When Others Think Like You

June 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I have spent the last two years working to follow my dreams. In that time I have written 245  blog posts (this one included) trying

The $100 Startup in Seattle

The $100 Startup in Seattle (Photo credit: Chris Guillebeau)

to pass on the message that being an entrepreneur is more about who you are and what your life dream is than about the nuts and bolts of business.

I know that the nuts and bolts are important in their own right, but I also know that life is about more than the nuts and bolts. If you are going to live life to its fullest, you have got to live in freedom while creating value for those around you! In business this means to build your business with passion. It means to not settle for what is easily obtained. It means to look at your life as a treasure rather than a drudgery.

After two years of beating that drum, it is really quite fun when you find others that think like you. I have had the privilege this week of reading, “The $100 Startup” by Chris Guillebeau. (affiliate link) The whole gist of Chris’ book is to tell the stories of successful people who, with little if any, previous business experience or training, built successful businesses mostly through the passionate desire to not work for anyone else.

I love it when others think like me (especially really smart ones like Chris)! It allows me to see that all of the “crazy ideas” that I have and all of the passions I am waiting to unleash really can carry me to the places I want to go! And the really cool part of it all is they can do the same thing for you!!!

I you haven’t done it yet, pick up Chris’ book

. Read it with an open mind and heart. See if it doesn’t give you permission to follow your dreams! It surly did for me!

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Entrepreneurialism Tagged With: , , , , ,

Lifestyle Design and Reinventing Retirement

May 24, 2012 by 5 Comments
retirement

retirement (Photo credit: 401K)

Monday I wrote about a TED video by Tim Brown, on the subject design. It challenged me to consider a question that I think is on the minds of many Boomers and Gen-Xers about how they are going to reinvent retirement in this modern world. The question is:

How can Boomers and Gen-Xers enjoy the benefits of retirement while at the same time remaining active, productive, and profitable members of our modern society?

What this question boils down to is a matter of lifestyle design. By this I mean how the whole of a person’s life (family, health, community, dreams, purpose, etc.) fits together in a homogeneous way and provides benefit and blessing both to themselves and to those they interact with on a regular basis.

You see, retirement, by my definition does not mean to stop working altogether (most people cannot/don’t want to do this) but to transition into a lifestyle that allows for you to be more in control of your time, talents, efforts, and the direction of your life travel.

How can a Boomer/Gen-Xer wake up in the morning and engage in activities that they choose, while maintaining an active, productive, and profitable life? What can they do to spend time with family, travel, volunteer, and create in a way that makes them happy, healthy, and a value to their community/society? What is their life-dream and how can they create a design plan that brings all the elements of that dream into fruition every day?

Most people don’t consider such things and as a result end up looking to get back into the workforce shortly after the big “retirement party.” One retiree who is 70+ said, “I am bored to death, I just want something to do.” Another said, “I want to continue to feel useful and valuable in my retirement life.”

Both of these folks retired like they had been told to and found that without some lifestyle design work in place they were doomed to “being retired.” What they really want is to design a lifestyle that will give them the benefits of retirement (slower pace, more control, and the pursuit of what they consider valuable) while still being active, productive, and profitable (financially capable for their own needs).

What about you? Are you planning for those great years of life where you can live out your dreams at your pace and according to your desires? What advice can you give to those who are just beginning the process?

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Filed Under: Boomers Helping Boomers, Designing Success, Gen-Xers Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Helping Boomers and Gen-Xers Design Success!!

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Tomorrow (May 15, 2012) I am shutting down two blogs that have been a part of The Doulos Group for the past two years. I am not shutting them down because they are unimportant of because they are no longer relevant. I am shutting them down in order to focus my attention on the things in life and business that I am most passionate about.

Those things are simply:

  1. I am going to help people design a life-style that blends life and business to fulfill their dreams.
  2. I am going to focus my efforts on helping my clients through the process of discovery, design, and delivery of their passion within their definition of success.
  3. I am going to focus my efforts on Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers who are looking for a way to reinvent retirement.

With these simple rules in place I hope that everyone who comes to visit will find something worth while, something that makes sense, and something that helps them design success!

Come back often and let’s get this party started!!!

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Filed Under: Boomers Helping Boomers, Designing Success, Gen-Xers, The Dream Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Innovation and Your Business

May 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Steve Jobs shows off the white iPhone 4 at the...

Steve Jobs shows off the white iPhone 4 at the 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference Español: Presentación del iPhone 4 por Steve Jobs en la Worldwide Developers Conference del año 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Peter Drucker once said, “Business has only two functions — marketing and innovation.” If this is true (and I think it is) there should be more time and energy spent on these two subjects than anything else in business life.

But, if you are like most businesses who do spend time on these two subjects, you might well be making a mistake that made Steve Jobs cringe. That mistake (especially in the area of innovation) is to consider the customer ahead of your own thoughts.

“Steve Jobs avoids most focus groups like the plague,” says tech analyst Rob Enderle. “It comes down to the very real fact that most customers don’t know what they want in a new product.”

Carmine Gallo, who wrote “The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs” said about this thought, “Sure, “listen” to your customers and ask them for feedback. Apple does that all the time. But when it comes to breakthrough success at Apple, Jobs and his team are the company’s best focus group.”

So, as you are thinking about the innovation that is going to make your company special in the market place, don’t count yourself short. Make your thinking more important than your customers because, as Henry Ford once said, “If I’d have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘A faster horse.’”

How innovative are you? How much time do you spend creating the next great thing your company is going to introduce?

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Small Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Community Involvement

May 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

As a business owner, you have the opportunity to make a real impact in society through your community involvement. This involvement can be as simple as supporting your area Junior Achievement program, to taking on a clothing/food drive for those in need, to the active and visible support of an area non-profit.

Being an active part of the community declares that your end goal in business is more than just profit. It also shows your clients/customers your heart and causes a level of loyalty that goes beyond the value of your product/services. I makes you a leader in the community as well as an expert in your field.

As you build this reputation of caring (as long as it is genuine) your business is sure to grow because of your reputation of giving and your willingness to make the community important to your business.

How do you get involved? What do you think companies ought to do for their communities?

 

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Small Business Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Caring for Your Customers

April 23, 2012 by 2 Comments

We live in a strange time. One in which much is said about customer service and yet as customers we seem to wait longer in lines, are on hold longer on the phones, and we talk to a much grouchier group of people when we do get through. It seems that customer service has less to do with service as it does with just surviving till the end of the day!

And yet, as I said, we live in strange times. In what often seems to be a customer service wasteland, there are more and more businesses that have made a “beyond reasonable measure” effort to meet the needs of their customers and to provide customer service that sets the bar higher than ever before! These companies know from experience that the cost of making new customers is much higher than the cost of keeping customers happy, repeat buying, and referring.

The key to happy customers is how they are cared for after the sale. So, what can entrepreneurs and start-ups learn from these “customer-centric” companies? Here are just a few thoughts:

  1. Great customer service comes from a service oriented business culture. When the overall culture of the company is service oriented from the front office to the care of vendors, to meeting the needs of both employees and customers; great customer service is a natural by product.
  2. Great customer service comes from people empowered to care for the customer. If someone handling a customer’s concerns does not have the authority to take action “right now” the customer may well do business elsewhere the next time. Quick action and empowered employees make great customer service.
  3. Great customer service comes from a genuine belief in the value of your product/service. When something that you believe is best for the customer (your product/service) doesn’t live up to its value, your belief in the product/service should motivate you to make the customer’s experience right!

There are certainly other things that can/do make customer service work well. These are at least a starting point. What do you think? What have you done in your business to make the customer’s experience right? What great service have you been given from other companies that brought you back a second time?

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Filed Under: Designing Success Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Smaller with Purpose

April 17, 2012 by 13 Comments

After nearly two years of trying to woo the internet world to my doorstep, I have made an amazing discovery: I enjoy being a small business and don’t want to be big! WOW …. that feels good to finally say out loud.

The reason that I needed to say that today is because I know that there are many people like me. People who are looking for a business opportunity based more on their life purpose than on how big the business can become or how rich they can get. What they are looking for is the answer to their life’s dream rather than some arbitrary definition of success that equates success only with money earned.

Now, if that is how you define success, it is alright by me. However, if success has a different meaning to you, one that is more personal, more intimate, then maybe you ought to consider building your business smaller with purpose.

In order to build this way you will need to consider three things:

  1. How much is enough? If you don’t have an answer to this question, the allurement of “more” will have a much greater chance of overtaking your dream. You will give up some of life’s most special moments in chasing the dream of more and in the end may well regret what you have lost more than celebrate what you have gained.
  2. How does business blend with your life’s purpose? I heard someone just the other day talking about living out their dream. What made me listen more closely to what she said, was that she is not a millionaire nor someone whose current efforts could lead her to that magic place. However, because what she does moves her in the direction of her life’s purpose, she ends each day having lived one more day with purpose.
  3. Are you selling quality or quantity. Early on in the development of The Doulos Group, I was asked what kind of business I wanted. Did I want to be more like a “discount store” that makes its money through volume sales or did I want to be like a “premium store” that made its money selling high valued products at premium prices. At first I chose #2, thinking that I could work with just a few high end clients and maximize my income in the process. Now, while I am still looking for just a few key clients, I am not so much concerned with maximizing my income potential. I want to sell quality products to an exclusive clientele at a price that makes sense to them, not me! In the end if I live out my purpose, what I make and what I’m able to have will be taken care of!

I didn’t intend to make this post about me, but I am an example of developing the mindset of smaller with purpose. Maybe you are struggling with your business ideas as well. Maybe you are looking at the “rat race” and wondering how to get out of it and still enjoy life’s bounty. Maybe you have a great idea that keeps you up at night and wakes you early in the morning. Maybe you want to build a business that allows you to live your life’s purpose rather than becoming your life’s purpose.

If so, maybe smaller with purpose is the answer for you as well! What do you think?

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Small Business Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Essentials of Business Success

April 13, 2012 by 4 Comments

What does it take to make a business successful? How can someone who has never run a business before start, build, and run a successful business? This is a really good question, especially since most businesses still fail in the first five years.

I think that there are some essentials of business success that must be considered by every entrepreneur and new business start-up before they turn on the first light, make the first business contact, or open the door for the very first time.

1.    You must develop an entrepreneurial mindset. With this mindset, you will learn to embrace the concept of delayed gratification. You will have thought through the incredibly important question, “How long can I run this business before making a profit?” You will understand that starting a business requires a higher than normal financial risk tolerance.
2.    You must understand how money works. If you don’t really understand the difference between an asset and a liability your chances for success diminish drastically. Managing money correctly in the early stages of your business sets the standard for success in the long run.
3.    You must understand the basics of marketing your business. With all the options today both online and offline, you need to know what will bring you new customers, what will keep existing customers, and what will not! Too many new businesses collapse under the weight of a trial and error marketing plan.
4.    You must understand what it means to be a leader in your chosen field. Every industry is filled with people “just like everyone else.” What you must do to be successful is to set yourself apart as someone with a unique value as a thought leader in your industry.
5.    You must continue to grow as a person. Everyone enters the world of businesses with personal strengths and weaknesses. Working to improve your talents and skill set will allow you to continue to improve the quality of your business for your current clients as well as for new clients that will be added over time.

With an understanding of these essentials of business success, you will give yourself a more than fighting chance to be one of those companies who survive where others will fail.

What other essentials do you think are important for new business start-ups to know and understand?

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Local Business Success Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Building a Business that Counts

April 10, 2012 by 4 Comments

For a long time now, I have been a bit unsettled about business in this cray era of the internet and the “global” economy. As a dreamer, I have looked at videos, listened to gurus, and joined the social network. The more I did (and learned) the more unsettled I became. The reason for my unsettled condition was that through all of what I was seeing, hearing, and experiencing there was a tremendous loss of the human element.

For me business is about looking people in the eye and knowing that they trust what I say and I trust them in the same way.

  • It’s about being confident that the people you work with really care about you and you really care about them.
  • It’s about relationships that will give the other their last dollar to bail them out of a jam.
  • It’s about building a business that counts for you, for your customers/clients, and for your community.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to introduce some thoughts about building such a business. My hope in all of this is that some very talented entrepreneurs who are looking for more than just fame and fortune will take these simple thoughts and bring about a revolution of caring in this country and around the world.

So, buckle up and hang on for the ride. Please comment and add to the conversation. This discussion could very well change the course of your world. Most of all I want it to help you find purpose and passion!

Cheers ….

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Filed Under: Designing Success, Small Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

A New Perspecitive on Blog Posts

April 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I have been blogging now for almost two years. In the early days of my blog, I read everything that I could about what to blog and particularly how often to blog. In that reading I concluded that everyday was best because, after all, who wouldn’t want to read what I was writing about.

It wasn’t long before the busyness of life took over and I had to rethink the “everyday” thing. Just recently I determined that I will work on the schedule of one (maybe two) posts per week. It seems to work better into my work life and it seems that the posts get a much higher readership and they “last longer” online.

So, I find myself about halfway between those thought leaders who insist that, to build a community, you must blog everyday and those who insist that you should only blog when you have something “killer” to say.

As for you, the choice is yours. You have got to decide what works best for your community, for you as a writer, and for the growth and strengthening of your brand. You should certainly take the time to understand the arguments of those who have been successfully blogging for some time, but in the end you have to settle on your own blogging rhythm.

How often do you post? What do you see as the benefits of your blogging rhythm?

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Filed Under: Designing Success Tagged With: , , , , ,
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