Through the years...

Through the years, I have learned to appreciate the fact that I am different.  Different in the sense of, drive, beliefs, ideologies, philosophies, etc.   Through discipline, pain, and suffering, I have trained my mind to fight for what I believe in.  There are times when the masses are running with the herd, and that’s where my training and courage kicks in to high gear.  I too have doubts some times....  

Luckily, and with God’s help, I have had the pleasure to conquer several achievements.  Sometimes, I am too busy fighting life’s War, that I forget about all the small battles that I have fought and won.  Thankfully, I am blessed to say that I have good friends to remind me of those conquests.  To those select few, THANK YOU!

Have faith...

Sometimes in life, all we have is FAITH. The inner strength and will, to know that even under the worst circumstances, things will always work out...

"Hard work is the key to success, so work diligently on any project you undertake. If you truly want to be successful, be prepared to give up your leisure time and work past 5 PM and on weekends. Also, have faith in yourself. If you come up with a new idea that you believe in, don't allow other people to discourage you from pursuing it." -Charles Lazarus

Lessons From a Young CEO: If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now...

 An excerpt from Danii Olivers' interview with Under 30 CEO... (Source)

When the time came for me to open the doors to my own office I was thrilled, positive and confident because that was what was expected of me. I was by no means “sure” nor well versed in the endeavor I was about to take on, but the time had come to expand if my business was to thrive. My partner and I did massive amounts of research, sought advice and mentorship and even talked to family members who dealt with commercial real estate for guidance.

Family members cautioned us not to take the step, but friends patted us on the back. We didn’t back down. If we were to be successful we needed to take risks, so we opened the doors and prepared for growth. One year later, and many networking events passed, I have learned that all we had gone through may have had been unnecessary.
 
While becoming established is any CEO’s driving force, I have come to learn that, what was once considered established is no longer the case. Out of the hundreds of CEO I met over that past year I was the only one under 30 with an office of their own. Everyone else was virtual. Was I behind or were they not established?  One thing that bugged me was that all these CEOs were getting business and contracts yet my company’s seemed to be slipping.
 
In retrospect being inside the office was counter productive to business. Instead of going to meetings I invited people to meet at my office. While this was not only convenient for me it also helped to convey the fact that my company was established and doing well. I was trying to make the space support my reputation.
 
Despite the fact that people were impressed by our capability to afford the overhead of maintenance and rent, the office space did absolutely no sales let alone up selling for us. The space costed more than its monthly monetary bill. There was time that went into up keeping the space, manning it five-to-six days a week. The space also cost me one or two meetings that did not take place because the requestor refused to come to my office. While that much wasn’t significant, maybe I can’t help but wonder, “would they have wasted my time or could that have been a great opportunity?”
 
The fact remains I may not have needed the office space, even if my clients kept thinking I was a fly by night freelancer. The fact is I lost time that should have been spent on the company. That time and effort lost went into making sure their was revenue constantly coming in for the bills and not into creating something awesome or sales worthy. I regret diverting my attention from work to manage an office space.
 
If I only knew then what I know now, I would have planned for a few other opportunities that weren’t at the top of my mind. Since I wouldn’t go back and not get the office space, which I obtained to be taken seriously as a company, I would have had at least not banked all my chips in one revenue stream. I would have tried to make the space work for me and not I for it. I felt the day to day month to month operations of the office made me a slave to it. Everyday my concern was how do I keep up the office rather than what next venture the firm would bid for.

Master the art of the hustle & your business will grow...

An excerpt from The Rise To The Top... (source)

Here are a few hustles that I’ve encountered and have been repeatedly brought up in conversations with top entrepreneurs, rising entrepreneurs, and budding entrepreneurs. Whether you are extroverted, introverted or mute you can master the art of the hustle and your business will grow. Some are born hustlers and for others it is a learned technique similar to some people are born with a natural ability to do math (not me) while others study hard to become math whizzes.

1. Your horn was built for tooting. It is one thing to be humble and another thing to be a jerk, but if you are afraid to promote you and your business, you are not hustling. This does not mean turning your Twitter into an RSS feed for your blog or telling everyone how awesome you are, but it does mean making a conscious effort to promote, tell people what you are up to, and also have confidence in your accomplishments. Successful entrepreneurs are great self-promoters and believe in both their business and themselves.  Just don’t blow out the horn.

2. Screw Rejection. I remember trying to ask out a girl in 6th grade. I had no idea what I was doing and asked her out in the middle of a class…DURING the class with lots of people watching. Horrible idea. It didn’t work and I was super embarrassed. It is not that dissimilar from starting a business. You are taking a risk and putting yourself out there. Negabots will attack with their haterade. Hustlers don’t get embarrassed or upset,  they answer all emails (even the negative ones), respond to critics, make sales pitches, and make it happen no matter what. If someone told me I shouldn’t start a TV show without going to broadcasting school and having twenty years experience, I just look them in the face and say, “Thank you for your opinion. I respect that and I’m doing things a bit differently.” 

3. Don’t be afraid of saying “No”. If you are hustling, opportunities will come your way. In Gary Vaynerchuk’s case, he gets hundreds of opportunities a week: Business deals, book deals, TV deals, interview requests (Plug: Gary is the MAN for accepting mine because he went with a his gut feeling…thanks Gary). If the opportunity isn’t right for you, say no. Don’t chase all the shiny red balls, just find the ones that work for you and your brand. 

4. Knocking Down Doors. Often times the only way to knock down the door in the entrepreneurial hustling world is to blast it down. Cold-calling, asking friends for help, going to your family. Yes, it takes time but building a business takes hard, sweaty time. Ashley Cook and Danielle Dankner have an incredible story about their clothing line Ash&Dans where they went on a spree of cold calls and even showed up at shops with scarves in hand. And guess what? It worked. Now they are in four plus stores…and I’ll cut the story right there as to not spoil all the great stuff from these ladies coming on a future episode of The Rise To The Top. 

5. Fuel With Small Victories. Building businesses takes patience and hustle. But, I know I have patience problems (Do you?). We all want results NOW which is the selling points of get-rich schemes, MLM’s, and other sketchy stuff. Fuel yourself with small victories: You were complimented on your business, a happy customer sends an email,  you made one website sale. It is easy to bask in the light of BIG victories (million dollar deals, new clients, a gazzilion web hits, whatever), but a series of small victories will give you the attitude burst to keep rolling.

In a nutshell, get out there, ignore the haters, build your business, and adjust your hustling thinking and your success will be limitless (aww warm fuzzy moment right there).