Want to really focus your team and get amazing results?

Set a really big goal and then form a Catalyzing Statement around this goal.

Catalyzing statements hook people emotionally and are the driver that propels individuals towards a challenging goal.

About a month ago I heard  Rick Sapio give several examples.   I would like to share his and then give a fun one that I ran across in Japan this week.

Fed Ex – When It Absolutely Positively Has To Be There Overnight —  If you want a GREAT laugh, watch this FedEx Commercial
Microsoft Bill Gates – I picture a world with a PC  on every desktop and in every home – 1975
President Kennedy – We will put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth before the end of the century.

These catalyzing statements go FAR beyond placing a goal. They emotionally charge us and align us. They emotionally allow us to seek and believe and go forward.

A good example of this is Bill Gates. Prior to making the  unifying statement the goal was clearly set to have Microsoft be the largest software company in the world. Great goal, but where is the emotion and the emotional buy in.  It came when he stated  ” I picture a world with a PC on every desk and in every home.” That inspired us, we visualized this and indeed it enabled the goal.

This past week I have been in Asia. I was able to spend a bit of time in Japan and visited a company in Tokyo called Fujita. From the instant I entered this business I knew it was different. The tone, the conduct of the staff, and the presentation of the board room was simply different. They were focused and clearly were on a mission.  There was not the usual motion that I frequently experience in Japan.   Indeed the meeting I had was successful and at the end of the communication I could not help but poke a bit. I asked the individual I was meeting with to explain more about the company, the founder, and the history. His answer gave it all away. With out a second of hesitation here was his response:

“Fujita’s vision is to bring American culture to Japan”.

Wow, now that is powerful.  That is a hairy, big, audacious, and crazy goal.   “Bring American culture to Japan!”

You see they are not in the hamburger or movie business.  They are not selling clothing. They are not in the import / export business. Those things are simply vehicles.

They are going to change Japan from eating sushi to Big Macs, and guess what…they did.

What I did not tell you earlier is Fujita’s founder  Den Fujita is responsible for bringing McDonalds to Japan. He was also responsible for bringing Toys R Us and BlockBuster to Japan.

As I have considered this, I realized that this type of statement not only motivates us and inspires us, but also allows the company to change and extract us from the weeds when necessary.

Next time you set a big goal, create a catalyzing statement!   Hang on because it will rock your world with what happens if done properly.

In 1989 I helped make my first $2MM business mistake.  I keep this box on my life-trophy shelf to remind me never to make this mistake again.

So what was it we did?

Rich Christiansen $2MM Channel Lesson

We did what so many eager engineering types do–we built a way cool, exciting,  leading-edge technology (digital power line transmission) and then tried to sell it.

We just knew the customers would buy these by the bucket loads.  We would go to the trade shows and got mobbed, so certainly this was going to be a barn burner. Everyone told us we were so smart and this was the coooooolest technology ever.

NOT! Cool technology does not necessarily mean purchasing customers. In 1990 the company went belly up!

I would rather have purchasing customers and profit than some cool little box sitting on my shelf reminding me not to be stupid again.

Better to sell it first and build it second, than to build it first and then try to sell it.

Today I did a BootStrap Business lecture at an Entrepreneurial Launch Pad event.

I love meeting with eager individuals who are on those tender first steps of venturing out into the brave cold and exciting world of creating a business.   However, there is one thing that makes me want to scream every time I see it and indeed I saw it today.

Make sure someone is going to buy it before you build it.

Its All about the channel!

Build It and they will come…NOT!

Save yourself a couple of million $ and let my box be the reminder. Don’t build your own.

Startups: Action Items for Success

By Martin Zwilling

Behind most great entrepreneur success stories is a long list of mistakes! Unfortunately, for every success story you see, there is an even longer list of failure stories with mistakes that you don’t see. But rather than dwell on the failures, I’ve tried to extract a list of action items that will lead to success.

Every startup mentor has his favorite list of basic strategies to avoid pitfalls, and I’m no exception. If my experience and insights can save just one founder from the stress, lost time, and lost money associated with a startup misstep, then I’m a happy man. Consider these half-dozen action items:

• Get adequate funding. If you have started your business on a shoestring budget without planning for future funds to run the business, then you could be facing severe cash flow problems within a short period of time. This could hamper your business financially and you mentally; and you could soon lose the motivation you need to run your business successfully.

• Adapt to the market. Most startups I know have “refined” their target market several times during their rollout. So be alert and be flexible. Focus on a niche. Watch for customers hell-bent on not letting you earn any profits, or wasting too much of your time.

• Temper theory with reality. There is no substitute for experience. No matter how well-educated you are, and how certain you are that you understand all the nuances of a business area, it is a good idea to work in a similar business for a few months to get a feel for the market and observe the way in which that business is run before taking the plunge. The same thing is true for students who dream of being entrepreneurs.

• Marketing is key. Every new product needs to fight the urge to declare “If we build it, they will come!” Even word of mouth advertising and viral marketing cost big bucks these days. With a billion businesses fighting for your customer’s attention, it takes leverage, effort and money to remain in the public eye.

• Manage your time. It takes practice and effort to focus on the most important things first. In business, “most important” means time to market, customer service, low cost, and beating your competitors. It also means knowing when to delegate, and time for effective communication with your subordinates.

• Reign-in expenses. It is very important to control your expenses. Not being able to reign them in will result in all your income being washed away, and will result in serious cash flow problems.

The most important overriding principle is that you should do what you love – passion and attitude will play a large part in defining your success in business. Apply the action items outlined here, define your own rules and goals, and you will be well on the way to creating a successful and profitable business.

Elia Tours is a boutique tour company established almost 3 years ago in Brisbane, Australia.  Our main service is personalized English Study Tours for small groups who wish to combine their hobby or interest (such as scuba diving or horse riding) with learning English whilst on vacation.  Of course we offer some more general tours too which enable our clients to see what this beautiful part of the world has to offer!

The tours can all be taken with or without the English Study component – which has proved successful with English-speaking clients who just want to experience the vacation itineraries on offer.

We also run a successful horse riding business offering 1 to 10 day tours – totally unplanned, this business has grown by word of mouth since we ran some trial weekends to practice for the Study Tours when we first started the business!

We have also just launched an ‘Intro to Endurance’ tour – assisting some of our more capable trail riders to break into the sport of endurance racing. We are very excited about this new direction for our small business!

The concept for Elia Tours arose in 2002 when Danni Cullen (Managing Director) was taking a year out from the IT world to work as an English teacher in Japan. Whilst the benefits of classroom learning were undoubtedly important for students, Danni soon realized that it was through speaking English in their free time that students became more natural speakers, and developed the ability to think in a foreign language. And so the idea of combining classroom study with an English-speaking vacation was born.

Danni is originally from England but has lived in many countries around the world including Holland, Japan, the USA and New Zealand.

She moved to Australia in 2006 and found that her passion for adventure and outdoor sports was soon satisfied with the abundant scuba diving, horse riding, kayaking and bush walking on offer within a few hours of Brisbane.

Early 2007 Danni had an accident that left her unable to walk for a while. During this time, Danni decided to pursue her dream of setting up a company that combined traditional teaching with sharing some of the amazing outdoor activities that she herself was experiencing.

Determined to offer an experience that enabled students to meet and interact with local people in small groups, Danni started to devise itineraries that offered a true Australian experience and encompassed plenty of warm local hospitality.

Her Management Science degree and Project Management skills proved invaluable in setting up the business – however it was the generosity and enthusiasm of other local businesses that really enabled the company to take off.

The Tours

When Elia Tours was first launched clients could build their own vacation itinerary choosing form over 80 different activities. However, this proved an unsuccessful model as we were offering too much choice and it was confusing for people who didn’t know the area.

Within 12 months we had down-sized and simply offered five 10-day  tours which we knew we could deliver with exceptional quality and get it right every time. Three of these focused on hobbies – horse riding, scuba diving and bush walking – the other two were more general sightseeing/experience  tours. Being able to admit we hadn’t got it right, and to adapt accordingly was a life-saving decision for the business.

Recently we have been confident enough to add three 5-day itineraries to the product offering – these can be taken alone or combined with any of the 10 day itineraries.

Whilst we were building the vacation/English Study Tour business we were busy launching some ‘trial runs’ for friends and family for the horse riding tours.

Following our first weekend horse riding tour, we had strangers calling us asking to be invited to the next one. And so it continued until now we have a loyal client base of regular horse riders who join us for weekend tours once a month and recommend us to their friends – the whole business has grown by word of mouth!

We occasionally organize something a little different like a 5 day campout tour or our new ‘Intro to Endurance’ tour just to keep the momentum going.

Without doubt, our favorite section of Bootstrap Business: A Step-by-Step Business Survival Guide is Chapter 8: Avoiding Cow Pies – it’s a good reminder that as well as focusing on our goals, we constantly need to check where we are now, and that we are performing at our peak there too.  When we first set up the business, we were constantly looking forward. It took us almost 12 months to realize that you need a good strong base now to move forward and our offering at that time was simply not appealing to our clients.  Chapter 8 talks about how climbers were standing on very thin ice, whilst all of their focus was on the summit. This is where we were too at Elia Tours – thankfully we realized this just in time, and were able to save and build a successful company.

For more information on Elia Tours please go to our website at www.eliatours.com.

Or contact us anytime:

Email:   info@eliatours.com

Tel:       +61(0) 488 070 405

We look forward to hearing from you!

We hear about high profile break-ins of email accounts almost every day. Even Sarah Palin’s email was hacked into during the election season last year. We knew that there had to be a better solution for securing an email account.

The Sarah Palin incident as well as several other stories of high profile individuals getting their email accounts hacked, motivated us to build StrongWebMail and spread awareness of the need for more secure email accounts.

StrongWebMail aims to provide the most secure email accounts on the planet. Hackers break into email accounts everyday (eg. Sarah Palin, Paris Hilton) which can lead to major damage due to the amount of private information most people have within their email accounts.

StrongWebMail uses a telephone verification system provided by TeleSign to ensure maximum security when it comes to logging in to your email account. This feature makes StrongWebMail a more secure email platform than other web-based email platforms.

For more information visit our website at www.StrongWebMail.com or send us an email at contact@strongwebmailcorp.com.

Our team here at StrongWebMail can relate most to Chapter 2 from Bootstrap Business, Juice to the Light Bulb, in terms of generating ideas by identifying problems and creating a solution. We feel that email security is a huge issue especially because people now have much of their livelihood within their primary email account. We also continue to look at our own security technology as well as other secure email providers and try to identify and solve problems related to technology.

 Appible’s disruptive thinking is the product of their diverse backgrounds and experiences thinking outside industry norms; having worked in construction management, contract management, accounting, IT, graphic design, programming, and law.

After trying their hands at iPhone app development and direct distribution, Appible came to recognize barriers to entering the industry: app development is laborious, slow and expensive. Working in an emerging market made it difficult to find qualified developers while keeping costs reasonable. Appible saw a unique opportunity to cure these pains, not only for themselves, but for businesses and individuals who had run into the same barriers of entry.

Now Appible has an exciting product which has given them a unique advantage over their competition: multi-platform applications. Using the Appible engine gives clients the opportunity to publish mobile applications to the iPhone App Store and Google Android Marketplace, as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs. Appible is currently developing the frameworks which will allow their apps to be distributed through the BlackBerry App World and Palm WebOS App Catalog.

Appible’s platform allows anyone to manage their apps in one central location. Retailers can manage their catalog, promotional codes, discounts prices and branding. Musicians can upload album art, MP3 samples, YouTube videos or concert dates. Real estate agents can custom brand games and utilities to keep their name in the minds of potential clients.

The apps powered by Appible can tie in to many of today’s popular online services such as Twitter, Facebook, last.fm, Google Checkout, digg, flickr, bit.ly and many more. The catalog of available services is constantly expanding. This allows app owners to simply aggregate the content they have already invested time and money in producing.

One principle from Bootstrap Business that has been important for Appible is “climb high, sleep low.” Staying in a position to make mistakes without killing the business has been critical to getting Appible to the point they are today.

To learn more about Appible contact them at:

Phone: 208.650.4088

Email: info@appible.com

Web: appible.com

Twitter: @appible

Hi everyone!

My name is Esther and I am working with Prepared 4 Life to bring Lemonade Day to the San Francisco Bay Area on May 2, 2010. I’m working with 10 other fabulous team members to bring this program to US cities such as Phoenix, LA, Denver, Twin Cities, Atlanta, Washington DC, DFW, Chicago, Indianapolis, and San Antonio.

Prepared 4 Life’s foremost objective is empowering youth to take ownership of their own lives and become healthy, productive members of society—the business leaders, social advocates, volunteers and forward-thinking citizens of tomorrow. Held on the first Sunday of May every year since 2007, Lemonade Day offers young people the opportunity to savor the sweet taste of success that comes with setting up, owning and operating their very own lemonade business.

The program has seen phenomenal growth, growing from 2,600 stands in Houston its first year to over 27,000 with 75,000 kids participating in 2009! This past May 3rd, the combined youth of the Greater Houston community sold over two million cups of lemonade and, with their profits; they contributed more than $500,000 to local charities.

If you are interested or know anyone who you think will be interested in Lemonade Day, I encourage you to e-mail me, check out the Lemonade Day website and watch this video! We are going to launch each new city’s specific site soon so I encourage everyone interested to check frequently as updates will hopefully come quickly. You can also follow me on Twitter or on our team Lemonade Day Blog!

Seeding a Business

Wordtree was planted without fanfare when friends, family, and co-workers would come to me for tips and tricks based on my experience as a software trainer. My documents were a showcase for my skills and other people wanted in on that! I was happy to help them out. Now, I offer these types of services to small business owners who need an edge.

Nurturing New Growth

Wordtree provides sales writing to satisfy “old school” copywriting needs. At the same time, I inform my clients about new software, innovative sites, and social media. As a result, my creative marketing side gets to express itself and people get the content they need – a great match no matter what the media. I charge flat fees so my clients know up front what they are purchasing.

Learning Under the Wordtree

Training is a large component of my business so people can become more efficient and learn the techniques that have become the key to my success. I love to share knowledge and offer $10.00 support calls/emails as an initial service. I understand when you’re stuck and you don’t know the terminology to decipher the manual.

Wordtree is Still Growing Branches

My business does not have a lot of bells and whistles yet. My homepage is a simple brochure. My clients come first and I focus my efforts on a monthly eNewsletter that is fairly exclusive. One day I will enhance my own site. However, I find it doesn’t stop me from working creatively for my clients. Twitter has been an amazing tool for people like me and there are things coming from the IT world that will change the game pretty soon, such as Google Wave.

Wordtree and Bootstrap

Wordtree follows Rich and BootstrapBook on Twitter and appreciates their business insights and real-time advice. I feel like I connect with Rich and Ron throughout the day because their “tweets” are always informative and relevant for my small business. They keep me focused on my goals when I have my entrepreneur self-doubt moments! The “Death by Net” section really hit home for me. Just because I send an invoice – doesn’t mean the money is in the bank!

Why Contact Wordtree?

Sue may be an “old school” copywriter sometimes but her approach draws people and small businesses to her time and time again. Sometimes “tried and true” can bridge the gap to using an innovative, new technology and take your business goals to another level.

My eNews subscribers qualify for discounts and are treated to special, personalized content not available online.  Sign up tonight: http://wordtree.wufoo.com/forms/enews-subscription-request/

Everyone is welcome to visit www.wordtree.ca or call me direct at 1.416.712.4440.  I provide a lot of useful links about writing, marketing and technology for free through my twitter account: twitter.com/wordtree.

Sue Varty, Document Expert, Wordtree Consulting

Writing | Communication | Training

www.wordtree.ca

twitter.com/wordtree

1.416.712.4440

Today on Buzz Your Business we’re featuring Agbi Bajrushi of RedStage Networks.

Redstage Networks is a design, marketing, and development firm specializing in web/digital marketing. Our focus is in ecommerce development and marketing, with an emphasis on solutions that don’t sacrifice design for functionality or vice-versa. Because the company has a strong marketing background, we pride ourselves on building web presences that convert well, as well as look good.  Among the platforms we develop in are Magento, ZenCart, WordPress, Drupal, and several multichannel ecommerce solutions.  We’re also in development on 3 custom web apps, including a Twitter app, scheduled for release over the next few months.

Redstage Networks started life as two companies, SellCenter and AE3 Interactive.  SellCenter offered marketing and consulting services, as well as a proprietary multichannel ecommerce solution.  AE3 Interactive provided custom design and development in several mediums.  As SellCenter started to grow their multichannel service, they brought on AE3 Interactive to provide front-end ecommerce site design to their clients. 

After several very successful projects, and an inordinately low number of shouting matches, the companies decided to take over a floor at 80 River Street together.   Within 3 months of the move, they were merged into Redstage Networks, which now offers a focused distillation of both companies’ core competencies.

Having stepped in several already, our favorite section of Bootstrap Business to date is “Avoiding Cow Pies”.  As a young company, it’s heartening to see that we’re not the only ones facing issues like these.  Bootstrap Business has been offering great insights into how to overcome these problems, and we recently took your advice to heart and implemented new payment terms for our invoices. For the first time, we’re offering our clients 2-10-Net 30 payment terms (2% discount to clients who pay within 10 days, 30 day grace period) and are waiting to see the results. In addition to updating our billing terms, we have improved our invoice design by making it more professional. We have also begun mailing and e-mailing invoices. The combination of these three improvements have helped reduce our Accounts Receivable lag time dramatically!

Contact Information - For more information, contact us at:

http://www.redstage.com/

http://www.redstagesolutions.com/

http://www.redstagecreative.com/

By Email:              info@redstage.com

By Phone:        888-335-2747 x220

By Mail:           Redstage Networks LLC
80 River Street STE 5M
Hoboken NJ, 07030

We’re excited to feature Mike Faherty of ProSales Connection today on Buzz Your Business.

ProSales Connection, LLC, is the small and medium business market’s on-demand sales force. We provide businesses all over the country with professional, inside sales as a service. 

For me, life at the Mega Corporation where I built and led top performing inside sales organizations was exciting but not fulfilling. It frustrated me that no matter how successful my organization was, I would never “move the needle” in terms of earnings. I wanted a richer work-life experience, so with $3,000 I launched ProSales Connection, LLC to help small and medium sized businesses grow. 

Large corporations have been augmenting their sales force with contracted sales teams for years. I would know, over my career I have implemented outsourced inside sales programs on 3 separate occasions. This proven sales model works even better for emerging enterprise companies who need to get the most from their sales teams without adding headcount. In today’s market that resonates with business owners!

A question I always ask business leaders is, “How long does it take your sales people to uncover a qualified lead?” Chances are, if all they worked was warm, qualified leads it would have a huge positive impact on the business. Our clients leverage our experience and expertise at ProSales Connection to generate these leads for them, keeping their sales force in front of prospects and customers.  Many of our clients are founder run businesses that have networked their way to success, but are finding it increasingly difficult to make their revenue targets. They know they need to build a sales force, but don’t know how. For these clients we deliver a complete turn-key sales organization with systems, processes and management designed specifically for their business. So in just weeks they can go from Zero to 60! It is a very successful model… Focus on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses! 

The Bootstrap Business Blog section that is pinned to the wall at my desk is titled, Don’t Destroy What You Want to Create. This section reminds me that I started ProSales Connection, LLC for several reasons and only one is financial. We take time to celebrate our success and stop to learn from our mistakes, and we never lose sight of the prize. Freedom! 

At ProSales Connection, LLC, we approach business everyday with the heart of a teacher and we are vested in our client’s success. I am finally able to “move the needle” the way I knew I could.  If your business could use an outsourced inside sales program or just warm, qualified leads for your existing sales team, please contact me at:

Mike Faherty

mike@prosalesconnection.com

www.prosalesconnection.com

832-365-0730

Follow me on Twitter @ProSales_Mike