IDEA RACE!

If three people come up with the same idea at the same time, who makes the money?

The one that doesn't think -- it's the one that acts fast!

I was recently looking for a service that my customers can text an ID# of a property and they would then receive a text with the property's information in return. I used good old google and found a company that specializes in SMS applications. I called them and talked to a sales associate that asked me if I was the same person that called two times already about this. I said no, I guess others are coming up with the same idea. Sounds like a perfect business for someone that can program. The guy said, "Yeh, I guess."

Man-o-man! I would have been all over it if that was my business! I have everything in place and a proven demand -- I would have been up all night trying to figure this one out. I would have had my guys on a caffeine-high for a week and sales people lined up to sell it.

So I go on Google again because I need it NOW not in a week. I find http://www.expeditesimplicity.com/. I have them contact me (they called me in minutes). No only can they do just what I want but they have a special feature just for my business-line (property management/realtors). Kim was very pleasant and helpful. They won the idea race by far!

Why don't people recognize opportunity when it's pounding on their skull? I just don't understand. Maybe it is because they have been conditioned to not pay any attention to good ideas and just do their job.

Sometimes the idea is just too expensive to develop. The good ones usually are. So why not come up with a smaller implementation of it? Something people would pay a dollar for instead of $1000.

Well hopefully you are looking for these ideas and taking advantage of them. Otherwise someone else is going to win the race today.

Know Thy Competition Better Than They Know You

When I wake up each morning, I look at my competitor's website -- not my own.

Why?

Because it's more important to see what THEY are doing, what THEY are offering, THEIR statistics, what opportunities THEY are missing and what systems THEY are copying of mine.

I'm not too concern how my site looks from day-to-day except to know it's working and up-to-date.

In other words, it's more important to know my competitors better than myself. This is very important as a company grows for 2 reasons:

1) Complacency. You tend to get too cocky and don't pay attention to your competitor thinking they are not worth your valuable time. Meanwhile, your clients are giving more attention to your competitor than an accident on the I-75!

2) They are going to copy you or one-up you. Be VERY careful. You will be copied and someone that works for your competitor will figure out a better, faster, cheaper, new way to beat the hell out of you. It will be their sole purpose in life to hammer you into bankruptcy. Do not fool yourself and think this person does not exist.

Many famous companies have disobeyed number 1 and 2. Look at Microsoft edging into Apple's territory while Apple just sat there. Again look at what Netscape and Linux did to Microsoft. More recently look what Honda and Toyota have did to the big three! They have nearly put them into Chapter 11. I am sure there was some Chrysler exec. saying "Who cares? They are losing out on the SUV profits we are making by focusing on small gas-sippers."

Don't make the mistake of looking in the mirror at yourself all day. Get to know every inch of your competitor instead.

Don't Try It All, Try Once and Knock It Out of The Park

There are two theories to success:

1) Try everything you possibly can and eventually one will work.

2) Know what you're going to do with certainty, DO IT and be successful at it no matter what!

I have always tended towards #2.

History: The first job I went after...I got.
The first article I wrote...was published.
The first book I wrote...was published.
My first business...was successful.
The first high paying job I applied for...I not only got but it developed into a job with dream terms.

Needless to say, I knew what I wanted, researched it and approached it as though I was the only one on the planet that was going to get it. I never even considered competitors. The advantage I had over all other applicants was I didn't hesitate. I never listened to anyone telling me it could not be done.

"Why would you even try? You don't have experience."

I didn't listen. I just did it!

Call it stupidity, call it aggressiveness. I call it the path to success.

All business actions in my opinion should follow this. Why? Two reasons:

1) Pure mathematics. It is cheaper to do something once and be successful the first time than try 5, 10 or 100 times and only be successful once.

2) The power of your abilities. Most people do not know this but you have many more senses than 5. You can sense something that will be successful and focus on making it successful. I am not talking having blind faith in yourself...I am saying start on instinct, gather data, reevaluate the instinct, gather more data, survey, and finally just GO FOR IT!

You KNOW if you are capable of doing something. The thing that usually stops us is fear. To overcome it do your homework, listen to stories of other successful people and talk to people.

Swing and KNOW you are going to knock it out of the park. Crack!

Mining for Gold

While trying to figure out how to collect a specific piece of data from Kijiji.ca I happened upon the following site:

http://www.quantcast.com/

What is amazing about it is you can type in the name of a site and get all the demographics you can ever want FOR FREE!

And the information is PRICELESS.

Let's take the following as an example:

http://www.apartments.com/

From their data, I determined my demographic is 63% women likely between the age of 18-34 that also want to rent either a car or moving truck, are looking for a better job and possibly want to buy a home instead.

This gives me so many ways to target my demographic that it scares me.

I know who to target, what their income is likely at, their race, whether they have children, if they graduated college, on and on.

Check it out!

An Entrepreneur's Prime Ingredient

What is the most important trait an entrepreneur needs in order to succeed (and by 'succeed' I mean survive and even thrive) in the worst of times?

Is it their ability to envision?

Is it their drive?

Is it their communication skills?

NOPE!

It's their ability to BE AGGRESSIVE!

But what does this mean? Merriam-Webster has many definitions for aggressive, such as:

1 a: tending toward or exhibiting aggression b: marked by combative readiness 2 a: marked by obtrusive energy b: marked by driving forceful energy or initiative : enterprising 3: strong or emphatic in effect or intent 4: growing, developing, or spreading rapidly 5: more severe, intensive, or comprehensive than usual especially in dosage or extent.

So what do I mean by "BE AGGRESSIVE" then?

1) Make decisions fast and swift and stick by them. Why? Other's unconsciously follow your lead if you have Definiteness of Purpose. Customer's will gravitate to you because they will feel your aggressiveness and will naturally follow your lead. Employees will know they are putting their faith in the hands of someone that is NOT WISHY WASHY.

2) Do not let anyone falter from your decision. In other words, if someone says no to your decision, find someone else or make them follow it. That is aggressiveness at its core. If you are truly aggressive though, people will jump at your commanding decision and thank you for it.

What I don't mean is to be a bossy prick! I mean LEAD!

BECOME THE AGGRESSOR!

In other words, if it was a marriage, you would be the one making simple fast decisions. "Where do we eat tonight?" "Nandos at 8pm, wear something sexy!" And your mate would be there with wonder in their eyes.

In the case of your business, a client may ask, "Do you think we should advertise in the Star?" "No. Not enough turn over. We will use Kijiji and have 2 to 1 turn over. Ads will be ready by tonight." Your client will see you as an expert as you answered fast and decisively.

I remember a friend of mine. He was the most non-decisive entrepreneur you would want to know. We recently caught up with each other and he said something is different about me. You are more something. It was that I was more aggressive. Decisions made fast. Commanding!

Here are some hints to help you become more aggressive and survive bad times.

Practice: Command, don't ask. Know the data before commanding but DO command fast once decision is made.

Practice: Decide now, not later. Do not delay decisions. In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell describes our ability to make life-defining decisions in the blink of an eye. It is built into us to do this so DO IT! Practice this with small decisions first then move up.

Practice: Meet with people you have previously been wishy-washy with and make a decision. Call them and TELL them to meet you at Swiss Chalet and do not waver. If they say, "well what about going to Taco Bell?" say "No. Swiss Chalet is good. See you there at 7pm at the back table."

Being aggressive can be learned and refined. Remember that a majority of people want decisions made for them. "Should we buy the blue or the black"? They do not want to be responsible for the consequences of a bad decision but once someone makes the decision for them, it becomes more settled in their minds. Decisions HAVE to be made or nothing would get done.

BE AGGRESSIVE IN EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY YOUR BUSINESS DEALINGS!

Business' Perfect Storm

Again to one of my fav subjects: "Will XYZ business work?"

A profitable business is a mix of a pain-curing product (doesn't have to be something space age just solve a true pain), large enough market, a passionate team, a concrete system in place, financial projections that are realistic....

...In other, THE PERFECT STORM.

This is rare.

Take for instance a product that every "Vintage Mustang Collector" would kill to have. How many Vintage Mustang Collectors is there in your scope of reach? 10,000? Of that 10,000, how many would actually and realistically buy it? 10%? That would leave a sales figure of 1000 units. How much would they pay for it and will that cover your costs and make a profit?

That's the tough one.

Someone may WANT your product, will do anything for it except take more than $10 out of their pockets for it. So that leaves you a potential income of $10,000. What if the mold to make it cost $20,000? What about shipping it. Keeping the books, etc.

Now let's take another example. Say you have a small computer application that enables a hidden feature on a specific cellphone. And let's say there are 1,000,000 potential customers and maybe 50% would die for this. They would pay ANYTHING to have it. But you are going to be generous and only charge $20 and let them download it from a website. You are going to offer an affiliate program for 15% of the profits. The costs to make it are say $2000 and a website cost $100/mn. That is a potential income of $8.5 million with virtually no costs and your affiliates are doing all the work. In other words, the perfect storm!

So that's where the analysis of the market BEFORE you begin a business comes into play. What is the market size, who is the target demographic, how much would they pay for your product/service, how much does it cost to deliver it to them.

If a product or business idea cannot stand up to the numbers (even if it's the best idea since sliced bread), it just ain't going to make you money.

Find the businesses that will solve a ton of peoples problems, make sure they will pay what it takes to make money and allow you to deliver it at a low cost. Make the perfect storm!

Business is the Mother of Invention - Not the other way around!

Two of the most famous inventors in history were diametrically opposed. Tesla was an inventor but Edison was an Inventor/Businessman. Telsa died virtually penniless despite huge contributions to society and Edison's fortune is still there today. The two men actually knew each other when Tesla first came to America. Why the history lesson?

I am well known for my opinion on patents and how they relate to business. In a nutshell, I do not believe simply inventing/patenting something is going to get you rich and spending money on expensive patent attorneys, prototypes and studies is only going to make someone else rich. Ideas are a dime a dozen and do not sell themselves. That takes a solid business system and brilliant marketing. Almost any decent invention can make you rich with the system/marketing combo. You don't even have to invent something to sell it.

Check out the father of patent licensing at: http://www.cossman.net/ This is the guy that made millions from ant farms and fly cakes.

Having said that, I am going outside my usual thoughts and giving some good videos and patent resources.

US Patent and Trademark Office where you can search patents. I use it to get ideas for new products. You can actually search a specific company and see their devices before they are even released to the public. Click here for an example of APPLE.

http://inventors.about.com/

http://www.blogger.com/www.Inventnow.org