The following list is derived from my experience. Based on my actions and results I retired from corporate America at the age of 28. I’ve been involved in several successful businesses and many unsuccessful ones too.
#1 - Never let your expenses exceed your sales. Yeah, I know that's easy to say, because you say “Jeez, that makes perfect sense, if my expenses never exceed my sales then quite honestly I’m always going to have positive revenue. I'm always going to be in the profit. Wow. That's fundamentally smart. But c'mon Bert, it doesn't work that way in the world. Why? When we start out we don't have any sales yet, and so our expenses have to exceed our sales on day one.” And you're correct. That’s true, so I want you to have a concept, a goal or even a burning desire. That you will make those days the fewest number of days absolutely possible that your expenses are exceeding your sales.
#2 - Failing to collect the money or the receivables. Question - Should you really be extending credit to people? I don’t care what business your in retail, wholesale, hospitality, legal, or whatever. Selling is what you about not carrying receivables. Don’t extend credit, get paid now! Look fewer customers that have paid you 100% are way better than having more customers when some of them didn’t pay you at all. More cash, less stress - you don’t have to be real smart to do the math.
# 3 - Failing to take care of your employees. People have say that the customer is number 1 – right? Maybe not. Well who is taking care of your customers? Your employees handle quality and service and delivery? Well if you haven’t taken care of your employees, they’re probably not going to take care of your customers very well. It’s just that simple. It’s goes without saying that if you do take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.
#4- Failing to take care of your customers. Real simple the easiest customer to get are existing customers. There is usually more profit in repeat customers than in new customers. A happy customer is a good customer a good customer refers more customers. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.
#5 - Underestimating your competition. We can, no matter what business we’re in, we think of our competitor as dim-witted, we think of our competitor as incompetent. Remember this -our battle isn’t against them. It’s for the customer, not against our competitor. We don’t win by doing damage to the competitor. We’re not in a battle with him really. We’re in a battle for someone else. So quit thinking about the competitor and start thinking about your competitor’s customers.
#6 Inadequate capital - Now I’ve started business with no money because I had to but then you quickly come to realize that you do need money to operate. You do need capital to grow the company and get to the next level. And here are 2 rules you should remember about capital. And, just in case your not clear, capital is the money we need to fund the organization, to buy the inventory, to hire employees, to do all those things that we’re going to need to do. Well here’s are 2 rules you need to appreciate. Is that your expenses are going to be hirer than you anticipated and your revenue is going to be slower than you anticipated. Those two statements are true in 99.99% of every single business that has ever started. Well that’s what happens. It happens almost all the time. Because we are optimistic, if we weren’t optimist we wouldn’t have started a business. We over-projected what our revenues are. What I’m telling you as a practical, experienced businessman lower that number. Now if you beat, if you excel… wonderful! Find a place to spend it. But if you have shrunk it down, conservative in your projection then you might be safe.
#7 Underestimate the length of time to break even. The break even is a magic moment in the making of a business and if you don’t understand let me try to explain the concept to you. Break even is that magic point when you quit putting money into a company and the company is finally sufficient enough that it starts to pay for itself or is finally starts to pay you for having been there first.
# 8 Focusing on profits instead of on cash flow. Business people, when they first start out, they focus on profits instead of on cash flow. And I know this is going to sound like sacrilege to some people saying well,” aren’t we supposed to be all about profits? absolutely, and yes! And we want to get there as fast as we possibly can! But before we get there we have to make sure something else happens first, and that is that we always have positive cash flow. We always have enough money to pay the rent. We always have enough money to pay out employees. We always have enough money to buy more supplies, to do more marketing, that’s really crucial. That’s called cash flow. Profits will follow the cash flow I guarantee it. Now there’s a different in being profitable and having positive cash flow, you can be unprofitable where you’re actually losing a little bit of money but still have positive cash flow. I’m telling you when your first starting a business, if you have to pick between the two, now if you could have both of them, great go get both of them and that would be wonderful, but I also will tell you from experience getting both of them when your first starting out is really going to be complicated. You’re going to have to make a decision between the two. Pick cash flow when you’re first starting your business.
#9 Over estimating size of your market. Entrepreneurs are optimists and we tend to have this attitude that everyone is going to want to buy what we have - that just doesn’t sell. Get over it. Just come to understand that it’s not going to happen. So what you need to be able to do is think about Bottom Up Marketing. It isn’t how many potential, how many people are out there, it’s about what you can you really do. Bottom Up Marketing looks at your capacity. So if you’ve got 1 employee, 3 employees, 7 employees, that’s all you can handle. It doesn’t matter how many people might want your widget. You can’t handle it! So think coolly about the real size of your market and don’t ever estimate it because you can’t handle it right now. You only need enough market to handle the capacity you presently have, and if you can do that efficiently you will be profitable, and if your profitable you’ll be successful and if your successful you can grow the company again, and again, and again. Do a little research on “Bottom Up Marketing” and you have a better understanding of the concept
#10 No Advertising/Marketing plan. So how are you going to drive your sales through advertising or through sales people. You need to develop your marketing plan, you need to have enough capital to drive sales. I’ve seen to many times were entrepreneurs will invest all this money in equipment or to get the doors open only to discover they have no way to adequately drive sales.
#10.5 - Exit strategy. At one point, P.T. Barnum noticed that people were lingering too long at his exhibits. He posted signs indicating " "This Way to the Egress". Not knowing that "Egress" was another word for "Exit", people followed the signs to what they assumed was a fascinating exhibit...and ended up outside. So what am I talking about? We should start a business that we can create and build something that we can sell, transfer, dispose of, or hand off to someone else. That should be a goal maybe the first goal as you begin to vision your successful business.
Remember . . . You Were Created to Succeed!
Bert Martinez
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Combating Financial Fear and Staying Emotionally Solvent
When Ervin Antonio Lupoe fatally shot his wife, five children, and himself on January 27th, it underscored just how serious and rampant today’s financial panic has become. Before he committed his tragic acts, Lupoe faxed a note to a TV station saying that he and his wife had planned the killings as an escape for the whole family because they were in debt and had been fired from their hospital jobs. It was the fifth mass murder of a Southern California family in the span of a year.
Chances are you don’t have to look at the headlines to know that people are fearful about their finances. You’re probably feeling it yourself, or you know someone who has lost a job or whose house is in foreclosure. The stress can be overwhelming, but no one wants to end up like the Lupoe family. No matter how bad things are, you can avert tragedy by keeping a check on your emotions and fear. Your situation may be tough, but lots of people have come through horrible circumstances to the other side. Earlier generations struggled through the Great Depression, and many of them went on to not just survive, but also prosper.
So, the perception that there’s no way out usually isn’t accurate, and if you take some steps to calm your emotions and focus on the positive, you can bring yourself out of the dumps and begin to take constructive action that will make things better for you and your family.
Just what is fear and panic? All fear comes from the feeling that one or more of your needs aren’t being met or that you have been violated in some way. For example, if you’ve been laid off from your job, you no doubt feel that your security needs are no longer being met and that your ability to take of yourself and your family has been violated. The resulting pain and loss can cause you to spin out of control emotionally.
Some of us roll with the punches well, while others of us are prone to wallowing in misery. Whichever category you fall into; there’s nothing wrong with you. But if your tendency is to wallow, you’ll need to work harder to leave the pity party.
First of all, understand how your emotions work. All emotions are produced by three simple elements, and all of these elements are in your complete control at all times. That may be a shocking statement, but it’s true! You don’t feel an emotion; you do an emotion. And how you do each emotion is all up to you. Here are the three elements:
Your Focus: What you focus on will determine what you feel and how intense you feel it. The pictures in your mind play a huge part in the development of your emotions. So, let’s practice shifting your focus. Close your eyes, and picture your favorite food. Maybe your favorite is chocolate cake. Picture it in 3D full color and as detailed as possible. Can you smell and taste it?
Now, let’s try to shift your focus by picturing your finances or current situation in black and white, flat, one-dimensional terms. You might choose a symbol for your finances, such as your bankbook or your job. Picture it in the distance, far away from you. Make the image less clear than the chocolate cake, without any energy or intensity. Just playing around with images like this in your mind can help you to dissipate the importance of something in your life that causes you anxiety.
Next, try picturing yourself in a great new job or with a solvent bank account. Make this image like your chocolate cake – 3D, in full cover, and with lots of details. See the difference? If you do this daily, it will help to calm you and bring your focus back to your true positive goals.
Your Body Language: Did you know that your motions equal emotions? Think about it: You can tell by looking at someone how they’re feeling, can’t you? When people are depressed, it’s usually in the way they move and hold their bodies. They don’t smile or sit up straight, and they tend to walk slowly with little direction or enthusiasm.
If you drag yourself around all day, slump in your chair, and eat a poor diet because you’re feeling low, you will only keep yourself in that state of mind. This doesn’t mean that you have to be phony, but make an effort to pull yourself out of your depressive body language.
Try exercising to get some endorphins pumping through your body, eat something healthy, and stand tall. The better you take care of yourself, the better you will feel about yourself. Taking care of your body actually creates greater self-esteem and self-confidence. Yes, it’s difficult to do when you’re feeling low to start with, but all it takes is a little push. Start with something small and build on it. How about some steamed broccoli with garlic? It’s inexpensive, healthy, and easy to make.
Your Conversations: Scientists estimate that we have about 60,000 thoughts every day, and more than 95% of them are the same as the thoughts we had the day before. So, we tend to tell ourselves the same things over and over in our inner conversations. Is it any wonder that most of us have a boring and negative inner dialogue?
We all need an inner cheerleader – a voice that can pull us out of the doldrums and offer alternatives to the negatives that come from within and without on a daily basis. Just the onslaught from the media is bad enough, as they try to create as much drama as possible about the financial “crisis.”
So, learn the art of self-talk. Begin to notice your thoughts, and catch yourself thinking negatively. The next time you think, “I’ll never get out of debt,” remind yourself that you don’t know that to be true. Instead, think about the first step you can take to make your next payment. Don’t look at the big picture. Look at each small step toward your goal, and you’ll be less overwhelmed by the challenges you face.
Begin to hear a rich, deep laughter in your mind whenever you think a negative thought. “Ha! So, you’re the big bad challenge?” The reality may be that you’re out of work, but you can’t predict the future. That means that there’s no reason to think the worst will happen. Create an action plan to do something – however small – every day to make your situation better. Research potential employers, work on improving your job skills, locate things you could sell in a yard sale, or figure out an area where you can cut your spending. Ask yourself how you can use this challenge to learn and grow in a positive way.
Law of Attraction. You’ve probably heard about the Law of Attraction with movies like The Secret moving more into the mainstream. The truth is that what you think about is what you bring about. Everything we think or do is a cause that will eventually have an effect in our lives. These results begin to “stack up” and move us in a particular direction. There’s an old saying: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. So, pay attention to where you put your energy because the more you focus on the negative, the more you’re likely to attract more negativity. Instead, have the determination to try something new. It’s as easy as changing the way you do your emotions.
Your Emotions are the Ultimate Stimulus Check
Chances are you don’t have to look at the headlines to know that people are fearful about their finances. You’re probably feeling it yourself, or you know someone who has lost a job or whose house is in foreclosure. The stress can be overwhelming, but no one wants to end up like the Lupoe family. No matter how bad things are, you can avert tragedy by keeping a check on your emotions and fear. Your situation may be tough, but lots of people have come through horrible circumstances to the other side. Earlier generations struggled through the Great Depression, and many of them went on to not just survive, but also prosper.
So, the perception that there’s no way out usually isn’t accurate, and if you take some steps to calm your emotions and focus on the positive, you can bring yourself out of the dumps and begin to take constructive action that will make things better for you and your family.
Just what is fear and panic? All fear comes from the feeling that one or more of your needs aren’t being met or that you have been violated in some way. For example, if you’ve been laid off from your job, you no doubt feel that your security needs are no longer being met and that your ability to take of yourself and your family has been violated. The resulting pain and loss can cause you to spin out of control emotionally.
Some of us roll with the punches well, while others of us are prone to wallowing in misery. Whichever category you fall into; there’s nothing wrong with you. But if your tendency is to wallow, you’ll need to work harder to leave the pity party.
First of all, understand how your emotions work. All emotions are produced by three simple elements, and all of these elements are in your complete control at all times. That may be a shocking statement, but it’s true! You don’t feel an emotion; you do an emotion. And how you do each emotion is all up to you. Here are the three elements:
Your Focus: What you focus on will determine what you feel and how intense you feel it. The pictures in your mind play a huge part in the development of your emotions. So, let’s practice shifting your focus. Close your eyes, and picture your favorite food. Maybe your favorite is chocolate cake. Picture it in 3D full color and as detailed as possible. Can you smell and taste it?
Now, let’s try to shift your focus by picturing your finances or current situation in black and white, flat, one-dimensional terms. You might choose a symbol for your finances, such as your bankbook or your job. Picture it in the distance, far away from you. Make the image less clear than the chocolate cake, without any energy or intensity. Just playing around with images like this in your mind can help you to dissipate the importance of something in your life that causes you anxiety.
Next, try picturing yourself in a great new job or with a solvent bank account. Make this image like your chocolate cake – 3D, in full cover, and with lots of details. See the difference? If you do this daily, it will help to calm you and bring your focus back to your true positive goals.
Your Body Language: Did you know that your motions equal emotions? Think about it: You can tell by looking at someone how they’re feeling, can’t you? When people are depressed, it’s usually in the way they move and hold their bodies. They don’t smile or sit up straight, and they tend to walk slowly with little direction or enthusiasm.
If you drag yourself around all day, slump in your chair, and eat a poor diet because you’re feeling low, you will only keep yourself in that state of mind. This doesn’t mean that you have to be phony, but make an effort to pull yourself out of your depressive body language.
Try exercising to get some endorphins pumping through your body, eat something healthy, and stand tall. The better you take care of yourself, the better you will feel about yourself. Taking care of your body actually creates greater self-esteem and self-confidence. Yes, it’s difficult to do when you’re feeling low to start with, but all it takes is a little push. Start with something small and build on it. How about some steamed broccoli with garlic? It’s inexpensive, healthy, and easy to make.
Your Conversations: Scientists estimate that we have about 60,000 thoughts every day, and more than 95% of them are the same as the thoughts we had the day before. So, we tend to tell ourselves the same things over and over in our inner conversations. Is it any wonder that most of us have a boring and negative inner dialogue?
We all need an inner cheerleader – a voice that can pull us out of the doldrums and offer alternatives to the negatives that come from within and without on a daily basis. Just the onslaught from the media is bad enough, as they try to create as much drama as possible about the financial “crisis.”
So, learn the art of self-talk. Begin to notice your thoughts, and catch yourself thinking negatively. The next time you think, “I’ll never get out of debt,” remind yourself that you don’t know that to be true. Instead, think about the first step you can take to make your next payment. Don’t look at the big picture. Look at each small step toward your goal, and you’ll be less overwhelmed by the challenges you face.
Begin to hear a rich, deep laughter in your mind whenever you think a negative thought. “Ha! So, you’re the big bad challenge?” The reality may be that you’re out of work, but you can’t predict the future. That means that there’s no reason to think the worst will happen. Create an action plan to do something – however small – every day to make your situation better. Research potential employers, work on improving your job skills, locate things you could sell in a yard sale, or figure out an area where you can cut your spending. Ask yourself how you can use this challenge to learn and grow in a positive way.
Law of Attraction. You’ve probably heard about the Law of Attraction with movies like The Secret moving more into the mainstream. The truth is that what you think about is what you bring about. Everything we think or do is a cause that will eventually have an effect in our lives. These results begin to “stack up” and move us in a particular direction. There’s an old saying: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. So, pay attention to where you put your energy because the more you focus on the negative, the more you’re likely to attract more negativity. Instead, have the determination to try something new. It’s as easy as changing the way you do your emotions.
Your Emotions are the Ultimate Stimulus Check
Achieving Success in Today's Business Climate
How successful do you really want to be? Is that too vague? How about - How much money do you want to earn?
Well business people are always consistent with their internal feelings about:
Themselves, who they are;Their feelings about money, what's possible for them to earn, keep and spend;What they deserve to achieve.
One of our greatest emotional needs is for security. To know that future events aren't going to create big waves of change. One of the ways we fulfill this need is to have standards, set goals, make decisions, and tackle problems that we're comfortable managing. Probably 95% of people do this without even knowing why.
Dr. Prescott Lecky, a Canadian educator, branded what he called the Theory of Self-Consistency. He developed his program to help teachers enable students to learn more effectively. He theorized that our minds are organized systems of ideas, and all the ideas that belong to the system must seem to be consistent with each other.
Dr. Lecky states, "The center or nucleus of the mind is in the individual's conception of himself. If a new idea seems to be consistent with the ideas already present in the system, and particularly with the individual's conception of himself, it is accepted and assimilated easily. If it seems to be inconsistent, however, it meets resistance and is likely to be rejected."
This means that when the choices, decisions, or commitments you make with yourself are in conflict with the beliefs, values, and self-image in your unconscious. Conflicts occur that inhibits your progress toward your goals. The model of Self Consistency leads us to realize:
When the choices, decisions, or commitments you make in yourself are consistent with the beliefs, values, and self-image in your unconscious. Congruency occurs which accelerates your progress toward your goals.
Long story short, how we feel is more important than what we know. Change how you feel about yourself and you change your money, health and your entire life. The economy has little to do with what you'll achieve this year, you're emotions are in control. Now who's in control of your emotions?
To receive free information about how you can re-engineer your emotions for success visit www.bertmartinez.com.
Well business people are always consistent with their internal feelings about:
Themselves, who they are;Their feelings about money, what's possible for them to earn, keep and spend;What they deserve to achieve.
One of our greatest emotional needs is for security. To know that future events aren't going to create big waves of change. One of the ways we fulfill this need is to have standards, set goals, make decisions, and tackle problems that we're comfortable managing. Probably 95% of people do this without even knowing why.
Dr. Prescott Lecky, a Canadian educator, branded what he called the Theory of Self-Consistency. He developed his program to help teachers enable students to learn more effectively. He theorized that our minds are organized systems of ideas, and all the ideas that belong to the system must seem to be consistent with each other.
Dr. Lecky states, "The center or nucleus of the mind is in the individual's conception of himself. If a new idea seems to be consistent with the ideas already present in the system, and particularly with the individual's conception of himself, it is accepted and assimilated easily. If it seems to be inconsistent, however, it meets resistance and is likely to be rejected."
This means that when the choices, decisions, or commitments you make with yourself are in conflict with the beliefs, values, and self-image in your unconscious. Conflicts occur that inhibits your progress toward your goals. The model of Self Consistency leads us to realize:
When the choices, decisions, or commitments you make in yourself are consistent with the beliefs, values, and self-image in your unconscious. Congruency occurs which accelerates your progress toward your goals.
Long story short, how we feel is more important than what we know. Change how you feel about yourself and you change your money, health and your entire life. The economy has little to do with what you'll achieve this year, you're emotions are in control. Now who's in control of your emotions?
___________________________________________________________________________________
Bert Martinez is a sought-after Consultant, International Speaker and Transitional Trainer. Bert's ability to teach people how to re-engineering their negative emotions and beliefs as earn him the nickname "The Emotional Engineer."To receive free information about how you can re-engineer your emotions for success visit www.bertmartinez.com.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Your Integrity and Values
I believe that in order to fulfill your destiny we must speak up, people must know our standards, our values and if they decide that our values and standards are not in alignment with theirs it's completely ok. I believe that we were Created to Succeed and that term 'Success' will be different for everyone.
By letting people know what we stand for or what we're passionate about we gain real power and this feeling will build our confidence and focus which adds to our power.
You Were Created to Succeed.
By letting people know what we stand for or what we're passionate about we gain real power and this feeling will build our confidence and focus which adds to our power.
You Were Created to Succeed.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Creating a Memorable Tradeshow Or Event
Want your attendees to have more fun and provide you with great testimonies? The fastest way to learn anything or generate lasting memories is by creating Intense Emotional Associations (IEAs). Here is an idea that will create a lot of fun emotions and lasting memories.
Nowadays videos are all the rage and most people don't mind posing for a video bite here and there. Assign a person or two to take short videos, 1 minute or less, of the attendees and presenters having fun at the event. While they're having fun ask them to give a recommendation (sometimes referred to as a shout out) or testimony about the event, a workshop or a presenter, then ask if they would like a copy emailed to them, everyone says yes.
Now you have intensified their emotions and created a lasting memory for them and your event. Because of smart phones the videos could be uploaded every hour or so and emails sent to the individuals, if possible, if not, make a priority right after the event. The videos will be seen and as always sent to coworkers, attendees, family and friends so now your event grows virally, also these videos can be used for future marketing of events and can be placed on your website as well.
Items you'll need: A video camera, I recommend the Flip video camera they're inexpensive and very easy to use and have all the software built right in the camera. Amazon has the Flip Video Cameras for about $100.00. High-speed internet access and a site to upload your videos like youtube.com or kyte.com. A note pad for collecting emails.
Nowadays videos are all the rage and most people don't mind posing for a video bite here and there. Assign a person or two to take short videos, 1 minute or less, of the attendees and presenters having fun at the event. While they're having fun ask them to give a recommendation (sometimes referred to as a shout out) or testimony about the event, a workshop or a presenter, then ask if they would like a copy emailed to them, everyone says yes.
Now you have intensified their emotions and created a lasting memory for them and your event. Because of smart phones the videos could be uploaded every hour or so and emails sent to the individuals, if possible, if not, make a priority right after the event. The videos will be seen and as always sent to coworkers, attendees, family and friends so now your event grows virally, also these videos can be used for future marketing of events and can be placed on your website as well.
Items you'll need: A video camera, I recommend the Flip video camera they're inexpensive and very easy to use and have all the software built right in the camera. Amazon has the Flip Video Cameras for about $100.00. High-speed internet access and a site to upload your videos like youtube.com or kyte.com. A note pad for collecting emails.
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