this list is SO GOOD you won't want to share it. Seriously this is solid advice.
If an entrepreneur follows proper advice and takes action, there is nothing that can stop them. However, there is a lot of noise out there. You may come across a lot of cliche lists and articles that are rarara but have little substance. You know the kind we mean. However, serial entrepreneur James Altucher lists out some awesome tips that may surprise you. They however are very clever.
In this informative article James Altucher lists out 70 of these “rules” and we chose our favorite 15:
-If you are offering a service, call it a product.
Oracle did it. They claimed they had a database. But if you “bought” their database they would send in a team of consultants to help you “install” the database to fit your needs.
In other words, for the first several years of their existence, they claimed to have a product but they really were a consulting company. Don’t forget this story. Products are valued higher than services.
And almost EVERY major software product company was a service company in the beginning. Don’t forget that.
In retrospect this is obvious but everything is about PERCEIVED VALUE.
-It's Ok To Fail. Start over. Hopefully before you run out of money. Hopefully before you take in investor money. Or, don’t worry about it. Come up with new ideas. Start over.
-Communicate with everyone. Employees. Customers. Investors. All the time. Every day.
Employees want to know what to do. And they want to know you are thinking of their overall career.
Customers want to know how to keep their bosses calm.
Investors want to be your friend and want to know they can count on you when time’s are tough.
-Do everything for your customers. This is very important.
Get them girlfriends or boyfriends. Speak at their charities. Visit their parents for Thanksgiving. Help them find other firms to meet their needs. Even introduce them to your competitors if you think a competitor can help them or if you think you are about to be fired. Always think first, “What’s going to make my customer happy?”
Note: EVEN if that means introduce them to a competitor. If you are the SOURCE, then everybody comes back to the source.
Having a customer centric attitude in business will help please them. That is something a lot of competitors of yours will forget.
-Your customer is not a company. There’s a human there. What will make my human customer happy? Make him laugh. You want your customer to be happy.
-Show up. Go to breakfast/lunch/dinner with customers. Treat.
-History. Know the history of your customers in every way. Company history, personal history, marketing history, investing history, etc.
Yep. The more data the better. When you can understand them you can better deliver a product(s) to them.
-Sleep. Don’t buy into the 20 hours a day entrepreneur myth. You need to sleep 8 hours a day to have a focused mind.
If you are working 20 hours a day, then that means you have flaws in how you are managing your time. You can argue about this but it’s true.
Sure there are sometimes when you need to take care of a lot of different things (actually all the time as an entrepreneur). However, listen to this advice you will be more productive.
-Distribution is everything. Branding is everything. Get your name out there, whatever it takes. The best distribution is of course word of mouth, which is why your initial pricing doesn’t matter.
Write a blog about your industry and be very honest about all the flaws (even your own) that is currently in your industry.
Authenticity is the best branding.
-Ask advice a lot. Ask your customers advice on how you can be introduced into other parts of their company. Then they will help you.
-You have no more free time. In your free time you are thinking of new ideas for customers, new ideas for services to offer, new products.
This is somewhat exaggerated but not really. If you mean business you are always trying to improve!
-You have no more free time, part 2. In your free time, think of ideas for potential customers. Then send them emails: “I have 10 ideas for you. Would really like to show them to you. I think you will be blown away. Here’s five of them right now.”
-Frame the first check. I’m staring at mine right now.
Why not! Small celebrations are the way to go.
-No free time, part 3. Pick a random customer. Find five ideas for them that have nothing to do with your business. Call them and say, “I’ve been thinking about you. Have you tried this?”
-Execution is a dime a dozen. If you have an idea worth pursuing, then just make it. You can build any website for cheap. Hire a programmer and make a demo. Get at least one person to sign up and use your service. If you want to make Facebook pages for plumbers, find one plumber who will give you $10 to make his Facebook page. Just do it.
Fail quickly. Good ideas are HARD. It’s execution that is a dime a dozen.
But wait I thought all the top “leaders” said ideas are worthless. Ok just think of how many billions of dollars of investment money have been wasted on garbage ideas and how scrappy entrepreneurs with good ideas and determination made it.
Of course you have to execute which is taking action. However, the point he is making is solid.
Good luck out there!
You can read the full list of 70 here.
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