Relevant Entrepreneur

At 48Days we field a lot of questions where readers want to know if something being promoted is a scam.  Just today someone wanted to know about a Robert Kiyosaki business idea.  The dictionary defines “scam” as to obtain money from somebody by dishonest means.

If someone asks you to send $4000 as a processing fee so he can release his uncle’s money from Nigeria and share the windfall with you, trust me, you’re being scammed.  But most ideas are not that easy to read.

If you see a training course to teach you how to write your own book and after spending $495 you didn’t get a deal from any major publisher, were you scammed?  If you spent $1250 for a windshield repair business and never even recaptured your investment, were you scammed?  What about if you went to an investment training seminar and then proceeded to lose your own capital?  If you purchased a business opportunity to do medical billing – which included you buying an expensive computer system, and then you found out the only key to success in this is being able to market and sell your services, were you scammed?

I have purchased thousands of dollars worth of seminars, workshops, training programs and business opportunity products over the years.  I consider this an integral part of my ongoing learning process.  Yes, I have a library of “millionaire” tapes that provided little useful information, “business opportunities” that consisted of photocopied government forms, teleclasses where there was too much background noise to hear the presenter, and hot cashew vending machines that quickly produced moldy products.

But I have never considered that I was scammed.

The real key is to see the learning that takes place for you in this process.  Not every college course offered any real value – but it was part of a larger process to help you clarify your best options.  I recently worked with a young couple who had just sent over $20,000 to an invention company that promised them wealth and fortune.  We know they will never see any return on the very ordinary ideas they submitted.  But my counsel to them is that some people are sitting in classrooms spending $20,000 a year hoping to get a good idea here and there, and some people are getting their “education” in other ways.  Either way, it’s a legitimate way to be moving toward the right idea for your ultimate success.

Bottom Line:  There’s less risk from getting “Scammed” than there is from doing nothing.

The Hula Hoop turns 50 this year – at least as we know it.  Actually, hoops were used as toys, being pushed along with sticks over 3,000 years ago in Egypt.  Native Americans used hoops as a target for teaching accuracy in hunting.  But then in 1957 Richard Knerr and Arthur Melin of Wham-O started marketing a lightweight plastic version of the Hula Hoop.  They sold over 100 million from January to October of 1958 at $1.98 each.

Knerr and Melin were not able to patent the Hula Hoop as it had been around for many years.  All they did was make it out of a new material and then market it well.  Which highlights a very important point.  I see people stuck in the “patenting” process – wasting time and money on what may be an insignificant part of their success.

Keep in mind, most people put too much emphasis on developing their product or idea, and not enough on Marketing.  If you have a new invention:

2% of your challenge – Protecting your Idea (Patent, Trademark, Copyright)

8% of your challenge – Is it a valid idea or product?

90% of your challenge – What is your Marketing Plan?

Most people spend too much initial time, energy and money protecting their idea rather than selling or marketing it.

Knerr and Melin did trademark the name Hula Hoop® and that became the recognized and requested name around the world.  What could you do with your idea – what could you do to tap into the viral power of the masses?  Remember the Pet Rock; the Frisbee?

Here’s more on Inventions and Patents

Is there a new opportunity right under your nose?

The first Avon lady was a man.  David H. McConnell was a big city bookseller.  In 1892, when the perfume he used to reward loyal customers proved more popular than his paperbacks, he dumped the books and began promoting only the perfumes.  McConnell’s next smart move was assembling a workforce composed entirely of housewives.  In contrast to the then prevalent door-to-door salesmen, Avon ladies made friends with their customers and were not the creepy blue-suede-shoe guys that most people expected to see knocking at their doors.  By recognizing his true market and how to best relate to his customers, McConnell made a fortune, and so did many of his Avon ladies.

How many businesses do you know of today that continue to do what they’ve always done, even in the face of a changing market?  If you sell appliances and a WalMart opens next door, you may find a shrinking opportunity to sell appliances but an exploding market to repair and service them.

If every yard you mow has a tree stump that needs to be removed, you may discover that rather than just being one more yard service, you have a unique opportunity in stump removal.

A couple of years ago, I worked with a gentleman who had been selling fabric to major apparel manufacturers.  He observed that any flaw in the fabric rolls caused it to be sold for scrap.  He quit his “normal” job, began buying and cutting the scrap fabric into squares to be used as rags.  Body shops, auto dealers, and parts stores demanded his product faster than he could produce it.  He got a contract with Dollar General to provide the rags packed in plastic bags.  He now employs seven neighborhood women to help him stay ahead of this unique opportunity that was right under his nose.

Our changing work environment is shrinking many of the old business and work opportunities.  Even Avon is finding resistance to the knocking on doors model as more and more people purchase on the Internet.  But with every change there is the equal seed of new opportunity.  The maker of Levi’s was an unsuccessful gold miner who recognized that the other miners needed more durable pants for their digging activities.

Where is the hidden opportunity in the changes being forced on you?

Maybe you’ll want to check out the 7000 people developing their ideas at 48Days.net?

Gold was discovered in California in the spring of 1848.  By May of 1848 reports were flying that “there was more gold than all the people in California could take out in fifty years.”  28-year-old Samuel Brannan opened a small supply store at John Sutter’s Fort, right in the heart of the gold rush.  Brannan purchased a little vial of gold and traveled the hundred miles back to San Francisco.  As he stepped off the train, he swung his hat, waved the bottle and shouted, “Gold! Gold! Gold!  By the middle of June, three quarters of the male population had left town for the gold mines near Sutter’s Fort.

Brannan never looked for gold, but selling shovels, picks and supplies to the wide-eyed miners made him California’s first millionaire.  His store was selling as much as $5000 a day (about $140,000 in 2010 dollars) in goods to the miners.

Did all the miners find their “pot of gold?”  Not a chance.  Most of them wasted time and meager resources only to return to their original homes, poor and discouraged.

So where are you looking for income opportunities?  In the last ten years thousands of people jumped on the computer bandwagon, believing that programming, web design and software development were the only real sources of wealth.  As you know, not everyone going in this direction has become wealthy?  But are there associated opportunities with this area of focus – absolutely!

In the last ten years the number of massage therapists has quadrupled.  (Our massage therapist comes to our house every Friday afternoon.  People who work on computers all day are prime candidates for massage.

I have a friend here in Nashville who produced a red “panic button” that fits over any key on your computer keyboard.  She has now sold over 100,000 at $1.50 each.  A convent even ordered 10 PANIC buttons.

I have talented young musician friends who are not trying to be the next Alan Jackson but are generating significant income selling guitar straps, personalized drum sticks and a book on How to make it in the music industry.

Is it possible that in your own search for “gold” you are overlooking the opportunity to become a millionaire by selling picks and shovels?

I had the privilege recently of meeting with a distinguished businessman.  And no, I didn’t go to a nursing home to see this gentleman.  Bill is now 81 years old but came to my office with a very big business proposal for a joint venture that would gain full benefit in the next 3-5 years.  He had a spring in his step and a sparkle in his eyes – obviously enjoying every minute of our business discussion.

In asking a little about his background, Bill shared that he had some early successes in business and “retired” to an island just off the east coast in 1991 – eighteen years ago at the age of 63.  He had achieved the success he was looking for and would never have to worry about money again.  And then he told me, “Living on that island was the most miserable four years of my life.” He returned to his roots in business and re-engaged in the daily challenges that drove him previously.

His summary of what happened was simply – “Never catch the fox.” What do the hounds do if they ever catch the fox, or what does a dog do if he actually catches the car?  Watch them sit down and lose interest quickly.  Cervantes said, “The road is better than the inn.”

Don’t think reaching your goal is the only thrill.  Understand that the process of getting there is actually more thrilling than arriving.  I loved Bill’s gentle reminder to me to not just dream of the future – but to savor today.  Enjoy every step of your journey!

Of course we assume that any degree expands our possibilities.  Someone with an M.D. behind their name certainly has far more options than someone without a graduate degree or even a B.A.  A person with any college degree has more opportunity than a person who has never invested the time, energy and money to get that valuable piece of paper.  Or do they?

CrowdFunding is a relatively new method of raising funds for a new business venture.  People contribute money to your business start-up because they just like what you’re doing, enjoy being part of something innovative, or like the rewards you are offering.  Most crowdfunding projects raise $5000 to $25,000.

The old days of going to the bank or trying to raise venture capital are fading.  More innovative methods are helping launch the streamlined, creative businesses most popular today.  Several members at 48Days.net are raising funds through CrowdFunding.  Your challenge is to make it interesting enough that other people want to be involved.

Love Cupcakes in San Jose, CA raised $8000 for their startup.  For a $50 donation they would send you a dozen cupcakes.  For $500 they named a cupcake after you.  Sure I might send in $500 of my own money, knowing that people walking in the door of Love Cupcakes could choose the “Dan Miller” cupcake.

Here are the most popular “CrowdFunding” sites.  Each name is hyperlinked for further exploration.  You’ll find some cater to artists, designers, inventors, musicians, social entrepreneurs, and more.

KickStarter When Donald Miller announced that a movie based on his book Blue Like Jazz had been put on hold because there was not enough funding, a couple of fans decided to take matters into their own hands.  They placed a notice on KickStarter and said they wanted to raise $125,000 to complete the movie production.  As of 02-02-11 they have $345,992 pledged.   Check it out – Blue Like Jazz The Movie

RocketHub

Quirky

Fundbreak

CatWalkGenius

Fans Next Door

IndieGoGo

CoFundos

Profounder — this one allows people to give you money, but you show them how they will be repaid.  So the money is not just a gift – but an investment.  You don’t give up control or equity, but you do repay the money.  A much better scenario for everyone than just hoping people will “give” you money.

These organizations connect people who want to invest money with people who want to borrow money

Lending Club

Prosper

Here’s a training program to understand crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding Formula – Dave Lavinsky      $97 for training program

This is a new phenomenon.  Get creative and then let us know about your successes.

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?  Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live.  Before they know it, time runs out.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice

There is never a perfect time to start anything.  So the best strategy is just to jump and get started now.  You want to be a coach?  Offer to coach someone in your church who is struggling with direction.  Want to be a speaker?  Volunteer to do a talk at a local service club or school.  I think I spoke at every Rotary Club within 50 miles of Nashville before I starting being paid to speak.  Want to have your own restaurant?  Get a job in a restaurant and start learning the business.

Don’t wait – just get in the game.  Most things in life worth doing require on-the-job training.  Some of the most important principles in life can only be learned by doing them.  Real life experience will give you immediate feedback on what you are doing wrong, poorly – or extremely well.  Be teachable and spend time with people who are already performing at the level at which you want to be.

When I first starting teaching I would be sick to my stomach.  But I wanted those opportunities.  I didn’t want to study teaching; I wanted to teach. When I found myself in a serious financial hole I took a cold calling sales job.  I was terrified but I wanted the money only selling could bring.  I counted my rejections and then my sales.  As I learned from being on the streets every day, my sales percentages went up until I knew that 67% of my presentations led to purchases.  So I could welcome the rejections, knowing that at the end of the day, that 67% would put a lot of money in my pocket.

You too have to begin – from wherever you are – to take action that will get you where you want to be.  Whatever you do — Don’t die with your music still in you.

There is still a popular myth that starting your own business requires a chunk of money.

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I noticed there were several tree companies working in our neighborhood. Their assignment was to cut the trees back wherever there was danger of them falling against power lines. Their work often left the trees looking misshapen and distorted, thus they were frowned upon and treated badly by most of the neighborhood residents, even though they were doing work that needed to be done. While they were on my property I concluded that I would get better results if I befriended the workers. In doing so I also discovered they had to drive about 15 miles out in the country to dump each truckload of freshly chipped wood. I asked if they would mind just dumping the chips from my property right there in a big pile. They laughed at the thought of not having to waste an hour driving to their normal dump site. What they thought was trash I recognized as a bonus for me.

Over the course of about six months those tree companies brought me approximately 120 truckloads of chips. I have used them for nature trails, playground areas and in covering areas formerly full of rocks and thorns.

Neighbors have asked me if they could buy chips from me and wondered how I was so “lucky.”

If I were looking for another source of income I could sell this “free” product, install playgrounds or create nature trails as I have done on our property.