Fire the Merchants of Doom and Gloom

Create a cause not a business.

Dreamketing: Touching the client's dreams... the art of storytelling. Build the dream, build the hype, build the cult.

First question of every leader should be: WHO DO YOU WANT TO BE?


Leaders are dealers in hope. Leaders see cups as half full. Fire the merchants of doom and gloom. One sour person can pollute a whole company. The leader is the person who inspires us and sends us on quests we never could've imagined.

 ^fantastic quotes/and notes from a Tom Peters Video

QUESTION TIME

How are you going to get your startup off the ground?

Answer: We'll see.

The Late May Take-Away (and story-telling)

Take Away from today:

Ask Companies/businesses... What do they NOT want to look after?

{after they tell you..that's when you swoop in and change the face of their business forever... to which they'll be forever thankful for.}

Or they might just tell you to go away.



Here's a way to get the conversation started:

"uh. hi.... are you the manager?"

"Why yes.. yes I am."

"Good. How are you.?"

"Good! Thanks for asking!."

"So... how's your business been going these days?"

"Very busy! We sure do need help."

"Well.. what do you not want to look after?"

"Hmm? Well... I have been meaning to find a graphic designer to change our logo."

"You're right. That logo does seem a little outdated."

"Pardon me?"

"I whipped up a few samples... of some new ideas that could give your business a fresher feel. What else could I do to lighten your business burden.. you may ask? How about new menu designs for your restaurant.. and different uniforms for your employees...you could have outdoor dining.. even if it means putting tables in a roped off section of the parking lot. How about Fiddling Friday nights or Sousaphone/or Sitar Saturdays. Your name doesn't tell us a whole lot about your restaurant either. I have a few recommendations.."

"You're hired. Welcome to the team."

"Really? Thank-you so much! This is fantastic! I'm truly honored."

-and an adventure begins-



 

Frugal Fields

 

Q: Do you want to live on the revenue side of life?

A: I think I'd like to live in Frugal Fields...

          {But make some money along the way.}

Good

question: When bad things happen in your life... do you think that good comes from the experience?

answer: Yes.. but just because there's an upside-doesn't mean there isn't pain.

To Keep A Customer

As spectacular a feeling it is.. to know that- "HEY. I've got my first customer."
Not all good things can last forever... ~to quote some wise wonder~~

 In order for your start-up business to be a success.. you must learn how to prevent your customer from running- far FAR away... into the depths of all that other businesses have to offer.

You must keep that customer...before the time has passed and it is too late.

Does Killing Build Character?

Today's Assignment is to go learn from someone who has served in the military. To sit them down and talk over coffee.. and find out why they decided to put their life on the line.

The question we must ask ourselves is...Does Killing Build Character?
(and by that I mean: does the strict routine of being in an army.. build character?)

Change the Channel?

"The question is...what is going to be your first distribution channel?"

A: Online merged with offline. The customer orders online and then is sent a gloriously packaged package right to their mailbox.

Let's Talk Business

SpeakTees is up and running.

 There are still a limited number of shirts to choose from- but in a number of days- the selection is going to SKYROCKET.

 if you feel like checking out this online shop/and website for yourself.. then click away!

http://www.speaktees.moonfruit.com

      

The Lost

sidenote: Due to a recent computer crash...a portion of notes I've been taking via Microsoft Word have vanished off the face of the virtual earth.

 As traumatizing as this experience has been.. I'm in the recovery stages and things are starting to look up.

Life

Yesterday's Question: "How are you wasting your life?"

Today's Answer: I haven't wasted it yet. We'll see what happens.

Delightful

Q: How do you delight your customer?

A: You give them the unexpected.

  If they're expecting a carwash.. give them mouth wash, a dish wash- a free washing machine.. and a
new car to go with their car wash.

What Makes You Angry?

moths.


{ I wrote a short-story called "The Moth Army" last semester in a Writing Class.. and if you're interested in reading it.. I might consider posting it tomorrow. It's ridiculously dramatic; but if you like that sort of thing.. this just might be your cup of tea.. }

Please: Do Take Note of This Note

This is just a little side-note...
(these blog posts are separate from the full list of notes I've been taking.. and I'll attach them at a later date.)

Thanks!

-jenna-out

Putin Pondering

(the question) Q: If you were Putin.. what would you do?

(my answer) A: If I were Putin.. I would send members of the Russia Army to find the missing pieces of the Malaysian airplane that crashed. Then they would reassemble these pieces.. weld them with a mix of new ones- and re-create the plane. Using heat detectors we'd find the missing passengers that were still alive.. and then return them to their loved ones. The world would love Russia.. and we'd be regarded as the superior nation. Then... shortly afterwards- approximately a week later- we'd fly the repaired Malaysian airplane to the North Pole.

  Once we arrived in the North Pole.. we'd declare war,

True Value

Value Proposition
-it's not about you and your idea.. it's about meeting a customer's need.

Words Of Warrior Wisdom

It's time to build your tribe.

Take-Aways From Today

And now.. to launch an all-new series called.."Take Aways From Today"

{A collection of things that I learned in today's entrepreneurship class.. from a variety of different sources.}

-Work on your business. Not in it.

-Don't keep hiring yourself.. no matter how accessible you are to you.

-Outsourcing is brilliant...but can become very complicated quite quickly... 

{I see outsourcing like a spiderweb. It branches out in many directions and then before you know it you have one complex, tangled, and intertwined spider web going left and right and up and down. A chaotic world of connections.)

^hope that imagery makes some sense

(and now for a Take-Away From Wednesday..)

-lets get frugal

rebuttals/comments/etc:

I created a linked in account about 3 weeks ago.. and I've made connections, read thought provoking articles and watched an inspiring video about adobe employees.

Overall linked in rating so far:  6 out of 10.

-jenna-out

An Idea

"He became intrigued with a new idea."
..And Sam Walton became the richest american man of his time.

What We Know...

"Start-ups are not smaller versions of large companies"
-Steve Blank

my response: Start-ups are large companies in smaller form. It's amazing how intimidating larger companies can seem to an entrepreneur who's fresh to the field.
That shouldn't stop anyone. Just because your "small little business" seems inferior does not mean that it is.

{This topic brings to mind a company called Boxpark that are based in the United Kingdom. Their merchandise is uniquely sold/displayed in old shipping containers.. and all the shipping containers come together as a whole... as one- "Boxpark".  Each store is really quite small. .. but some of them could end up being quite successful. Moonfruit-web hosting- even has a lot in the mall.. and they give presentations on marketing, google analytics.. etc. The stores are small but they're accomplishing a lot.

Here's a link. http://www.boxpark.co.uk/about/
and another http://www.moonfruit.com/blog/post/2014/02/03/Moonfruit-at-Boxpark%3A-Open-for-business%21

-jenna-out

THE LIST

The List of Things That I Like To Do: (5 or so)

1) I really love to draw..(and on just about anything and everything)

CAREER IDEAS:
-become a graphic designer and work for adobe
-go into a novel illustrating career
-be a traveling muralist

2) I like to play the ukulele

CAREER IDEAS:
-ukulele designer
-teach uke lessons
-sell new brand of ukes

3) I enjoy writing stories.

CAREER IDEAS:
-be a columnist
-write for a website
-go into the journalism field

4) I like to take pictures when there's really interesting weather. (fog, rain, sleet..)

CAREER IDEAS:
-videographer/photographer
-photo editor
-teach basic photography workshops

5) I really love learning about the world.. and what's going on around us.

CAREER IDEAS:
-be a nature or safari guide
-start up an NGO
-join an NGO

{this has been fun.. really does stir up some ideas}

-jenna out-

Walk On

I agree with Mike Kind.
If you keep your eyes, ears, and receptors open... there are opportunities everywhere.

And when the doors open.. all you need to do is take a deep breath and walk through them.

It's not easy,
              sometimes it can actually be a little terrifying because you just don't know what will wait on the other side... but you know what?
I'm walking through those doors.. and it's exciting.

Take-Away From Today's Class

Workofrolic > Workoholic

try

Believe in yourself,
                         because you have a mind that works and eyes that see.
Believe in yourself,
                     and others too. Chase your dreams and help them follow their's through.
Believe in yourself,
                    I know you're afraid. It's like you're hiding from yourself.
Believe in yourself,
                    Don't let your dreams burn out and fade away.

 What's stopping you?


you are.
stop it.

 Here are 3 simplistic things that I have learnt from Richard Branson

1) Doing awful in school...does not mean you will do awful in life. 

2)If you think that you want to make a difference in other people's lives... make sure you're not just wanting to do so solely to better your own.

3) I'm not sure if I'd like to become a millionaire...

                 

                       

Risk it

You can never know what's waiting at the bottom as you fall.... see where your failures will take you..

Passion

I am passionate about many things...but
the one that pops into mind almost instantly...is drawing.

I have always loved it. There are stacks upon stacks of drawings that flood my house.

I will never stop.

Freedom To Fail

What if you fell,
                        really really hard....and never got back up again?
                   
You'd lay down there for a pretty long time. Days would pass and soon months would sail on by. The morning sky would blink -from red and pink-to black.. all the while you'd just be lying there motionless and
 limp.

What if you just stayed down in the dirt for your entire lifetime? There'd be many opportunities. A sea of what-could-be. There would be a whole world out there... just waiting for you to pick yourself up again and discover these possibilities for yourself. What if you stayed there on the ground and let your dreams turn to dust. The dreams you'd at one time had were vivid. They followed you everywhere. They lived inside of you.
     
 These dreams were long forgotten as you laid there on the ground. The thing that was consuming you had become a parasite.. and it was eating you up inside. A single word or rather.. a chain of words with a similar tone rang through your mind. Failure. I can't do it. I'm worthless. I'm nothing. It won't work. Why should I even try?

Well guess what. You are allowed to fail. Each and every one of us on this planet we call "Earth" has failed/ and will fail at some point. You have the Freedom To Fail... but you do not have the Freedom to simply stay a failure.

Next time you take a steep fall,
                                   or a small fall,
                       remember this.
                      Pick yourself up. Dust yourself off.
                  You are not a failure.... you just failed.

The Secret To Success

How did we win the war?
Simple. We kept our integrity about us... and stayed loyal to Britain.