The Heart of an Entrepreneur

    Much of what I'm about to tell you is my opinion. However, I think I am being totally honest with myself and you when I tell you that if you do have the heart of an entrepreneur and have never known what or why you felt the way you did; you will know it after reading this, especially if you have been denying yourself the freedom as some of us do.This will be easiest conveyed using some of my own experiences and perspectives.

     As always, those faint of heart need not continue...simply look away now and keep pretending to be "normal" living in the box you've been shoved into over the course of your life... or come with us, where you really belong, where you know you belong, on the journey of a lifetime.
    For those of you who know me a little or know me a lot...allow me to re-introduce myself to you. I have spent much of my life creating and learning business. When I was asked at the age of 8, or what I relate to as second grade in school, what I wanted to do when I grew up, my response without hesitation was "everything." So far I have not achieved that, but I have certainly gotten a fair share of things crossed off my list. 
     My life long entrepreneurial journey began at the age of 9. I have to tell you that it has been the most amazing adventure I have ever been on, and the best part is, everyday is still an adventure!
    My goal in life is to be of service to as many people as I can. By that I mean, to teach and mentor the things in life that I have tasted and learned from and about. We can talk more about that later, but for now let's talk about the heart of entrepreneur... is it you?

    I recently met a new friend, who said to me without hesitation "I've only got one life, one chance." It was as if he looked right into my brain and pulled that quote out. I could do nothing else except smile and agree.

    A common characteristic of an entrepreneur is they are often what the rest of the world may view as 'over achievers.' Over achievers come in all shapes and sizes as well as learning and teaching capacities; not all of them will turn out to have the heart of an entrepreneur. Some of them will simply remain over achievers.
   The very first glimpse of any over achiever often begins shortly after birth. Parents with more than one child, may notice it right away. Parents with only that solitary child may not. It's a crap shoot really. 

     In my own early years, my mother claims that I sang the entire score to the Wizard of Oz; I fondly remember crooning away to all of those lovely tunes, thinking I had to be at least 4 years old. 
    I remember recalling that occasion in front of my mother one day, of the 4 year old me singing. She immediately corrected me, advising that I was only 18 months old. I find that a bit unusual and even a little terrifying. Really? who can string a sensible sentence together at 18 months old?  As strange as some of these occurrences are, across the planet they do happen.

     Take a glimpse into the world of an over achiever/entrepreneur. What unusual and mystifying thing did you do? Perhaps you were caught doing college level math at  age 3 or maybe you showed your mom an easier way to balance the checkbook at 5 years old; devised a water recapture and irrigation system for the farm before you were 10?
     Maybe you have one of your own 'over achievers' right now. One that is reprogramming a computer or replacing the computer's motherboard and has not even reached his/her 8th birthday. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT stick these square pegs into a round hole, they are special and need to be encouraged to pursue their dreams and the art of dreaming itself.
     The second clue is that they want to build or do something extraordinary to help people or humanity.That's a classic entrepreneurial detail. For the love of Einstein, Ford and humanity, just let it happen!
    The true meaning of entrepreneur as Meriam-Wenster defines it - One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. The word itself is a derivative of the French word entreprendre, which means to undertake. 
    Assuming or undertaking the risk, does translate into taking responsibility. Essentially someone who decides to take the risk must also assume the responsibility for all the systems, the accounting, the sales, the putting together of the teams, employees, and advisers, as well as continuing to support all of the families that that depend on that enterprise to continue.  

    Caring is an essential part of being an entrepreneur; caring about more than just yourself. Understanding the big picture and the future of your business and your employees is an integral part of owning and operating a company that employees more than yourself.  Self employed is another blog altogether. Side note: Just because sometimes you as the business owner may fail, it does not mean you don't care, it just means you may need to start again with a different approach.

     Money is often the resounding answer to anyone who is asked why they would want to own a business. Money is the symptom to what you really want to do. Think of it as similar to a headache. The headache is the symptom of what the real issue is. 
     Let's be completely honest with ourselves; the real truth in our hearts is WHAT the money can provide for most of us. I am often put into clear perspective when people tell me the real reason they do what they do. 
    The reasons we get out of bed everyday are rarely about the money. It's about the truth in our hearts; our individual goals, wants, needs, families, passions, beliefs. The money simply represents what we can have and achieve. 
     Many people in the next few months and years will begin on the entrepreneurial journey seeking answers to the trials, tribulations, and issues that they now face or know they will face in the future.   Many will wait patiently for the return of the 'way things were" and many will never give their once deafening dreams a second thought, and simply continue to do what they've always done. 
     If you want something different, commit to making things different, beginning with the one thing you can change, yourself. Simply ask yourself  "What's in your heart?"
 

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The Changing of the Guard

For Mark - The importance to pay attention to economic trends, when it's your money, your life, your future cannot be stressed enough. Letting anyone else control that is simply ludicrous (not the singer) and extremely dangerous. 


   Metaphorically speaking, although there are many 'Changing of the Guards' happening around the world as we know it. One of the most famous, being that of Buckingham Palace in London England, UK.
     The 'Changing of the Guard' at Buckingham has literally been turned into a tourist attraction. Along with the schedules, they have made it be a presentation that is apparently a must to be a part of, to see, to feel, and experience.
     Now, let's look at another 'Changing of the Guard.' and ask ourselves as we read through this story, why this is one of the most important things that you will ever see, feel, or experience.
      Once upon a time (I like to start my stories like that), there was a farm that grew cotton, that grew corn, and grew tobacco. It was hand-picked, sent to market, processed and the farm (business) owner was paid and in turn paid the hired field hands and workers that harvested the crops. When the work was finished, the workers generally moved on to another place to harvest other crops. When the season was over they returned home to wait for the next harvest season.
       The Cotton Gin was invented and more harvesting machines eventually took the places of the Migrant Harvest workers, displacing thousands of people (the Great Depression). This was the end of the Agrarian Age, the 'Changing of the Guard.'
       Fortunately, for many of those displaced thousands, the very same mechanical beasts that replaced the harvest workers needed to be designed, assembled, and maintained. Soon after, mass production of trucks and cars were added into economies, enter the Industrial Age, the 'Changing of the Guard.'
       That was a good run, it made loads of great leaders, business owners, millionaires, and unstoppable large, bulky, hard to change, slow to move corporations like Unions, Colleges, and Government Agencies; that were needed to "protect, direct, and teach" people.
     There were promises of a 40 year plan to work for a company, that proved your loyalty to them and the defined benefit retirement plan proved theirs to you. Things were really good. We hoped things would never change. 
    But what we forget, as most of us do when things are really good, is that change is inevitable (what goes up must come down), whether we want it be or not. Progress is a part of every societal evolution and if we are to co-exist, we should be able to roll with the changes.
    The companies and corporations who were paying those high wages and defined benefit plans, decided to replace those wages by downsizing, rightsizing, and outsourcing to cheaper labor forces. Our defined benefit plans were replaced with the 401K, a defined contribution plan, which translates to a 'savings account in disguise' that both you and the employer contribute to in an attempt to help you save for your retirement. 
      Don't get me wrong, a corporation based on the foundation of capitalism has every obligation to create jobs for people in it's communities. That's one of the responsibilities of owning a business. Many of them do and have for a long time.
      What most of us didn't realize, recognize, or prepare for was that the 'Changing of the Guard' was and is happening again.
       The introduction of computers into home settings, 1997 brought the internet - the information super highway - into living rooms, giving us the ability to do business online, at the speed of thought (typing/talking/texting), to order and sell products to and from other countries and continents (Ebay & Amazon), to share our knowledge with the world in the form of blogs, email, and videos. 
      The Industrial Age has left the building, the 'Changing of the Guard' began a while ago, and you are sitting on the threshold of a future that can be either tremendously successful or tremendously devastating.
      Remember, Change generally comes in the form of things we DON'T want to do, accept, or readily recognize, so it is imperative that the first thing you do is realize change is happening and be open to being a step ahead in the game. What will you do today to insure your success in this New Age, The Information Age?

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Impacting Your Business – The Power of Networking

NETWORK MARKETING…. are no longer the dirty little words that they once were. Why? Because as people, we’ve come to the realization that it’s how we operate, it’s how we function and if those words were to somehow mean something bad, wouldn’t that mean that we as people were wrong in some kind of way?

When you really think about it, what ISN’T NETWORK MARKETING?

You see a good movie and tell three people….chances are if they see it and like it, they’ll tell more people.

You find a product that actually takes grease stains out of your laundry…..you tell someone, who in turn tells someone else.

Have you got a really good air conditioning guy, the best hair dresser in town, know of the best place your girlfriends can get their nails done?

Do you have the skinny on the best Chinese food place on the Northwest side, or have you found a fabulous new pizza joint?

How many others will you let know about all of these great deals?

If you’re a Mom, how many other Mom’s do you have to call to find out who a good pediatrician is? Chances are good that the same Pediatrician’s name could come up more than once.

I’m not sure how Network Marketing originally got it’s bum wrap, but I’m willing to bet that it was started by someone or someone’s in the advertising industry. I’m not pointing fingers, just admitting a hunch.

Historically, before print media and television, with the exception of the newspaper, if you decided to start your own business, how do you think the word spread about your operation, whether good or bad? If your business was run with integrity and hard work the chances are pretty good that your one satisfied customer turned into several other satisfied customers through word of mouth advertising or network marketing.

In business, direct selling a.k.a. Network marketing is the oldest most respected way of selling in the world. Why? Mainly because of  the power of selling directly to someone you know who trusts you and knows that there is a loyalty, a bond that they won’t get from the guy or gal’s whose flyer came in the mail last week. After all, they’ve known you for more than decade, call you on your birthday or spend Christmas with you every year.

Direct Selling or network marketing businesses also use what many successful traditional business owners use, leverage. Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Allen, Warren Buffet  and John Long are a few names that you may recognize that use leverage.

What exactly is leverage? The easiest way to describe leverage is that…. everyone does a little to achieve a lot, or by duplicating or multiplying the efforts of many. Leverage can be used in many different forms, but it has the same basic principles. Here are some examples of businesses that use leverage:

THE MORTGAGE BROKER

A mortgage broker leverages or duplicates their efforts this way –

A broker has 10 loan officers working under them. If 1 loan officer can close 10 loans per month, the efforts are duplicated when 10 loan officers each close 10 loans per month, for a total of 100 loans closing each month, the broker has achieved time and money leverage. The mortgage broker didn’t have to spend all of their time trying to acquire and close 100 loans, but is still paid a small portion on each of the 100 closing loans.

THE FRANCHISE

A franchised restaurant (we’ll use McDonald’s) uses leverage by duplicating it’s efforts this way –

A restaurant franchise creator creates a system to efficiently cook and distribute food in a timely manner. Once they have worked out all the kinks and bugs and have been in existence for a certain length of time, they are allowed to apply for the right to distribute franchise rights of their “system” to the public or business investors for an initial franchise fee (in the case of McDonald’s at the time of this writing –franchise fees range from $750K - $1.9 million). Once the franchises are sold, the new franchise/business owner pays a percentage every month to the Franchise creator for the use of their “system” and their franchised name.

THE MUTUAL FUND

The mutual fund is a vehicle used to leverage money. Often times the company you work for will offer stock options in the form of a 401K mutual fund. This is simply picking low, medium or high risk stock investments and then contributing a portion of your (usually pre-taxed) payroll each week or month. The collective money input from the people working for your company creates a larger purchase power to buy more types of stock in the mutual fund.

DIRECT SALES/NETWORK MARKETING

Similar to the mortgage broker or the real estate broker, direct selling companies enlist independent representatives  to market their products and services. Independent representatives may then create teams of representatives to share time and money leverage and acquire more customers through those teams thereby creating larger income streams.

There are a plethora of different ways to acquire market share: traditional advertising can be costly and may not reach as many as you think it will; while networking or word of mouth advertising can give you the opportunity to provide people with more of a 3 - dimensional idea of what you and your company have to offer.

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There's only Comfort in your Comfort Zone

 Complacency - adjective - used here in a politically correct format. Because it’s synonym is Laziness. I hear you grumbling now.

Complacency can come in many forms and apply to almost any situation on the face of the planet. The main cause of complacency from what I have personally seen and experienced, comes from getting good at what you do and forgetting to, ignoring or neglecting to become better….BAM! you’re in the comfort zone.

I’m fairly certain that everyone has heard some of these sayings “ No pain No gain,” “ No guts no glory.” “No risk no reward.” and if you haven’t heard them before my friends, you’re hearing them here today.

Ask yourself what in your life has earned itself a complacent spot, perhaps something that is easy for all of us to take for granted - our health, our retirement account, our a job. Let’s have a look at those few things for now.

Health -

How often do you pack your own lunch, swap a burger for a salad, drink water instead of soda? We know the statistics. We understand that the average women’s dress size has gone from a 12 to a 14 in just a few short years. We see the frustrating results of obesity, even wish we knew where we were spending all that darn money. And yet we continue to do the same thing’s over and over expecting different results or at least telling ourselves that we will eventually get a round to changing some of these habits…

Many of us sit in front of a computer all or part of the day. Let’s face it, we are in the information age and business is now literally done at the speed of thought.

How often do you get out and exercise, go workout at the gym, use that treadmill that has become your second closet (not pointing fingers but you know you hang clothes on it and you know who you are).

Some of us do get out and walk, some of us do go to the gym and some of us really do use the treadmill for it’s intended purpose; however, some of us say we’re going to do any and all of those things and they never seem to happen. We make excuses about not having enough time, not having the extra money to join a gym and many others…..you have invited it in….Complacency has entered your life.

Retirement -

Everyone from all walks of life that I have personally spoken to on this subject in the past thirty six  months agree  that there will be a very likely chance of the Social Security Administration being bankrupt over the next few years.

We talk, laugh and joke about “What Social Security?” or give it silly nick names like “ Social Insecurity.” We all have an awareness on some level of consciousness that what we have come to know in our lifetimes as social security, may not be available in next few years to supplement your retirement incomes and those of us that will receive it, can’t afford to take the pay cut. So, we scramble to the bank to talk to the banker about IRAs or ask the boss for the 401K program information, right? Hmm maybe, maybe not.

If you know that something’s not going to be there, isn’t it your responsibility of making sure you have what you’ll need when you need it?….Sure you know it and you will eventually do something about it too, but not today……one thing leads to another and….Complacency rents a room.

The Job - 

I’ll give this one a little bit of room because of the state of the economy. Although I do have to preface that by saying that I have been watching this begin to unfold for at least a decade. I’ll address the transition I’m referring to at a later date.

The job that you’ve been going to every single day for the past  twenty, ten, five or even one year can end at any given moment if it is losing momentum in the market place, you’ve made it through the first and second round of layoffs and you’re praying that there won’t be a third or if there is a third, you’re hoping that your name isn’t on the list.

Complacency in this situation is generally caused by fear of loss. i.e. “If I do nothing. Nothing will happen to me.” And you don’t know how right you are.

Jobs can be tricky, but the bottom line is that, you’re future is in, you hope, the capable hands of the person that you are working for; trust and faith have got be your theme song.

Now let’s talk about kicking complacency to the curb. As we’ve already assessed the only thing in your comfort zone is comfort - the only obstacle in your way is YOU.

People always say take ACTION - Action overcomes fear and while this is completely true, I have to say first let’s get aware - awareness of and an honest assessment of your situation will lead you to make a plan of ACTION.

Be Committed to taking Action on a consistent basis whether that  means daily, weekly or monthly - change your situation, by getting out of your comfort zone and your own way.

Be persistent - 80% of winning at anything is just showing up. Show up; be persistent.

My favorite line from a Disney movie called The Incredibles is “Luck Favors the Prepared”

Make it Happen!!

I wrote this piece a few years ago, before I left Arizona. It was a reminder of what I knew myself and anyone else on the planet, could  accomplish if we just set our minds to it. Getting out of the comfort zone isn't always easy, but when you do, the feeling of freedom is beyond words. Step out of your comfort zone and experience something new TODAY!!!

Copyright 2014 - Noelle Sangster/Sangster Entertainment LLC - All rights reserved

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