Help Jumpstart

My Kickstarter

For many businesspeople, asking for help may come easy, but rarely is it easy for an entrepreneur.

For an entrepreneur, such a request can translate into “having to swallow my pride,” “getting someone to do what I can do better,” “having to trust someone else with my baby,” “admitting a weakness,” or “owning up to my own inadequacies.”

So what? Who appointed you as “Perfect”?

When you consider that all of the above suggested excuses (which I have heard often over my years of business and professional practice development consulting . . . and have admittedly tried myself on occasion) reduce themselves to unproductive ego-based thinking and behavior.

Remember your grandfather telling you:

“No man is an island”?

Ego-maniacal thinking and behavior of course tends to dominate early-on entrepreneurship pursuits until experience and reality sink in and struggling entrepreneurs begin to realize that it’s the idea that’s important, and that any (legal) way to achieve success –regardless of others that need to be relied on– is the right way to go.

For entrepreneurs,

results tend to outweigh process.

Interestingly, the opposite tends to be true in government and corporate life where more relience is placed on analysis of available options than on getting the job done (e.g. deciding which committee to study an emerging market becomes folly in the face of an entrepreneurial spirit that simply drives itself into the heart of the market and adjusts along the way.

I have learned a great deal in the first half of my Amazon Kickstarter site effort that literally requires nerves of steel for me to implement in completing the second half of the effort. Stuff I forgot: Ask for the sale. Ask again. And again. Drive as many people as possible to visit or experience your message. Adjust and improvise. Switch gears. Ask for the sale. Ask again.

Why “nerves of steel”? I’m a creator, not Superman, not Zig Ziglar, not (Thank Heaven!) Steve Jobs, not an award-winning super-salesperson or winning candidate. I’m just a small business owner.

I’m me. I don’t like asking. I have to conjure up massive amounts of courage to approach my friends and family, and online contacts (even strangers) to buy into something I created. I know in my heart that what I have to offer is worthy. I know it’s a great dollar-value. And, yes, the Kickstarter race against the clock means it’s “make it or break it” time. It still feels awkward.

But –ahhh— I’ve always taught that behavior is a choice, so it’s time to get over all that and step up to the plate, right? Okay, so here it is —

Will YOU please help me jumpstart my Kickstarter by visiting this site NOW and making a pledge of some kind  —EVEN JUST ONE DOLLAR!??

In the interests of your love for the arts and creative development, will you also please urge your friends and contacts to visit my Kickstarter site NOW?

I will be forever grateful for this very important bit of support.

Thank you!

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Hal@Businessworks.US    302.933.0911

WRITING   YOUR   BOOK 

It’s just not the same as editing, designing

 formatting and publishing, distributing,

branding, promoting, legalizing, and

marketing your book… or selling it!

READ BEFORE YOU LEAP, YOU 81%!

Why am I telling you this? What makes this relevant to small business? HA! 81% of all Americans think they “have a book in them” according to a New York Times survey report . . . uh, that’s like over 200 million people in the U.S. who want to write a book — more than total viewers of the most-watched-in-history 2012 London Olympic games!

WOW! That sounds like a sizable market right? And an awful lot of new books on the horizon, right? Wrong! How could that be? Well, first off– like the old days when TV first came out, and everyone watched it with the same passion we now relegate to smart phones, all humans thought they could write TV commercials because they watched them!

In other words, if you don’t read, you can’t write. According to industry findings reported at www.SelfPublishingResources.com, the average book buyer reportedly never reads more than the first 18 pages of a book she or he has purchased!!! If you don’t read complete books, you can’t write books worth reading. And if your first 18 pages don’t shake the walls loose . . .

Second: WRITING your book is the easy part!

And even if you DO write a book worth reading, you’d better have a lot of money and/or considerable professional expertise with editing, designing, formatting, publishing, distributing, branding, promoting, marketing, contract law, and sales. Even IF you can manage getting a big-time agent, publishing house, and publicist, the buck still stops with you! Even if.

Discouraging? Absolutely. My best guess is that 80 of the 81% will fall by the wayside trying to effectively manage the tasks noted in the paragraph above. That’s a big pile of dead book efforts! Ah, but now there’s CROWD SOURCING to the rescue!

Go to this site now for an example of how to make your book work once it’s written. Oh, yes, and it’s only a couple of hundred dollars to create! IT’S THE NEW WAY TO SELL BOOKS. IT”S THE WAY ALL FUTURE BOOKS WILL BE SOLD!

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Hal@Businessworks.US   

You will NEVER

have enough money

to start a business!

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard this before,” your stubborn venturesome self may say by way of dismissing the ugly truth, but dismissing reality doesn’t make it go away. Your offhandedness will inevitably come back to nip you in the tush. UNLESS! Unless you can get yourself to accept reality unconditionally and plan (that nasty entrepreneur word again) accordingly.

Ah, and one other very important asset you need to bring to your business startup table: PLUCK! [No, not as in fingering a banjo!] Pluck as in backbone, bravery, courage, daring, fortitude, gameness, grit, guts, mettle, moxie, nerve, zest, spunk. This is not to suggest recklessness in talking money. It is rather to suggest being realistically bold and fearless.

“Realistically”?

If you grow your business idea to the point where a major infusion of someone else’s cash or equipment is needed in order to survive and/or continue to grow, you’d better be prepared to give up total control in exchange. This translates to the need for you to be prepared to hedge your bet, and possibly diversify your interests (if your investors allow you to!).

Starting a business is not a task for the meek. It is not a retirement or corporate escape. It is not a hobby. It is not simply taking advantage of a spur-of-the-moment opportunity. It is not a one-night stand. When you start a business, you marry your idea! Without some grand inheritance, how many marriages start out with enough money?

No matter how carefully you budget and think through where your idea is headed, no matter how much arm-in-arm support stands with and around you, no matter how many promises you get from vendors, suppliers, ancillary services, and government agencies, you can be sure of only one thing: You’ll never have enough money to start a business.

So? So assess yourself first. Don’t dwell on it, but do be honest. Determine exactly how much pluck is inside you, and how realistic your attitude is. See where and who and how to plug the openings. If you don’t, your startup efforts are destined to fall apart and your financial exposure will be crippling.

You need to substitute for being under-capitalized by rallying your strengths and surrounding yourself with the reliable strengths of others whose skills and experience can fill in your gaps! It CAN be done. Many have succeeded. But many more have failed. The difference is pluck and a realistic attitude. How much of each have you?

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Hal@BUSINESSWORKS.US

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

LEADERSHIP STARTS

WITHOUT FOLLOWERS

Now what exactly do I mean by such an apparent contradiction? Answer: That leadership begins (and thrives) with attitude. “Yeah, Hal, right! Sounds great, but what kind of attitude and HOW does someone get it? Like it falls from the sky, or what?” Good questions. No it doesn’t “fall from the sky,” but it does begin at the beginning.

Leadership begins at the beginning, without a following, without an entourage, without an expedition, without a master plan, without a goal line, and without intentions of superiority or competitiveness. Effective leadership starts simply, with a mindset that exudes integrity at every turn in the road.

Leadership starts with an attitude that explodes in words and actions which set examples. Exemplary words and actions– by their very nature, by their very implementation– attract the attentions and admiration of others. True leadership attitudes ignite, engage, motivate, and sustain without ever having to ask others to roll up their sleeves and dig in to work alongside you. When people step it up and rise to the occasion, others rise as well to follow.

A TRUE LEADER DOESN’T START OUT

WITH A GOAL TO BECOME A LEADER.

A true leader simply demonstrates the qualities of behavior that set her or him apart from the pack, but this is accomplished by taking action, not by talking about taking action, or by aiming to play a leadership role.

Neither do great presentation or oratory skills make a great leader. Walk the walk beats talk the talk. Track-records speak louder than words. Show me what you’ve done and show me how to do it are far more important follower requests than tell me how great you are.

Effective leaders are great activists who consistently strive to teach and motivate by quietly doing. He or she is a great innovator, and a great solutions creator who takes entrepreneurial pursuits to completion, who doesn’t stop short with an idea, and who thrives on the sense of accomplishment that accompanies each step of bringing an idea to fruition.

Leaders move constantly forward. They turn over every stone and readily adjust themselves, their approaches, and the processes they use along the way, unafraid of taking action without having all the information.

Focusing on the finish line is not leadership. Focusing on each step, as the fortune cookie might say, prevents one from falling on one’s face, and almost always wins the race. 

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Hal@TheWriterWorks.com     Open Minds Open Doors

BUSINESS & POLITICS DON’T MIX!

Best Advice: Speak out in private, but hold your tongue in public! Customers and others you do business with may or may not agree with your politics, but the odds appear overwhelming that they do not want to hear your political views as part of any business transaction.

Treat every opportunity to speak out in accusation of your political opponents or in defense of your political favorites as you might instinctively deal with dysfunctional elements of your own family at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

In other words, exercise greater caution, discretion and respect than you would normally be inclined to, for the welfare of the rest of your family, and for the betterment of your own well-being and stress level. Save confrontations for when you become a professional boxer or hockey star.

“But it’s my right, my privilege, and my responsibility to speak up!” Well, okay, you may think you’re entitled, even required, to express your personal political preferences. And you are certainly entitled to your opinions, but if you own or manage a business, there’s simply no room for political opinion!

Every time you open your political mouth, you risk losing a minimum of 100 customers because anyone who disapproves will tell ten others,who will each tell ten others. Can you afford this kind of loss?

How do I know all this? Because I’ve had a big political opinion mouth in one of my past lives and it cost me substantial business. “Who cares?” you might say. Well, it may be costing you too!

The problem is that while you may not care about someone who’s critical of you offering editorials– critical of your criticism, so to speak– you maybe need to care a great deal about someone who’s related to, or controlled by that individual, and there’s just no way to ever know when some big mouth comment will come back to haunt you.

Taking the low road is not always a bad thing. Low road activity is often read in a positive light by others. Non confrontative attitudes typically produce positive reputation assessments of virtue: “humble;” “reserved;” “rational;” “objective;” non judgemental;” and “thoughtful” come to mind. It’s the sign of someone who walks the talk!

So, now, even if I’m only half right, wouldn’t you prefer those kinds of reputation attributes to “opinionated;” and “loudmouthed;” and “narrow-minded;” and “confrontative;” and “pushy”?

Bottom Line:

Work for your favorite candidates,

but don’t bring your favorite candidates to work!  

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

FAULT AND BLAME

 DON’T MAKE SALES!

Here we sit, small business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs, on the day of the first 2012 Presidential Debate. We are seething with anger, frustration, disappointment, and stress over what has and hasn’t happened since the last 2008 Presidential Debate. We blame it all on the political candidate we least agree with. And the harder we blame, the more we lose.

We have seen our businesses and personal finances go every direction except up.

We have become more outspoken about that, especially as we’ve seen respect for America’s military and America’s job and housing markets collapse . . . and food and gas and transportation prices explode through the roof! Normally free-spending customers have become suddenly frugal and stoic. All of that must, after all, be somebody’s fault.

But let’s be honest with ourselves here. How much real fault sits on our own shoulders for not planning properly, for not adjusting our business and professional practice development strategies appropriately, for not having solid contingency plans in place? It’s true that some circumstances prevent proactive business management. But many do not.

The way I see it, we have indeed had pathetic government leadership, but aren’t we just as much to blame as anyone for not keeping our own businesses fluid as they slid sideways across the top of shifting sands. After all, we chose to stand there in the first place. With that commitment, comes the responsibility to be flexible and stay forever on the alert. Am I alone here?

I’m not suggesting that going with the flow is easy. But, with a small business, it’s essential.

And that means staying tuned in to government screw-ups and broken promises because they will–in the end–affect where, when, and if you grow… or even if you survive! Easy to “Tuesday morning quarterback,” yes, but we’re looking at a lot more shifting sand before we see solid ground no matter who gets or doesn’t get elected.

It took us time to get here; it will take time to get out of here. So, there’s no time like the present to reassess your branding efforts, to initiate an overhaul of priorities and to inject time and expertise (necessary business growth ingredients that no doubt feel unaffordable) into monthly, weekly, and daily schedules.

That investment alone can make the difference for you no matter what happens on November 6th. And hopefully something will happen. The bottom line:

SALES MAKE BUSINESSES GROW.

FAULT AND BLAME AND PROMISES DON’T MAKE SALES!

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

How un-balanced ARE you?

No matter how much you may think you are in tune or in touch with yourself, if you own or operate or manage a business –new. old, big, small, medium, family, self-employed or otherwise– take it from me who’s experienced all of the above firsthand: you are UN-balanced!

This means that negative stress is seeping in. It’s invading you even as you think it’s not. And it’s taking it’s toll.

How to regain control? First, you need to know where it’s coming from. Odds are it’s some combination of emotional, intellectual, and physical upset or dysfunction. The challenge is to isolate how much is coming from where and when, then to determine the how.

Once you have done an honest self-evaluation, you’re in a better position to reverse the flow and the damage.

Aaah, but this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Read that How to regain control paragraph again.

In some rare instances, it may be just a matter of seconds, minutes or hours to do all these analytics (and you thought analytics were just for SEO geeks doing website tricks?), but if you’re serious about rising to the occasion and getting your act together, be prepared to take days or weeks or months.

(Maybe years!)

Once you’ve done a be-honest-with-yourself inventory (like the doctor’s diagnostic work-up), separate and identify the key issues or stress points that seem to be creating or causing the most unbalance. Put them on paper or in a Word file bullet list. Prioritize by ranking them with 1-3 or 1-10 values in order of most critical (usually this translates to most immediate need).

Consider your own self-prognosis. What’s the best and worst you can expect in terms of timing and accomplishing the tasks associated with eliminating or minimizing the culprit behaviors or influences? What’s the quickest/easiest/smartest/safest way to get back in balance?

Okay, that’s the hardest part. Now initiate treatment. Simple? No. Painless? Pr0bably not. But much easier than the process steps needed to honestly assess and evaluate. After all, you are the only one who can unbalance you. And you are also the only one who can regain control. Bottom line: Nothing happens until you do!

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

When is a pat on the back

actually a kick in the butt?

A client tells you your service is great, then complains about it later to others. Assuming nothing changed along the way to erode the value of your praiseworthy performance, your sense of anguish may simply be the result of of a mixed message. Mixed messages find their way into everyday business exchanges with increasing regularity.

“Pretty good job . . . for a woman!” is a typical example. “You’re doing this the right way, but you need to slow down and think it through better!” is another. Have you ever heard something like: “We need to move forward with plans to collaborate, but not at the expense of our own department (division, team, group)?”

Mixed messages are nonproductive. Mixed messages often couch hidden agendas. Unlike much problem solving that requires “two to tango” and cannot be realistically addressed by a single entity alone, mixed message situations can be resolved by one person taking preventive measures. These include paraphrasing, note taking, feedback, diagramming, and offering/ requesting examples. 

1)  PARAPHRASING. Instead of simply taking statements at face value and then squirming with them later, ask: “Do I understand you correctly to mean . . . (and repeat back what you think you heard, using your own words)?”

2)  NOTE TAKING. The biggest problem with note taking is that most people do not take notes. And even when they do, they fail to directly request the speaker to allow for it. “Would you mind please slowing down on (or repeating) that point for me  so I can make note of it because I don’t want to forget what you said.” is not just called for; it’s flattering to the speaker. But write it!!

3)  FEEDBACK. Speakers need to pause periodically and take inventory: “How are we doing here so far? Do you have any questions? Is all of this information clear?” Listeners need to politely interrupt periodically and take inventory: “Excuse me. Can we take a ‘Time Out’ minute here to summarize this last bit of information? I want to make sure I understand what you mean.” Write it!!

4)  DIAGRAMS. When speaker or listener is not 100% sure that communications are clear, ask for a diagram of the information; arranging keywords and ideas visually helps ensure accuracy, and can often illuminate a new perspective.

5)  EXAMPLES. Ask for them. Very few exchanges of information fail to become transparently clear when examples are offered and discussed.

Getting tangled up in miscommunication can be frustrating and annoying, and stressful. One person who is determined to “get it right” the first time, and who is willing to accept that it may take longer and be more work, will ultimately experience greater accuracy in dealing with others, and accuracy spells success.                               

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant  302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

 National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

When to personalize

your message?

Please. If you’re still asking this question, I hope someone else is doing your marketing for you. The answer of course, is “Always!” When do you NOT personalize a message? When you want no results!

Can any message that you ever receive (except maybe a threat or a summons ;<) be too personalized? Well how do you think your prospects feel when they get your emails and Tweets and direct mail addressed to: Dear Occupant, or Dear Computer User (Duh!), or Dear Follower, or Dear Homeowner, or Dear Friend, or Dear Voter?

You might ask instead:

Why would a business or professional practice

owner throw money out the window?

What’s in a name? It’s the most important thing you have! When a business or professional practice refuses to take the trouble or go to the expense to find out what it is, or refuses to use it in communicating, or won’t take the time and make the effort to spell it or say it correctly, that entity is not worth dealing with. Period. No exceptions.

“Dear Valued Customer”? Finger down throat! Pffffft! That’s BS and you know it! If you can’t be more personalized than that, you’re not serious about being in business. Get a government job! (Not much of anything needs to be personalized there.) If the customer is so “valuable,” prove the point; get it right!

Your prospects and customers are no different than you in how they perceive the integrity and authenticity of a business or professional practice based on the accuracy and diligence of how a communication is addressed. If your name is Smith and a message comes to you addressed to Smythe, are you about to open it or read any further? Of course not.

And if it’s pronounced “Smitt” on the phone

 . . .”CLICK! Buzzzzzz:

If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and . . .”

Making doubly sure of the exact accuracy of the name that you personalize (and address your communications to), no doubt takes longer and probably costs more, but–in the end–odds are it will get through and be noticed instead of being trashed without even being opened. Oh, and the more complicated the name is, the more likely you gain a friend by spelling it right!

This goes for email addresses and phone calls as well. You don”t know how to pronounce a name? Ask! There are enough tools available via Internet search engines today that there’s no longer any excuse for misrepresenting, mispronouncing, misdirecting, or misspelling a prospect or customer name, or title, or company affiliation. Personalizing your message sells!

If you, in other words, are reduced to having to say “Dear Friend,” be assured you are not. Stop wasting your time and money.

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales

Open Minds Open Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Consider the worst,

 but assume the best!

There’s no longer any excuse for being surprised in business (or life) when you’re able to discipline yourself to practice the thinking: “What’s the worst that could happen?” in every major decision . . . and then proceed to believe that only the best outcome will actually occur to reward your efforts!

Mind over matter? Perhaps. But, more than that, each worst case scenario situation you consider will better prepare you for the reality of what’s possible while it protects your belief in making happen what’s probable.

In other words, you will move forward most effectively when you’ve weighed the risks involved realistically.

Every leader worth her or his salt will attest to this thinking. The difference between it and a proverbial doomsday attitudes is simply that considering bad outcomes need only be a momentary departure from the positive thrust of making something positive happen.

Dwelling on negativity produces negativity.

Well, you say, making negative thoughts be fleeting ones is easy to SAY, you say. Ah, but it’s also easy to DO. Doesn’t it all come down to a matter of choice, after all? We do, by the way, choose our behaviors, yes?

So can we not simply choose to make  negative thoughts be benchmarks with a caution flag?

Who’s to say that considering the worst possible outcome has to be a long, drawn-out, analytical affair? It’s as quick as saying, “If I take this deal, I could lose the farm” and then realize the risk is not a reasonable one. (Contrary to popular opinion, by the way, Entrepreneurs take only reasonable risks.)

If you have trouble stopping your own runaway train when decisions come to the surface, force yourself to close your mouth and take a deep breath through your nose. Get more oxygen into your brain and more blood-flow into your muscles. Then exhale the stress slowly through your mouth.

Every choice you make is a better choice when you have better control of yourself. More deep breathing more often will put you in better control of your self. Is that a no-brainer, or what? All from making the choice to consider the worst that could happen before moving forward? Whew! Look at what you just taught yourself. The lesson is worth repeating:

Make the choice to consider the worst

that could happen before moving forward.

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HAL ALPIAR Writer/Consultant 302.933.0911 TheWriterWorks.com, LLC

National Award-Winning Author & Brand Marketer – Record Client Sales