Give them something to share that is auditory.

You could have a jingle or you could just make your clients so damned happy that they tell their friends. Here is the catch, you should not leave it up to chance what they tell their friends. Have you ever heard…

• “If you like our service, be sure to tell your friends about us.”
• “Don’t keep us a secret.”
• “Bring a friend.”
• “Friends and family come free.”

This works because you are encouraging them to talk about you and giving them guidelines on how to do it. Answer this question, “When people are done with your product or service and a friend just happens to stop by… what do you want them to say about your product or service.”

I will give you examples from my own life.

Friend1: “Hey clint, do you like owning a Subaru?”

Clint: “Love it except my guy friends call it the lesmobile.”

Friend2: “So you are a mac guy too huh?”

Clint: “Hell yah. It’s like a religious conversion. Isn’t it time you came from the dark side?”

Bug Inspector: “Are those running shoes? You gotta quit that shit. I start each day with a cigarette and a Bud Light.”

Clint: “Uh…why are you here and yes these are Vibram Fivefingers and I love them…and I gotta go.”

That last one actually happened this year right in the middle of a video shoot.

Homework: 

Give them something to say. Keep it short and clear like, “We serve the tastiest damn pizza in Wake County.” Don’t write some nonsense like, “We present, with integrity, the highest-quality entertainment solutions to fami- lies.” I listed 100 excellent words below to get you started.

This is an excerpt from my February 2012 issue of On Target. Get a 2 free issues here: http://bit.ly/getontarget

There are 3 10′s that I keep in mind when I look where I am at and where I am going. I also share these will my protégé.

1. If you want to crack the code and become an expert it takes a substantial amount of time. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell showcases how most of the worlds experts dedicated 10,000 hours of time to their field before they “made it.”

“In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

Here is a CNN interview on this topic:

2. The second 10 goes with the first. In my 12th grade Civics and Economics class Mr. Neil. He drew a picture like this.

He then said,

“If you graduate with only your high school diploma you can reasonably expect to make your age x 1000 in annual salary. So at 24 you shouldn’t be surprised to make 24,000 a year and so on.

If you go on to get your Bachelors you can just bump that up by about 10,000 year though some of you will do better.

If you get a Master’s add another 10k and for a PhD add another 10.

You can also reasonably expect that you income will grow at a rate just above inflation. While these numbers may not hold true for all of you, these are reasonable expectations.

There are 2 more groups of people in here. Those that will never graduate high school and those that become entrepreneurs. For you drop out, all bets are off. Just be happy someone wants you to work for them and don’t complain.

Now someone in this class in an entrepreneur. This person is crazy because for the next 10 years there income is going to go down. They will risk everything. Money, time, family and friends. They will get poorer than they can imagine. During the 9th years they will finally figure out how to make money and by year 10 they will have caught their other high school friends who didn’t go to college. Over the following couple of years they will surpass ALL of their peers. In fact, the rest of you will end up working for this entrepreneur. You will never catch them in income.

So which one are you?”

Well it took me just the first squeak of that curved line to know who I was. That curve turned upwards for me in September of 2010. The summer of 2010 I was on foodstamps and had maxed every credit card I owned and owed every family member I loved money. I am sure glad I showed my wife this curve when we started our own business in 2003.

3. The final 10 is about making mistakes. My desktop image on my laptop and desktop is this.

I once heard that the difference between an entrepreneur and everyone else is that entrepreneurs never fail, they just have lots of learning opportunities. Some are expensive learning opportunities, some are difficult learning opportunities, but they have no failures on their list.

I thought it would be helpful to show you and everyone else who has just recently met me the path, as much as I can remember, that has led me to my current situation.

1993-4 – I chopped wood for a neighbor in exchange for her previous husband’s tools he left and cleaned houses with my mom. (I learned how to be really efficient doing really boring tasks and how to stay self motivated.)

1995 – I worked for a small retail shop selling purified water. (I learned how to “do retail” and “upsell” customers on the candy and other crap we had in the store.)

1997-8 – I worked for Best Buy selling computers and then merchandising (stocking) the store. (I learned how to display product for better sales numbers and that shelving 36″ tube TVs sucked)

1998-9 – I managed a Starbucks drive thru and was a Distribution Manager and deliverer for The Real Estate Book. (At Starbucks I learned about systems and working efficiently. We averaged 150 transactions an hour! At The Real Estate Book I learned how to track lots of delivery routes, setup new routes, and efficiently deliver. I also learned that where you have the FREE magazines in the store 100% affects how many are taken. Bad product placement = no product moving.)

1999 – I added on being a part-time youth director for my church. (I learned that I like teens better than there crazy parents. I learned that decision by committee means decisions take forever. I learned that I love to serve people. I also learned that I am a workaholic. I was going to school 17 credit hours, working 40 at Starbucks, delivering magazines to afternoons a week, and working the weekend at the church. Money was good, sleep was not.)

1999 – I met my wife in Denver. She really screwed up my whole “finish college like mom and dad want me to” plan.

2000 – I moved to SD to marry Katie and I worked as a CNA for the hospital. (I learned that I REALLY love to serve people and that hospital gore and gross stuff doesn’t bother me at all.)

2001 – We moved to Olympic National Park after getting married and worked for a resort. (I worked the front desk and learn to have great people skills even when customers are drunk and pissed and banging on the counter.)

2002 – We moved to an orphanage and were house parents. (I learned how to drive heavy equipment, cook for 15 kids, muck stalls, and deal with abused kids. I learned to be self-sufficient and “just figure it out” when you have to. When you let the bull out and he is running down the highway…you “just figure it out”…trust me.)

2002-3 – We moved to Lawrence KS and I worked for a construction company “moving dirt” and then went to work for Martin Logan. (I learned that tractors move dirt better than I do. At Martin Logan I learned that aesthetics have value. That the depth of the shine on a pair of $120k speakers really does matter. I also learned that I would rather move dirt than work in a factory.)

2003-9 – In the summer of ’03 I opened my first business BadHairCut Productions with my brother. We started by filming a few weddings and a weight training video for amateur boxers. We had no idea what we were getting into. During that period we made countless videos for companies nationwide. We opened a video transfer service that went wild but wasn’t profitable. We developed who knows how many websites, flyers, posters, tshirts, business cards, etc. The industries that I can think of include:

• Water purification
• Air purification
• Greeting cards
• Military weight training
• Carpet cleaning supplies
• Networking clubs
• Natural childbirth
• Self storage
• Rammed Earth construction
• Electrical supply
• Green construction
• Organic fertilizer
• Home audio/video
• Probiotics
• Children’s photography
• Wine festival
• Chiropractic business consulting
• Debt Consolidation
• Pharmaceutical startups
• University cycling
• Cement siding
• Resume writing
• Just to name a few…

We ended up closing the business in December 2009. Before that we had sold off the duplication/transfer business and equipment. Our web clients went to a close friend and competitor. All said and done we never took home more that $18,000 in one year and closed the business each having $17k in remaining debt. If you think entrepreneurship is all peaches and cream, quit now. (During this chapter of my life I got a Master’s in Hard Knocks. I found out what worked and what didn’t. One thing remained true and that is we were really good and making our clients money. Just not good and making it ourselves.)

I was involved with many other startups during that period including:

• A chiropractic online best business practice site (Lost $16k)
• A small business strategy site (Lost $1k)
• An award winning social video site (never went anywhere)
• A sports facility directory (Lost $10k)
• A patented electrical wire covering (never went anywhere)
• Several 3D video technologies (never materialized even with good press)
• A weight training bag for the military (sold the piss out of them…lost $50k)
• A template website service for real estate agents (never went anywhere)
• A guitar string wholesale site (never went anywhere)

2009-10 – We moved to South Dakota and I started working with a network marketing company, Send Out Card, and a networking company, BNI. Both exploded for us. (I learned that I am damn good at networking and I love to teach adults.)

2010 – I left BNI and our finances fell apart. (I learned that credit card companies would rather have you pay late than not at all. I learned that food stamps are a blessing. Our houses flooded 4 times that summer. I learned that when life dishes it out I can take it. We also found out we were pregnant with surprise baby #3. I learned that starting a family and cracking the code of entrepreneurship simultaneously is not for the faint at heart.)

Fall of 2010 – I partnered with Brian Cook to release my first product Instant Free Lead Creator. We sold $30k in the first hour. (I learned that perseverance and partnerships can pay off. I also learned that people liked to buy my trainings.)

2010-11 – Brian and I continued on a path towards selling our stuff and other peoples’ stuff online. It went well. (I learned that when you find something that work, repeat it. A lot.) During that time I also helped another online marketer, Todd Falcone systemize his business. I also marketed a training for people taking the supplement MMS. Both of those went well too.

My concern is that you and other aspiring entrepreneurs are not prepared to walk the long and difficult road to expertise. You want to buy a $97 training and have it tomorrow. It doesn’t work that way. My mentality is this: I spent my 20′s figuring out how to make money and what NOT to do. I will spend my 30′s putting that experience to work to make back the money I lost and get ahead for my 40′s. I can’t fathom what my 40′s will bring.

So what failures (experiences) have brought you success?

Just as I pulled into my office today I heard a radio announcement for the new Burger King Family Bundle. So I jumped online and found this press release to uncover the details. I find this “bundle” VERY telling of America in several ways.

Way #1. Apparently the families BK wants include 3 people. Notice how there are 3 meals. As of the 2000 census the average household size and the average family size both hovered around 3. So they seem to have read their census. When you think of a family do you think of 3? I realized today that I don’t. Strange.

Way #2. From a marketers standpoint they are doing something really smart…bundling. When you bundle product people can’t tell the actual price because we are lazy and can’t do math.

Let’s do the math. 1 Whopper = $2.39, 1 Whopper Jr. = $1.29, 2 Small Fries at $1.29 each = $2.58, 2 Small Drinks at $.99 each = $1.98, 1 Kids Meal = $3.49. So the grand total if not bundled would be $11.73 + tax.

So they make you feel like you save money when actually you are probably raising their average per transaction ticket by a few pennies or a few bucks.

MARKETERS…LISTEN UP. Bundling works. Do you think McDonald’s regrets the Value Meals? Did you know that McD’s loses $1 if you buy a burger by itself but they make it back if you buy the Value Meal? Here are the rules to bundling products.

1. Group items that people come to you for with less popular but more profitable items that correlate.

2. Give it a name that is positive “Value Meal”, “Family Bundle”, “Starter Kit”, etc

3. Make sure the price of the bundle is higher than your average cart currently. So one of my clients average cart is $137.40. So we need to make a bundle that is $150 and call it a “Quick Start Kit” or something.

4. Include enough items that is sounds like a “hell of a deal.” BK has 7. If you go look at their pic you see 9 items in there. See how they showed a crown. Make it seem like more doesn’t it?

Way #3. If you mix laziness, poor math skills, and convenience in the right proportions you can get Americans to buy anything. Even stuff they don’t want. I am willing to bet there are millions of people who would only spend $7 or $8 on their cart with BK but then when presented with the $10 Bundle they feel dumb for not taking it. This works the same way at the store where it says 5 for $5 or 10 for $10. THAT IS $1 PER PIECE FOLKS. Do you need 10? Hell no, but you buy 10 because they “bundled” them in your mind. We used to do this at Best Buy when I was a kid all the time. Let’s say a VCR (remember those?) was $99. We would put it on sale for $97 and say “Limit 2 per customer.” EVERYONE WOULD BUY 2. Why? Who needs 2 VCRs? This worked because they “bundled” it in their mind and created a self-imposed scarcity. What they read on the sign was “This price is so amazing we have to limit purchasing to 2 per customer or there will be riots in the parking lot.” We did this one day and sold a whole pallet of them on a Tuesday before lunch. CRAZY.

So my question to you is this? What bundles have you fallen for?

Basically the speech was about how we reward people wrong.

He states that, “There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. And what worries me, as we stand here in the rubble of the economic collapse, is that too many organizations are making their decisions, their policies about talent and people, based on assumptions that are outdated, unexamined, and rooted more in folklore than in science. And if we really want to get out of this economic mess, and if we really want high performance on those definitional tasks of the 21st century, the solution is not to do more of the wrong things. To entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick. We need a whole new approach.”

Here is the basic problem. We reward extrinsically for creative tasks and linear tasks alike. This does not work. In other words, if you pay people to be creative quicker, they get slower. Let’s say you need a logo designed or someone to figure out where your new roof is leaking and how to fix it. If you offer an extra $100 to motivate these problem solvers, they will actually solve the problem slower and with worse results than if you rewarded them with autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

“Let me give you an even more radical example of it. Something called the Results Only Work Environment. The ROWE. Created by two American consultants, in place in place at about a dozen companies around North America. In a ROWE people don’t have schedules. They show up when they want. They don’t have to be in the office at a certain time, or any time. They just have to get their work done. How they do it, when they do it, where they do it, is totally up to them. Meetings in these kinds of environments are optional.

What happens? Almost across the board, productivity goes up, worker engagement goes up, worker satisfaction goes up, turnover goes down. Autonomy, mastery and purpose – these are the building blocks of a new way of doing things.”

So I ask you…if you are asking people to do ANY task that involves problem solving, how are you rewarding them?

To John and Mona who are undoubtedly going to read this, I love you, and respect you. Your bravery to confront Katie and I 2 years ago is something few parents and in-laws have the guts to do. I hope that some day I can be as brave with my children. Despite how I felt in the moment I walked away knowing that you loved us enough that you didn’t care whether or not I liked you that day. Thank you.

I don’t remember the exact day. I do however remember many of the other details. Of course, because emotions were high, some of what I am about to type is MY recollection of the events.

Katie and I had just moved to South Dakota from Lawrence, KS. We moved at the beginning of June 2009. July 1 my the business that my brother and I owned was fatally wounded.

At that time our 3 biggest contracts, which accounted for 72% of our gross revenue, were for providing SEO services to some big outfits. That day I got a call from all 3 that they wanted out of their contract early, that day actually, because the economy was forcing them to lay people off and they couldn’t justify giving us money for their website and at the same time send people who had worked their for years packing.

Who was I to disagree? You know, contracts are only as good as your financial ability to go to court to defend them. I think if you could get someone on video stating that they were going to commit to the agreement and then you posted that socially, the ramifications of bailing on the contract would be more valuable than a signature and legalese. Sorry for the side note.

So starting in July Katie and I began loosing roughly $5k a month. Money was now only flowing out. We had our own personal bills to pay and now those of the business.

By December of that year I had convinced my brother that we take the business out back and shoot it. We did. And our Christmas present to each other for 2009 was the now $34k of business debt split 50/50.

Some time that summer or early fall Katie and I had an emotional discussion about our crappy financial situation. And when I say emotional discussion I mean Katie was crying and I was saying, “I am trying my hardest.”

I am fortunate that while I may not be good at much, I think my wife and I have some of the best marital communication EVER. More on that later.

Katie was helping her parents from time to time do paperwork in the evening at her mom’s office so later that day she was with her mom. Her mom’s “spidey sense” was in full working order and she questioned Katie on her obviously less than happy demeanor. Katie shared with her mom the stress she was under. Her mom is a world-class marriage and family therapist so she has a trained ear on top of mom spidey sense.

When Katie returned home she told me that she had spoken with her mom and that her parents wanted to come over that evening after the kids were asleep to talk about things.

I have shared this story with a few close friends before and at this point they usually “bow up” and say something like, “Gaaawwd am I glad my in-laws mind their own business.” Well I am glad mine don’t.

There are 2 things you need to know.

1. I told Katie’s parents when we moved to town that since we all lived in such close proximity that I was extending my “card’s face up” policy to them and that if they noticed something that caused them concern they should voice it.

(sometime ask me about my “card’s face up” policy as that is the secret to my awesome communication with my wife)

2. Katie’s parents had given us money on multiple occasions investing in my ideas.

So after we got the kids down they came over to the house.

I sat on the couch with Katie to my left at arm’s reach. Her dad pulled up a chair and her mom sat on the floor, both facing us. (See what I mean about her mom being smart, siting at or below eye-level so as not to be confrontational.)

I honestly don’t remember the first part of the discussion. It was obvious from the outset that it was going to go downhill. I am ok with that. Sometimes the easiest way to clean your garage is to take everything out first and then put stuff back in order.

At some point I said, “Look, I am not motivated by money, I’m just not!”

The look I remember on their face was as though I had said, “I just don’t believe in gravity. I just don’t”

It was obvious that world view of mine was of no value in the conversation.

Shortly after that Katie’s mom piped up and said, “You just have to get a job Clint. You are a really smart guy with good ideas and someone out there will pay you for those ideas.”

What I heard emotionally was, “Who has 2 kids and no job? Seriously kid. You married our daughter and now you need to step up to the plate and provide. We thought she married “A MAN.” Quit chasing your silly projects and submit to the system.”

THAT IS NOT WHAT THEY SAID. But how I felt emotionally it might as well have been.

What happened next changed my marriage.

I looked at Katie and she was crying and nodding in agreement.

For the first time ever Katie and I were put in a situation where she had to pick sides and she chose theirs.

I was crushed. I started bawling profusely. I tucked my knees to my forehead and sobbed.

Katie wasn’t being malicious. She hadn’t abandoned me. She was just tired of the situation and her parents had spoken a true concern.

We all cried. A lot.

I explained, in between wiping snot around, that nothing meant more than my wife and kids and that I was doing what I felt I was created to do.

I explained to them that my dad was not around as a kid. (Dad, if you are reading this, I love you too. You are a kick ass dad now. Growing up you were mom’s oldest child.) My dad worked for the government. He traveled a lot. His job was not only top secret most of the time but high stress. (Some time I will attempt to explain my dad’s work history.) So when he was home he watched TV. He did not help discipline us kids. My grandpa was an arguer, yeller, and lecturer. My dad erred on the side of silence with us.

I saw the burden that my mom bore playing both roles most days and I think that sucked.

So I proceeded to tell my in-laws that if we have to be poor but I am the best damn dad in the world and best damn husband than so be it. I may not be motivated by money, but I am motivated by being a husband and father.

I am sure they saw the part of the successful father and husband role as one that goes out and does what it takes to financially provide for his family. I do not. I still don’t to this day. Do I make money? You bet. Does it define me or give me satisfaction when I got to bed? Nope.

After many tears and some hugs they went home and I don’t really remember if Katie and I talked.

I hate crying. I remember one time Katie saying, “Don’t you feel better after a good cry?” Uh…no. I would rather vomit out my nose than cry. I feel worse. Way worse. Crying isn’t therapeutic for me, it is torture.

I never did go find a job.

Katie’s parents did end up buying us Dave Ramsey’s money course. That dramatically helped our finances. More on that some other time too.

It took me nearly 18 months to clarify in my mind and then explain to Katie that she can’t ever choose sides again. She can disagree with me but we HAVE to be on the same side. She agreed and is still my strongest advocate.

To John and Mona, if you are still reading, I believe firmly that you believe firmly that the path you took is a good and safe path. I have never taken the good and safe path. I am in a generation where the path our parents took doesn’t exist. Most of my peers are overly educated, under paid and disgruntled. They don’t know why they have a Master’s degree in whatever and a job they hate. They did want their parents thought was right and they aren’t happy. They followed the yellow brick road only to get to field of poppy’s and get bored.

I would rather spend my time scouting land to build my own Oz.

Yup...she's milking a frog.

Just yesterday I got off of the phone with a professional friend of mine who was super excited about ANOTHER webinar that is going to show some secret to making huge money milking frogs on youtube or some super obscure trick one person did and duped a bunch of people out of their gas money.

On my way to my favorite little hide away @queencitybakery I was thinking about how many of the professionals I know have this insatiable appetite for training. Scratch that…education. And it seems the more educated you are the more you think MORE education is the ticket. Are they wrong? Well I think so. I think in this DIY age it isn’t about having tons and tons of education, it is about having tons and tons of experience.

Here are a few folks you may have heard of that erred on this side experience it is worked ok for them:

• Mary Kay Ash
• Halle Berry
• Michael Dell
• Henry Ford
• Bill Gates
• Andrew Jackson
• Rachel Ray
• John Rockefeller
• Steven Spielburg
• Mark Zuckerburg

Ok…I’ll just stop there for now. Right now if you are overly educated you are probably saying, “Hey you punk drop out, the world is run by people who have Master’s and PhD. and blah blah blah.” Yup, you are sort of right. The world is managed by those folks, but it is mostly owned by dropouts. Ok…let’s table the college vs dropout argument and get back to this concept of overly educated.

I don’t know if I can really say it better than Akhila did here, “We have become dependent on higher education to boost our lacking self esteems.” In the world of entrepreneurship that is webinars, trainings, seminars, teleseminars, events, the latest books, mashable.com, linkedin groups, whatever. Look folks, if you don’t get your ass in gear and put some of that stuff into practice it doesn’t do you any good.

“Education… has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.” - G. M. Trevelyan

“I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated. “- Al McGuire

“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. ” - Robert Green Ingersoll

“The great difficulty in education is to get experience out of ideas.” - George Santayana

My grandfather, my dad’s dad, is under educated and over experienced. This allowed him to do things that all of the Master’s Degree folks on the board said were impossible. In fact, I believe it takes those folks who aren’t stymied by a head full of knowledge to actually get stuff done. So he worked for the company that later became Gulf Stream, the exclusive jet manufacturer. He started sweeping the floors in 1950 and worked his way up taking every promotion and eventually working in every department. I can safely say there was no one with more streets smarts in that whole corporation than my grandfather, and management knew it.

So the owners had the bright idea that they wanted to move the manufacturing assembly line from Atlanta to Bethany, OK, roughly 850 miles. No problem right? Load that puppy on trucks and trains and let’s get going. Oh, but there was a caveat. They could not stop production. That’s right. The assembly line had to keep churning out planes as the company could not afford to stop production for the move.

Every analyst they hired said it was impossible. Think about it…have you ever seen an assembly line? Here is their current assembly line, now back in Savannah.

Gulfstream assembly line

Go ahead and tell me how in the world you keep all of that stuff and people turning out planes while it is going down the highway. I’ll give you a moment. See if you can figure it out….See…pretty crazy huh?

How did he pull it off? He did it by not having a head full of so much over analyzation that paralyzed his ability to problem solve and just get it done. What he did have was 20 years experience and street smarts in getting people to get junk done. Did he do it? Hell yah he did.

After the whole thing was moved and not 1 plane was delayed the CEO took my granddad out on the tarmac and said, “Burt, we have no idea how you pulled that off. Every consultant said it couldn’t be done. But I knew you were dumb enough to pull it off. Thank you.” My grandpa said that was one of the best compliments he ever got. The cotton picking farm boy who proved THE MAN wrong. Love it.

I am going to give you a tip that flies directly in the face of how I make money. STOP BUYING SO MUCH TRAINING AND START ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING SOME OF IT. Yes I am yelling this as I type.

Not only are you sabotaging your success with this little internal conversation, “Well maybe after I watch this webinar I will be able to _________,” but also you are wasting time. I intellectually understand you probably get some sort of dopamine release in your noggin when you finish yet another training and you actually probably get some sort of adrenaline rush when the anxiety of not knowing how to do something sinks in. So in affect this process of realizing you don’t know how to do something and then getting educated on that something is your own little drug addiction. The trouble is that you never get to work putting it to practice. And the few times that you actually put it into practice your results were shoddy but you forgot about learning curves and so you told yourself, “Well nice job idiot. There goes another $197 on a education that doesn’t work.” Again, drug addict behavior.

Bill Urell over at addictionrecoverybasics.com said, “A person can become less capable of making decisions. One thing that drug use does is it “freezes” or immobilized as a person’s decision-making capacity. They become less assertive and have great difficulty expressing opinions or needs. Often a drug user will describe the effect to be “sinking into yourself”. The world around them feeds into meaninglessness.”

Had he typed “overly educated” instead of “drug user” it would have still been true. ”A person can become less capable of making decisions. One thing that over education does is it “freezes” or immobilized as a person’s decision-making capacity. They become less assertive and have great difficulty expressing opinions or needs. Often the overly educated will describe the effect to be “sinking into yourself”. The world around them feeds into meaninglessness.”

See…

Listen. I deal with entrepreneurs and wannabe entrepreneurs every day. And the one thing that separates the successful from the not is their ability to take what is in their head and put it into practice.

Currently their are 142 “tennis instruction” books for sale at amazon.com. You could read every single one of those and still not be as far along as have a couple of lesson out on the court.

Lack of knowledge isn’t the problem. Lack of experience is.

Oh…I want to add one person to that list above.

• Mitch Jackson, owner of Queen City Bakery…quite possibly the best bakery in the country.

I met Katie June 27, 2009. I married her May 13, 2010. That is 321 days or 10 mo 16 days.

For most people including our parents this was complete insanity. I guess your take away is that I don’t think like normal folks. I would have married her the day I met her if that would have been an option. I was, however, on a mission trip and I had lectured 50 times to the 26 teens on the trip with me that they were not traveling to find a date, they were there to serve.

Here is a picture of exactly where we met.

The map marker is where I was standing when my life changed forever. The house at the bottom center of the photonwas my wife’s pet project while she was there. And I spent most of that week flirting with her in the church in the upper left of the pic.

Here is how I think: when I see something that is right for my life, I just know, and I go for it. It not working out is not an option. I literally mean my brain sees 1. Will this work out? A. Yes. There is no B. Option. Now I don’t tackle everything but what I do tackle I go for it. Sorry, tackle is way to aggressive a word for the tender way I pursued Katie’s heart, though looking back I wouldn’t have minded tackling her.

So I did what any reasonable person would have done then. I broke up with my girlfriend of 1 year, who was on that trip by the way. I told the University of New Mexico they could give the scholarship I had just won into the business school to someone else. After that semester I dropped out, quit my 2 jobs and moved to Brookings, SD on January 17, 2000… “to see about a girl“.

That spring was spent planning the wedding. 2 Days after the wedding we moved to Olympic National Park and lived at Lake Crescent Lodge. No complaints.

My pursuit of my dreams lead me into the financial mess of 2010. Does that mean I should have pursued something else? By no means. If you wanna see the view from the top you gotta climb the mountain. It is the lake of mosquitos on the way up that will discourage you. My lake was the system we are told to follow. Oh the stinking system. My guess is that you are following the system right now. I suggest picking up some mosquito spray. More on the system later.

I gotta run.

• Mr. Neal’s Presentation
• Drop out of college twice
• Marry a girl 10 months after meeting her
• Starting a business and family at the same time
• Going into business with my brother
• Being utterly broke
• A business failure
• Embezzlement
• Food Stamps and WIC
• In laws confronting me
• 27 Ventures

Ok…that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the story, but I will attempt to dive in.

Why am I doing this? Well, therapy perhaps. Silence will drive a man nuts. I am also terrible at keeping secrets. And I also know many of you out there have gone through or are going through your valley of death.

Also as a preface, my family has never experienced ill health on any level so I can not relate to the despair a major illness must be, but this has been my entrepreneurial journey. It involved laying on the floor and balling more than once. For me that is about as bad as it gets. My wife says a good cry makes you feel better. I think any guy out there will disagree. I would rather be kicked in the face.

So part 1 already…

Here is a picture I just snapped of a business card that I keep in my wallet. It is for Penny Brandt at the South Dakota Department of Labor. I have not spoken to Penny in 1 year. One year ago this week I stepped into the Department of Labor to fill out the paperwork for Food Stamps. I literally have a tight chest typing these words as they are so embarrassing. I can honestly say you haven’t tasted entrepreneurship and chasing your dreams until you have to get food stamps.

At the first of May prior to this happening I left my job as the Director of BNI for the State of South Dakota. It was a position I loved immensely. I chose to leave on my own free will as the franchise owner and I could not see eye to eye as what were acceptable business practices. Little did I know that my wife was pregnant with our third child. Surprise. Little did I know that that decision would kiss all of my income good bye.

As a BNI Director I was paid to grow the region. I was way underpaid because I was working towards owning the franchise someday. I was also part of SendOutCards a network marketing company. BNI gave my SOC business massive exposure so growth in both happened hand in hand. When I left one, the other went with it. Well, when I say went, basically my SOC business just plateaued. While our residual income was only about $1000 or so per month it would be our only income all summer.

So back to Penny. Have you ever been somewhere and you obviously don’t fit in? Like a tourist with your camera around your neck and a tshirt of I heart NYC you are obviously lost. That was me. I signed in and was ushered into a room with people who were mostly likely working the system. Now don’t count me a snob. I grew up in poverty stricken central New Mexico. My parents were considered wealthy because our house was on a foundation and not a trailer. But there is a difference between the working poor and the “working it” poor. I raised my hand when the class started and said, “I think I am in the wrong spot, what is this?” The lady reassured me this was the right place.

I honestly don’t recall a minute of that class. I was then assigned Penny. I walked through cubicle hell in what used to be like an old Sears store or something. I sat down with Penny who was super nice and thorough. I listen to her full explanation. Food stamps in South Dakota require that you are actively looking for work. She said I had to apply at 10 places per week and report to her and fill out paperwork after each application. I had to do this until I was employed at the level they showed on their chart.

Now for those of you who know me, employment is less likely than facial tattoos of Satan. Have I had jobs before, sure. Best Buy, Starbucks, The Real Estate Magazine, First Baptist Church of Moriarty, New Mexico Baptist Childrens Home, Martin-Logan Speaker Company…but I have known since I was 8 that I was going to own my own businesses. Create something special. I drove employers nuts. I out performed everyone but got written up all the time for “thinking too much”.

I explained to Penny that I could create the system they used to teach employment skills. Oh…that’s right, I had to attend weekly classes on “How to Interview.” I told her that I was fully aware of the decisions that I had made to get to this point. While this was never a goal it was always a known risk. You see, when you have a goal, when you know who you are so strongly, submitting to the system is not an option. I told her that I was going to continue to work on my projects because they WOULD work. I asked her what the penalty was for not conforming to the system. She said I would be put on probation for 30 days and then another 30 if I still didn’t conform and then 180 after that. I told her that in 3 months I would be off the system and that she could go ahead and mark me as absent now for the classes and checkins because it was a waste of my time to go look for a $10/hour job of which I would need 2 to support a pregnant wife and 2 kids. You see a 2x college dropout has but one option to make excellent money: Entrepreneurship. She said that in 8 years no one had ever “not complied” with the rules. I congratulated her on meeting the first. I thanked her for her time and left.

I don’t have a vocabulary big enough to explain what happened in my mind that day. Those of you who procrastinate know the feeling slightly. That “oh crap, it’s down to this” feeling. Well food stamps is that times 1000. My option was to blow it up or admit failure and chop wood for a living. I had no idea that almost 3 months to the day I would go to market with Brian Cook and Todd Falcone and change my life forever.

I just realized that most of my friends and family don’t even know this story.

Ok…back to work. More later.

Let’s say that you own a carpet cleaning business and you have a new client who just mentioned to you that they are in the market for all new blinds, shades, and drapes. There is a lady in your networking group who provides this service, but you have spent very little time getting to know her and you are nervous about passing a referral because this new clients seems like they could be an ideal client for you in the long run. They also have a bunch of oddly shaped windows and you are sure that the job referral you are passing is a big one. While from the outside this may seem like a no brainer, when you are in the thick of it sometimes this is a very difficult decision.

You joined the group to get referrals, and so did everyone else. This only works if everyone is giving referrals. A group full of takers gets nothing. There will be plenty of times where even though you have not be given an equal amount of referrals you will have to give a few big ones on faith.

You will also have to dive into a few referral situations and potentially put your reputation on the line. You may over hear two members having a conversation about a deal going down that would be a great referral for you. You may just have to bud in and get involved.

You may also have to do some less than pleasant work for an influential member of the group to prove yourself. You joined the group to grow your business. Do whatever it takes to make that reality.