One of my favorite blog writers, Michael Hyatt, has just had published his book, Platform, Get Noticed in a Noisy World. This book is a must read for solo-entrepeneurs, authors, speakers, executives...for that matter, for anyone who desires to increase their impact and influence by getting their wisdom spread far and wide. Over twenty years ago, the fabulous thought leader, Tom Peters, introduced us to the notion that we all needed to protect our vocational future by … [Read more...]
Wrong Vocation? Or, Wrong Situation?
April 19, 2012 By
Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn't express concerns to me about whether they are in the right vocation. I hear the concerns from friends, from mentees, and from people inquiring about my Accelerate Success mentoring program for high performers. I hear these concerns from people from all walks of life. From lawyers, doctors, preachers, tradesmen, etc., etc. When I probe as to why they have their concern, I often learn that the concerns emanate from the fact … [Read more...]
Valuation Lessons from the Shark Tank
March 21, 2012 By
I have previously shared that the TV reality series Shark Tank provides valuable lessons for early stage entrepreneurs. Watching a wide cross-section of start-up entrepreneurs ask for capital from sophisticated investors is such a wonderful learning opportunity. And for struggling entrepreneurs, one can't beat the price of this education. It's free! Now, with a MBA in finance, years of financial consulting work, and having been the leader of one of the country's … [Read more...]
Lessons from the Shark Tank
February 19, 2012 By
Entrepreneurs looking to raise angel or early seed funding can learn a lot watching entrepreneurs pitch wealthy investors on ABC's prime time show, Shark Tank. In each show, the lessons come fast and furious for the observant. In fact, the show is such a good primer in pitching to, and negotiating with, early stage investors that I ask the founders of the high performing companies in my Venture Accelerator program to catch the lessons served-up in every show. Shark … [Read more...]
101 Ways to Transform Your Life by Dr. Wayne Dyer
February 11, 2012 By
Maintaining inner peace is important for everything that I do. It is important for my health. It is important for my relationships (including my long partnership with my wife of close to forty years). And, it is important for my vocational success. Everything in life goes better when we are able to maintain a sense of inner peace. We see better. We hear better. And, we appreciate better all that life serves up to us. For me, inner peace is so important that that it … [Read more...]
Is Fear of Hearing “No” Holding Back Your Venture?
January 26, 2012 By
Almost all of us have some level of fear about being rejected. Fear of getting told "no" so often keeps us from achieving all of that with which we are capable. This fear can impact us in our business activities, as well as in many aspects of our personal life. Few people in business need to be more capable of being able to tolerate hearing "no" than the founder of a new venture. Even the most successful of founders will hear "no" far more often than "yes" from capital … [Read more...]
Slow Dancing With Potential Venture Investors
January 15, 2012 By
If you are anything like the vast, vast majority of venture founders, your venture needs funding, and it needs it pronto! If you are just starting up, you are eager to get funded to be first to market in what you perceive to be a niche opportunity. Or, if you already have initial funding, you seek more funding so you can accelerate your progress to-date. No matter what stage you are in, you likely are pursuing funding. There is no end to potential investors. Individual … [Read more...]
Step 30 Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!
December 31, 2011 By
Wow! We have come so far together. At last, we cross the finish line together. Congratulations! By now, you should have a high quality plan (completed in Step 23) that you have tweaked into a thoughtful “final” plan. You hopefully have gotten some constructive feedback from your Board of Advisors (Step 25), with potentially more feedback still to come. You have taken the plan to the next level by creating your Magnificent Milestones (Step 26). And you have identified … [Read more...]
Step 29 Pile on the Support for Your Success
December 30, 2011 By
Wow! We have come so far together. By now, you should have a high quality draft plan (completed in Step 23). You hopefully are starting to get constructive feedback from your Board of Advisors (Step 25). You have taken the plan to the next level by creating your Magnificent Milestones (Step 26). And you have begun identifying your support structures with your selection of an All Star Support Team (Step 27) and your scheduling of Supporting Events (Step 28) you plan to … [Read more...]
