The Entrepreneurial Savant

If we all had stores this one wouldn’t need any elaboration. But maybe your ‘store’ is a desk or a pick-up truck full of tools. Either way it is a good idea to set things straight before you start your workday by doing some cleaning up around the shop. It conveys a great deal to a prospective customer or patron about your style and efficiency and makes you and your co-workers feel better about your jobs.
By the way, this rule apples to big shots too. We’ve all heard stories about company founders who still set examples by being on time and involved, even if it means grabbing the occasional broom. Next time you see a piece of litter on the company lawn, pick it up yourself.

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All successful people appear to have been naturally endowed with more energy than the average mortal being. Where does it come from? How do you get it? Try the following:
• Exercise-A regular regimen at a gym or club. No matter how tired or stressed you are, an interesting combination of exercise will revive you. You won’t really believe it until you try it. Go to a club for a space in your life dedicated to exercise alone. Many people find it easier than working out at home.
• Food- Some foods like meat and fried foods require more energy to digest. Eat them when you are doing strenuous physical labor, otherwise avoid them. Eat less; you’ll live longer. Eat more green stuff.
• Coffee- If you drink it, try only having one cup early in the morning. There is evidence that different people metabolize caffeine at different rates. One person might be able to sleep 20 minutes after a pot of hot black java, other may toss and turn 24 hours later. I am an admitted coffee maven but I’ve noticed a distinct decrease in energy after I pass the first or second cup (at least I’m admitting it).
• Booze- It’s fattening and hangovers are definitely not high energy experiences. Moderate yourself or join a group for some help.
• People- Stay away from negative people who are not interesting. I know this sounds callous, but if all your friends always do the same thing when socializing and relaxing, whether it’s watching football or talking about work, it’s time to meet some new people. Take a class, go to a seminar or meeting, go for a nature hike in the middle of winter, take up a new sport, etc. Not only will you suddenly look highly energized to all your couch potato friends, you will feel it. New people can be very stimulating.
Energy is at least partly determined by your degree of interest in what you are doing. I never cease to be amazed at how much energy people put into endeavors that fascinate them.

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Give yourself three years to achieve the success you want. The first year is for gathering information, developing expertise and skills and determining your niche. The second year is for making contacts among influential people, developing resources and starting to make money or get the results you want. The third year is when your efforts start to bear fruit, your understanding of your niche or expertise becomes extensive and profitable, and your network is willing to pay the price for your abilities.
The three year rule isn’t hard and fast. Some will experience rapid success but you cannot really count on that success until it has sustained for a period of time. Others will toil for long periods of time before their work is recognized. The love of what they are doing is what makes long term projects important in a person’s life.
The younger you are, the harder it is to accept a three year time frame. Don’t worry. Those years will pass quickly as you become more immersed in your interest and the rewards will become less important as you achieve them. They merely represent a validation of your dreams, the value is in sticking to your vision.

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• Did you ever notice that the people who are early don’t miss anything?
• That the people who are early, get in on the project from the start and become decision makers?
• That people who are early meet the other early people and establish relationships before getting down to business?
• That the person who is early never misses an unexpected success or announcement?
• That early people are relaxed and organized when things get started instead of playing catch-up?
• That the early person gets a chance to warm up and get a cup of coffee?
• They don’t rush, don’t forget things, and enjoy life a little more.

Be early. It’s an easy way to give yourself a promotion in the eyes of your mentors and bosses. It also puts you at the advantage in a negotiation or interview.

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When pay or profits come in take 20% and put it away in some kind of investment account. This rule could also be called ‘Take a 20% pay cut’. If possible, put the money somewhere that isn’t real easy to get to. If you can go to an ATM machine and tap into your nest egg, it won’t last long. Even a mutual fund that takes a few days to get a check back to you will serve to make you think twice about spending that money.
By paying yourself first you make sure that you actually are making a profit in whatever you do, even if you spend all the rest of your income. We tend to raise the level of our spending to match our income. This technique ensures that you have something put away for a rainy day (or a sunny one in the Caribbean).

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Looking successful doesn’t always mean an Armani suit (although it sure doesn’t hurt!). If you are an artist it might mean paint spattered clothes in the studio and a little black dress at the opening. People like to be associated with successful looking or ‘interesting’ people. A good look says you care about the details, are in good physical shape, whether you’re large or small, and that you have the self assurance that helps so many successful people stay that way through thick and thin.
If you are on a low budget consider the following:

• Accessories like belts, ties, minimal jewelry and shoes should all be the best you can get. Stay understated and avoid flamboyance unless your profession demands it (like maybe you’re a casino gambler or a gigolo). Wear a nice simple watch. Swiss Army watches have the same guts as a Rolex for a tenth of the cost.
• Don’t wear your phone on your belt. And make sure it is turned off for all meetings. Never answer the phone while in a conversation or eating. The only exception is if you have a call you’re waiting for and you warned your guest that you may need to take it.
• Be neat. This doesn’t mean conservative, it means that your taste rather than laziness determines your style.
• Natural fabrics look better than synthetics. Buy real over fake. They last longer and continue to look good even when they’re beat up. And buy one well made piece over several cheap ones- well tailored clothing makes you look better- taking off a few pounds or even adding a little stature if you need it.
• Dry Clean your shirts- on hangars, lite starch. Having a few pressed shirts in the closet means you can look good fast even with jeans.
• If you aren’t interested in clothes, have someone who knows how to dress help you out with your shopping. These shoppers are usually thrilled to be recognized as experts.
• When meeting new clients or business resources, dress one step up from the norm for the first meeting or until you get a feeling for what is comfortable.
• Keep a sports coat in the office on a hangar just in case- dark blue goes almost anywhere.
• Don’t ever wear clothing with logos on it- those days are long gone unless you want to look like a repair person. Especially polo shirts with tech logos- no. no. no.

Why bother with something so material and mundane? Because it makes a difference, sometimes subliminal, in how others assess you as a person or a potential resource and in how you feel about yourself.

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“If I wanted to become a tramp, I would seek information and advice from the most successful tramp I could find. If I wanted to become a failure, I would seek advice from men who had never succeeded. If I wanted to succeed in all things, I would look around me for those who are succeeding and do as they have done.”
-Joseph Marshall Wade*

Mentors come to us in unexpected guises and from unexpected places. Sometimes you will not recognize the great teachers in your life until years later when their message becomes illuminated by your own greater depth of experience. For many of us it is difficult to find teachers but fortunately we have access to the minds and experiences of thousands of interesting persons through biographies, autobiographies and interviews. If you are interested in a subject or wonder how someone gets from here to there in pursuing their vision, read how others did it. The lives of successful and influential people offer a great deal of encouragement and inspiration for your own bumbling quest for success. It is amazing how many others made colossal blunders and went down dead ends before reaching their goals. It turns out these dynamic beings are human after all and we can share their experiences by learning their life stories.
*As quoted in A Treasury of Wall Street Wisdom edited by Harry D. Schultz and Samson Coslow.

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My friend Paul Nunes, an attorney and a musician, gave this secret to me. He says that if their offer is legitimate you’ll make them happy by accepting and if its not, then they deserve to get called on their insincerity.
Gifts are often the result of prior actions and a gift will come when you least expect it and most need it, if you’ve laid the groundwork. Gifts can be many things besides a package wrapped in shiny paper. They may be an offer of help, information or experience, they may be money or physical labor. They may be the gift of time or a sympathetic ear. One of the important parts of Paul’s secret is the phrase, ‘and you want it’. A gift you don’t want or need may be destined for someone else. Who knows?

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How much is your time worth? If you normally make $15 an hour for your time then try using that figure in non-work periods of your life. For instance, if you need to get home from the airport and you have a choice of a ten minute cab ride at $10 or a 45 minute bus ride @ $1, it may not be cheaper to ride the bus. Your time is worth around .25 per minute. The bus ride costs you $12.25 when you figure in your time (.25 x 45 + $1.00). The cab ride costs you $10 + $2.50 (ten minutes) but saves you 35 minutes or $8.75. The cab option is $8.50 cheaper when you consider the value of your time.
This exercise is simplistic and leaves out the possibility that you can accomplish other things while riding the bus but it does serve another purpose. Very often we fail to consider the value of our time when we make decisions. It’s penny-wise and pound foolish. Use your valuable time to accomplish those tasks that you are skilled at and use others for their skills. A seventy-five dollar an hour plumber may seem expensive until you spend twelve hours trying to fix something they can take care of in a few minutes.

Knowing the actual value of your time can really change your perspective about outsourcing things you are not skilled at.

If you make $100,000/year, your time is worth .80/minute. Imagine you waste ten minutes arguing over something trivial. Was it worth $8?

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These magic words should be on the tip of your tongue whenever you’re in a situation where you don’t have an answer. In one phrase you admit to being an imperfect human like the rest of us and you make a proactive offer to take action. This phrase will save you from a lot of situations where there is the temptation to bullshit your way along while hoping you can pull it off. Unfortunately for the BSer, most of us have pretty good BS detectors. So be honest: Tell em you don’t know the answer but you’ll find out. Then do it and get back to them right away. You’ll be able to see your stock rise on the spot.

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