Giving appreciation and HONOR to entrepreneurs

I just finished reading this email letter from Perry Marshall of Google Adwords fame.

I just came home from a seminar by Paul Manwaring called "A Culture of Honor." As he spoke about how carelessly people criticize each other on TV and in daily life - and how uplifting it is to receive words of affirmation - I was struck by how little appreciation most entrepreneurs get from... well, anybody.

The evening news is no celebration of business people, that's for sure.

The government ain't doing much to make your job easier.

So... why would you risk everything, endure multiple bankruptcies, work 17 hours a day for weeks and months at a time, to be the first to be taxed and the last to get paid in a game that offers no guarantee of success whatsoever?

It takes a very special kind of person.

It takes a person who is driven from the inside by passion and vision and a bit of eccentricity. It requires you to be so dissatisfied with the status quo that you feel like you can endure anything so long as it's not the present mediocrity.

You're one of those people who just can't stand following the car ahead of you on the expressway to some cubicle for the rest of your life.

Or maybe you have this idea for a product or a way of doing something and you're convicted to your very soul that the world needs to see things *your* way for once.

In any case, I doubt it's because you're just some greedy, money-grubbing over-achiever who needs to take a chill pill. No, that popular depiction is deeply misleading.

I just want to say... Wherever you are in your journey, I'm proud of you, I HONOR you, and I cheer you on in your effort. Any honest business is a noble and honorable thing.

I'll never forget my 2nd trip to Africa. I'm somewhere southwest of Nairobi Kenya, visiting George Karanga and his wife Jane, two very special people who run a foster program for AIDS orphans.

I'm meeting a woman whose husband is dying of AIDS, he's down to 66 pounds... all kinds of kids who've lost both parents to HIV and now live with aunts, uncles or grandparents... people who are deathly sick for lack of $1.00 for a bus ticket to go to a medical clinic... a woman who's 8 years a paraplegic, living under a tin roof in a dark mud hut, her sole entertainment her radio, her cat, and her kind neighbors who look after her.

Not a cheery scene.

But the epiphany occurs when I meet a fellow named Paul Mungai, who runs a cobbler shop. Paul, ironically, is crippled, but he knows how to make and fix shoes. And he knows how to run a business.

He started with just $50.00 of seed money and now has, by Kenyan standards, a sound business. He's feeding his family, he's paying his rent, his kids have uniforms to wear to school, and everyone in his care has enough to live on.

There's a gleam in his eye. We exchange a few words and share our mutual understanding: There is one and only one path out of poverty. The one and only path out of poverty is entrepreneurship and business success.

It ain't government. It's not social programs. It's not charity. It's not even jobs or technology. It's entrepreneurship.

The message was loud and clear: What you and I do may be daring, crazy, irrational and largely misunderstood. Condescending do-gooders may tell you you're greedy or too successful. Your brother-in-law may think you've got your head stuffed in a cloud.

The government may think it has the right to confiscate your profits and give them to "education" or other well-intentioned social programs. You might cater to some strange market, doing something that most people consider frivolous.

But the fact remains: What you and I do is profoundly important. You and I pave the road that leads from poverty to success. We create the ingenuity and jobs and wealth that makes good medical care possible.

We create the world that has enough to eat, the world where even welfare kids in housing projects get three square meals a day.

So don't ever apologize to anyone for doing what you do. If it wasn't for you, me and the rest of us entrepreneurs, "they" would still be sleeping on dirt floors.

That conversation with Paul in Kenya sparkled with the mutual awareness of what I just described to you.

And as George took me to see other recipients of Micro-Enterprise seed funding - a lady selling sardines and tomatoes on a nailed-together stand on the side of the road, several women selling fruits and vegetables in the local markets, I thought of the entrepreneurs I meet in the US, Canada and Australia.

I thought of those rah-rah Amway rallies I was going to years ago, and the easily-exploited naivet? that's so characteristic of the "Biz Op" market as it's sometimes called.

And like it or not, it's that raw enthusiasm and independent spirit that drives the prosperity of the West.

Where that drive, imagination and ingenuity are lacking, people starve - literally.

So yes, some business people are too greedy. Some entrepreneurs don't care about their fellow man. Some people do make their money by dishonest means. But remember, the character quotient is no better on the poor side of the fence.

So if you're prospering by means of an honest enterprise - or if you're struggling to put one together - then you are a hero. The bards and minstrels may not sing songs about you, and your handsome face may never appear on The Apprentice, but what you do every day when you get out of bed is a worthwhile and indeed necessary thing.

Don't ever forget it. What you do matters. A lot. It's worth celebrating and it's HONORABLE.

Perry Marshall

The Most Difficult Risk

Our lives improve only when we take chances - and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.
- Walter Anderson

Perry Marshall, the Big Bailout, and the 80/20 Rule

Perry Marshall weighs in on the Big Bailout...

I just read this email from Perry and I wanted to share with all my readers. I like the way he writes, what he has to say and solid middle of the country views-opinions. Read on....

"Farmer Ron, the Big Bailout, and the 80/20 Rule


My father-in-law, Ron, is a 77 year old retired farmer in Southeastern Nebraska. He wears a John Deere hat, sports a farmer's suntan and talks kinda slow.

He had this to say about the Big Bailout:

"The people that stole my cow now want me to feed it. I resent that a lot, but I do not want my cow to die. So I guess we will have to send more cow feed their way. In the good ole days, we could have hung a couple of the rustlers and that would have delayed the next raid by awhile. Now they expect to get rewarded."

Gotta love that simple farmer common sense.

Gotta love the fact that he's from Nebraska. (Just like me.)

I'd like to add a few comments of my own.

First, the contrast between the mainstream news media and the entrepreneurial culture online couldn't possibly be more striking.

Journalists, as a group, are the most financially threatened population in today's economy.

Not because of the banking crisis, but because the Internet is destroying their business. They're ALL scared. Radio, newspaper, TV reporters - all of them.

THAT is the lens they see the world in to begin with. The grim reaper is pounding at their door and this colors EVERYTHING they say.

Those reporters who are able to perceive opportunity have already abandoned ship to seize it. The ones still reporting are the ones who are still hanging on. Can you hear the water seeping in? Glug-Glug-Glug...

Not only are they paranoid, they are irresponsible and lazy. One time Ken McCarthy said, "Reporters don't report, they repeat. They don't investigate, they elaborate."

You CANNOT trust these people to tell you what is really going on.

On the other hand, entrepreneurs are unanimous in their resolution to gain ground during this next season. Yes, we clearly understand we may witness all manner of turmoil.

But we know that many, many assets will be undervalued, that average thinkers will cut back on marketing and advertising and customer acquisition, that people whose stocks have gone down will do the stupidest thing possible and SELL them in fear of further loss.

Their loss is our gain.

All you have to do is read the emails and watch the videos that are coming out in droves from those of us who are on the front lines working with top performers. I spent last weekend with 65 other entrepreneurs at my Chicago seminar and the atmosphere in the room was powerfully upbeat, even effusive.

I fully understand how easy it is to see the good news as a masquerade and the disaster as being fully real. But as far as I'm concerned, the bottom line reality is still this:

1. Crisis ALWAYS creates opportunity. Always. "The time to buy is when blood is running in the streets."

2. It's like that old story about the two guys being chased by the bear. One says to the other, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."

Let's talk about #2 for awhile.

It sounds so terribly vulture-ish to say that, doesn't it? Doesn't it sound so... exploitive? So mercenary?

Oh yes, it most certainly does.

But it's still true.

One of my other favorite truths:

"In the land of the blind, the man with one eye gets to be king."

Just about every market I've ever seen is a land of the blind. All but the most ferociously competitive niches, anyway. I'd be hard pressed to look at any business in any industry and not be able to find, within 15 minutes, significant holes in their marketing strategy.

If you've got holes, baby, this is the time to patch 'em.

Cuz here's the deal:

Your market is the land of the blind, and... it might just constrict. (Or it might not. But it might.)

If it does, some vendors will go under.

Your job is to make sure it's somebody else, not you.

80/20 Rule says:

20% of the businesses get 80% of the business.

That means the members of the 20% make 16X as much money as the members of the 80%. And it also means, if the water level rises, it's the 80% who drown first. The 20% drown last.

The 20% seldom ever drown.

They plug their leaks, they tighten their ship, they whip their crew into shape. They prepare for the long winter and they get busy. They still drink and sing Irish folk songs at their crazy parties and they still have a good time. They enjoy their good time with resolve and determination.

For a long time we've had 5% unemployment. That means 95% employment. That means 95% of people who want a job, have one. Less employment than that surely requires some kind of exception to the laws of the universe!

That means of the bottom 80% - the mediocre people who have no inspiration and little sense of responsibility and can't follow instructions - only 5% of THOSE are unable to find work.

A 5% unemployment is therefore a virtual violation of the 80/20 rule. A merciful one, but nonetheless a violation. Ah, the luxuries of a society that values equality.

Now.... let's say the unemployment rate rises to 10% or 15%.

You know what that means?

It means you can fire any deadbeat you want and you'll be able to almost instantly replace him with a savvy, competent, responsible, hungry person who can follow instructions and genuinely contribute to your bottom line.

If you have the guts to do that, you will pull out ahead in the race.

It means if you have any cash at all you can buy investments at record-low prices and rake it in big time when the market comes back.

Let's see, a few other implications of the 80/20 rule....

80/20 applies to nearly everything you could possibly measure. It's not merely a business abstraction, it's a law of nature. Which means:

80% of the bad debt comes from 20% of the loans. (That's the part they're selling to the US government. Wall Street guys generally understand 80/20 stuff.)

80% of the corruption comes from 20% of the politicians.

80% of the pork is found in 20% of the legislation.

80% of the bills in Congress are written by 20% of the lobbyists.

Now here's something else I know:

80% of the people on my email list will only effect 20% of the change that they need to make happen.

20% of the people on my email list will effect 80% of the change that is going to happen.

Yes, a small number of those within the sound of my voice will make huge strides in the next weeks and months.

In accordance with these principles, I am only sending this email to the top 20% of my list. The most responsive, the most proactive, those most devoted to their own education.

I am ignoring the other 80%. They don't really deserve to read this message.

You do.

(That's awfully elitist of me, isn't it?)

It's because I'm narrowing my focus. YES I will still be ruthless about acquiring new customers and selling with every tool in the arsenal.

I will be providing extreme value to those who have done business with me in the past and who have already shown, by their actions and their educational investment, that they are committed to staying ahead of the curve. The information you get from me in the coming months will be the best ever.

One more thing:

There is a top 20%.

There is also the top 20% of the top 20% - the 4%.

There is the top 20% of the top 20% of the top 20% - the 0.8%.

What you should really aspire to is to be a top 0.8% person.

Let's compare the 0.8% person to the 80% person:

-Every move he makes is carefully chosen because his time is 16X as valuable

-He understands that of all the things on his list of 37 things to do, 4 or 5 of them are more important than all the others put together. The 80 percenter acts as though all items are equally important

-He is profoundly selective about the information he reads, listens to and acts upon; the 80 percenter is 'open minded' about almost everything

-He belongs to some kind of 'good ol boys club' - which is '80 percenter' lingo for a trusted circle of people among whom there is nearly zero transaction cost. Every successful business person I know has one; 80 percenters don't have good ol' boys clubs, they just gossip and have bitch sessions

-He doesn't care what most people think, and knows that more often than not the masses are tragically wrong; the 80 percenter IS the masses.

Consider yourself privileged for having received this email. Something you did qualified you to get it. And don't let grass grow under your feet. Survey your customers, find out what they'd like more of than what they're getting from you now, and sell it to them.

Don't be the slow guy. Be the guy who outruns him.

Carpe Diem - Seize the Day. Make sure the bear seizes someone else."

Perry Marshall

95% of Businesses Fail- Why and What to Do About It

Last year I read the E-Myth by Michael Gerber and I am now re-reading the book to catch additional points I may have missed.

Funny how this happens, I received an email from David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com and his review and salient points about the book. His thoughts and comments are below.


"Many of our SelfGrowth.com members run small to mid-size companies and are frequently looking for suggestions on how to grow their business.

Many of us have a full time job and a website that we are trying to expand. Others are just struggling to balance our career, our health, our family, our friends and our finances.

** THE GOOD NEWS **

I recently read “E-Myth Revisited, Why Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael Gerber, and I believe it provides some valuable insights that can help anyone with a small to mid-size business.

** PREMISE OF THE BOOK **

The term “E-Myth” refers to the Entrepreneurial Myth - a belief that many businesses fail because the founders are technicians that were inspired to start a business without knowledge of how to run a successful business.

The assumption that many people make is that because they are experts regarding technical details of a product or service, they will also be an expert at running that sort of business. If you are a great personal coach, you should be great at running a coaching business. If you are a great career counselor, you should be able to run a career counseling business. It’s a bad assumption.

** THE POWER OF THE BOOK FOR ME **

The book initially provided me with some basic ideas about being an Entrepreneur, but in the end gave me some insights that helped me refocus my time and my energy. Here are some of the lessons that I learned:

1) Don’t only work in your business; make sure you also work on your business.

In the earlier years of my business, I handled every single technical detail (Worked in my business) and was often consumed by them. Later on, I learned that I needed to invest time on developing a long term plan and vision (Worked on my business) instead of focusing completely on the day-to-day activities of the company.

2) Develop systems and business procedures to ensure the success of your company.

In the earlier years of my business, I kept everything in my head. Later on, I learned that I would need to create formal systems and write out formal procedures. This is a critical component of growth.

3) Be aware of the 3 hats you wear in a small business: Entrepreneur, Manager and Technician.

I gained an understanding that I would actually need to wear 3 different hats while growing my internet company. The Entrepreneur was the visionary, the Technician was the technical expert, and The Manager wore the pragmatic hat. In order for your company to be successful, you’ll need to develop these 3 skills or hire somebody to play each of these roles.

4) The E-Myth also provided me with several insightful questions. Make sure to ask and answer these questions for yourself.

• How can I get my business to work, but without me?

• What’s the best way to delegate my responsibilities?

• What procedures should I implement to make the business run and grow itself?

• How can I spend my time doing the work I love to do rather than the work I have to do?

I hope some of these ideas are helpful in giving you insights that you can use to strengthen, grow and expand your businesses. Interested in reading the book yourself? Click here to order from Amazon.com.

Thanks again for being a part of http://www.SelfGrowth.com

Sincerely,

David Riklan

Founder - http://www.SelfGrowth.com