Entrepreneurialism

When Others Think Like You

June 19, 2012 by dwellman 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 (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!

Filed Under: Designing Success, Entrepreneurialism Tagged With: $100 Startup, Business, Business plan, Chris, Chris Guillebeau, Entrepreneur

Look Before You Leap

April 10, 2012 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

As a lifestyle design coach, a mid-point Boomer (born in 1955) and just a generally nice guy (:->), my best advice for any Boomer looking for a “retirement business” is to look before you leap!

One of the most popular business options for Boomers is in the field of “home-based” businesses. These businesses are appealing because of they are simple to start (it usually requires filling out an “application” and paying a “start-up fee.”) And they are relatively simple to run. (They usually include a website to order products and/or recruit new distributors)

On the downside, many of these businesses have a distributor force whose only business acumen is that they filled out the application and paid the start-up fee. They are excited about the “flagship” product and how much money they are going to make, but don’t know much more about true business success. Many made the decision to “join the business” based solely on emotion and without much, if any, real investigation of the company its products or its long-term business viability.

Companies come and go in this industry at a staggering pace. What looks like a “can’t miss” opportunity dissolves to nothing from one day to the next. Companies make promises they cannot keep, change the compensation plan, cheapen the products/service, and exercise their option to stop paying distributor compensation on a regular basis.

In the end, real people get hurt and the industry takes another hit for being “scams,” “get rich quick schemes,” “pyramids,” etc. When in fact, most companies using this method of business are real and legitimate businesses, with great products, and good people at their helms.

So, as I said at the beginning, Look Before You Leap!! Any legitimate company will welcome your investigation of their products/services, their business model, their compensation plan, and their plan for long-term sustainability. This model of doing business is a good one, but it must fit your lifestyle to be successful for you. Any business takes time and effort. Don’t be fooled by fast talk, high pressure, and/or special deals. Look Before You Leap!!

(In the interest of full disclosure, I have been, and am now involved in this industry as a part of my overall business model.)

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Retirement Tagged With: Babyboomer, Business, Business model, Company, Get-rich-quick scheme, Small Business, United States

When its time to talk not text!

December 6, 2011 by Dave Wellman 4 Comments

I remember an old American Airlines commercial in which the owner of a company called his sales team into a conference room to tell them

Image via Wikipedia

that things were not going so well. As a matter of fact the owner had just gotten off the phone with an old friend who had just fired his company.

In the commercial the owner was handing out plane tickets to all the cities where the company had clients so that each sales manager could go and visit with them in person. After tucking the last ticket in his own pocket someone asked him where is was going. His answer, “I am going to see an old friend.”

In the fast paced world of the internet, sometimes we need to understand that what makes businesses grow and continue to do so is not to “like” thousands, or “follow” the gurus, but to spend time with some well chosen friends.

Just a thought. What do you think?

Filed Under: Leadership, Success Traits Tagged With: Airline ticket, American Airline, Follows, Friends, Likes, Relationship building, Talking vs. texting

What I Learned from Another Birthday!

October 18, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday was my 56th birthday! I had planned a quiet day to just enjoy the fall weather we are having and to relax my way into a new year of life. While the day was a great one, I learned three valuable lessons from another birthday:

I learned that, on your birthday, you are really no different than you were the day before, just another day older. I woke up with the same mindset, the same desires, the same passions, and the same determination to make a dent in the universe!
I learned that, on your birthday, the rest of the world does not take the day off to celebrate! Throughout the course of the day, I had to take care of clients and their needs, handle problems that cropped up, and generally get involved in things that did not involve celebrating my birthday!
I learned that, on your birthday, taking a day off of life is awesome! While the world didn’t stop and I had to spend time on things other than celebrating, the day was in its entirety as great success with lots of fun and love from both family and friends. It was a great day and I am so thankful for being able to celebrate another year of my great life!

So, as you work your way through the rigors of life, don’t forget that even if the world doesn’t have the capacity to stop to celebrate your birthday, that it is your God given right to do just that! Happy birthday to all and to all a good night.

Filed Under: Boomers Helping Boomers, Success Traits Tagged With: Birthday, Celebrity, God, Holidays, Recreation

Monday’s Question – What are you willing to do to change the course of history?

October 10, 2011 by Dave Wellman 2 Comments

With the death of Steve Jobs this past week, I am reminded of his comment that he wanted his life to “make a dent in the universe.” I think that, in many ways, he did just that. But now that he is gone, who will step up? Who will be the next visionary to make a dent in the universe?

Maybe, it’s time to be you! Maybe instead of just getting by it’s time for us all to look at this world through the visionary eyes that make us unique people and choose to follow our dreams. Maybe, at least in my own “world,” I should step up and look for ways to change the course of history.

What do you think? What are you willing to do to change the course of history?

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Monday Questions Tagged With: Apple, Change the world, History, IPod, Leader, Step up, Steve Jobs, United States, Visionary

Stamping Out Mediocrity

September 28, 2011 by Dave Wellman 3 Comments

I have the privilege of meeting with an amazing group of business minds on Tuesday mornings every week. This group varies in size from about 3 to 7 depending on everyone’s schedule for the week. When we get together we talk about all things business and work hard to help each other work through business struggles and strengthen business choices.

This morning we had a great conversation about business owners stamping out mediocrity. One of our group recounted her experience in an industry she worked in that was plagued with mediocrity. To set herself apart from her competition, she looked to see where the mediocrity existed and made the kind of changes to her business choices that dealt with those areas of mediocrity. By removing these mediocre issues, her business became much more successful than her competition.

You see (to use an old baseball analogy) the difference between mediocrity and the Hall of Fame can be as little as on hit per 20 at bats. You see, a lifetime 250 hitter doesn’t usually end up in the hall of fame but a lifetime 300 hitter does. The difference between being a lifetime 250 or 300 hitter equates to one additional hit for every twenty times at bat throughout your career.

While this increase seems manageable, the effort to increase to this new level of success in noteworthy. Just like business, if we want to move our business from mediocre to super-stardom, we must find those areas of change that make us stand out and then put in the work necessary to make the changes permanent throughout our careers.

Mediocrity plagues American business today. Let’s choose as business leaders to start a campaign of stamping out mediocrity!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Leadership, Success Traits Tagged With: Business, Medeocricy in business, Medicracy, Mediocre, Mediocrity principle, Small Business, United States

Boomer Business Success – Keeping it Simple!

September 22, 2011 by Dave Wellman 6 Comments

I had the pleasure of sitting in a meeting today with one of my clients. She was doing a presentation to a group of people in the area of her specialty. What she does is unimportant, but what I saw in her inspired me to write this article and challenge we Boomers looking to grow our businesses to keep it simple.

Keeping it simple means:

Don’t over think things. I remember hearing about Occam’s razor. This is a scientific principle that indicates that, “when faced with competing hypotheses that are equal in other respects, selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.” In other words the easiest answer is most often the best answer.
Find a niche and master it. Being an expert in your chosen niche makes you more valuable to your clients/customers than if you are simply good at a lot of things. Most people can be good, but only experts are sought after.
Learn the honestly care for your customers/clients. When you have an honest concern for those who buy your products and services, you will treat them with the utmost respect and they will make you their sole supplier!

There you have it! Boomer business success, by just keeping it simple!

Filed Under: Success Traits Tagged With: Baby boomer, Business, Expert, Generations and Age Groups, Occam, Over thinking, People, Retirement, Simple, Success

Building Your Dream Business – Enjoying Your “Golden Years!”

September 15, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

I just read a great article this morning which again indicated that Boomers are going to “redefine retirement.” This series of articles was written to lay out a way that such a redefining can occur. But, the end of the story should be that you, the Boomer entering this second stage of life should enjoy your “golden years!”

Building your dream business and learning to make that business blend with who you are and what you want to do with the second half of your life is the way to make this happen. So, in concluding this series, I want to encourage you to consider three primary thoughts:

Build a business based upon your essence.
Build a business that frees you to live your essence.
Build a business that allows you to enjoy your golden years!

Is there anyone that wants to share their story? Where were you when you made the choice to redesign your retirement years? What did you find to do and how are things now?

(In relating your story I only ask one thing. Don’t make your story the opportunity to “recruit” people into your business/niche. Thank you!)

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Retirement, Second Career Tagged With: Baby boomer, Building your dream business, Business, Dream, Generations and Age Groups, Golden Years, People, Retirement, Seniors

Building Your Dream Business – Going All In

September 13, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

Ok – so now you are at the place in building your dream business where you have begun to see three things:

What works and was doesn’t work.
How much time and energy your definition of success is going to take.
Whether your dream is really a marketable business.

Let’s assume that the answers to these questions leads you to the conclusion that you can build a successful and solid business based on your life dream. Let’s say that you can see where improvements can be made and you are moving to make those improvements. Let’s say that you are both excited and confident that you have struck a perfect balance between life and business.

Now what?

Now is the time to go “all in!” You see, up to this time, the bets were small and the losses were manageable. If things didn’t work out you could just chalk it up to being a grand experiment that didn’t pan out. But, just as the costs and risks were manageable, the results and benefits were also limited. If this is in fact your dream business, it deserves your full time and attention.

As you finish up the last days (years) of the first chapter of life and move on to “Chapter 2″ you need to hit the ground running. Hesitating at this point would be worse for your life, business, and dream than not having started in the first place. This is where the rubber meets the road, where you’ve hit all your marks and now it’s time to race on to the finish.

By directing this kind of time and attention to your dream you are bound to succeed in the way that you have chosen in building your dream business.

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Retirement, Second Career Tagged With: Business, Business model, Dream, Dream Sharing, Interpretation, Psychology, Retirement, Social Sciences

Baby Boom Entrepreneurs – Saturday Update 3

September 10, 2011 by Dave Wellman 4 Comments

This week’s Saturday Update I want to look at two things. First I want to take time to remember the tragic events of 9/11/2001. I want to thank everyone who responded to help and let the families of those who perished to know that my family and I will be praying for them all tomorrow.

Second, I want to ask my Boomer friends to help me find some ways to help fellow Boomers who are without work find ways to make their skills, talents, and values known to employers looking to hire.

As we consider these things, I am interested in continuing the conversation that has started this week and am looking for your thoughts. Please comment here and/or email me with your thoughts. This is important and we need to rise up again like we always have before!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurialism, Leadership Tagged With: 9/11, Baby boom, Baby Boom Generation, Baby boomer, Business, Help, Ideas, People, Social media, Unemployment