No Limits Ladies.com

The real question should be…can you afford not to?

Guy Kawasaki, author of our favorite start up “manual” Art Of The Start and the very quirky Rules For Revolutionaries, has published the total costs for launching his bigger than life new site Truemors.

The total bill?

$12,107.09

But...but...but you’re saying, I don’t have a cool 10 grand plus to plop down on a website.

Well, I recently moved my business blog from www.RoadToForbes.com to www.ClientK.com . The total cost of set up? $8.95 a year for the domain name and $9.95 a month hosting (this hosting has unlimited site potential so any new site will cost the $8.95 a year domain name costs).

Note: I already have a (has never made a profit) corporation set up to hold my sites for liability reasons.

So that’s less than $20 for the first month, $10 a month afterwards.

But…but…but I don’t have the brand appeal of Guy Kawasaki.

Few people do but then your costs are less also, aren’t they? And your expectations lower. This is a baby business, used to leap frog into bigger, and bigger businesses.

I currently don’t blog for the money (these past few weeks have shown me not to rule out anything for the future) but if I did, and threw some ads on the site, it wouldn’t take me much traffic to break even.

But...but...but...I don’t have the time.

Well, that is the sticking point. To make this work, you can either re-allocate time from some other task (sleeping) or figure out a way to do it without the heavy time investment.

For my www.ClientK.com blog, my posts are less than 150 words a day. My readers, busy businesswomen, don’t have time to read longer and honestly, I don’t want to assign the time to write longer.

No more buts ladies. Build, build, build.

I have decided to really incorporate building a business into my NLL blogging schedule. Why? Because I feel every woman should be minding her own business. Some of you are entrepreneurs... you just did not know it yet!

I ran across this article in Business Week titled "She did it her way", which highlighted the stories of nine women who, well, did it their way!

One caught my eye in particular, Ladies Who Launch. I checked out their site, and liked what I saw. As a woman who knew nothing about business, read a book, and delusionally thought "I can do that", I think a site full of resources like this one could prove to be invaluable.

I love, love, love chapter 10, The Art of Rainmaking, in The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Maybe because the the truth of it resonates in my soul from the heart wrenching time when I was launching my first business. Listen carefully to what Guy as to say:

"Two factors make rainmaking difficult for startups. First, although entrepreneurs design a product or service for a specific purpose, they have no way of knowing who will actualy buy it and what it will be used for. Thus the first step of rainmaking is to get version 1.0 of the product or service to the marketplace to find out where it blossoms. Keep your eyes open because you may find yourself in the midst of a gorilla market.

Second, the products and services of startups are rarely just bought. Instead, they must be sold because few customers want to take a chance on a new product or service from a small undercaptialized organization. Thus the second step of rainmaking is to overcome this resistance.

Here's a story of how an entrepreneur both found out who would buy her product and overcame resistance to stocking it: A Parisian store once rejected the newest fragrance of Este`e Lauder, the famed purveyor of perfume. In anger, Lauder poured the fragrance all over the floor, and so many customers asked about it that the store had to carry it. Sometimes when it pours, it rains."

Launching a product and getting feedback, and then adjusting to the feedback is a huge step a lot of would-be entrepreneurs miss. (Perhaps it isn't in their business plans?) This is the main reason I personally believe that many start up businesses fail- lack of perseverence to figure out what will work. The second part of that then being the ability to sell it.

As an entrepreneur you have to be able to sell. Guy nailed something huge saying that traditional marketing doesn't generally work for startups. Why? Because nobody knows who you are. "The products of startups are sold, not bought. For selling to work, entrepreneurs need to establish their credibility and develop face-to-face, personalized contact."

Guy lays out more on the main points of rainmaking on his blog. Kimber has also recommended How To Become A Rainmaker by Jeffrey J. Fox (no relation to Michael) which I promptly ran out and bought- and have yet to read! Another book recommended by Guy on the subject is Influence by Cialdini, which is the same book recently recommended to me by Kim Kiyosaki when I asked her about books on negotiating! ( I have it too- and I'm a couple chapters in!)

The Art of Being A Mensch

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good." -Samuel Johnson

What is a Mensch? Guy's favorite definition is this: Someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being “a real mensch” is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous.

Here, also, is Guy's "humble attempt to help you achieve menschdom". It is alway important to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not only in life, but in business- which is a reflection of your life and character. Always keep in mind to give back or pay back for all the goodness you have received, as opposed to paying it forward and expecting something in return in the future.

So what are you waiting for?

Get out there and make meaning, solve a problem, create a product or service that will be contagious! Try and try and test and test and don't give up on your dreams. And when you make it, don't forget to give back.

I truly hope this book and it's insight have inpired you! We live in a time where opportunity abounds. The internet has leveled the playing field in so many ways. We have so much to be thankful for. Take care and have a fabulous Thanksgiving everyone!

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

(Forgive me for getting to this so late!) Today's chapter in The Art of the Start has already been condensed by the author Guy Kawasaki himself The Art of Branding.

I love Guy's approach to branding as "simply applying the classic P's of marketing: product, place, price, and promotion (and sometimes prayer). Guy has also added another "P: proselytization, which is the process of converting others to your belief, doctrine, or cause." In this chapter he also covers this idea, also known as "evangelism" in addition to fostering community- another hugely important aspect of building a brand.

Guy goes on to say:

"The art of branding requires creating something that infects people with enthusiasm, making it easy for them to help spreading the word, and building a community around it."

I have a unique opportunity to witness this in action every Tuesday when I head over to the Rich Dad headquarters for our weekly meetings (it's the one day a week I have to get up early and drive anywhere to simu-work!). The company, love it or hate it, is a recognizable brand. They have been able to build and maintain this brand for more than a decade, and are still going strong.

RK was talking about building a brand just this morning (as if on cue!). He was talking about how Cashflow Technologies was started as a financial educational company whose product was the game Cashflow. The now famous book Rich Dad Poor Dad was written as a way to promote the game- and took on a life of it's own. RK said he found that he was turned from entrepreneur into author- which was never his goal. They have been returning to their original focus: the Cashflow game and financial education.

This game is the "product that creates contagion and infects people with enthusiasm" that Guy Kawasaki described in the quote above. People can join clubs and play the game for free. Everyone can leave having learned something practical that they can apply to their lives. Many find that they would like to educate themselves more. Who now are they going to turn to to continue their financial education? What company opened their eyes and was in front of them for 2-4 hours while playing the game? That is a great example of creating something contagious: branding in action.

Tomorrow we'll wrap up our study through The Art of the Start with The Art of Rainmaking and a bit on Being a Mensch!

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

Good morning class (or afternoon), last week we made it through chapters 1-5 in our study of The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. I'd like to try to finish up the last 6 in the three days here before Thanksgiving! Bare with me here as we hurry on through. I'm going to really focus r min on the asepcts of business I have had experience with.

Chapter 6 begins with The Art of Recruiting which I am going to defer to Guy's blog for further reading and resources on the subject.

Chapter 7, The Art of Raising Capital, begins with this quote: "At a presentation I gave recently, the audience's questions were all along the same lines: 'How do I get in touch with venture capitalists', 'What percentage of equity do I have to give them?' No one asked me how to build a business! -Author Rock

This chapter covers the process of raising captial from outside sources, including "any of the three F's: friends, fools, and family." I am also going to refer to Guy's blog on this subject of raising captial.

Chapter 8 covers The Art of Partnering..of which I am going to skip right to then end and focus on the minichapter within the chapter: The Art of Schmoozing.

The Art of Schmoozing (or What can I do for you?)

Guy breaks it down like this:

"The process of building social connections is called schmoozing. If you're reticent about schmoozing- because you are shy or you consider it offensive or manipulative- you shouldn't be. In his book, The Frog and the Prince, Darcy Rezac defines networking (which is schmoozing) as "discovering what you can do for someone else." Upon this foundation, here's how to get more people to know you:

-Get Out: Schmoozing is a contact sport.

-Ask Good Questions, and then Shut Up: Good Schmoozers aren't good talkers; they are good listeners.

-Follow Up: Follow up within 24 hours of meeting someone... So few people ever follow up that the ones who do are clearly special and worth knowing.

Guy also has more on schmoozing here on his blog.

I love meeting and connecting people. I am always looking for new opportunities to help others, create something, partner in something, etc. It's how I got my catch phrase ("I do people"). I have included several books I recommend for schmoozing or networking. Maybe I'll take a week and talk about connecting with and building relationships with people. Relationships are invaluable in all aspects of life, not just in business!

Tomorrow we'll go over The Art of Branding and Wednesday we'll cover The Art of Rainmaking, and hopefully Kimber will treat us to some of her knowledge on the subjects- since these are really more her area of expertise!

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

I was going to give my cliff-notes version of chapter 5 "Bootstrapping" from The Art of the Start for our book study. However, I found that Guy Kawasaki has already put it into a blog-friendly format. Read what he has to say about Bootstrapping and also, check out a new video called Funding Your Dream that he posted on his blog from a recent Art of the Start Conference he did.

Also, for your reading pleasure here is how I bootstrapped my first business!

PS- Thanks to Guy (Kawasaki) for stopping by on Monday to say hi when we started our Art of the Start book study!

We'll continue on Monday!

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

Writing a business plan is probably the number one thing that would-be entrepreneurs get hung up on, and as it turns out, is not as big of a deal as we are often led to believe. Here is a bit of what Guy Kawasaki has to say about writing business plans, and then I'll follow with my own personal experience of doing so.

The Holy Grail (from The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki, chapter 4)

"The modern-day equivalent of the Holy Grail is the business plan. It, too, is supposed to satisfy everyone (investors, directors, founders, and managers) and induce magical effects on those who partake of it- specifically the irresistable urge to write a check or approve a go-ahead action.

Also, like the Holy Grail, the business plan remains largely unattainable and mythological. Most experts wouldn't agree, but a business plan is of limited usefulness for a startup because entrepreneurs base so much of their plans on assumptions, "visions", and unknowns."

Tha being said, if you are going to move forward in a business with a team on board, you do have to have a formal plan. Here are some of Guy's tips to keep in mind when writing a business plan:

-Write for the right reason: Ironically for most entrepreneurs the business plan itself (that is, the document) is one of the least important factors in raising money.

-Pitch, then Plan: If you get the pitch right, you'll get the plan right. The converse is not true.

-Focus on the Executive Summary: It is the most important part of your business plan because it will determine whether people read the rest of the document.

-Keep it clean: Increase the effectiveness of your entire business plan by keeping it short, simple and effective.

-Provide the right numbers: Five years of financial projections- that don't have the $25-50 million spike at the end of the fourth and fifth-year sales.

-Write deliberate, act emergent: Use historical data, technology, competitive analyisis that is influenced by and practical to everyday realities in business.

"So, write as if you know exactly what the future holds, but react opportunistically when you encounter reality.

Rest assured that many successful organizations have chnaged their business models along the way. This means you have to conserve your capital so you have money to make it through the changes (bootstrapping coming later this week), and you have to be willing to alter your plans.

The worst thing you can do is to write a deiberate plan and then stick to it simply because it is "the plan". If you're successful, no one will care if you didn't follow the plan. And shame on you if you fail but you did."

My Experience with Business Plans

When I started my first business, I didn't know I was supposed to write a business plan. I just had a vision and worked to bring it to life. We were funding it ourselves, so I didn't need it to raise money. Frankly, I would have had to adjust it several times, because we had to figure out what was going to work for us. I never put together a business plan for that business, and now it's sold (and dead- maybe the new owner should have had a plan!).

About a year later, I had an idea for a high end Bed and Breakfast on an amazing property in Seattle, WA. I decided to see if I could make it happen. That's about the time I met Kimber through an online forum. She offered to help me write and put together a busines plan that I could take and shop around to different private investors, angels, and venture captialists. I was doing a lot of research to figure out who might be the best to fund this particular project. Although I had a vision for the whole, I got really hung up on the numbers. I bought a business plan writing software program (Palo Alto) and worked on it for months. I never could get past the financial projections. As it turned out, the numbers didn't make sense, and I ended up putting that idea on the shelf (although I may go back and buy that property- I love it!).

I've since worked on a number of smaller projects that haven't needed a formal business plan to speak of. However, the next project I'm getting ready to take on will be a larger scale business and I will be looking for funding to expand it. So it will be back to the drawing board for me!

Just keep in mind what a business plan is for and don't let yourself get hung up on one if you have a passion to be in business! (Maybe Kimber will pop in and give her two cents on this subject! It's a valuable two cents!) Also, if anyone would like to share what you are working on or perhaps an idea of a business you'd like to start, send me an email. I'll choose one I really like, feature it on NLL, along with a link to your site (if you'd like) and send you a brand new copy of The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki.

More Art of the Start tomorrow... Bootstrapping! (This should be something PF Bloggers like!)

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

The Art of Pitching (The Art of the Start chapter 3, by Guy Kawasaki)

"Forget, 'I think, therefore I am.' For entrepreneurs, the salient phrase is, 'I pitch therefore I am.' Pitching isn't only useful for raising money- it's an essential tool for reaching agreement on any subject...." You've got to know who you are, what you want, and how to communicate that to people, to sell it to people.

Question: How can you tell if an entrepreneur is pitching?
Answer: His lips are moving.

In this chapter, Guy goes into detail on some ways that we can improve in this area. I found these to be some of the most practical for myself:

-Explain yourself in the first minute.
-The foundation of a great pitch is the research that you do before the meeting starts.
-A pitch can't be too short because a good one will motivate people to ask questions that extend it.
-Communicate "enough" not everything.
-You should be able to give your pitch in 10 slides and 20 minutes.
-Pitch constantly.

I want to spend a little bit of time elaborating on that last point, pitch constantly. Guys says, "Familiarity breeds content. It's when you are totally familiar with your pitch that you will be able to give it most effectively."

For instance, Mark Burnett, creator of Survivor, relates in his book Jump In how he practiced his "Survivor" pitch on his unsuspecting friends:

First I had to convince a network to pay the production costs (for Survivor) which would run into millions of dollars. I would only get one chance to pitch it to a network or cable channel, and I didn't want to blow it. As practice, I pitched the idea to friends and aquaintances at dinner parties. I didn't tell them they were guinea pigs- but at some point during dinner, someone would invariably ask what I was working on next. I would smile, take a deep breath, raise my voice just a notch for greater emphasis, then explain Survivor as brilliantly and boldly and seductively as I possibly could.

At first the pitch came out long-winded and overcomplicated. My dinner companions would lean back in their chairs, heads nodding vacantly as if listening, even as their eyes glazed over and their thoughts wandered. They would hear me out, but then the conversation would diplomatically shift to another topic.

As I perfected the pitch, however, making it faster and more fluid and always exciting, I noticed my dinner companions leaning in to hear each syllable. Their eyes sparkled. They peppered me with questions, all of which I learned to answer with the same polish I used to deliver the pitch itself. By the time I walked into the Discovery Channel's headquarters in 1999 to pitch the show for the first for real, I was capable of selling it to anyone anywhere.

I am not just going through this book for fun, I am actually working on my next business venture. I want to know how many of you may also be working on a start up or wanting to start your own business? If anyone would like to share what you are working on or perhaps an idea of a business you'd like to start, send me an email. I'll choose one I really like, feature it on NLL, along with a link to your site (if you'd like) and send you a brand new copy of The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

More from The Art of the Start tomorrow...

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

Niche Thyself (from chapter 2 in the Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki)

When F.W. Woolworth opened his first store, a mechant on the same street tried to fight the new competition. He hung out a big sign: "Doing business in this same spot for over fifty years." The next day Woolworth also put out a sign. It read: "Established a week ago: no old stock." - Peter Hay, The Book of Business Anecdotes

"Many entrepreneurs try to avoid market niches. They are afraid of getting locked out of important sectors, submaximizing sales, and putting all their eggs in one basket," says Guy Kawasaki. He then goes on to use Microsoft as an illustration of a company that started in a niche and grew from there. "You might think that to build the next Microsoft, you'd have to launch a multiprong attack. Nothing could be further from the right approach. To build the next Microsoft, you have to start in a small niche, establish a beachhead*, and (with luck) move out from there. "

Guy also explains how as a start up we are trying "to start a fire with matches not flamethrowers" (see the design on the book's cover).

In the book is a diagram that illustrates where we should aim to postition ourselves in business: to have the ability to provide a unique product or service where customers most appreciate us because we provide this unique product or service they strongly desire.

What can you do to position yourself? And do make sure you are the one doing the positioning, not a PR company, nor the let the market control how you are postitioned (even if you can't control it completely). How can you niche and grow rich?

One more note on finding a niche that Guy spoke of in the previous chapter: polarizing people. You'll find, if you haven't already, that when you create a product, service, blog, etc. that people love, that others may hate you. The goal is not for everyone to love you necessarily, but to drive people to make a decision about you one way or the other. I have heard Robert Kiyosaki talk about this: 33% of people will get what he is saying, 33% will hate what he is saying, and about 33% will be indifferent. His customer base, who he focuses on are the 33% who "get it". He has a niche.

Continuing our study of The Art of the Start tomorrow...

*A beachhead, in this context, means a market that is small enough so that larger competitors are not already going after it, and big enough so that if you're successful, you can reach critical mass and profitablility with it.

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

Good morning class, as you know, No Limits Ladies is a women's financial freedom blog. We are about increasing your means through both building businesses and investing to become financially independent.

This week we are going to be going through the essential start up book for anyone starting anything, The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. There is so much out there about how to start a business. As Guy says, " You could literally spend all your time learning and not doing. And doing, not learning to do, is the essence of entrepreneurship... The reality is that "entrepreneur" is not a job title. It is a state of mind of people who want to change the future... If your attitude is, 'Cut the crap and just tell me what I need to do,' you've come to the right place."

So let's jump in with chapter one, the Art of Starting.

Guy is known for his top ten lists; however he opens this book, The Art of the Start, instead with a list of five important things an entrepreneur must accomplish:

1. Make Meaning (inspired by John Doerr). The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning- to create a product or service that makes the world a better place. So your first task is to decide how you can make meaning.

2. Make Mantra. Forget mission statements; they're long, boring, and irrelevant. No one can ever remember them- much less implement them. Instead, take your meaning and make mantra out of it. This will set your entire team on the right course.

3. Get Going. Start creating and delivering your product or service. Think soldering irons, compliers, hammers, saws, and AutoCAD- whatever tools you use to build your products and services. Don't focus on pitching, writing, and planning.

4. Define Your Business Model. No matter what kind of organization you're starting, you have to figure out a way to make money. The greatest idea, technology, product, or service is short lived without a sustainable business model.

5. Weave A Mat (Milestones, Assumptions, and Tasks). The final step is to compile three lists: (a) major milestones you need to meet; (b) assumptions that are built into your business model; and (c) tasks you need to accomplish to create an organization on track when all hell breaks loose- and all hell will break loose.

(Chapter 1 The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki pages 3-4)

So your homework, class, is to pick up a copy of The Art of the Start and read through it as we discuss key points and how to practically apply them to our own situations.

For more about Guy Kawasaki, check out Art of the Start.com (his site) as well as Guy's blog

More to come tomorrow!

There has been much talk as of late around here about sexy or unsexy investments and businesses. Kimber mentioned in her blog just today that she is the "Pooper-Scooper" of stocks. (Pooper-Scooper=Unsexy) I thought it was appropriate to address this issue, seeing as we have been talking about starting up businesses as a means to financial independence.

I was thinking about The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., in which he questioned multi-millionaires and then laid out the results of the things they felt made them successful (multi-million dollar successful).

One section was devoted to their choice in vocation. A striking 32% of all (multi/deca) millionaires became so as Business Owners/Entrepreneurs (Senior Corporate Exec. 16%, Attorney 10%, and Physician 9%, remaining % "other"). In many cases, the business was something they loved, or "fell into", and was often an unsexy niche.

For example, The Millionaire Mind tells of Mr. Richard's story:

In his late twenties, Mr. Richard had worked for a large manufacturer and distributor of trucks for five years. He was a college graduate with a so-so grade point average, and he wasn't making enough money to do much more than keep up with living expenses. He and his wife were rather frugal, and they always wanted to be financially independent. But Mr. Richard recognized that he would never become wealthy in his current employment position, so he was restless. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, and then a series of situations took place at work.

"I was working for White Motor Company [as assistant manager]. My boss asked me to sell this wrecked truck to a junk dealer...Sold it for $500...About two weeks later he asked me to go back to the junk dealer. We needed a used engine for another truck.

They [the junk dealer] pulled the engine out of the same truck that we had sold them two weeks ago. And the guy invoices me out $500, plus we had to exchange another engine that needed to be replaced."

The light bulb went on inside Mr. Richard's head. He reasoned that many of the other parts on the truck also had value. In fact, that truck which was sold for $500 in total, was worth five to ten times or more when sold as parts. At this moment in his life, Mr. Richard had what people call intuition. He immediately recognized the extraordinary business opportunity within the vocation he refers to as junk....

Mr. Richards indicated, as did 31% of his fellow business owners, that he "stumbled across this great opportunity". Because of his affinity with trucks and the people who worked distributing them, Mr. Richard's decision was not just a random, stumbling event- he found a refined niche in a generic industry that he loved...

Many millionaires have told me that their financial success is a direct function of owning a specialized business in a geo-area that contains little or no competition...

But the "intense need for social status" blinds people to many significant economic opportunities...Snobs do not make great entrepreneurs. It is often the simple solutions to problems that are the basis for a successful business.

...Everybody out there has an opportunity to get into business...The opportunity to sell somebody something...Some can't see it. You have to be able to see it.

Unsexy businesses can make you wealthy (which is sexy).

**Quick Note from yesterday: Asset Gatherer was the first to email and request Before you Quit Your Job! You can check out her entrepreneurial and investing progress over at Assets and Liabilities.

At the risk of scaring some of you with two RK books in a row, I decided to replace The Art of the Start (will start going over that in the next few days, as it is well worth it) with Before You Quit Your Job. I've been looking through books that may help encourage those of you would-be entrepreneurs. This book seems a natural next step for anyone deciding to move forward in business, seeing as how many people have jobs.

I followed the advice of good old Napolean Hill. We burned the ships alright. It was not fun.

However, if hindsight is 20/20 I think that starting a business part time while you keep working and educate yourself slowly may not be a bad way for many people to go. Unless you are very determined, there is not much you can do without cash flow (pay bills, eat, etc.)

Before You Quit Your Job: 10 Real-life lessons every entrepreneur should know about building a multimillion-dollar business takes someone who may be employee minded through a paradigm shift: from employee to the mind of an entrepeneur- as they are very different.

I'll send a brand new copy of Before You Quit Your Job to the first person who emails and requests it. If it can help someone else fuel their fire (and I don't mean burn the book), then I am happy to do so!

When I decided I was going to start and build a business, I had no clue where to begin. I hadn't studied business or anything, I just had an idea and thought I could do it. I read everything I could get my hands on. There was one book I literally used as my "road map" when I was getting things going: Rich Dad's Guide To Investing. What? There is a section in the middle about why and how to build a business, and lays out the B-I Triangle. I'd like to share a portion from the book (as it is RK Tuesday) called Why Build a Business?

Rich Dad said, "There are three reasons for building a business more than to simply create an asset.":

1. "To provide you with excessive cash flow". In his book How To Be Rich, J. Paul Getty states that his first rule is that you must be in business for yourself. He goes on to imply that you will never get rich working for someone else.

One of the primary reasons rich dad started so many businesses was that he had excessive cash flow from his other businesses. He also had the time because his businesses required minimal effort on his part. This allowed him the free time and extra money to keep investing in more and more assets tax-free. That is why he became rich so quickly and why he said to "Mind your own business."

2. "To sell it". Rich dad went on to explain that the problem with having a job is that you cannot sell the job, regardless of how hard you work. The problem with building a business in the S (self employed or sole proprietor) quadrant is that there is usually a limited market that would want to buy it. For example, if a dentist builds a practice, generally the only other person who would want to buy it is another dentist. To rich dad, that was too narrow of a market. He said, "For something to be valuable, there must be many more people than you who want it. The problem with an S quadrant business is that you are often the only person who wants it....

An asset is something that puts money in your pocket, or it can be sold to someone else for more than you have paid for or invested in it. If you can build a successful business, you will always have a lot of money....

As a business owner, you don't have to be right 51% of the time. You need to be right only once...Building a business is the riskiest road for most people. But if you can survive and keep improving your skills, your potential for wealth is unlimited. If you avoid risk and play it safe as an employee or S business owner, you may be safer, but you will also limit what you can truly earn."

3. "To build a business to take it public..." It was building a business and taking it public that made Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Warren Buffet, Ted Turner, and Anita Roddick very, very wealthy.

You're Never Too Old and You're Never Too Young
If anyone tells you that you can't build a business that others want to buy, use that small- minded thought to inspire you. It is true that Gates was very young when he started Microsoft but Colonel Sanders was 66 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken...

Certain personal traits are required to be a successful entrepreneur:
1. Vision: The ability to see what others can not see.
2. Courage: The ability to act despite tremendous doubt.
3. Creativity: The ability to think outside the box.
4. The ability to withstand criticism: There is not one successful person who has not been criticized.
5. The ability to delay gratification: It can be very difficult to learn to deny short-term immediate self-gratification in favor of a greater long term reward.

(Adapted from Chapter 30 Why Build a Business? Rich Dad's Guide to Investing pages 249-251)

"The problem with most failing businesses is not that their owners don’t know enough about finance, marketing, management, and operations -- they don’t, but those things are easy enough to learn -- but that they spend their time and energy defending what they think they know. My experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more."

- Michael Gerber

I ran across this post and article about Mom Entrepreneurs (Great idea, get a patent) over at Boston Gal's Open Wallet and thought it was perfect to share on More Money Mondays!

Great idea? Get a patent!

USAToday has a great article about a couple of Massachusetts entrepreneurs: Moms crafted a baby-booming business

Seven years ago, Julie Dix and Danielle Ayotte were stay-at-home moms, shuttling kids to soccer practice and setting up play dates. Now, the two run a multimillion-dollar company called Taggies that is rapidly spreading into a global enterprise.

And it all got started with a child's blanket.

They had a great idea, but one that is easily copied. Spending the time and money to get the patent for their idea has been key to their success. It has lead to lucrative licensing deals.

The USA Today article has some insight for start up businesses such as how to find an initial idea, how to protect it, learning to sell, and getting good financial advisors on board.

One of my buddies is a Halloween freak. She loves the holiday, her fave part being the carving of the pumpkin (in her case, pumpkins). Her Jack O’Lanterns are works of art. Name a famous person. She has likely carved a pumpkin with that face.

I sit at the opposite end of the spectrum about the carving of the pumpkin. I don’t like doing it, especially reaching in my hand to scrape out the inside of the pumpkin with all the orange pumpkin guts and goo and slimy seeds (ranks way up there with setting up the artificial Christmas tree, unfolding all the branches). Somehow, my hand always turns out permanently orange and smelling like pumpkin soup for a month afterwards. No thanks. Not for me.

So its only natural that I buy a Jack O’Lantern from my buddy to display on my front step (the Jack O’Lantern then traditionally gets abducted by the teenagers down the street and eventually dropped off a fifth story balcony to see how it smashes).

And when my Jack O’Lantern gets admired, I fess up and say who is truly the master behind the work which leads to more carving-adverse folks knocking on my friend’s door and…you get the picture. My buddy’s skills are suddenly in demand. She’s in the pumpkin business.

There are some drawbacks to this plan. For one, its very seasonal. Halloween only comes once a year (thank goodness for my candy budget). For another, Jack O’Lanterns last only about a week (less if you have teenagers in the neighborhood).

However, she has extended the season with pumpkin carving classes, selling carving templates, other veggie and fruit carving (for centerpieces), outsourcing carving to teenagers (likely the same ones with the pumpkin smashing fixation), etc.

"Business is a great teacher:

It makes you take risks, go for your dreams, face fears, handle your emotions, deal with difficult people, and learn balance. You don't have to do any weird workshops or sign up for any therapy sessions. Go into business and you'll be enrolled in the greatest seminar of all time. And it happens every day, every where, to every one. You can't avoid it."

- Joe Vitale

This idea for fast and easy cash, requiring not much start up moolah if you already have the equipment, was posted on Mark Cuban’s blog.

Mark Cuban. As in the hottie millionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban. As in buying a basketball team for fun Mark Cuban. So you know that if he cares enough to put it on his blog, it’s gotta be good.

The big idea?

Going door to door with a scanner and a laptop and scanning photos in for a charge. He’s suggesting a buck a photo which can add up ‘cause I know I have a heck of a lot of photos (cupboards bulging with travel photos that I never look at and never show, once you see one palm tree...).

Think of the older generations without scanners or knowledge of inserting photos in e-mails. Think of people like me that may be too lazy to bother. Think of the people wishing to sell on eBay if only they had a scanner to add a photo.

(Ironically, scanners are one of those computer pieces that I often see sold “free after rebate.” )

If I was to run with this idea (and believe me, I’m tempted), I would whip up some business cards. With any luck, the door-to-door thing (always a pain, I feel like an oversized girl guide) would be a one time occurrence. I’d get enough call in business to retire the Nikes.

Or as Markie baby (my pet name for him…in my dreams) writes “If you want to think big time, set up a service with the local drugstore and have people drop off their pics and you go by every day and return them the next day.”

The fast cash could become permanent cash.

I am admittedly no master baker. I make a mean (and inexpensive) chocolate brownie. The recipe to be found here (I omit the costly walnuts and bake them in mini muffin tins for easy eating). But that’s about the extent of my baking abilities.

Most of my friends are in the same non-cooking boat. One of my buddies has yet to successfully make poptarts (he keeps trying, stubborn man). Despite all this, we get asked often to bring food to potlucks, work functions, church functions, even family reunions (family should know better especially after my famed macaroni and cheese disaster…who knew I had to boil the water first?).

So where do we turn?

One place is to baking blessed friends. One of my male friends (yes, male) makes cakes to live for. They are so sinfully yummy that people started to pay him for his baking time. He baked as “favors” for others and they kicked in a little something extra for his effort. Eventually, he turned legit, getting the business registered and satisfying the health officials.

But his first foray was really unintentional. He baked for friends and family. Then he was asked to participate in a charity bake sale. Attendees asked him if he made cakes. He said privately and gave them his personal business card (personal business cards are a must have especially for people like me always looking for new opportunities). He shamelessly handwrote “bakes first rate cakes” on it so they’d remember.

My buddy told interested parties that he would bake a cake for them for x dollars (a reasonable wage for his time, factoring in a small fee for use of his pans and oven) plus the cost of ingredients. He made it clear that it wasn’t a business, more like a favor (which it was…to begin with). Clients picked the cakes up.

It was so lucrative that now he has his own restaurant featuring…yes, his cakes.

Chapter three: Selling the biz

When I finally decided to sell, I went to people I knew first, who might have an interest in the business. One of our clients had asked to be the first franchisee when we got to that point (that was the goal). I figured she already had experience in the business and has expresses interest, so I offered her first chance at it. And she wanted it.

From there, since it was a new business, I set the price by what I had put into starting it, and what I had made from the business that year. After working out the details, I drew up my own contract! Half up front, I carried the balance for a year, and then a lump sum payment. That was it!

I was entirely too friendly with my buyer, and instead of my lump sum, I have had to extend the payments out, which is not the situation I hoped for.

I don't know if this will help anyone. It should be titled "what not to do when starting a business". We can't be afraid of making mistakes, or be so afraid of doing things "the right way" we never do anything.

A side note: A year after I sold the business, I picked up a copy of The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. I wish I had read this before I started the business, instead of after! ( I'm always doing things bass-ackwards! ) I highly recommend this book- it really is for anyone starting anything!

Chapter two: the launch

By the time October and the trade show arrived, we had a decent list and website to work with. We were confident that we were going to be rich- that day at the trade show. lol We spent our last few dollars on trade show things, and went for it. Three days we stood, explaining our new concept to people. We got a lot of support, some naysayers, even one contractor who put our information down and ran away. But not one sign up. We left with less money than we started the show with.

What we did make were two very important contacts: 1) a local celebrity who was hosting the show who loved the idea for our service, and (2) a real estate magazine publisher who was looking for a service like ours.

Over the next few weeks, I struggled to keep the business alive. After our unsucessful launch (read here: we didn't make a million dollars) my partner bailed on the business. I tried an email blast (for free, based on a percentage of sales),which didn't work. I ended up restructuring the whole business, and had a whole new site built (trading out work).

I managed to convince my partner to give it another shot. And he did, half heartedly. In hindsight I should have let him go, it was tricky being married though! We literally begged our way through Christmas time, and were supported by friends , family and the local church as we struggled to make the business work.

About that time, the connections we had made came into play. The RE magazine publisher gave us a free half page ad in their first and second publications, which had a distribution of nearly 28,000. The local celebrity wrote an article about us in the AZ Republic (huge!), and she also had us on her radio program! We had also made the acquaintance of a the owner of EZsitemaster.com who gave us a new site! I had also begun to make friends with other business owners and started linking to their sites.

Slowly my partner wanted out, and I began looking at other options. I looked at bringing in a new partner, hiring a sales staff, getting investors, franchising, etc. (LOL I tried to talk MJ into buying it! LOL) Just when the business was really starting to find it's rythym, I decided to sell.

Chapter One- Bootstrapping an idea to life

I read the Rich Dad Poor Dad series three years ago, and decided, I could do that. So I thought about businesses I could start. Being familiar with the construction industry (I was married to a painter at the time), I saw the need for good contractors to differentiate themselves from the bad.

First key: I saw a need

Then I researched my idea to see if anyone was currently meeting the need. I did my due diligence, as far I I knew what that was! Basically I searched any key words I could think of online and what it turned up! lol I would literally be reading a book on how to do something and then go do it!

Second key: Due diligence

I saw there was market for my idea, and nobody was doing it the way I thought of doing it. So, I decided to go ahead with it.

The first step I took was to set up my LLC. That was $500 out of my own pocket. If I had to do it again, I would have waited to set up my entity, because I didn't really know what would be the best fit at that time and I could have used that money for other things.

I didn't have any sort of plan, not at all! LOL In fact the whole time I had the business, I never had a plan. Not saying thats good! I just had a vision of what I wanted to accomplish, and knocked on every door I could to try to make it happen.

During this time, I was reading voraciously, and found myself trying to hire a business consultant and seek out an attorney ( I thought I needed a team). Neither worked out, thankfully.

I worked and worked on my idea from April- August. I literally created everyting from scratch. Then I brought in my spouse (at that time) as a partner in August, and we literally "burned the ships" to work on the business full time.

These are a couple of things that turned out to be horrible choices in my case. First of all, my "partner" was not completely on board and committed to the idea. Second, we had no savings to speak of and we had no cash flow for living expenses. We did have additional out going money because of the business, and any money we did make went right back into the business.

That is why it is good advice to start a business part-time. You can't do anything without cash flow.

We set a launch date for October (two months) at a local trade show, and we worked hard to have people in the database, as well to have a database itself! It was easy enough to convince someone to help us build a website (no money into it), however, selling a completely new service concept (especially without the site) was much more difficult than we had anticipated.

We also didn't have the money for the trade show booth, but I was able to convince the trade show people to give me more time. Then we partnered with one of our new clients to split the booth cost with them. We borrowed our half of the booth cost from family. We also borrowed money from family to print up brochures and business card, and I convinced the graphic designer to delay payment for his services.

Here is where the ability to sell is KEY! If I wasn't enthusiastic and confident in my idea, I never would have gotten that far! (It doesn't hurt to be good with people!)

(Reposted from the original telling, with some extra tid bits added for fun!)

I picked up the book Rich Dad Poor Dad while aimlessly shopping at that fine french store, Target, one day. I was a stay at home mom with a three month old and an 18 month old. I read the book in two days (you ladies with kids know that is an incredible feat! lol) I decided to take action, like many of you here today. So I'd like to share my story with you over the next few days, to start a conversation that will hopefully inspire and encourage you!

Boostrapping an Idea
The Launch
Selling the Biz