An Entrepreneurial Journey



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  • A Grassroots Strategy

    grow money 01Many people look at growing a business as a task of how to reach the largest audience and make the most sales as quickly as possible.  From my perspective, it takes time to grow a business and get a product or service out into the market.  You can start big with lots of capital, or you can grassroots your product to a small group and let it manifest from there.

    If you have capital, and can spend it, go for it.  Venture capitalists and other investor types tend to introduce a lot of control and other issues if it’s something they take an interest in.  Grassroots is the way most of us will either make it or break it in the marketplace.

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  • Effective Online Video Marketing

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    One of the benefits of being an Entrepreneur and being in EO is that you get to hang out with interesting people that are creating new and better ways of doing things that make the world a better place. I am in Grand Cayman with internet guru Ridgely Goldsborough who is doing some super cutting edge stuff online.  Take a look as I pick his brain on the special sauce that makes it all work:

  • Team Building

    Last week I talked about how nature and group activities inspire creative thinking.  I also talked about my EO Forum’s zip line experience and how it builds a connection between people to help them know and understand each other on a higher level.  A lot of people seem to think these kinds of team building exercises are a waste of time and don’t help, but I disagree.  Although they may not always provide you the level of results you are seeking, I do think they help move you in that direction.  Bestselling author and business coach Marshall Goldsmith recently sent me a paper on how to do team building more effectively, without wasting time.

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  • Cold Calls or Warm Leads?

    We’re moving to a world (if not already there) where cold calling is not the order of the day. Nowadays, it is far more productive to ensure you rank high on search engines, the most popular being Google. With such cluttered lives, most of us have tunnel vision, only focusing on the things that we actively want to engage. If you’re anything like me, you never even see the commercials on TV because you DVR the things you want to see on TV (except live sporting events, ofcourse!)

     

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  • My 9/11

    I wrote a story that sat in my inbox for about 4 years before it was finally lost in the abyss, but I never forgot it.  The story was about that day 10 years ago, when I was on my way to the Hudson River Club on Vesey Street, right across the street from the World Trade Center.  I thought back then, given the time and insignificance relative to others caught inside the buildings, it was best not to share my story of why or what put me in the path of the terrorists. 

    Being the 10th year of remembrance of 9/11, I have decided to share my story, because to me it relates to freedom and the ability to create, which are key components to entrepreneurism. The WTC also represented commerce, successful business, capitalism and diversity.

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  • Who’s Your Hero?

    Do you have a hero? Do you have several? I think it’s good to have heros, and have had many over my life. Anytime that you can model yourself after successful, respectful, courageous, and high integrity people, you have the opportunity to better yourself.

    One of my favorite hero’s is Ben Franklin. He was someone who constantly tried to learn and grow. He was an entrepreneur at heart, along with being an inventor, scientist, diplomat and one of our founding fathers. When I read Walter Isaacson’s, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life about 7 years ago, I was amazed at all he did for our country at its founding.

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  • Changing the World

    I am currently at the EO Amsterdam University, which is a 5 day conference packed with amazing speakers (even 2 Nobel Prize Winners), incredible, fun loving, successful entrepreneurs and exciting activities and venues.  One of the most interesting things we’ve done is take a canal ride through the city, making our way through the canal system and on to dinner, where we wore Dutch Clogs.  The really cool thing about this conference, though, is that it’s centered on changing the world and how each of us can do our part to make a difference.  The only thing stopping us is our own self imposed limitations.

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  • Hello….Are You Listening?

    As we’re in the midst of the holidays, most of you are probably caught up in food, football, and visiting family that you likely only see this time of year. Many of us talk about the importance of family time and bonding, but I wonder how effective we are at that in the small amount of time we get to spend with our families. Between eating, opening presents, watching football, and maybe even a few movies…how do we really engage them to build better relationships? From what I have been learning, the answer seems to be through communication.  

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  • Creating Your World Wide Rave

    In the world of marketing, everyone wants exposure, and everyone wants us to see the uniqueness of what they offer. They come at us every way and any way possible to get us to notice them, until we’re blinded by the commotion and no longer pay attention to most of what they say.

    So as someone with something to offer, how do you get people to notice you? What if you took another approach and shared information that helped them find you, and want to hear what you have to say?

    What if you wrote an e-book that provided valuable content for people, and gave it away for free, without even requesting an email address? What if you started blogging and sharing your valuable experiences on your product or service knowledge in a completely open and forthcoming way, so as to give people the knowledge that they crave as well as find useful?

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  • How Real is the Picture You’re Painting?

    Have you ever been out on the ocean looking up at the starts on a clear night, or on top of a mountain and have that feeling of vastness? As I was coming back to Ft. Lauderdale from the Bahamas on my friend Joe’s boat, my mind seemed to expand at the visual of nothing on a 360 degree horizon.
    This moment of openness allowed my mind to expand around all that I could do with my business and my life. I reflected on the strategy of Efficience to have thousands of businesses using our software applications to help them become more efficient and have better processes. I could see these web based tools growing and spreading not only throughout the US, but helping businesses around the world.

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