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11 Questions to Determine if Your Passion Will become Profitable
“Passionate” doesn’t (necessarily) mean “profitable.” Passion isn’t a panacea. This is a common entrepreneurial mistake. People think that just because they’ve pinpointed their passion – POOF! – They can now magically make a business out of it. Wrong. Entrepreneurship isn’t a Beatles song. Passion (or love, for that matter) isn’t all you need. Passion only becomes profitable when it’s: (1) Enhanced by competence, (2) Entwined with purpose, and (3)…
13 Strategies for Creating an Aura of Superiority around Your Brand – Without Looking Like an Arrogant Ass
The word “superior” comes from the Latin superus, which means, “situated above.” So, for your brand to be superior, you don’t have to be arrogant – you just have to be awesome. Plus, a lot of people have to agree with you. That’s the formula. What about you? How do you demonstrate superior expertise? And are you turning out work that has a genuine superiority? If not, today you’re…
8 Ways to become More Buyable than a Bottle of Viagra at a Boca Raton Bingo Hall
“I just cannot WAIT to send you a check!” How cool would it be if your customers thought that? How profitable would it be if your customers SAID that? Very. And the best part is, this concept has nothing to do with selling; but rather, enabling people to buy. IN SHORT: Being buyable. AND HERE’S THE DISTINCTION: Most salespeople constantly run around asking prospects, “Do you want to buy…
5 Ways to Make Your Business a Friend of Simplicity
Chopin once remarked, “Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.” Bravo! What about you? Is your business a friend of simplicity? If it’s not, you’re losing money. Every day. And here’s why: Simplicity is currency. Especially since we live in hyperspeed, A.D.D., instant gratification culture. Simplicity is approachability….
5 Ways be a Boss Employees Don’t Want to Beat with a Stapler
Almost everyone has had a boss they hated. But not everyone has BEEN the boss that employees hated. If you’re one of the lucky ones, consider these five practices to make sure you stay that way: 1. Bridge the distance. Open door policies are useless if your heart, mind and ears aren’t open too. That’s the difference between being “approachable” and “accessible.” One is about physical space; the other…
Do you have character, or are you just a caricature?
Character is the congruency between your values and your verbs. And that’s not all. Character is the great catchall. Because when you leverage it, everything else falls into place. Character trumps technique. Because when you practice it, formulas and systems become useless. Character wins ballgames. Because when you lead off with it, you always run up the score. Character makes money. Because when you invest in it, you exponentialize…
9 Ways to Make Your Business More Findable than a Smile at a Nudist Colony
Marketing is simple: Create a product that customers can stumble upon, obsess over, fall in love with, become addicted to and tell their friends about. Fine. But HOW? Well, if you want customers to stumble upon you, you need to become more findable. Here are ten strategies to boost your findability: 1. Definition. Peter Morville is the father of findability. He first defined the term in 2005 in his…
Inspiration is Overrated: 6 Ways to Cash in on Creative Discipline
“Inspiration is for amateurs.” I learned that from Dave Barry, who, last time I checked, wrote over twenty bestselling books and won the Pulitzer Prize. Guess he was right. HERE’S MY QUESTION: How can you create more than enough creative ideas so that you NEVER need to worry about running out? ONE-WORD ANSWER: Discipline. Discipline is the hallmark of inspiration. Discipline is the foundation of all creativity. Discipline is…
9 Secrets REAL Thought Leaders Know
My official definition of a Thought Leader is as follows: “A trusted source who moves people with innovative ideas.” Does that describe you? If it does, cool. You probably know a lot of this stuff already. If it doesn’t, that’s cool too. You’re about to learn what REAL Thought Leaders know. 1. Be a world-class noticer. When you notice more, you learn more. And when you learn more, you…
10 Ways to Enable Employees to Ask You for Help
“Why aren’t my people asking me for help?” Well, that depends: Are you an askable person? Consider these ten practices for pumping up your askability: 1. Don’t force solutions. While the willingness to find answers is essential to your askability, remember that you can’t force it. Especially when the answer isn’t immediately clear. Doing so only works in reverse. And any time you try to instantly compartmentalize everything that…
