Category Archives: Business

Commentary

Your Keywords Building Your Legacy

Day two of the Legacy Mastermind event is underway at the Loyal 9 Revolution world headquarters. Justin Woolf is discussing keywords and how to use them. Yeah, it’s exciting.

Keywords are an interesting animal. Many people how start an on-line business tend to use phrases like “make money online” or “the best online business” or “reviews of online businesses” or “the best ways to make money in 2012” and so on. All of them suck.

Why? Why don’t they work?

They are too general. They pull in too large an audience. They are targeted at the curious audience, not they buying one. They will bring in too many people. Too many of the wrong people. Your marketing should pull in people who know what they want. People who are looking for what you are selling, not just being curious that you have to convert into a buyer.

Get into a niche.

Who do you want to attract? What do these people look like? What do they do? What do they seek? For whom might they search?

When a person is really serious about making the lifestyle change required to be successful in a business, online or otherwise, they tend to be looking for specific information. They may do a search looking for a review about Robert Kyosaki and the Rich Dad/Poor Dad products. Another possibility is finding a video about a Dani Johnson event or interviews with people who have attended one. Maybe they are into real estate and looking to understand what Russ Dalbey offers with buying and selling property notes. You need to know how they are thinking.

What is the buyer’s story? What is there background? What is their pain? How is your offer, your product, their solution? They need to know you want to help them, not make a sale. Give what they want, what they need, then you will be able to have what you want. Their pain comes first. Solve it.

Legacy is more than just a two day training course. Mere training can be had by other ways. Legacy is about community. It is about entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs. It is about changing lifestyles and direction. It is about making connections that will last a lifetime. Legacy is about you.

Business, Marketing

Legacy Is Rocking

Are you at Legacy? No? Why?

Legacy is the third session in a three part series of training events. The series is named AFL for Action, Freedom and Legacy. It is the place where all the parts come together. It is where the picture becomes complete.

Legacy is a mastermind for Pro U members lead by the Loyal 9 and Team Rashkin held in the Loyal 9 headquarters in Hasbrouck, New Jersey. It is not for the timid. It is for the serious.

Pro U is about community. It is about every member helping every other. It is more than a business opportunity. It is entry into a training and mentoring culture. Do the work and it will lead to more.

It will lead to more opportunity elsewhere. It will lead to creating your own voice, your own business. It will create a new journey for you. It will make the future you want possible.

The opportunity is not a consumable. The product is not a one use and dispose. It is a new way of thinking about yourself. It is a way for you to get the training and direction you need to have your own business. Not one selling Pro U to others. One selling your services to other businesses. You will become a marketer, dedicated to helping others. You will become a leader.

Legacy is rocking. Are you here?

Business

Why You Need A Mentor

A Mentor??

Very few are lucky enough to have been born with all the knowledge, know-how and experience to do whatever they want to the fullest of any human ability. The rest of us need someone to train us. Someone to guide us. Someone to give advice based on experience and testing. Someone to mentor us.

A mentor is more than just a teacher or instructor. A mentor is a trusted guide. A mentor taught Odysseus’ son Telemachus. A mentor is someone close to you. Someone whose advise and teaching you long for. Someone who can be bold and blunt, without it being taken personal. Someone who can correct your quickly and applaud you thoroughly. A congratulations from a mentor is meaningful; deep.

Mentoring is about building trust. The mentor must be trusted by the student. The student must be trusted by the mentor. The mentor must trust that a student will do as they instruct. No whining. No backtalk. Just do it. A student must trust that a mentor will not put them in harms way or beyond their abilities. Otherwise, the student will likely question every instructions. The mentor’s word is absolute and final. The student’s results are beneficial and enlightening.

At 5 Point Management, the M in SMILE stands the Mentoring. We believe that everyone needs a mentor. We believe that everyone needs someone to mentor. By having a mentor, one grows in knowledge. By being a mentor, one grows in understanding. To desire a subject is to learn it. To know a subject is to teach it.

Business

The Stars Have Come Out

This blog has been around for nearly a year. Some things have changed, while others have not. Today marks the time for a significant change. Not so much to the blog itself, but to the efforts going on around it.

As I’ve been able to help other people and as they have begun to grow, it came time for me to put my foot forward more than it had been. It became time to more loudly announce to the world that changing the lives of others for the better is serious business. As such, it became time to solidify that business.

Today I am announcing the creation of 5 Point Management, LLC. The effort to creation this business took about 3 months. It was quite the arduous task, well worth it though.

The key for 5 Point is SMILE. It is what guides us daily. It is who we are, what we do and why we do it. It is our very center. Up coming posts will explain SMILE and why you should face everyday with it.

Commentary, Commentary

You Are Your Brand, Not Your Opportunity

A New Business

It is seen quite often. Someone starts a new on-line business. They are enthusiastic. They are ready to go. Ready to rock. They place ads everywhere. They send e-mails to every list they can find. All of them tout this brand new thing-a-majig. All fail.

Why?

It is the classic misunderstanding of what kind of business they are in. They believe they are in an Internet business. They believe they are in a Marketing business. They believe they are in everything but what they are.

Imagine you have applied to manage a new restaurant opening down the street. It doesn’t mater what kind of restaurant it is. If it help you, suppose it is a McDonald’s. The owner asks you about your experience. They ask what you like about their company. They are quite impressed. They have one more question, “As the manager of this restaurant, what kind of business are you in?” You answer, “the restaurant business.” The owner looks sad. They sigh, shake your hand and thank you for your time.

You leave knowing you did not get the job. You cannot understand why.

Your Actual Business

It doesn’t matter if you are a manager of a restaurant or if you started the latest and smoking hot Internet business. All of these are in the same business.

“Wait!” you exclaim. “They sell food and I see widgets. They are not the same business.”

Yes they are. You are concentrating on the what and not the why. You are not looking at what the course business is. Why you are in business. Why you believe you will be successful. Why is the core, the heart, the very center of your business.

All of these business are in the People business. As a manager, you are mostly in the business of empowering and leading your workers. They in turn are your direct link to the customer. They are the face and the attitude of your business.

As an owner of an Internet business, you are all of those. You are the manager. You are the face. You are the heart. You are your brand. What you are selling is not your brand. What you are selling is not your business. You are your business. And you are in the People Business. Say hello.

Commentary

Getting With People, Living With People

Life

We go from day-to-day. We see people. We come and go. We arrive. We depart. We get up, eat, go about our business and sleep. Life is a movement. Life is dynamic. Life ebbs and flows. Life pushes forward, no matter what. Life creates. Life spreads. Life is.

Everyday, new life is started. Everyday, old life is over. Everyday a new beginning. Everyday a final end. Everyday.

People

People interact with one another. People buy. People sell. People talk, cry, love, hate, shout, play. People are people. People have feelings. People get depressed. People have joy. People get relaxed.

Business

Putting people and life together brings about change. It brings creativity. It brings destruction.

People and life together create the most wonderful of results. People and life built the great pyramids. People and life built Stonehenge. People and life built Notre Dame.

People and life together create philosophy. People and life together created the best experiment of personal Liberty the world has seen in America. People and life created love.

Life is a people business

Life is about coming along side another for a time, creating something greater than the parts and separating into different paths. Life is about helping people. Life is about knowing people.

Life is a people business.

Business

The End Of Fiscal Pain

Pain the Knife

Of all the forms of pain, fiscal pain is the least understood, but most prevalent. It is felt every time a parent must say no to their child due only to a lack of money. The need may be high, the relevance for the child great, but when the money is not there, no must be said.

That lack cuts like a knife. The pain is deep. It is real. That pain will keep one up at night with worry. From where will the money come? The need isn’t a luxury. It is a need. It is necessary.

Fiscal Pain, letting go

Must people deal with this pain in one of two ways. They get credit of some sort: cards, loans, etc. The handle the need immediately and pain for it over time. By the end of the term of the loan and all the interest, they have paid for that gap many times over. It is not a good way. It is broke thinking. All the extra cost is consumed and they have less than they should.

Others will go the saving route. They place an amount aside every month. Until the then, the need is tolerated and managed as best they can. Other needs may get neglected for the greater good. They let go of their needs. The tunnel is long, but there is no extra cost similar to the loan route. Patience is learned.

Fiscal pain, blasting it away

There is another route. It is one that requires far more sacrifice than any other route. It requires change in the mind and spirit. It may lead to more pain before the recovery. The end will bring total relief. Along the way, one will be changed into the person required in one’s life, by one’s family and one’s community.

Do you have what it takes to go the better route?

 

Commentary

Without Action, 2012 Is Just Another Year

The Year End

At the end of the year, many people reflect over their lives. What did they do that year? What do they like? What do they not? Such reflections usually result in some manner of a list of changes they would like to make starting Jan 1. New Year’s Resolutions they are called.

Some want to lose weight. Others want to quite smoking. Still others may opt to manage their time better. No matter the desire, the results typically are the same. That first week of January the gym is crowded, but soon the attendance wanes and returns to normal. Money comes out each month anyway for that membership, few go.

The cigarettes. The alcohol. The overeating. The laziness and complacency. It all returns. Old habits come back. Oh, maybe next year.

Stop the Procrastination

The problem is not in the resolution. The problem is not in the desire. The problem is in the execution. In the action. Without action, 2012 is just another year. Just another time. Just more waiting and wishing.

Miss one day? So what, pick it up the next. Miss a week? So what, start over again. Right now! Don’t procrastinate anymore! Take action!

Take Massive Action

Some changes need to be built, slowly over time. They still require massive action, just action that is placed over many days or weeks. That twenty extra pounds were not gained in three days, so don’t expect it to be gone that quickly. Develop a plan. Take action against it. Massive action! Build the momentum.

Learning new skills may require massive action up front, coupled with restrained action as a follow up. Research. Study. Testing. Great bits of information all at once, digested slowly. Akin to pushing a large bolder. Take the massive action at the start and let momentum carry the rest, providing additional energy as needed. Without that first action, nothing will happen.

Without Action, 2012 Is Just Another Year

Decide what you want to change. Research what it takes. Find experts who can help. Find mentors who will encourage and equip. Develop a plan. Take a deep breath. Start. Take MASSIVE action. Don’t let 2012 become just another year. Create the better habits. Walk the talk. Get results. The secret is actions, not resolutions.

Business

“Keys to Your Success” – Why Do I Want To Be In Business?

Marketing is about you. It is about your story. It is about your value proposition. It controls you advertising and your target audience. Why a business needs to do marketing s as fundamental as business itself. Ok then, why would anyone want to be in business?

Why Do I Want To Be In Business?

That is a great question. Awesome, now what? Hey, we are getting there. One moment.

Being in business starts with an idea; with a dream; with a desire. It is about controlling your own destiny; getting the labor of you efforts; making a difference; creating something new. A business is a living, breathing organism. It needs attention. It needs direction. It needs you.

Being in business can get uncontrolled. It can own you. It can reward you.

And Why Do I Want To Be In Business?

The question itself holds the key to its own answer. Why. A business that starts with Why is one that starts off in the center. Simon Sinek constructed his Golden Circle for just that question: Why. Your Why has to be at the center of everything you do in order to create your value proposition. It will direct your How, which will in turn create your What.

Starting from the outside and working in is a rare achievement. Don’t start with What you want to sell. Start with Why you want to sell it. Be honest. Be forthright. Be real.

Many are the motivations for people to start a new business. Some want to improve on products of others. Some want to make money. Some want to change the world. Some being by filling a need for a loved one. Others discover ways of helping everyone simultaneously. Some seek to solve a problem. Some seek to remove barriers. Some want to put food on the table.

Your motivation for choosing this path is yours alone. Start with it. Run with it. Live it.

And what of me? Many ask why I am in business. Why do I blog and make videos. Why do I seek out people who want to make a change with their lives. That is Why.

People want to make a change. They want to experience something different. They want more control. They want to learn. They need to grow. That is Why.

I am compelled by a desire to help people help themselves. My Why is rooted in watching people grow, spread their wings and accomplish beyond their wildest imaginations. To see them run on their own. To go where only they can. That is Why.

My heard beats with the sound of a thousand drummers. It skips to the music others create. It is warmed by the light of a smile. It desires You.

You are my Why. You are Whom I seek. It is time to make a difference in your life. It is time to reach the goals. It is time to make a change. Stand up. Be counted. Find your Why and let it become you.

Business, Random Musings

Do You Trust Me?

Trust. It is such a simple word. It is one that puts you in the middle. It is a feeling. It is emotional. It is hard to gain and easy to lose. It is a part of being human.

What is trust? Why do we trust some people and not others? What are the qualities that allow us to trust?

The ability to trust lies in the inner portion of the brain. It is emotionally based and has no capacity for language. It leads us to trust people based on a common ground. It is communities that build trust. Neighbors open to one another, leading to help. This human interaction is the seed that grows to trust.

Do you trust me?

We humans long for interaction with others. Video conferences do not fully replace this interaction. The eye-to-eye and hand-to-hand contact is a part of who we are. It is how we build trust.

Trust is integral to human beings. They have to exist or we get more disconnected and more self-centered. Trust is about interactions. It is interactions. No matter the level of experience another may have in what we seek, if there is no trust, there is no relationship.

Trust allows us to take bold steps. It allows us to build great things. Great works. Great wonders. Trust is forged in the heat of battle and the most tender of moments. It breaths and moves. It endures.

Do you trust me?

The start toward trust harbors in the Why of others. When you know why someone does what they do; what drives them to continue; how deep their level of commitment, it is far easier to trust them. You have their motivation. You know there is nothing hidden.

Secrets breed mistrust. Lies add fuel. Openness brings light. Trust only grows in the light. Darkness will surely kill trust. Once dead, it can be nearly impossible to revive.

Do you trust me?

I do what I do because of my Why. I long to empower people. I find joy in watching others discover their dreams, realize their goals, max their potential. Without trust, no one will allow me to know them well enough to help them.

I can help people change their lives. I cannot change it for them. They must walk the path, but knowing someone they trust is behind them will help.

Think back to that first bicycle ride without the training wheels. Was someone holding the seat? Did they run along until you had enough speed to stay steady? How did it feel when you looked back and they were no longer holding the seat? How did it feel when you saw the smile on their face as you achieved? What was it like when it was your turn to hold the seat? That feeling is trust?

Without trust, there is no community. Without community, there is no society. Trust is the very thread that holds us all together. In its absence, insanity rules. Arbitrary laws get passed when people no longer trust one another to do the right thing. Regulations run amuck and the largest gun wins.

Without trust, people are suspicious of others. Without trust, travel becomes more burdensome. People watch one another and quickly turn to authoritarian leaders for protection. No one is safe. All feel uneasy.

It is time to rebuild trust. Time to reconnect with one another. Time to reach out your hand and say hello. It is time to be known by your neighbors and understand each other. It is time for openness and warmth. Let the light in. Build trust.

Do you trust me?