entrepreneur: six figure solopreneurs: the common link

What do 6-figure solopreneurs have in common? Is there a formula, a secret code for success? Probably not, but I’ll bet that they do have a number of things in common. To discover some of their common qualities, processes, and skill sets, I set out to interview a few solopreneurs whose businesses are bringing in $100,000 or more in annual PROFITS. This series entitled, Six-Figure Solopreneurs: The Common Link, will feature amazing men and women who single-handedly grew their businesses to profitable, meaningful ventures and are willing to share the how and why of it all!

This week’s guest is Sue Berk of Sue Berk Designs, which was founded in 2002 and is based in Dallas, TX. After hand-painting ceramic crosses for several years, the popularity of her products grew quickly, and Sue was overwhelmed with orders. After searching tirelessly for a factory offshore that could duplicate her delicate style, Sue was finally able to mass-produce, and soon was selling her products in over 1000 retail stores and on 20+ websites. New items were added to the collection, such as wood frames, and baby blankets. The collection features 57 ceramic crosses, 6 wooden frames, and 12 baby blankets. Sue Berk Designs products are sold in over 1000 retail stores across the United States, and on 20+ websites.

Q. Do you have a “top strategy” for success that you’d like to share?
A. Don’t ever expect anything to happen without a lot of hard work.

"they always tell me nobody’s workin’ as hard as you
and even though I laugh it off, man, it’s probably true
‘cause while my closest friends out there partying
i’m just here making all of the music that they party to." --drake 'light up.'

entrepreneur: ben huh

while perusing fastcompany's 100 most creative people in business i came across more than several that compelled and inspired me. this one in particular provided a powerful spark and message to and from the young'ns, generation y, the millenials.. about the significance of being an entrepreneur. ben huh, the techie with a bachelors in journalism, explains the parallels between business, creative knowledge + existential philosophy:

Ben is the CEO of the Cheezburger Network, the company behind the hugely popular blogs I Can Has Cheezburger?, FAIL Blog, There, I Fixed It, and more than 25 others. His job is to make the Internet laugh for 5-minutes a day.

this video really helps put it all into perspective for you; well, for me, at least.. first you get the money, then you get the power, then you have the freedom to paint this world a better place.

so..

"i wanna be a billionaire.. so f*cking bad.." --travie mccoy.

100 ppl doing the most.

how to motivate people

the matter of the fact is that we would all love to be purpose-driven. as the video shows, the only way to get there is to no longer be concerned with the money. so like scarface said, first you get the money, then you get the power and freedom to change the world.. my early/mid-twenties age-mates have got to switch up their thinking. we are known as being overly hopeful and optimistic, which i think is great. but first we must get out from under our university debt burdens and become captains of industry to actually start affecting the change we want to see in the world.

"money is the motivation.." --lil wayne 'hustler muzik.'

the happy loser's first sale [the secrets of sales success]

at a party this past weekend i was afforded the opportunity to converse with some friends from high school. of course, inevitably, the subject of selling out came about. this makes perfect sense because most of us are two years removed from undergrad and out in the world or contemplating/finishing graduate school programs. debt and school loans hang leery. my younger brother talked about the choices he had for picking the right law school. another friend explained the $80k per annum pricetag for georgetown law. "suckers.." i thought to myself. im gonna hustle this insurance thing into this empire ive been bullshitting about.. first i've got to close my first deal. "lol."

ever wonder about the psychology of salespersons?? i definitely have. ive found some literature that gives pretty good insight as to the why sales is for me:

Explain the term happy loser.

Salespeople sometimes say to me, "I don't like that you call me a loser." But that's not what I mean. Happy losers are people who see rejection as a challenge. If 95 percent of the time you are rejected, you have to ask yourself, "Why did I choose this kind of life?" The happy loser likes it because 5 percent of the time, he wins. And all those times he loses, he sees as getting to the win.

How did you arrive at the happy-loser archetype?

We always go back to the first imprint: to the first experience in a person's life when he or she creates a mental reference. So we asked salesmen about their first experiences selling -- as children with a lemonade stand or trying to persuade their parents that they don't want to go to school. With the first experience, they feel strong emotion, and emotion is absolutely key to producing the neurotransmitters in the brain that create mental connections. The first time they are rejected is very powerful. What we find with good salespeople is that that first no stimulated them. It didn't make them want to give up. It made them want to find another way.

i knew that i had a bit of masochistic tendencies in my body. im a bit of a glutton for pain/rejection. ask the girl im courting who lives 5000 miles away. anyhow, ive got a few meetings this week. i should open some accounts and close some deals. i am excited.

Beatnik: “You’re in advertising… How do you sleep at night?”
Don Draper: “On a bed made of money.”

entrepreneur: john deal [the supersalesman]

ive completed the prerequisites and am officially starting as an independent insurance agent this week. the last couple of weeks ive been product training, prospecting + strategising. ive got my target market. ive qualified several leads + explored the business connections in my social network.. all that's left is face-to-face meetings + the sales pitch. my goal is $240k in annualised premiums at a commission of 37%. i look forward to working ten-hour days, getting paid same day direct deposit on advanced commissions, helping my family, having free time + finally being able to finance my investment ideas + other entrepreneurial pursuits. i came across this article on inc.com about john deal, the supersalesman..

"You can tell a lot about what you're up against in a sales pitch by the way they serve you coffee," John Deal mumbles to me, as the others in the room noisily take their seats around the conference table at a well-known British engineering and defense contracting company on a dreary day in central England. I take this to mean that Deal has his work cut out for him, given that his prospects have unceremoniously plunked down in front of him a jug of scalding coffee and a stack of plastic cups, with no cream or sugar in sight.

Deal begins making his case to six poker-faced executives, who proceed to blast him with an array of questions that cast doubt on his product, his business plan, his prospects for survival, and possibly his sanity. Every sentence seems to start with, "What I don't get is," or "The sticking point with me is," or "But how can you possibly...?"

Forty-five minutes later, however, the managers have changed their tune. Now they are asking about partnership opportunities and setting up more meetings. Someone has produced cream, sugar, and real coffee cups. It seems like a stunning turnaround to me, but on the train back to London, Deal is less sanguine. "On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 means they're handing you a check on the spot, and 1 means they've thrown you out," he says, "that was a 5." Having already seen Deal in action several times, I get his point. Hard-nosed investors, wary customers, skeptical potential partners, distracted politicians -- Deal has an uncanny ability to convert them not merely to interested players but to enthusiastic supporters. And though not all of them are ready to hand over checks, some seem pretty close.

"i have a definite talent for convincing people to try something new. i am a good salesman. when im on form, I can sell anything to anyone." --anonymous traveling salesman.

"im a traveling man. moving thru space and. space + time. got a lotta things ive got to do. but god-willing im comin back to you. im leavinnn-in-in-in-innnn..." --mos def 'traveling man.'

spring = better weather + new gig

think positive.

if you think you are beaten, you are;
if you think you dare not, you don't.

if you think you'd like to win but think you can't,
it's almost a cinch you won't.

if you think you'll lose, you've lost;
for out in the world you'll find SUCCESS begins with a person's will--

it's all in your state of mind.

--anonymous.

it's spring. the long winter is over. ready to get out there and get at. feels like it's been too long coming. that's okay though. i'm once again excited about the future so i cannot complain about none much.

revisit tragedy: early+often.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

http://www.crisisofcredit.com/

THEN+NOW

"we be steady schemin'." --anonymous broker/lender/wall st trader/investment banker.

now + then = [eventual] opportunity.

in a not sodistant past, the us housing market lookt like this. relatively healthy, one might say:
fast forward a couple of years + missed payments to this picture:moral of the story: do not buy a $500US iPad only to sell it on ebay in 6 months for a fraction of the expnse.

"gotta get at the gettin while the gettins still good." --anon.

entrepreneur: state of mind

"if ur the sh**, then im trynna get sewer rich."

According to the Small Business Administration, only 44% of new businesses last more than 4 years. In addition to that 60% of businesses are either losing money or are breaking even.

So even if you aren’t going to create the next multi-million dollar company, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the mistakes successful entrepreneurs have made.

hit the pic to jump to the article at quicksprout.com chronicling ten successful entrepreneurs currently running companies worth $50+ million. they talk about some of their struggles on the way to building overwhelmingly successful businesses and companies.

i thnk capital allocation is the biggest mistake most entrepreneurs/start-ups make. spending too much or spending too little. spending all the money in all the wrong places. throwing away money and not putting some away under the mattress for a rainy day or a hurricane.

"the united states economy is like the titanic, and i am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... i see a real financial crisis coming for the united states," said international fund manager and us senate candidate peter schiff.

"big house. long hallways. got ten bathrooms. i could sh** all day." --lil wayne 'we be steady mobbin.'

the real-est biz advice.

i am constantly staying up-to-date on business news and philosophies via inc magazine and fastcompany magazine print issues and websites + weblogs. the latest gem comes from a post two weeks ago on inc's business owners council blog:

I'm looking forward to reading a new book, "Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing" by George Cloutier.

According to the blurb, "this blunt work will not be for the timid business owner afraid to re-evaluate...". He offers some harsh lessons for those in business, such as "love your business more than your family" and "teamwork is vastly overrated."

Indeed, business success tends to flow towards those who are willing to do the most to get it: the hardest working, the most focused, the most cut-throat, even.

To get wealthy, you need one or more of the following things to happen:

• Be born wealthy or marry into wealth


• Get very lucky--this is the strategy for those savvy lottery players out there


• Be extremely talented at something valuable--the route for most who aspire to Hollywood or sports fame (best when combined with "luck" above)


• Work very hard and put wealth creation first ahead of almost everything else.

Which of these approaches are you counting on?

ive been trying to extol these values throughout my journey as a young entrepreneur and on this weblog. i dont not generally subscribe to modern american politics. i would classify myself as an anarchist-libertarian, if i had to classify myself. i have emotions. i feel for the poor and downtrodden, but i am also a realist. i do not expect anyone to help me out. the rich do not care for the poor, and why should they? one of my goals of amassing great wealth is to be able to make the world a better place. the accumulation of wealth is not inherently bad. the reason why things are in the state of affairs that they are, is because not enough people who care about the poor, the sick, the environment, etc. have put themselves in positions of money+power enabling positive change to occur.

no offense to ghandi, mother teresa or mlk jr, [i hold their methods and ideals in high regard] but id rather look to be a bit like a rockefeller, carnegie, vanderbilt or rothschild.. no?

"voted obama but mccain was my tax bracket tho.. i sarah palin h**s." --the clipse: 's.l.u.' from the free 2008 mixtape play cloths presents: road to til the casket drops.

entrepreneur: rob dyrdek

rob dyrdek straight does work, son. real talk, true story. professional skateboarder, actor, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, reality television star. bobby diesel. do work[!] son.

inside the...

i keep it all to myself. my vision is retarded. i keep myself doped on my own dopeness. plan for it now for when i have it later. im sure that im certifiably delusional. but at least i know the future is sick. 24 hours from greatness, im that close. or at least, thats how i feel.

my city love me but i got atlanta haters too that just sit around and talk about what they'd done if they was you.. yeah.

"i'ma make alotta money, then im, then im gonna quit this, quit this cr-crazy scene.." --b.o.b.

iced-out skull game..

big ups to juelz and the dips.. today, i was reading 'the solopreneur's million-dollar mindset' blog on inc.com. the post, entitled "its never too late for success: one man's story," resonated with me because it seems like a lot of my recent efforts have been met with failure but i keep my head up, dont worry.. here is an excerpt from the author's q+a:

My life has been blessed. I knew exactly what I wanted to do in life the day I walked into a dojo. I was fourteen at the time and I’ve been involved in Karate ever since. I’ve applied the lessons learned over the years to every aspect of my life – in both thick and thin times. I’ve found that what you think about, you bring about.

The first principle I live by is that you have to believe in yourself, because if you don’t, no one else will. The next step is commitment. You have to be completely dedicated to whatever it is you chose to do -- no matter what. In Karate you learn to visualize – see yourself connecting with a kick or punch before you throw it. In life, you have to see yourself being a success before you do it. And finally be passionate about what you do. Your passion will not only fuel you, but also others nearby.

My greatest external resource comes from the people surrounding me. My immediate family has always believed in me and been supportive of my pursuits. Additionally, I associate with people whose philosophies and direction mirror mine. There is no substitute for a positive and reaching outlook on life.

we all go through adversity. the test of life is our response to the challenge. persistence//repetition have been known to conquer much..

"get rich or die trying.." --curtis jackson.

entrepreneur: small biz start-ups[!]

..so thats whats really good for the first few weeks of two thousand 10. but we genY//millennial upstarts got another idear about all this nonsense. some stay on the grind and hustle hard-er like none other.. and some get that lifestyle money.

get it how you live it. this is life and there is no dress rehearsal..

the kids call it crack, i call it...

i think it is quite amusing that some people are still mystified that some businesses thrive while others get the pink slip/chapter 11.. the businesses that thrive consistently are those that sell goods with inelastic demand. what that means is that the product will be consumed on a regular basis, whether the price is up or down. i thought i would do a redux of recession-proof businesses for the uncouth:

1. energy [natural gas, oil, electricity]: buildings need to be lit/heated/cooled, vehicles need to be gassed.
   
2. food: people eat it almost every day of the year.
3. alcohol: consumed during the best/worst of times/prohibition/morning/noon/evening by the rich/middleclass/homeless on a daily basis.
   
4. cigarettes: see number 3.
5. shelter: except for the homeless and people living in govt housing [ie: the president], people pay monthly rent or a mortgage.
6. healthcare/insurance: business model = customers pay monthly fee for coverage + insurance company deny claim x insurance company use funds to buy large houses and personal aircraft.
   
7. governement: pay your taxes, every year, or WE WILL FIND YOU wesley snipes.
8. illegal activity [racketeering, drug traffick, etc.]: these activities provide the best profit margins, by far, by keeping uncle sam out of the money laundry.

i did not list anything concerning the arts [music, print, motion picture] because it is simply not a good look trying to make it big with a career in the arts. ask tom ford. sure, he only destroyed the fashion game while at gucci and ysl and also on with his own line; but fashion is the day job that helps support his pursuit of his art, cinema. get oprah money, then one can do oprah things. wealth buys time. the learning channel has a show called 'the lottery changed my life' and u may be able to guess what it's about. there was a family who understands the reasoning behind this list; they bought new cars and remodeled their house but also purchased a parking lot on peachtree street. the money comes in each and every month.. allowing plenty of time to knit + sculpt +paint. holler at etsy.

"money is everything. and its every other thing." --drake.

entrepreneur: markus frind.

yes. it is a brand new day. in a brand new year [feels like the old one]. each new moment is an opportunity, an instance in time to either add to the wealth of knowledge and achievement in human history, or to simply survive [corny motivational speaker: "to thrive or just survive.."].

i always find inspiration in the pages of business magazines fastcompany and inc. they provide excellent insight into innovation and entrepreneurship in addition to chronicling struggling and successful business owners from around the world. i found an article from inc's jan 2009 issue about markus frind, the owner of plentyoffish [the largest online dating site in the world, by traffic] and how he single-handedly took over an industry from the comfort of his apartment and now only works 1 hour per day while banking $10 million gross revenue per annum.

It's a 21st-century fairy tale: A young man starts a website in his spare time. This person is unknown and undistinguished. He hasn't gone to MIT, Stanford, or any other four-year college for that matter, yet he is deceptively brilliant. He has been bouncing, aimlessly, from job to job, but he is secretly ambitious. He builds his company by himself and from his apartment. In most stories, this is where the hard work begins -- the long hours, sleepless nights, and near-death business experiences. But this one is way more mellow. Frind takes it easy, working no more than 20 hours a week during the busiest times and usually no more than 10. Five years later, he is running one of the largest websites on the planet and paying himself more than $5 million a year.

i found it particularly interesting that he lacks a post-secondary/graduate degree from an acclaimed educational institute. instead of reading case studies about what people are doing, he simply did it. he hired three customer service employees and moved into a proper office, but he still has the ability to vacation and enjoy a beautiful canadian life at 30. if that aint living the dream, then i dont know what is.

i live vicariously through the successes of the collective written-off underdog. 2010, i know exactly what is in store..

in the eternal words of lil wayne: "the, the money is the motive.."

im on the road to mogul-dom. im living a movie, not living by rules. and the script is called 'thug motivation 101: lets get it.' c. young jeezy.