when those five steps were achieved and our business was stabilized, Curtis could quit his job and come into the business full time.  But equally rewarding to him was that he could also take his wife on an all expense paid trip to stay in this same hotel.  I found a picture of this hotel and drew stick figures of Curtis and his wife staying on the twenty-seventh floor and enjoying the view.  I even added a picture of its world-renowned restaurant because I knew his wife likes to dine at exclusive restaurants.  On the bottom of my artwork, I added a deadline of thirty-five days to earn this reward.  Curtis was salivating, even though we were not sure how this was going to happen.  But we did reach each of our goals, and Curtis and his wife did get to have a fantastic vacation.  And my reward was that I now had him working with me in our business full time.  

Alan E. Hall, champion of entrepreneurs, has joined with Zions Bank and Comcast to create regional business competitions to support, encourage, and strengthen entrepreneurship wherever and whenever it is found. Details of the business competitions will be announced at a press conference on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.  The contests will provide $1,000,000 in cash awards and services  for participating entrepreneurs.

When:

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

11:00 am

Where:

Zions Bank’s Founders Room

One South Main Street, 18^th Floor

Salt Lake City, Utah 84133

Who:

Alan E. Hall, Founder of Grow America

Scott Anderson, President & CEO of Zions bank

Steve Lindsley, President, Comcast Spotlight

The first 2012 competition will take place May 21, 2012. More details here.

Grow America expects thousands of entries and will award prizes in three main areas of focus:

– Idea Category (Concept): I have an idea for a business; I don’t have a complete plan for my business; I have not invested significant resources into validating my business assumptions; I am looking for money I can use to validate my idea.

– Start-up Category (Emerging Business): I have a plan for my business and have started validating my assumptions; I have started talking with potential customers; I know what resources it will take to build my product or service, and I am looking for money to get started.

– Ramp-up Category (Growth): I am currently operating the business; my business is breaking even and has generated profits; I have established sales and sales projections; I am looking for money to go to the next level.

About Grow America

Grow America is a national company emerging from Utah with a mission to create jobs and lift local economies. Grow America aligns the partners, mentors and capital that entrepreneurs need to create and grow tomorrow’s successful companies. As an organization, Grow America has five components: competitions, e-commerce tools, curriculum and educational tools, community support, and charitable giving. (For more information, visit www.GrowAm.com .)

Beyond the creation and expansion of early stage and growth companies, Grow America’s ultimate goal is to put America back to work, one company and one community at a time.

Most everyone knows that my major goal in life right now is to educate 1000 young men and women before I turn 50. This is all consuming to me at this point in my life. Indeed I have total confidence that this will come to fruition. I do have to admit however; I’m not sure how it’s going to happen.

One of my favorite saying is, “Do it now. Do it with a purpose. Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men’s souls.”

This week I’ve had four powerful individuals, that I greatly respect, reach out to me. They each asked, “Rich how can we support you in this goal?”

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I stumbled around and stammered a bit and came up with several lame responses. As I’ve been thinking about it the last few days, here’s the conclusion I’ve come to.

There’s no need to wait to have impact. This summer I will be taking a group of teens down to Guatemala to work on the education goal. In the next few months I’ll also be taking a trip to Nepal to engage in working with a school called Choice Humanitarian. But that being said, there’s no excuse and no reason that everyone with an interest in humanitarian efforts can’t make an impact right now. It’s really this simple. Do it, do it now, do it with a purpose and make no small plan.

Great good can come from helping make a positive change in one person’s life. Here’s what you need to do to become a mentor to a person:
#1. Identify a young person with great potential that doesn’t see it in himself or herself.
#2. Reach out to the person, and help build him or her up. Help them see the vision and the potential within. Critique both the good and bad. Don’t be afraid to point out the things that are negative behaviors. At the same time offer incentives and rewards for positive changes.
#3. Make sure there is consistency with regular follow up. One thing I have done frequently is to assign an appropriate book i.e, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens or Way to Be. And of course if the person has a propensity for or an interest in business, I assign Bootstrap Business or The Zig Zag Principle. I like to use books as a discussion point for youth.

I also have a number of rules that I use to help shape and engage these young men and women. For example, they can’t become involved in abusive substances that will limit their potential, including drugs and alcohol and such. They must remain very focused on their schoolwork and hit excellent marks. Admittedly, I’m tough on these kids, and at the same time exceptionally loving.

I challenge everyone to reach out to the youth that you see. There is a crazy storm going on out in the world and kids could use supportive mentoring. Go out there and make a difference. Let’s not just educate a thousand; let’s educate 10,000 or 100,000 young people. Let’s put the youth on a course where they’ll have dramatic impact going forward. What an exciting time. What a meaningful goal. I can’t wait to share the experiences with Guatemala and Nepal. And I’d love to hear about your efforts too.

Don’t Give Out Rewards Until They are Actually Earned

Being a fundamentally nice guy, I have made the mistake multiple times of giving a reward when the performance didn’t warrant it.  Every time that I have done this, I have ended up regretting it.  Even though you may feel for a minute that you’ve done the right thing, you’ve likely created a pattern and behavior system that will bite you in the end.  In some cases, being “nice” has been the death knell of my businesses. 

My family and I have traveled to Nepal several times, and I am always overwhelmed by the rampant poverty.  Like anyone who has traveled there, I have been approached countless times by small children who must beg in the streets for what little they have, and I always ponder what I—as one person with limited means—can do to help. 

The last time we were there, several young beggars followed my sons, our two Sherpas, and me everywhere we went.  They were filthy, and their ragged clothes were soaked with urine.  They approached us repeatedly, gesturing to their mouth and then their stomach to show us they were hungry. 

I believe that giving a person a handout does little to change his or her circumstances, but it broke my heart to see these small boys, who were about the ages of my younger boys.  Then I hit upon an idea.

We were in the middle of a central square where countless people gather each day to worship and shop.  While there are numerous trash cans in the square, no one seems to use them, and the area is covered with what looks like years of debris.  I decided I could solve two problems at once, so I offered one of the beggars 100 rupees (about $1.40) for every bag of trash he picked up and put in a trash can.  Given that the daily income for an adult in Nepal is about $2, that seemed like a powerful incentive.

What I was asking would have taken a couple of minutes, but this little boy looked at me like I was nuts and ran off.  Another little boy approached me, and I made the same offer.  He indicated he would do it, but wanted payment up front.  Now, I may be a soft touch, but I’m not stupid, so I told him he would get paid upon completion of the work.  He, too, ran off.

The third boy who approached me was the dirtiest and scrawniest of the bunch.  I really thought my plan had merit, so I upped the offer to 500 rupees.  His initial reaction was to give me a look that said, “No one picks up trash.  Not even beggars.  What kind of crazy American are you?”  But this time, I grabbed a bag and started picking up trash myself.  He soon joined in, and was stuffing trash into his bag as quickly as he could.  There was so much trash that our efforts were like trying to drain a pond using a teaspoon, but we were at least doing something to make a dent.  And soon others were joining in, including a gentleman who runs a humanitarian organization who saw my impetuous project as having some potential.

When we finished working and I paid the boy, he couldn’t have been more proud.  And several shopkeepers around the square began making similar offers to other boys who clearly were in need.

I realize that we made a very small dent in the problems of world hunger and cleaning up the environment that day.  But I also know that those who watched, including my sons, learned that rewards need be based on our efforts, not our wishes—and that the right reward system can provide the motivation to get to work and make a difference.

I’ve had partners who used the whip.  There certainly are times when you have to discipline. However, my contention is that the whip needs to be used very sparingly—and never as an immediate reaction.  If you whip someone (verbally, of course), you may get a burst of incredible performance.  But you will inevitably lose your long-term productivity (and your top performers) if you punish too often. 

I have seen people who use the whip over and over.  Soon the people around them reach the breaking point and basically say,  “I don’t care. Whip me to death. I am done.”  They check out, and apathy sets in.  I know a young, up-and-coming executive who was a master with the whip.  Unfortunately, he was so hungry to prove himself that he burned through all the people around him.  Now, no one in our area will work for him. 

There is a fine balance between knowing when to reward and knowing when to discipline.  When there is an out-of-bounds problem, discipline needs to be meted out.  In our home, we do not have the long lists of rules I have seen some parents enforce.  Instead, the rules we do have are rules that fit with our core values, and we are very strict with these few rules.  I often say to my kids.  “You will make some mistakes.  That is how you learn.  Just don’t make the big mistakes!”  Too many little rules can create confusion and can actually undermine the more important rules. 

Seeing the Value in Failure

In my current company, we have set four sets of quarterly goals this year.  Honestly, I hope we miss one of these goals.  I do not want to miss the first set or the second, but if we miss the third goal it gives me a opportunity to point out that this is what a little failure feels like, and your success is not guaranteed.  I’ve managed teams that developed a bit too much ego.  That can lead to arrogance and missed goals.  If you handle such situations well, it will bring your team back to where they’re hungry and want to win again. 

For years I have proudly proclaimed the strategy of sitting underneath the table of feasting giants and eating the scraps and crumbs that fall from the table. A bootstrapper’s dream is to get into that little market segment that isn’t being addressed by several large players, exactly.

In Bootstrap Business I go so far as to outline a landscape matrix that actually shows how to very deliberately get between several large companies and make sure you don’t infringe on their territory, while still eking out that little crack of opportunity.

I have deployed this countless times. There is; however, one danger. When the market starts to mature, sometimes the giants reaches down and pick up the scrap, and in the process–squish you like an ant.

Indeed, this happened to my team this week. Google released a new algorithm update and indeed it dramatically changed our channel. Simultaneously, another giant that we work with got up from the table. When the two big fat giant bellies hit each other we got squished in between. Needless to say, it’s very painful when that occurs, and it can actually be life threatening to the business.

In this situation, I believe we will recover, but it’s caused me to outline three distinct things that you need to do when deploying this type of opportunistic strategy.

1. Understand the giants eating patterns. How long do they eat? When is it time for them to move? In the case of Google, they release algorithm updates every so often. So, when you see the signs of movement you better get out from underneath their feet as they get up from the table.

2. Give yourself cushion either to the left or to the right. This means, have the ability to either push to your supply side or push to the customer side. If you get squished right between two giants with no place to move, you end up getting your margin squeezed, squeezed, squeezed.

Transactional businesses are wonderful, because they provide a repetitive income flow, but if you are not careful you can end up getting squeezed right to death. Either own the customer and control it, or make sure that you can control the supply cycle. I have discussed this principle many times and I have always stated:
-    Never maintain only one supplier.
-    Never rely on only one customer.

Well now I need to kick myself in the pants, because in the businesses currently getting squished, we basically have one supplier and one customer. That is always a precarious situation to be in.

3. Move from the table as quickly as you can. Once you get profitable, make sure you can then quickly move and transition to a place or a pocket where the giants aren’t quite as likely to rumble over the top of you. Once you’ve filled your belly, look for the exit door as quickly as you can.

I still contend that finding a really hot sector that is on a wave, where there are giants pounding the table, and where money and scraps are falling onto the floor–is a great strategy. Just beware there is a downside. I’m personally committed to using these opportunistic businesses to leverage and become viable quickly. Then I rapidly move in to more value transactional, longer-term engagement types of businesses. I encourage you to try it too.

The moral of the story is…keep your head up and your eyes open when you are sitting next to giants.

Tonight I attended the 90th Birthday Party of my Uncle Dan. As I entered the room I saw my aunts, my uncles, and all of my extended family. I was instantly thrown into déjà vu.

I grew up in a very peculiar environment. My father lost both of his eyes at the age of five and is completely blind. He is a brilliant man. After completely his schooling he served as the County Attorney for 36 years. If you got busted in our community you were going to jail.

My uncle was the mayor for most of the time I was growing up. I had two aunts that also lived close by and you’ve never had your ear chewed on or your arm twisted and bent until one of them got a hold of you.

I stepped into the party room and my Uncle Robert (the mayor) instantly cornered me and proceeded to tell me about a pipeline that was coming in and I remembered that I better put my A game on. You see, half of my family is extreme strong Republicans, the other half Democrats and there is no middle ground in this family. When you stepped into a dinner table in my family you had not only better have your logic lined up, but you better bring your A game with presentation. This indeed is a family of very strong opinions.

I watched with great delight as the head table, seated with all of these siblings (all of them over 85 years old) proceeded to table and espouse their views of the world. I took great joy in understanding of where I got my strong opinions.

I have two resounding thoughts that fall out of this little experience. The first is: Have opinions. Take a stand. Don’t be afraid to espouse and stand up for what you believe in. The reality is, it adds value and if you don’t do that, then you are nothing more than a flag flapping in the wind.

Here is the second. I have often stated (and many of you that have followed me, have often heard me state) “A stupid man never learns from his mistakes, a smart man learns from his mistakes, and a wise man learns from others mistakes.”

We need to pay honor to the sages in our lives. Those who have went before who have made a difference. Tonight I was able to sit around with this group of individuals and watch with great interest as they espoused their views and beliefs and indeed through my life I have been able to learn much from these great individuals. I pay respect and honor to my Uncle Dan on his 90th Birthday. I honor my Aunt Louise and for her feisty, dog-headed determination. I honor my brilliant wonderful father and my Uncle Robert and those uncles and aunts that have went before me.

We need to make sure that we honor and pay respect for those that have knowledge that we can learn from.