Protecting Yourself When You're Self-Employed
by Suze Orman
Especially helpful, is Suze's advice on Planning for Entrepreneurship:
• Don't access retirement savings.
• Keep the home-equity tap turned off.• Don't rely on credit.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Articles of Interest
Considering an
Here's how to identify legitimate direct selling opportunities:
Start up costs should be minimal. The start up fees in direct selling companies are generally modest - usually the cost of a sales kit. Companies want to make it easy and inexpensive for you to start. Pyramid schemes make their money through fees paid by new recruits or by loading inventory or training aids on them. High entry fees should be a warning sign.
You should be able to return unsold inventory. Companies belonging to the Direct Selling Association "buy back" unsold marketable products purchased within the prior 12 months if you decide to quit the business, for 90 percent of the price you paid for them. The DSA Code of Ethics requires that member companies do this. Beware of opportunities that encourage "front end loading," or buying large inventories of unreturnable products to reach achievement levels or receive a "special" or larger "discounted" price.
Is the money you'll earn based on the sale of products or services? The answer should be "absolutely." This is a key element of a legitimate business. Direct selling, like other methods of retailing, depends on selling to customers who use and/or consume the product. This requires quality products and services sold at competitive prices. Beware of any business that claims you can get rich by solely using their products or by recruiting new people into the business. You should also believe in the products or services you'll be selling.
Ask yourself, "Would I buy this product if I weren't in the sales organization?" If the answer to that is no, think twice about the opportunity.
How to Get Started:
- Identify a company and product that appeal to you.
Check our list of member companies or look in your local phonebook. - Take your time deciding.
Does "getting in on the ground floor" mean that everyone joining after you will be less satisfied or happy? A legitimate opportunity won't disappear overnight. Think long-term. - Ask questions.
About the company, its leadership, the products or services, start-up fees, realistic costs of doing business, average earnings of distributors, return policies, and anything else you're concerned about. - Get copies of all company literature.
And read it! - Consult with others who have had experiences with the company and its products.
Check to see if the products or services are actually being sold to consumers. - Investigate and verify all information.
Do not assume that "official looking" documents are accurate or complete or even produced by the company, as opposed to the person trying to recruit you. - Need help evaluating a company?
Check to see if the company in which you're interested is a member of the Direct Selling Association. If it is, you can be assured the company has pledged to abide by and uphold the DSA Code of Ethics. In addition, you might want to call your local Better Business Bureau, state attorney general or consumer protection office.
© 1996-2007 Direct Selling Association
1667 K Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington DC 20006-1660
Phone: 
202.452.8866
| Fax: 202.452.9010
Friday, February 23, 2007
Some Repostings from The Dream Factory
In an article entitled "What It Takes to Be a Successful Entrepreneur," Wendy Kwek says (among other things:
YOU NEED P.H.D.!!
"I believe that everyone can be successful in business if you set your heart, mind and soul to becoming an accomplished entrepreneur. It takes PHD to succeed in business. That is Passion, Hunger and Drive! (sorry, I do not mean the academic PHD “doctorate”). So, ask yourself this question, do you have the passion to lead an exciting and rewarding life, do you have the hunger for success and do you have the drive and determination to conquer obstables that may come your way. Every time I look for business partners for the various businesses I am in, I look at the PHD level they have."
My word for that, as unveiled in my sermon Sunday is "pyrocardia," a heart on fire.
Romans 12:11 lays it out:
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." (NIV)
Lacking in zeal is literally getting a case of the "slows." Spiritual fervor is "heat." Serving the Lord has textual variations and is sometimes found as serving the time. While the best texts have serving the Lord, it is also true that this service of God is in time and space and requires seizing opportunities.
As we come to the entrepreneur's table to collaborate and encourage one another in spiritual, social, and business endeavors, let us earn PhDs in passion and catch a good case of pyrocardia.
God, the Entrepreneur
Is God the first and greatest entrepreneur?
Here is a list of some of the definitions and links from Google:
Innovator. One who recognizes opportunities and organizes resources to take advantage of the opportunity.
ww.onlinewbc.gov/docs/starting/glossary.html
One who assumes the financial risk of the initiation, operation, and management of a given business or undertaking.
www.business.gov/phases/launching/are_you_ready/glossary.html
A person who takes the risk of organizing and operating a new business venture. (This is an attitude that can be of value in more traditional employment as well.)
www.acceleratoronline.com/viewpage.asp
Someone who attempts to profit by risk and initiative.
www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/help/help-glossary.htm
An innovator of business enterprise who recognizes opportunities to introduce a new product, a new process or an improved organization, and who raises the necessary money, assembles the factors for production and organizes an operation to exploit the opportunity.
www.powerhomebiz.com/Glossary/glossary-E.htm
French word which translates roughly as "enterpriser." In capitalism, a speculator who invests capital in stocks, land and machinery, as well as the exploitation of wage labor, in the pursuit of profits.
www.workers.org/marcy/perestroika/glossary.html
A French term for a person who undertakes and develops a new enterprise at some risk (or failure or loss). Although the words innovator, proprietor, and capitalist are used in the same sense, there are subtle differences that make the term " entrepreneur " preferable.
www.indiainfoline.com/bisc/jmee.html
An entrepreneur is someone who assumes the financial risk of beginning and managing a new venture. The venture can be based on a totally new idea, a new way of doing something, a new location, or attempting something no one else has done before.
www.cybercitymommies.com/Glossary.html
Individual who starts an enterprise with its associated risks and responsibilities.
www.peakagents.ca/glossary/e4.htm
someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
An entrepreneur -derived from the French words 'entre' (ie: enter) and 'prendre'(ie: take)- is, in its most general sense, a person who creates or starts a new project, opportunity, or venture. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrepreneur
Of all these, I like the last best because it does not impose the artificial qualifier that an entrepreneur must be involved in a for-profit business, or any business for that matter.
God is an entrepreneur and is the model for launching bold new initiatives.
Two key scriptures inform my thinking here:
Isaiah 43:19 (New International Version)
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Fair Shakes and Residuals
Last night, at an unnamed restaraunt named for some guy named Benny or Lenny or Kenny - something like that, I had a very disappointing experience. Know this: I am a D****'s fan and this group I was with has been going to that same spot at the same time for eight years. We know the people - most of them - at least until recently.
Recently, they got a new manager and the first order of business was to require our favorite waitress to stop wearing her signature flower in her hair. How do you spell "rinky-dink?" This woman is one of the reasons we keep going. She is D's for us and that flower is her identity. It is her smile. It her way of describing her sunny outlook on life. That was disappointing.
Then, we were served by a very sweet, enthusiastic waitress last night who bounced in once or twice and had to receive some very distressing news of our unhappiness with one issue: we only received half of a milkshake!
Apparently, this is the training that the new, "progressive" management has initiated - no individual expression, standardization of everything, and half a milkshake for the same price as the old product where we received "seconds" in the metal container.
I am not a complainer and I left the sweet girl (who didn't refill the all-you-can-drink driinks or bring us our bill) a nice tip. It is not her fault. It may not even be this manager's fault. It may be no one's fault - but it does make a pretty good subject for a blog on how not to succeed in business over the long haul.
We will go back - a time or two, to give it a fair shake (and hopefully I can get a fair shake). However, I cannot promise anything indefinite. There are too many places that bend over backwards to make the customer feel happy and part of the community (How to you spell STARBUCKS?).
Now, you are probably asking - "Didn't Tom say he was on a diet?"
You caught me! Half a shake was enough for me -- but bad for business.
Here is the question: Are you in whatever you are in for the long haul? If so, you are interested in happy people who keep coming back ... and in residual income. Whether you represent a church, a network marketing system, a brick and mortar business, or some other endeavor, the secret to customer satisfaction is first, giving your customer a fair shake and then, going well beyond that to the point of surprise and delight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Burg on Winning Without Intimidation
Bob Burg is the real deal. He practices what he preaches. Some years ago, at a convention, I bought his whole packet on networking - CDs, tapes, books, and video and immersed myself in his methodologies. I did this for two reasons. First, I had heard the man speak on tape and in person. Second, I met him and watched him in action. His CD series, "How to Cultivate a Network of Endless Referrals" was fleshed out in his own practice. As I listened to audio program, the rationale made a great deal of sense to me. As I came to understood his strategy it become clear that it was even more so, a philosophy of life. Bob believes what he is saying. He sincerely believes that people are worth knowing and not just as means to some sales, or in the case of those of us in ministry, as means to an evangelistic end.
This sincerity and authenticity is what he advocates and practices with an accompanying warning: People can see through us. Whether we attempt to be or not, we are transparent in our motives. We cannot fake real interest in other people.
The bottom line for Bob Burg is in a matter of adjusting our own motives and tuning our mental engines to the goal of adding value to other people's lives. The concomitant of this is that we will become valuable to many people.
Bob is a genuinely nice guy who looks at you when he is talking to you, communicates a sense that he values you, shows appreciation, and recognizes you later as an old friend when he sees you in the hall.
From an article posted on About.com:
Develop profitable, win/win relationships with practically every new person you meet - whether one on one or in a social setting.
How? Ask questions. Specifically, "feel-good" questions. These are questions designed to put your conversation partner at ease, and begin the rapport-building process. These are not intrusive, invasive, or in anyway resembling those of the stereotypical salesperson. Feel-good questions are simply questions that make your new prospect/potential referral-source feel good; about themselves, about the conversation, and about you. Vital, because "all things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust." Asking feel-good questions is the first step to accomplishing that goal.
I have recommended Bob Burg to many sales people and pastors along the way. I commend him to anyone who needs to work with people in order to maximize performance and reach full potential. The key predictor of success in almost any profession or business that is not practiced in utter isolation is the level of people skills.
Burg comes at people skills from two different need driven questions in his work on referrals and his book on winning. In the first, he is anticipating a pleasant and non-confrontational setting where positive results are expected. In teaching on winning he places us in situations where we tend to be confrontational, direct, and demanding and often culminate our interactions with mutual frustration.
For Burg, the same underlying philosophy applies to both settings; People are valuable and deserve respect. For instance, instead of intimidating people, he suggests that the eight key words that will get us what we want are, " If you can't do it, I will certainly understand."
It works like relational judo... and it is utterly sincere.
In "Winning Without Intimidation," Burg quotes from the Talmud, "Who is a mighty person? One who can control his emotions and make, of an enemy, a friend."
It doesn't matter what your business, profession, or ministry might be, Bob Burg can help you.
The "Winning Without Intimidation" Mission Statement is as follows: "To raise the consciousness level of the world in the arena of human interactions. To show people how to get what they want while helping others to feel good about themselves."
Ignac Semmelwies, in 1837, discovered germ theory and listening to him would have empowered the medical profession to save thousands of lives. However, because he was so obnoxious and combative, no one listened to him. Only in 1867 would they listen to a man with people skills, Joseph Lister.
I owe this timely reminder to my new friend, Rebecca Starr, an instructor at Fresno City College who is sitting at the table next to me at Starbucks and who proves to me that networking teaches us how to network.
Check out Bob's free weekly Ezine.
Thanks to Sherwin Nuland, "The Man or the Moment" in "The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2005 : The Best American Series 2005" for the reference to Semmelweis
I have used these coupons in the past and they really work. Besides helping you, they will assist in our work on and off line.
Writing Your Own Ticket
Network or Multi-Level marketing is a Golden-Rule business when done properly, with integrity, and with the right company. There have been plenty of abuses, but there are also many, many success stories. You build communities of people who do business together, support each other, and share a passion for their dreams. You work smarter and leverage your time by equipping other people for success. You don't make a dime unless you help them make a dollar.
It is no replacement for your faith and your service to God and humanity, but it can help you build your faith and support your ministry. If you keep things in perspective, you can begin to take charge of some areas of your life which have had a tendancy to take charge of you.
Money is a terrible master, but a pretty nice slave.
Writing your own ticket means that you make money less of an issue in your life, less of a topic in your conversations and thoughts, and less of a driving force in your life. It may seem paradoxical, but if you can create some streams of income, money will become less important to you.
Who thinks more about money - those who have what they need or those who are living on the edge of financial disaster?
Robert Kiosaki calls network marketing the business school for people who like helping people. Order his book at the link below. He also calls it "the franchise for the average man."
Rich Dad products has encouraged and informed you. Why not earn an incentive by recomending them to others? Click above.
There are some wonderful opportunities to do honest business through affiliate marketing and network marketing. I have a list of such opportunities and their relative advantages and disadvantages for anyone who writes me about them. The key is to evaluate the company's integrity, the value of the product, its marketability, and your own personality and interests. Then go with something about which you can become passionate.
Don't forget that leaders are also readers. You can rent, borrow, listen, or buy. Click on one of my bookstores here or in the margin for bargain s and quality.
Finding a company you like is important, but it is even more crucial to get on the right team with the right kind of mentors. shop for a good mentor. He/she will be available in person or by phone, honest, realistic, encouraging, and likeable.
He/she will also be a student with good mentors of his/her own.
I would love to work with you in one of my businesses or refer you to a friend.
Recently, I have become very impressed with what Pre-Paid Legal has to offer in compensation and in product. My friend, Doug Bloomer is building a great business. We are friends from Toastmasters.I would be happy to get you information on that opprtunity and get you in touch with someone like Doug who can help you. Our church is affiliated. E-Mail me.
New programs seem to emerge weekly. Some are good; some are not so good. The MLM Blog is a good source of information and so are primary sources. Learn to read the company's pitch and read between the lines as well. Don't believe all negative possibility. Sour grapes can produce that. Don't take all the positive at face value either. A busin ess is what you make of it and they all take work.
Remember, a good business requires digits, widgets, and fidgets. More on that later.
Usana is a good company with a quality product. A friend of mine is involved and as I typed this, he was making a presentation at the next table. i can't do everything an d you can't either. Find what suits you and a team with whom you can work. Yoyu are choosing a business and a set of best friends.
Right now, I am looking into Eniva and so far, I am impressed. But what is right for you?
Again - keep it in perspective. Nothing comes before your relationship with god, your family, and your calling to minister and make a positive impact in the world. In the quest for wealth, do not trample on the poor or neglect service for which there is no material compensation. But if you are going to do business and if you need to make money, consider leveraging your time by building communities and working smarter.
And if you don't like the way you have been approached by these programs in the past, do it differently.
How to Be Rigidly Flexible About Time
Let me start by saying that I only have a few minutes to compose this entry.
The fact that I have any time flexibility at all is because I was rather rigid about planning my day today. Having said that, i have already made several revisions in the schedule - lowering expectations in some areas and increasing them in others, moving arbitrary deadlines and getting ahead on a few projects.
So, here I am with about 5 or 10o minutes to blog.
The title is a bit deceptive because I cannot really tell you how to do this. Having Outlook fully operational is helpful.Making attempts in the direction of realism is a plus. Commitment is necessary. Margins are indispensable. Grace is crucial.
Having things to do during the gaps is a useful tool - especially small jobs. Otherwise we slip into a pattern of time-consuming thumb-twiddling - which can be both tiring and frustrating.
Well, here are a couple of list items which are not meant to be exhaustive.
1) No matter if it does seem to be a waste of time, take time, and plenty of it to really think about your week and your day and what you really want to accomplish and plan it analytically, realistically, and rigidly, knowing that you will have to be flexible to cope with the unexpected.
2) Plan margins.
3) Plan projects that can fit into the margins.
4) Plan breaks and do not negotiate these away. If you are like me, plan changes of focus regularly.
5) Raise your expectations of yourself in some areas and lower them in others.
6) Use that infuriating alarm bell in MS Outlook. For instance, mine just went off telling me it is time to pack up and go - which I am going to do - even though I am not done.
I said this would not be exhaustive or plenary in nature - just some passing observations.
"Gotta go.'
What Does It Take to Get Good Contacts?
Whatever you are building in terms of a business organization or a church or some other movement, you will need people to accomplish your goals. It is all about creating community (communities).
It was said of singer/son-writer/ragamuffin Rich Mullins that he created communities wherever he went. That is why when he died tragically at the age of 42, they had to have a traveling memorial service that moved from city to city.
Communities develop as we bring people together. To bring people together, we must meet people, introduce people, and set a table where they can continue to meet. That begins with contacts and referrals.
One of the truly great mentors in this area is Bob Burg. I recommend that any serious student/practitioner of this art get his book and the CD series and absorb/apply it. How to Develop a Network of Endless Referrals is a great starting place.
At the heart of the matter is the question of motive. While honest and transparent self-interest is healthy, it must be held in balance with a larger set of interests. If we are interested in people only for what they can do for us, that Will also be transparent and a detriment to what we are trying to accomplish. We cannot show interest in another person unless we are genuinely interested in them.
We just cultivate a sense of wonder and appreciation for people as marvelous beings made in the image of God who are valuable and fascinating to know for no other reason than just knowing them. When we meet and share lives with others, we benefit in ways that may be intangible, but are profound. When we add value to other people's lives through encouragement, we encourage ourselves.
There is no such thing as a wasted contact. Every appointment is a divine appointment. Every opportunity to meet a new person has a mystical and miraculous dimension. God is bringing someone into our lives for His own purposes and that may involve our goals as well. If not, that is fine because real success is larger than those goals.
We live in a world of uncharted adventures and unknown wonders. Infuse your business with that philosophy and see what happens.
When we meet someone, we must view them as valuable and see in them a beauty and potential that is beyond time and space. If you believe that, everything about you will communicate it.
After that, it is simple. Extend your hand. Introduce yourself. Follow some guidelines like those Bob Burg suggests.
What does it take? First, be among people regularly. Next, keep your eyes open for points of contact. Then, extend yourself by extending your hand. After that, ask good questions and listen carefully. Finally, do not part without sharing contact information.
Then (as if anything comes after "finally" - and much does), follow-up. More on this later.
"Direct Selling Success in 2007" from"Direct Selling News"
First w turn to Tony Jeary in his article: Communicating Your Opportunity: Clarity, Focus, and Execution. Jeary, one of the top trainers in
"People usually come to this industry because they have a dream, or are trying to find an opportunity that can become their dream. The dream has many pieces. One piece may be a desire for financial success. Another piece might be independence and the hope of being able to build a successful business. Another piece might involve helping others in a wide variety of ways. There is no one piece that is more important than another. The point is that when a person with a dream is making that initial decision about becoming a part of your team, the decision is made against the backdrop of perceived opportunity. I believe the key to success for any direct selling firm hinges on how well they communicate their ability to help new prospects recognize the opportunity they offer. There must be a communication strategy to make that work. The question is: What are the elements your communication strategy must embrace? I think it boils down to three distinct points: Clarity, Focus and Execution."
Clarity, focus, and execution. Jeary elaborates on each utilizing his own advice. His style is clear, focused, and executable.
"The absence of clarity drains energy. Lack of focus produces indecisiveness and excessive preparation. Poor execution degrades effectiveness, limits results and restricts growth. So, for opportunity to be maximized, the issues of clarity, focus and execution become the most significant."
Clarity is present when there is a sense of purpose As I like to say, "A way without a why (Y) is a WA." In other words, it it meaningless and undefinable. It is also found in the communication of value as the benefits of the product, vision, or project are communicated. The third area where clarity is essential is in the communication of objectives.
Focus, according to Jeary, "is achieved when the critical success factors needed to propel us across the gap are identified and understood."
Without focus, we become disorganized, indecisive, and caught up in excessive preparation according to Jeary. In my own life, lack of focus often leads to a constant state of getting ready to be ready, of movement from one pet project to another, and inertia. Focus is the remedy and necessity in selling the one big idea entrusted to us. Jeary refers to three areas where he stategizes with CEOs to help them create proper focus:
- Mandating the correct action items
- Creating the appropriate amount of detail to support action mandates
- Creating benchmarks that can measure results
Execution is the final step and build upon the firs two with the anticipation of expected results. Execution requires a mastery of communication, performance benchmarks, impact measurement, and sustainability.
"Many people flounder as they try to fulfill their vision and their dreams because they lack a methodology to execute their objectives and strategies. Marginal results degrade overall effectiveness across extended periods, which retards or stops growth. When growth is in jeopardy, we stand on shaky ground."
Jeary is worth reading and hearing. Four other stories in the New Perspectives section are:
Communicating Your Opportunity: Clarity, Focus, and Execution
Academic Forum: Leading and Manging in the Millennial Generation
Top Desk: The Elements of Greatness
What's In It For Me?
More from Previous New Perspective articles:
Academic Forum: Embracing Diversity in Direct Selling
Top Desk: The Power of One Man's Dreams
Setting the Record Straight
I also recommend:
Growing Your Business Organically: The Rule of 350
Entrepreneur's Table on Wall Street Seeing the Value of Direct Selling
Mangosteen Journal on Sipping Supplements
The World of Liquid Supplements
For 2006 statistics on stock prices of Direct Selling companies,Download 1206_stock.pdf
Free Lunches and Networking
Those who are convinced that I attend all these meetings around town for the free food will have to rethink things now that I am on this high metabolism diet with my spousal unit. I brought my own trail mix to the round table and availed myself of the salad and water, but that would not have made it worth my while.
We meet to network and collaborate. No amount of solitary thinking, unilateral strategy planning, and personal research could have moved one of my pet projects forward as much as one contact from today's lunch meeting did.
In fact, it may get an organization on whose board I sit off a very large dime.
I joke about meetings, fuss about them, and resist them, but in the end, attend because they work. I look forward to the day when I can start eating the free lunches again too.
And ... I really do enjoy the company.
Notes and Ideas
A mental note isn't worth the paper it is written on.
You can make mental notes all day long, but they lack the safety features of paper and digital notes. For one thing, you lose them. They exist, but they are floating out there is a closet of cerebral clutter and are only retrieved when looking for something else and usually after a deadline has long expired.
Another problem with mental notes is that they are subject to the distortions of time. It has been demonstrated by neurological researchers that eye-witness accounts are often unreliable and altered by time and intermingling with other memories.
Perhaps that is why the Bible required two eye-witnesses before a person could be convicted of a capital crime.
Then, mental notes are often relegated to lists of lesser leverage in our thinking simply because we did not render them important enough at the moment to write them down.
I have noticed a habit being practiced by my friend, Philip Brewer, a life-coach and artist here in
Case in Point: I forgot to make time and space note and my mental faculties failed me.
Entrepreneurs eat ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Good ideas are worth remembering and writing down. so are not-so-good ideas. They can be sorted out later or even trigger good ideas.
Now, having written this, i have made a note to myself to take more notes. If you get some benefit from the suggestions as well, that's good.
Now, i need to go back and read some of my notes.
Meetings
A leader once told me that he thought meetings were demonic. That may have been because of the fire he felt in his esophogus whenever he was preparing for one. Perhaps the following suggestions will help those who share his meeting anxiety.
Ten Rules for meetings
- Make sure you have a good reason for holding a meeting. Otherwise, don't.
- Clearly communicate the objective for the meeting before the meeting. Send it out with a request that any additions to the agenda be sent within a few days.
- Create and distribute a solid agenda, gathering suggestions from key parties.
- Thoroughly research everything you need to know for the meeting before the meeting.
- Have information ready before the meeting and accessible during the meeting. It is a good idea to send out pre-meeting packets to all participants asking them to prepare for discussion of key issues. If additions have been made to the agenda, send a revised agenda at that time as well.
- Determine how you will manage the flow of discussion and deal with "log-jams" ahead of time. Make sure all participants are in agreement ahead of time on process.
- Budget time for each item on the agenda effectively.
- Plan, discuss and assign roles before the meeting and make assignments with dates, times, deadlines, and accountability during the meeting.
- Stick with your agenda. Schedule another meeting for additional issues.
- Send out minutes as soon as possible after the meeting and allow for feedback using e-mail and blogs.
Talking Too Much
As usual, Ty Tribble offers practical advice to network marketers and others that can be immediately put into practice.
In You Talk Too Much, he says,
"Slow down and listen to what the potential business partners have to say. We are not talking about the curiousity approach where you are afriad of telling people what you do, this is about creating an atmosphere focused on the prospects needs, not your own."
How profoundly true this is whether in business, ministry, or in our own prayer lives.
VAST POSSIBILITIES
Here are some notes on my VAST Possibilities workshop that I will be presenting tomorrow morning. They are cross-referenced with VAST Possibilities at Blogger.
What Are VAST Possibilities?
VAST possibilities are what you possess.
VAST stands for ....
Values and Attitudes that Stimulate (and Sustain) Transformation
A VAST Possibilities workshop is about creating an interior environment for life change as a precursor to success in many dimensions of life.
A New Pattern
We have a pattern problem. We have developed behaviors that we practice consistently, habitually, and without much thought. We start practicing these behaviors before we crawl out of bed in the morning and condition ourselves to practice them before we lay our heads on our pillows at night. When we realize that some of these behaviors are negative or destructive, we have a battle on our hands removing them. When we determine to introduce positive practices to the mix, we find that there is no room for the old is crowding out the new. The first change is in our attitudes . Then we can address behaviors. We need new patterns. We need to replace old, worn-out,, useless and even harmful behaviors with newer, more nurturing and positive actions. What are the steps?
- We must pray for guidance and strength. Our creative God will work with our creative minds to create a new scenario and unveil options we have never considered.
- Then, we must do the hard work of being institutional and aware. We must accept that change is awkward and new behaviors may be “forced,” contrived, manipulative, or uncomfortable. We must practice them anyway.
- We must repeat the new behavior (which includes avoidance of the old) day after day, keeping some sort of record of our progress.
- We must allow grace for the failures and celebrate the victories and patterns begin to change in our lives.
Values and Attitudes that Stimulate (and Sustain) Transformation
First, there must be a desire for transformation.
- Trans - Across -beyond, through. The "trans" in transformation highlights the idea that for change to occur in behavior, barriers must be crossed and movement must take place.
- Formation - Something is being formed. A new form is emerging within us. Change is taking place in an intrinsic environment where the roots of change are nurtured and allowed to grow naturally.
- There is movement from the head to the heart.
- Then there is movement from the heart to the hand (habit and practice).
Without an end-goal of transformation in mind, behavioral change will not take place.
Then, there must be a strategy for stimulation and sustainability of change.
- Transformation Stimulated - Consider the strategies, systems, rewards, and patterns necessary to stimulate desire and energy for change.
- Sustainability - It is not enough to reach a goal of change once. Transformation requires a re-ordering of factors that reinforce behavior over the long haul.
- Environment.
- Internal rewards.
- External rewards.
- Beliefs.
Finally, there must be a coorrelation between values and attitudes as moderated by our beliefs.
- Values - Values constitute our responses to truth and principles.
- Attitudes - This could also be described as mindset - how we are predisposed to respond rather than to react based upon what we believe about our values and the circumstances of our lives.
ATTITUDE - ATT&T - IT - U - DE
- AT&T - Communication and self-talk. We must take control of our internal dialogue.
- IT - We have to ask in every situation, "What is the IT of it?"
- U - Your attitude is really up to YOU.
- DE - We need to DEcide to DEny certain patterns, habits, and attitudes. This includes any number of words that start with DE.
Make it plural with an S for SUPERMAN - How did Superman ever figure out his limits or lack thereof?
If you want this to make more sense, get in touch with me for the full workshop.
A question was raised about innovation and innovators at Toastmaster's this morning. It put my brain in gear theologically and entrepreneurially. I moved from the "creatio ex nihlo" to James Weldon Johnson's" Creation." It triggered the concept of co-creativity among those made in the "imagio Dei."
So, naturally, an acronym piped into my warped brain: WHY NOT?
Actually, it started with WHY.
But it is "why not" that is so often on the lips of innovators who quickly move past the "why" questions as George Bernard Shaw observed and Robert Kennedy often quoted him.
WHY NOT?
WHY
W = What the
H = Heck
Y = Yall!
What the heck, yall - throws caution to the wind and envelopes a universe of possibilities.
NOT
N = Negate
O = Old
T = Timidity
Negate old timidity and the accompanying boundaries that are arbitrarily imposed by tired paradigms and limited thinking.
Having taken those steps, one is free to think new thoughts. "Why not" is not the same as innovation, but it is a necessary preliminary step in that direction.
Check out the new book link to "The Shaping of Things to Come" on the left.
Sales Presentation
I am working on a sales talk and here is a rough outline of a sub-point:
In order to become effective in sales, we need digits, widgets, and fidgets.
We need digits because it is a numbers game.
We need widgets because the quality of, need for, and appeal of the product counts.
We need fidgets because that accounts of the energy, love, and enthusiasm we have for our widgets and for the people whose needs we are trying to meet.
As I develop thise, I will post more.
Critical and Strategic Thinking
How to Think Critically and Strategically
Topic – We must have something to think about.
Technique – We must cultivate processing skills.
Timeliness – We must think in the context of our times.
Hours – It takes time to think strategically.
Honesty - With truth as the object, brutal honesty is required.
Holistic – Our thinking must embrace multiple concerns.
Intellect – Thinking always engages the mind. Mental capacity must be nurtured.
Integration – Ideas, convictions, and paradoxes must be incorporated in the stew.
Inspiration – The spiritual dimension is necessary. The Holy Spirit illumines our thinking.
Negation Mechanism – We need to weed out irrelevancies.
Need-Based – We are thinking to solve a problem.
Next – Strategic thinking taes us to the next level.
Knowledge – It is a primarily a tool more than an outcome.
Koinonia - Fellowship is seen in collaborative thinking.
Kerygma – It must come under the authority of ultimate truth.
People Meeting People
We had two new outstanding members in Toastmaster's. It made me think about networking and where we network. Both of them were able to present a pithy introducion of who they were, why they had come, and what they were about in terms of mission and goals.
We can network anywhere and at any time. I met two people at different times at Starbucks this morning who were more than ready to tell me about their businesses. I sensed and was energized by their passion .
Toastmasters is also and, perhaps more so, because it is populated with highly motivated people who are deeply interested in their own growth and development. They are also predisposed toward networking.
Entrepreneur's, social, business, and spiritual, must always be wearing their networking suits when in public. The best and easiest contacts will be in places where people of influence, passion, and dreams hang out. I would also include some spots where young adults can be found. They may \not have solidified their life missions, but they are on the prowl for significance.
At Starbucks, I met Simon Terronez, Jr. I noticed the insignia on his shirt, "Valley Remnants and Rolls" and mentioned I had heard their sponsorship announcements on the local NPR station. He thanked me. At the cream and sugar station, I asked him what set his business apart from his competitors. He had a ready and impressive answer; excellent service and competitive pricing. Then he added that I would see the difference if I visited the showroom I(which is, by the way at 1820 E McKinley in 559-445-0206).
I sat down and he left, but he was back in less than a minute with a card (from which I am blogging the details here) inviting me to come in whenever he could be of service.
That is networking.
Setting the Table
The Next STEPS of SOLUTIONS:
I am looking at integrating the Entrepreneur's table with the ministry of the local church and modelling it in our congregation.
What is your impression about how much Proverbs and the rest of the Bible have to say about these issues is the following list?
Justice for the poor
Fair business practices
Advice for attaining prosperity
Values
Stewardship of wealth
Giving and generosity?
We reluctantly address tithing when absolutely necessary and our backs are agains the wall - but we say very little about wealth definition, accumulation, preservation, and stewardship beyond giving to worthy causes.
Suppose a group began to meet regularly to study God’s principles of wealth & business and with the opportunity to support, collaborate, work together on some projects, and pray for each other? What else might we include?
What Are You Selling?
"What are you selling?"
I know it is a bit crude, possibly rude, but I get a lot of phone calls where we have to go through the "beating around the bush" dance for a few minutes and I am always friendly about the question and not necessarily closed-minded. I ask within a few seconds, "What are you selling?"
And I try to let the folks on the other end of the line know that I don't think "selling" is a dirty word.
I just want to know.
Is it an idea, a product, a service, or a "gift?" Do they want an appointment, a commitment, or an opinion? I want people to know that they have a legitimate self-interest in calling me and that I know it and that it is OK. It makes for a honest conversation. Even if their self-interest is the sense of satisfaction in doing a good thing, let us put our cards on the table.
I don't need to know their profit margin, but I know that they cannot stay in business without one and if they cannot stay in business, I don't want to do business with them because their after-care will soon dry up. I want to spend my money with people who know how to make a fair profit.
Does that make sense?
I need to process this call quickly because I am probably in the middle of another project, perhaps even a bright idea that will never pass through my mind again and needs to be captured, interrogated, and released.
Win my goodwill by respecting my time. I am inclined to give both in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Maybe you are selling an idea. That is good. You will be measuring profit differently. If you are selling the gospel, it may be out of sheer gratitude for what you have already received and love for humanity. If you are selling a social or political idea, your motive may be that you really believe society will be improved and your family's life will be better if I adopt your way of thinking.
Let's cut to the chase. I have no problem with the fact that you are selling something. I have a problem with you denying it.
And don't be surprised if I try to sell you something while I have you on the line.
Christians and Wealth
Co-published at The Entrepreneur's Table.
There is some wonderful and thoughtful material on this blog which I will be returning to read and ponder. This relates to the subject in Entrepreneur's Table because Christians, and especially social/spiritual entrepreneurs struggle with it. Is it honorable to make money?
Flying Embers: "Wealth brings independence, a satisfaction that your family will be able to enjoy a comfortable home and weather life’s storms. I could go on and list countless other things that wealth brings without damning your soul.
So, I thought I would begin to post articles concerning the attainment of wealth the way Godly people through all ages have accomplished it.
These are the time tested, righteous pursuits of wealth that have worked in all generations. It will be worth our while to carefully consider what the wealthy say about the attainment of riches."
I'll be checking in to see what I can learn.
Co-published at The Dream Factory
The Tabled Table
I have not forgotten the TABLE acronym for Entrepreneur's Table (See also Entrepreneur's Table on Blogger). I just haven't been able to sit there for a while. The T - was for Timely Topics and Transferable Themes. We dealt with some of those. The A was for Attitudes and we introduced that subject. The B was for Building Blocks and we dealt only with the first ( and only a couple of those. Those blocks were Principles, Priorities, People Skills, and Process. The L, whenever we get to it, is Lifestyle and the E is for Ethics.
We addressed some principles and we will be coming back and forth to them - in fact to all of these.
What I want to touch to this evening is one observation about people skills. We know that a big chunk of anyone's success in job or business is capacity to get along with people and that it outqweighs talent, intelligence, and even hard work. Great ideas cannot compensate for a nasty disposition.
Here is the observation. People without people skills often take a dim view of the progress of people who have them.
They are called by names that I really don't use or like to write, but you know them. Frequently, we find disgruntled people complaining about all of the "politics."
Not all job and organizationa; "politics" is good - much of it is not, but what some people call "politics" is a small percentage of the work/business force going out of their way to get along with people, show respect for customers and employers, and resolving conflict in a positive way. The rest of it, is about people not doing that and reaping the consequences.
More on this later.
More From Starbucks
I posted my last note from Starbucks in Clovis (Armstrong and Shaw). As much as I had touted the new lunch menu, I had not tried it. Now I can report good news. The half a taragon chicked sandwich with cranberries I tasted as a sample was delicious. The young man who enthusiastically recomended it to me was right - It goes straight to the center of your tongue and from there, to your heart.
The main course for me, since it was mid-morning and I had not had lunch, was the cheese and fruit plate ($5.25). The bread was a little dry, but I think that was intended for stylistic purposes. The fruit was fresh; the cheese was magnificent.
Of course, the atmosphere was perfect - no rush, friendly people, enthusiastic staff, a place to plug in my laptop, and a T-Mobile connection (that was a bit pricey).
Now, if I could get an affiliate relationship with Starbucks --- oh never mind --- it could effect my credibility on this particular subject.
My Dad, the Salesman
Dad excelled in the sales profession. I am not sure what techniques he learned or practiced through the years to close a deal. I just know what I observed.
It wasn't the product that intrigued him although he never sold a product in which he could not believe for any company that would not keep its promises.
It wasn't the process although he often spoke of writing the definitive book on sales - its nuts and bolts for the everyday salesman who hammered out a living day in and day out, year by year. He did that and must have known something because somewhere between the dabbler and the superstar is the man or woman who can support a family in this profession.
But it was neither of those two that kept him in the business. It was the people. He loved to go from place to place - no two days the same and meet new people, see old friends, talk about this and that, and help folks get what they wanted. It was the people and the conversations.
I am sure that there are many lessons my dad taught me about sales and ministry that I learned without realzing it. I should reflect upon them someday and jot them down. However, if there were no more than this one, I'd be set for life: Put the people first.
As he lay dying from a brain tumor, gradually losing his faculties, he became agitated one day and the family asked him if he wanted something. He mustered what were some of his last words and blurted out, "I want to talk!"
He was a salesman to the end.
I was just thinking about that this Father's Day.
Business Ethics?
Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. - Psalm 62:10
John Maxwell wrote, "There's No Such Thing as Business Ethics" and intentionally gave it a title that needed explanation.
From the verse above, it looks like Solomon learned a thing or two from his daddy. Both were great business men, but King David seemed to know something that thousands of corner cutters donning striped suits would have paid dearly to internalize before self-destructing.
Business ethics are nothing more than ethics. The Golden Rule is right because it is good and good because it is right, but it also works.
We don't have to learn one moral code for business and another for all of our other human relationships. One will do and most of it is found somewhere in the Bible.
The MultiLeveler and Ty Tribble
I am not in lockstep on all of Ty Tribble's conclusions at The MultiLeveler, but he has some valuable insights for bringing network marketing into the 21st century.
Speciifcally, I don't buy Costco's assertion that its mangosteen has more Xanthones than Xango. It is not the "first to market" response that carries the day. That fact is that they cannot get as many Xanthones in the body with their extract as Xango does with the whole fruit including the pericarp where most reside.
Then, I think his assessment of Quixtar has a mix of value (namely, suggestions for making that excelent business better) and pessimism. Alticor may be big and it may not be as interactively savvy as market leaders, but it is making some great strides and has the credibility and structure to stand the test of time.
Any IBO can chart the course of his or her own business by creatively working within the given parameters. I intend to learn a great deal about blog-networking from Ty.
He is right. The industry is growing and cannot be stopped. It pays to shop for the right company and do it the right way.
Specifically, I have extracted some key ideas:
""Product saturation in Network Marketing has never happened. New people still buy vitamins, make-up and phone service every day. Frankly, there has never been any proof of product saturation in the history of Network Marketing.""
That is true and thousands turn 18 every day.
Here is another:
"
Here are some MLM 2.0 ideas:
- Embrace Web 2.0: blogs, wikis, tags, and rss
- Tell the truth. Most of the complaints about MLM 1.0 have to do with honesty.
- Training your business partners should not be a profit center.
- Don't hound people.
- Get product pricing under control: The $80 multi-vitamin is no longer acceptable.
- Life Balance: Exercise, Family Time, Work Time and Business Time.""
Good stufff - especially about integrity anmd hoesty.
I am going to be reading the archives and keeping up with Ty's postings.
More on Starbucks - The Third Place
It is over halfway through the day and I am still in utter amazement at the possibilities of having lunch at Starbucks. It is like having your two best friends meet and hit it off. I can actually read a book over lunch without feeling rushed - or have a prolonged conversation - or a casual meeting. We just really need to let this sink in.
This is a dream factory where I jump around from subject to subject as my interests vary. But I dream well in a third place and many of my entrepreneurial notions are developed there. Why not dream of more such places and gather resources as people of faith and social conscience to create them?
Dom Nozzi captures the spirit of what I am feeling in his article, "What is a 'Third Place' and Why Are They Important."
Nozzi is an urban designer and executive director of Walkable Streets where they say of themselves, "Walkable Streets specializes in preparing and amending plans, land development regulations, quality of life regulations and community design recommendations. The guiding principle of Walkable Streets is that a walkable street is the fundamental building block of a quality community. Indeed, the pedestrian is the design imperative."
Nozzi makes this statement in his article on the third place (which Starbucks touts itself as and, in my opinion, does a fairly good job of being), ""Social condensers" -- the place where citizens of a community or neighborhood meet to develop friendships, discuss issues, and interact with others -- have always been an important way in which the community developed and retained cohesion and a sense of identity."
In my opinion, this has been one of the casualties of modernity and, perhaps one of the postive revivals of post-modernity.
According to Nozzi, it was Ray Oldenburg who coined the term in his 1989 book, The Great Good Place
Oldenburg, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Sociology at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. , according to Project for Public Spaces, "argues that bars, coffee shops, general stores, and other "third places" (in contrast to the first and second places of home and work), are central to local democracy and community vitality. By exploring how these places work and what roles they serve,
I borrow several of
“What suburbia cries for are the means for people to gather easily, inexpensively, regularly, and pleasurably -- a ‘place on the corner,’ real life alternatives to television, easy escapes from the cabin fever of marriage and family life that do not necessitate getting into an automobile.”
“ ... Third places are nothing more than informal public gathering places. The phrase ‘third places’ derives from considering our homes to be the ‘first’ places in our lives, and our work places the ‘second.’”
"The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood ...."
“Life without community has produced, for many, a life style consisting mainly of a home-to-work-and-back-again shuttle. Social well-being and psychological health depend upon community. It is no coincidence that the ‘helping professions’ became a major industry in the United States as suburban planning helped destroy local public life and the community support it once lent.”
Nozzi carries the issue further with insightful articles and observations. He reminds me of a long held conviction that urban planning is crucial to the well being of society and that those who engineer our contemporary cities are contributing to the engineering of our culture for years to come.
So, social and faith-based entrereneurs must retreat to their own dream factories from time to time - sometimes at a Third Place, to reimagine what can be done - and more specifically, what THEY can do.
In Lake Forest Park, WA., they dropped all pretense and named their coffee house/bookstore, Third Place Books . The name is enough to make me want to show up.
There is even a web site called thethirdplace.com and imagine this: it is a church site! In Singapore!!! Rev. Alvin Chan welcomes the community with these words:
"The Third Place (TTP) is a preaching point and Trinity Annual Conference (TRAC), The Methodist Church in Singapore’s attempt at meeting the spiritual needs of the younger generation. Put together by a very young team, the church will look to build as her foundation three very basic yet vital components"
And then he quotes Oldenburg of all people:
"According to Ray Oldernburg an American Sociologist who coined this term, third places are "distinctive informal gathering places (first being the home and the second being work).
• They make the one feel at home
• They nourish relationships and a diversity of human contact
• They help create a sense of place and community
• They invoke a sense of civic pride
• they provide numerous opportunities for serendipity
• They promote companionship
• They allow people to relax and unwind after a long day at work;
• They are socially binding
• They encourage sociability instead of isolation
• They make life more colorful"
Was Ray right in Field of Dreams? If we build it, will they come?
Or only if we build it right and hang out the welcome matt really well ... and serve lunch?
Postscript: If you are really interested in this notion, Google will certainly be your friend and you can google from here:
Dream On!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Suze Orman on Self-Employment
Not to be a disputer, but I prefer Robert Kyosaki's distinction between self-empoyed persons and business owners. Having said that, i think Suzie Ormand presents some extremely valuable information for those whom the government considers, "self-employed" for income tax purposes:
Suze Orman Money Matters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
