The Business...from a Young Gun Entrepreneur

A Post About Posts

2008-03-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since my last post and I'm about to tell you why...

I've been sleeping. Just kidding. I've been busy. What does that really mean anyway? Everybody says their busy. Actually, I am focusing on a couple of my other internet projects and am not making time to continue posting on this blog. I may start posting here again soon but then again, I may not. Check out my other sites to stay in touch.

MustKnowInvesting.com
InsideInvestorSpace.com

Thanks for your support!

Piracy: Fight It or Compete With It

2008-03-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading The Pirates Dilemma. The overall message in the book is that piracy is here to stay. You can choose to fight a losing battle or make a decision to compete with them. Apple, for instance, is a great example of a company that made the decision to compete and has done an outstanding job. Napster came along, let people download and share music for free, and changed the industry forever. Apple saw an opportunity and developed iTunes, the iPod, and much more. Old school artists and record labels have been fighting ever since and are losing the battle.

As I was finishing the book, I came across a great article on Mashable about how Nine Inch Nails is embracing the change. They have put the first volume of their new album on torrent sites to be downloaded for free. It's a multi volume album and if you want the rest of it, you can download it off their website for $5. How about that for cutting out record labels and industry execs?

In The Pirates Dilemma, there was a great story about how Madonna unfortunately decided to fight piracy years ago. By the end of it, someone had hacked into her site, posted all the songs from her new album up to download for free, and wrote a message across the top of the site about how the "pirate community" felt about her.

The music industry is not the only one under fire. Don't count yourself out. The free economy is already in motion. Check out the latest issue of Wired. The headline for article states "Why $0.00 is the future of business."

Another Twist to Social Networking

2008-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yuwie advertises itself to be the first ever social networking site where you can make money by doing the same things that you would do on Myspace or Facebook. Providing most of the same features and functionality, Yuwie integrates the idea of network marketing with social networking. If you spend a lot of time on myspace anyway, you might as well get paid for it.

Find a Mentor & Do What Your Told

2008-03-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

Whenever I first got started investing in real estate, I attended a 5 day seminar in Atlanta. It was an incredible experience! Although the seminar cost several thousand dollars to attend, I felt like I had gotten my money out of it by lunch on the first day. Finding a mentor who had been in the business for over 20 years was exactly what I needed.

One of the things that he said has stuck with me to this day. He said, "The worst mistake that you can make is not doing exactly what I tell you to do." He was not saying this from an arrogant view point. He was simply talking from experience. He has seen the market go up. He has seen the market go down and everything in between. He knows what works and what doesn't.

Every time that something isn't going as well it should or we are having some sort of problem in the business, I am reminded of his words. I have to ask myself, "What did he tell me to do that I am not doing?"

No matter what business you are involved with, having a mentor is key to your success. You can get where you want to be faster, more profitably, and without as many headaches. Seek out a mentor and do what is said. Once your system is running smoothe, then and only then, tweak what you are doing to strive for more.

P.S. A mentor relationship does not have to include personal contact. I have mentors that don't even know I exist. I learn from them through books, CDs, courses, etc.

Extra Money Making Opportunities

2008-02-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, our company bought an excavator. We were renting one every couple months for different renovations that we were doing. We came across a good deal on a machine and decided to go ahead and just buy it.

We use it primarily for our own jobs. But being in the business that we are, we come across people that need demolition services from time to time. A couple weeks ago, we were contacted by someone that wanted some demo work done. We gave them a bid for $2,600 and they accepted. After all expenses paid, we will make around $1K. Not bad for a side job!

What do you have access to that could make you some extra money on the side? What assets or abilities could you leverage to make more money?

Martha Stewart, the Deal Maker?

2008-02-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

Check out this article on Martha Stewart's newest acquisition....the Emeril Lagasse franchise.

Aligning Yourself for Success

2008-02-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

I went down to Edisto this past weekend with a friend of mine, Adam Witty. We go once a year to talk about our goals and do some business planning. He is a fellow entrepreneur who has started several different companies.

Adam joined one of Dan Kennedy's programs recently and has positioned himself to be one of the speakers at Dan's next event. If you don't know the name Dan Kennedy, learn it quick. He is the king of direct response advertising.

Anyway, Adam is going to be doing a pitch on his "talk a book" program. Adam is a publisher and is going to be selling a publishing package for $20K. Dan's partner, Bill Glazer, thinks that Adam could sell 20 or more packages at the seminar. How about that for a weekend, $400,000!

That's power in numbers. There will be a ton of people at that event because Dan Kennedy draws a large crowd of devoted followers. By Adam aligning himself with Dan's network, he is going to be in for a nice payday.

P.S. If you have a book in you, check out Adam's company Advantage Media Group. They did my last book.

Yahoo!

2008-02-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Most of you have probably heard by now that Microsoft made Yahoo! an offer. Well, Yahoo! rejected the offer and is having talks with New Corp.

Check out RealTechNews. They have written a couple posts on their blog lately about it. It's going to be interesting to see how it all pans out. Talk about a big deal. This is about as big as they get.

Have You Read The E-Myth Yet?

2008-02-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

If you are planning on starting a business or already have, I would say that "The E-Myth Revisited," by Michael Gerber, is essential reading. The book is about how most small businesses don't work and what to do about it. The fatal assumption, Gerber says, is that a man who understands a certain kind of technical work can successfully run a business that does that technical work. He also explains why the only reason to start a business is to sell it.

Go get the book and read it. Before, as Gerber would say, you have an entrepreneurial seizure and end up creating a job for yourself.

Form a Mastermind Group

2008-02-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

Four and a half years ago, my friends and I decided to start a book club focusing on personal and professional development. We knew that reading was vital to our success. We made a rule that you could only attend the meeting if you read the assignment for that week. We got together for a couple hours each Tuesday night and discussed what we had learned.

We had formed a group of like-minded, goal oriented people otherwise known as a Mastermind Group. The group served as a place to share ideas, brainstorm, and help each other reach our goals.

These meetings have meant so much to me over the years. Not only have I learned an incredible amount from the 70+ books we’ve read, I have forged lasting relationships both personally and professionally.

You may be saying to yourself, “I don’t know anyone that would want to do that.” If that’s the case, you may need to find some new friends. I have met tons of people at Barnes & Noble and Starbucks by just striking up a conversation with them. If someone is reading a book or magazine that is business related, I’ll just say, “What are you reading there?” It’s that easy. Most people read stuff that they are interested in and are happy to talk about it.

When forming your Mastermind group, I recommend meeting at least once a month for a minimum of 2 hours. Plan out an agenda so that the meeting itself is goal oriented. And it doesn’t have to be a book club. That is just how ours is set up. Be creative.

If you are the kind of person that is determined to be, do, and have what you want in life, start a Mastermind Group this month. You’ll be glad you did!

Keyword Suggestion Tool

2008-02-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Whether you use it for search engine optimization (SEO) or pay per click, this keyword suggestion tool can help you with your online marketing. By figuring out what words and phrases are searched for most often, a true entrepreneur can find a niche and exploit it.

Let's say you google one of the words or phrases that a ton of people are searching for, and you see that there are little to no paid advertisements on the page. There may be an opportunity here. This is the question to ask yourself: Is there a product or service that I could sell to the people searching for those keywords?

Tom Antion, an internet marketing guru, found that a lot of people were searching for wedding toasts, and there weren't any products being pushed at them from paid advertisers. He hired somone off of Elance to write an ebook on wedding toasts, designed a simple brochure website, and makes about $20K a year off of it.

Handling Buyer’s Remorse

2008-02-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

One of the most frustrating things in sales is when you sign up a client and get the dreaded “I’ve changed my mind” phone call the next day. After all the time you spent with them and the flawless presentation you gave, to no avail. You blame the prospect and spend the afternoon complaining to other sales reps.

Here’s the solution! It is handling buyer’s remorse before it handles you. If a client has agreed to buy my product or service, I say this, “Before we part today, I want to make sure that you are completely satisfied with our meeting and really want to move forward with this. Sometimes, a couple days go by and people change their minds. I just want to make sure that is not the case here.”

After I say that, I just shut up and listen. This is when the client speaks up and justifies to you how happy they are about the product or service. Get them to assure you that they have made up their mind, and you just got a client.

Power of the V-Card

2008-02-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

In our business, we meet with a lot of people in their houses. We just purchased some internet based software to help with property management called PropertyBoss and wanted to be able to access it during these meetings. I made a couple phone calls to some tech friends to see what our options were.

First, we looked into using my business partner's blue tooth capabilities on his phone to connect to the internet. Due to our physical location, Charleston, SC, that was not a viable solution yet. Next, we looked into getting a Verizon Wireless PC Card. It sounded like it made sense so we went with it.

We pay $60/mo now and can log onto the internet anywhere we want. We have not only been using it for our business, I have really enjoyed having it with me and being able to jump on the internet at any time. The only place that it hasn't worked so far was on top of a mountain at Snowshoe, West Virginia. Don't know about you but I can deal with that.

Social Networking Sites Niche It

2008-02-04T20:37:00.000-08:00

You have heard of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Heck, you probably have a profile on one of them. These are a couple of the hottest sites on the web.

Entrepreneurs have taken the idea behind social networking sites and have niched it. A perfect example of this is My Custom Car Space. What a great idea! A community that is catered specifically to custom car enthusiasts. Look for this trend to continue as entrepreneurs race to be the premier social networking site for their prospective industry or category.

FYI - News Corp bought Intermix Media, owner of MySpace, in July of 'o5 for $580 million. Now is the time to capitalize on this opportunity while it is still available.

Work Hard Once

2008-02-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, I was reading Robert Kiyosaki's book Rich Dad Poor Dad and listening to a 12 disc CD set of his. One of the ideas that stood out was to "work hard once." He gave the example that he worked hard once writing that book. Now, he has the book to sell for the rest of his life.

One of my good friends, Andrew Turner, just exemplified this idea over the past 6 months. He created a custom piece of software for college planners. He picked up some books on programming, put the ideas from his head in motion, and now he has a product to sell. College Planner 2007 is available for $597. Andrew said he loves checking his email because every few days a new order pops in his inbox.

Some people may say to themselves, "Well I could never do that." That's ridiculous! You could just as easy have come up with the idea and hired a virtual assistant in India to do all the programming for you.

The Decision Maker

2008-02-02T06:56:00.000-08:00

As a salesman, I only meet with a potential client if I know for a fact that all decision makers will be at the meeting. This allows me a certain level of control. Let's say that you just had a great meeting with Joe Buyer, and he let you know how much he loves your widgets. The only problem...Joe has to go home and run everything by his wife before a decision can be made. When people receive second hand information, it is often times distorted, confusing, and flat out wrong. You have lost control of the sale. You better hope Joe is an excellent salesman with an impeccable memory.

When I am the potential client for a product or service, I am a representative of the decision maker and cannot make a decision without their consent. The control is once again on my side. I cannot be pressured into making a decision on the spot because I must consult with my wife/partner/whatever.

Higher Authority Angle

2008-01-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

My company loaned one of our contractors several thousand dollars recently. He was going through some tough times so we helped him out. Several weeks later after he closed on an equity line, we expected to get paid back promptly. After a couple weeks, our renovation manager that communicates with the contractor kept getting the “check book for the equity line hasn’t come in yet so I can’t pay you” excuse. I told our renovation manager to let me call the contractor and see what I could do. This is where the higher authority angle came in.

I called our contractor and told him how familiar I was with equity lines. I let him know that if he simply placed a couple calls, he could access the money somehow without having to wait for a checkbook to come in the mail. I also told him that we expected to get paid by Friday (it was Wednesday at the time).

When a higher authority figure enters a situation, the person with whom you have to deal with will generally get a feeling of importance. They feel more appreciated. They become disarmed and will agree to a reasonable outcome to whatever problem you may be having.

When you come across a terribly difficult person to deal with, do the best you can, cut your losses, and move on.

The Democratization of Information

2008-01-30T20:52:00.000-08:00

“…millions of people are changing their habits when it comes to information acquisition. This has happened many times before: with the appearance of the printing press, then the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, and internet.”

That is what Hugh Hewitt had to say in his book “Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That’s Changing Your World.” Information has been controlled throughout the ages by kings and queens, pharos, chiefs, popes and presidents. Until now!

As Hewitt said in his book, “The power of the elites to determine what was news via a tightly controlled dissemination system is shattered. The ability and authority to distribute text is now truly democratized.”

Hewitt’s book is an entertaining and eye opening look into what “new media” is all about. Enjoy.

Save Yourself Some Time, "Go Negative"

2008-01-29T19:33:00.000-08:00

I was on the phone the other day with a brand new tenant buyer that is moving into one of our properties. She was calling again to complain about some repair work that was not done to her satisfaction and her general dissatisfaction with her experience with our company so far. As I was explaining to her that the house was not brand new and that what she wanted was not on our scope of work, I realized I had a perfect opportunity to "go negative."

I interrupted her rant and said, "You know what, if you are this upset with the way we do business and the condition of the house, we should part ways and not do business together. We want the people that we work with to be raving fans. We will gladly refund your money."

It is amazing how this simple technique will immediately separate the people you want to work with from (as Dan Kennedy would say) the time vampires. She quickly retorted, "Well, these are very minor details that we can work out..."

I was able to diffuse her attack by "going negative." It may sound counter intuitive, but trust me, it works! The people that part ways are nothing more than time vampires disguised as potential clients. You just saved yourself some time.

Googled Yourself Lately?

2008-01-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

It's not necessarily an ego thing but a smart business move. Check out what Seth Godin had to say in his blog post titled "The first thing to do this year."

Generation We

2008-01-19T10:59:00.000-08:00

Iconoculture, a company that tracks consumer trends for consumer giants like Sony, has dubbed kids under the age of 11 "Generation We." With an estimated buying power of 18 billion, entrepreneurs are turning their attention to this segment of the market. Never having known a world without the Internet, these children are consuming information in a very different way. These little opinionated tech savvy consumers are not responding to traditional media.

Opportunity awaits the proactive businessman. Being a pioneer marketer to this group could put you well ahead of the competition.

Virtual Phone System

2008-01-14T18:47:00.000-08:00

We just changed our business phone system to a company called RingCentral. It is a virtual phone system for professionals and small businesses. We have a toll free 800 number that is used as our phone and fax. When someone calls, we set up a message that allows people to choose from seven different extensions depending on their question. On the backside of the system, you control how the call gets routed when someone presses a particular extension. If you want it to go straight to voicemail (like me), you can set it up that way. The voice mail is emailed to whatever email address you want in a WAV file. You can have each extension forwarded to a different phone # and each voice mail emailed to a different email address. Faxes arrive via email in a PDF. There are other functions that RingCentral offers, we are just in the beginning phases of learning to use this business tool to its fullest.

And guess what...all this for the low price of $29.99.

"Close the File" Technique

2008-01-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

If you are in sales, you have most likely had some kind of experience that correlates to the following scenario:

You're in a sales appointment. Your putting on your dog and pony show. The prospect is positive, and you think you've got the sale in the bag. You finish your presentation with a grin of accomplishment and low and behold the client says, "I'm going to think it over. I'll get back to you next week." And now the game begins.

You follow up with them, and they ask you to follow up with them in a month. This pattern repeats itself until finally, the "potential client" just doesn't call back. You spend more time thinking about how great that appointment went and continue to leave unreturned messages.

All the while, you're the busy guy who justifies how good of a salesman he is by the number of "Maybes" he is following up with.

Next time you get a "Let me think it over" just say, "I appreciate your time so far. It doesn't look like we are going to be a fit. I am going to go ahead and close the file. Thanks though!"

You have just saved yourself from a state of prolonged self delusion. The tire kickers have been unmasked, and the procrastinators have been put on the spot. You have taken back control. Make sure you are playing by your rules, not by theirs!

Drowning in Minutia

2008-01-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

A couple months ago, it was brought to my attention that we may not be utilizing QuickBooks to its potential for our business. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

Since the inception of our business, I have built elaborate Excel spreadsheets to track our individual property expenses, tenant income records, and investor loan records. I also had come across a real estate investor course (specifically geared towards setting up QuickBooks for our specific business model) that I thoughtfully placed on a shelf to collect dust for a couple years.

Finally, after enough frustration with the way we were set up by our accountant, I hired someone to read the course. It was implemented so we could start the year on our new accounting system. QuickBooks is now set up so that it tracks everything for us that I used to input into Excel manually. Between myself and my assistant, this will save us from a monotonous 4 to 6 hours per week of inputting data. Not included in those #'s is the time spent just thinking about not wanting to do it.

In the age of the Internet, there are so many quality programs and systems that can save both time and money. It's realizing that other ways of getting things done are out there that is difficult to see sometime.

What do you spend time doing in your business right now that could be handled more efficiently through the utilization of software?

Remote Desktop Access for the Remote Businessman – One Step Closer to Going Virtual

2007-12-05T16:17:00.000-08:00

Within our company, there are four different computers that myself and associates use. I had a tech guy over to the office earlier today to help us with our setup. He mentioned that he could set a computer up so that no matter where I was in the world, as long as it was on, I could access my personal desktop from any computer just like I was sitting in front of it at home. So I said, “What are you waiting for?”

He started an account with http://www.LogMeIn.com/ (and by the way, it was a free account). Each of our company’s computers was added to the account, and we were ready to go. I was at an appointment later in the day at one of my friend’s houses and wanted to give it a test run. From my friend’s computer across town, I logged into the website and decided to pull up the computer that our office assistant uses. I did not expect for her to still be at the office, and when the screen came up, we could see that she was responding to an email in our account. Now, my reason for showing my friend and being excited about it was definitely not for spying reasons, but this was pretty amazing!

How could this be useful in business?

For me, being able to access information on any one of our computers from anywhere in the world is outstanding! We are in a big push to go virtual with everything we do in our business, and this is just one more step closer to the goal. I am not a tech person and get frustrated when my computer is having problems. Through this fine piece of technology, as long as any problem that I have is not a hardware problem, my tech guy can work on my computer from wherever the heck he wants to. I get easy access to all my personal files wherever and whenever and can give away that access as well. This whole concept of remote desktop access isn’t new at all…it’s new to me though, and I like it!

I heard about a similar company http://www.GoToMyPC.com/ that offers remote desktop access. I don’t know the advantages or disadvantages between the two. Other applications such as web conferencing and collaboration are available through GoToMyPC.

Five “Must Read” Classics

2007-12-03T18:16:00.000-08:00

1. Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill – Over 20 years of research culminates into the philosophy of personal achievement. Don’t go another day without having read this book. It simply will cost you too much.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie – The how-to guide to communicating effectively with people.
3. As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen – Every sentence in this book is like a seminar, and you can read it in less than 30 minutes. You can even download it for free at www.gutenberg.org/etext/4507.
4. The Richest Man in Babylon, by George Samuel Clason – An easy fun read that dispenses sound financial advice.
5. The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino – The classic guide to the philosophy of salesmanship.

The Secret to Creating a Raving Fan

2007-12-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

Last week, my company bought another piece of property in Charleston, SC. My business partner, Dusty Keefe, had met with the homeowners to contract the property and built our company a fine reputation to live up to (a technique Dale Carnegie goes over in his classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence people”). One of the owners was questioning Dusty on how we do business and whether or not he could count on us to come through with our promises. Dusty told him, “I think you will find that we will do exactly what we say that we will do, and when you look back on this after we have purchased your property, you’ll be glad that you did business with us.” That was all that was needed to say to satisfy his concerns. We had made them a cash offer and a closing within two weeks.

Two weeks later, this past Wednesday, we closed on their property. Dusty attended the closing and in the middle of signing all the documents the homeowner came to a sudden stop and said, “Can I just say something before we move forward? I remember what you said to me when we first met about how your company does business and you guys not only did exactly what you said you’d do, but you always delivered a little extra. When you guys said you’d call me, you did. When you guys said you would be at my house, you were. When you said you would close by today, you did. I just want to say that that is a very rare trait in this day and age. My wife and I truly appreciate your help. Thank you.”

Wow! It is really that easy to create a raving fan. There are so many people that consistently over promise and under deliver. They commit themselves with a reckless disregard to their integrity. Any time you make a commitment to someone, take it seriously. Set yourself apart from the pack by simply doing what you say you’re going to do.

Peer to Peer Lending

2007-11-18T18:02:00.000-08:00

www.Prosper.com matches people who need small loans (up to $25,000.00) with willing lenders in an Ebay-like fashion. A lower cost alternative to credit cards and unsecured bank loans for borrowers and a way for people to make good returns on their investment dollars as lenders. Borrowers request loans for all kinds of different reasons from debt consolidation to home repairs to business start up capital.

How could this financial tool be of use to you?

How about some Free Rice?

2007-11-15T05:28:00.000-08:00

Check out the website http://www.freerice.com/. To me, it shows the power of the internet coupled with an entertaining educational tool and a whole lot of good will all at the advertisers' expense. What a business model!

How else can you improve your vocabulary and help to end world hunger at the same time?

What to do about an"actively disengaged" workforce

2007-11-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine recommended a new management book to me the other day. I happened to be walking into Barnes & Noble so I picked it up. It's written in the form of a business parable (like One Minute Manager or Who Moved My Cheese). I was not entirely excited about the book before I started reading it but I accepted my friend's endorsement...I ask people frequently for book recommendations as I find it easier to weed through the information glut.

It's fascinating how some of the simplest ideas can be so profound. This quick, entertaining, easy read finally puts people before profits, but ironically enough, profits soared through the roof. The Dream Manager, by Matthew Kelly, is the story of a leader who sets out to transform a business by actively engaging a disengaged workforce.

My friend loved it, I loved it, you'll love it.

Why aren't you advertising on Craigslist?

2007-11-12T19:30:00.000-08:00

It amazes me how many people still don't know what www.Craigslist.com even is? Usually, as soon as I hear about any website, product, or service a number of times, I am on a mission to see what all the talk is about and that was the case with Craigslist a while back.

We have been using Craigslist for our business now for about a year. We post ads for our business on the buying and selling side. We post ads that say "We Buy Houses" and post ads for specific properties that we have for sale or lease. We have purchased one property and filled several from these FREE ads that we post. We have around $45K in equity in the house we bought and have saved thousands more by filling some vacant houses.

If you have an idea for a business you want to start, do some test marketing and see if there is a market. Ready or not, see what comes out of it. People sell products before they manufacture them all time...why not try out the same concept.

Do this: check out craigslist, post some ads and see what happens. The only cost is a little time...what do you have to lose?

P. S. Oh yeah, check out http://www.backpage.com/ and http://www.postaroo.com/. They also provide a free online classified ad service. Not as popular but they are good enough for us.