Small Business Success Tools » Secrets to Success

What Do Investors Want from A Start Up?

Posted in Entrepreneurs, Interviews with Experts, Secrets to Success, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the August 1st, 2010

Check out this video with Techcrunch and Y Combinators Paul Graham it is pretty interesting.

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Innovation Success Stories

Posted in Entrepreneurs, Guru’s, Interviews with Experts, Secrets to Success, Success tools, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the April 18th, 2010

This just goes to show you how abstract and interesting the Internet can be. I did a Google search on the keyword “why” and I found Scott Berkun a best-selling author and kick-ass speaker. He writes books and essays, lectures at Fortune 500 companies & top universities on creativity, management and a fun mix of everything else. It was late at night and I started his video lecture on innovation he did at Carnegie Mellon University. He went into several Innovation Success Stories and really dove into the real stories behind these successes.

The real stories were about failure, the desire to solve a problem and to keep trying new and innovate ways to get to the end result. One of the quotes he pulled out was a quote that is from the CEO of 3-M.

“As our business grows, it becomes increasingly necessary to delegate responsibility and to encourage men and women to exercise their initiative. This requires considerable tolerance. Those men and women, to whom we delegate authority and responsibility, if they are good people, are going to want to do their jobs in their own way.

Mistakes will be made. But if a person is essentially right, the mistakes he or she makes are not as serious in the long run as the mistakes management will make if it undertakes to tell those in authority exactly how they must do their jobs.

Management that is destructively critical when mistakes are made kills initiative. And it’s essential that we have many people with initiative if we are to continue to grow.”

We see progressive companies like Google allowing their employees to work on other projects 20% of the time. If there is success it might become another Google product. There are probably many other companies using this same philosophy. I think it is a great culture to embrace and the results can be enormous. So next time you feel like taking a risk, take it it might be the best thing I/you/we ever did!

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What is Business Ethics?

Posted in Personal Development, Secrets to Success, Small business information, Success tools by admin on the February 19th, 2010

In this day and age I am constantly confronted with decisions. I am also constantly barraged with information of others whose business ethics are simply wrong. They know it when they do it but because they can at the expense of their employees or clients. Take for example WalMart. In this CNN Money article there appears to be a trend where they are dumping brands for their own private labels. This is called the power of market share, WalMart owns the retail space. At the same time, the product company has the opportunity to come back should they spend heavily on advertising to get the users into WalMart’s stores.

Technically there is nothing “wrong” with this business practice, however is WalMart doing the right thing? Are they giving their clients the best products at the lowest prices? Maybe maybe not. What if let’s say that Kimberly Clark is in the toilet paper business. Let’s say they get squeezed out by WalMart because they choose NOT to pay for the additional advertising to be on WalMart’s favored status list. Let’s say Kimberly Clark has a $5 Trillion imaginary contract with the largest pulp manufacturers Big Pulp Mfg. Co. What if WalMart also had a $500 Billion contract with Big Pulp Mfg. Co. Kimbery Clark would rank over WalMart.

Let’s say there is a new beetle that destroys most of the trees in Big Pulp Mfg. Co. and demand goes through the roof. Big Pulp Mfg. Co. decides to reward Kimberly Clark with paper allocation and not WalMart. Now WalMart customers run out of ass wipe. Oh my, Houston we now have a problem of epic proportions. WalMart begs Kimberly Clark to sell them their toilet paper. However, the relationship is destroyed and there is no longer any trust, so Kimberly Clark decides to return the favor by selling to WalMart as such a high price it prices WalMart out of the market. This is what is known as a pissing match and no-one wins especially the consumer.

We are seeing similar business model fluctuations with Google taking over the Yellow Pages, Book Publishing, Newspaper Advertising etc. While market supply and demand don’t involve business ethics necessarily many businesses have become dependent on Google either for SEO or PPC or traffic in general, they literally have the power to make a break companies by deindexing them. And have done so for various reasons. So they say, “do no evil.”

Here is a online video from a man who feels his insurance company is committing extortion through price gouging.

So on a smaller scale for small businesses we are faced with similar situations almost on a daily basis just not as visible. When it it OK to bend the rules a little and get the competitive advantage and when is it not? I guess we have to ask ourselves that and search deep down for the right answer, or ask our colleges and mentors for guidance. If you are “too ethical” I have found to be on the losing side so there is a fine balance. In this era of “gotcha” bad news travels fast and it only takes one bad incident to destroy a life time of creditability, ask Tiger Woods.

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Integrity in the Workplace

Posted in Personal Development, Secrets to Success, Success tools, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the February 18th, 2010

Let me start off by saying I am “out of integrity.” I am out of integrity with myself on too many occasions. For example, I tell myself I will go to the gym today, and guess what? The exercise to the refrigerator is a whole lot more enjoyable. (However today I actually did make it to the gym!) But I can tell you I had a task on my written to do list and I have not done it yet, I chose to write a blog post instead. I’m supposed to call a client on their content and just don’t want to, it will require me to think about their content which I want to do but don’t want to actually have to think about it. Now I know I can wait another day to do this but it just makes the flow of the project and the organization a little messier.

My integrity in the workspace really has more to do with my personal integrity with self. Because no-one knows about this other than me. I do my best to follow through on my word all the time and every time weather it be personal or professional because I treat others differently than myself, I am kinder to them than to I. I follow through with them than to I and I think you will hear that if you talk to friends and colleagues.

But back to integrity in the work place. It is these little types of things that break down communications, they then break down relationships both personal and professional. A glaring example is Tiger Woods saying “I do,” but what he really did was something entirely different. He was out of integtity with himself and his family and who knows who else. How many times in the workplace have you had a boss or a client say I will call you tomorrow with the <fill in the blank> and the call never comes. Guess what? You are left hanging.

There was probably some justification for not making the call but that person is out of integrity in the workplace as well as personally out of integrity. S/he made a promise to call and did not follow through. I can guarantee you that this happens ALL the time. We tend to be blaze about it, and say “oh they are just that way.” But at the end of the day weather it be a promise to your kid or a promise to your boss we get much better results in life by doing what we say and saying what we do.

So I will make that call to the client regarding the content.

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Get a Mentor Get a Coach – Plural

Posted in Personal Development, Secrets to Success, Success tools, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the December 28th, 2009

Coach Bill Belichick

In this article published today in the New York Times they hit home on something we all can do, get a mentor or get a coach. Think about it. Joe Montana and Tiger Woods had/have coaches and mentors. Tiger could use some really good outside advice from some new folks. Guy Finley a mentor of mine said something to me either in one of the interviews I did with him here on MSG or in a telephone call afterwords, “that the only reason we ever feel any pain in life is when we have stopped learning.” And guess what? I have to catch myself each week on that truism.

At My Success Gateway we cover the 3 keys to personal and professional success:

1) invest in yourself

2) get a mentor(s) or get a coach(s)

3) expand your extended network

Getting outside of our comfort zones is a great way to start off the new year in 2010!

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Live Online Virtual 3-D Virtual Reality & Social Media Conference April 21st, 2009

Posted in Articles By Experts, Interviews with Experts, Secrets to Success, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the March 17th, 2009

Please join us as Jim Peake and Ron Goedendorp hold a Live Virtual Conference on Social Media Effectiveness Insights for Businesses

“Tomorrow’s workforce and consumers seamlessly use social media, and your company will either be a part of that world, or not,” said Ron Goedendorp, President of Social Metric Marketing ”Your very survival depends on what you are doing in that world today.”

Executives and participants can get exposure to the exciting and opportunity filled world social media networks present to brands and companies, including strategies for successfully putting together a plan and participating in better methods for leveraging resources such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp and more.

On April 21^st we are sharing with the rest of the free world some of our findings/interviews re: social media insights for businesses in a Live Online Virtual 3-D Conference (if we can get enough people we will put it in a “virtual stadium.”)

Your registration(s) tweets are welcome of course. J

http://blockbustergraffiti.com

We have a Facebook group going on it as well.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=71160233407&ref=mf

@jimpeake

@gorongo

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Want to be successful? Here’s how. Art Williams Speech on Google video.

Posted in Entrepreneurs, Guru’s, Interviews with Experts, Personal Development, Secrets to Success, Small business information, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the February 6th, 2009

This meeting was a Jerry Falwell event, but don’t pay a lot o0f attention to him because the message in Art Williams speech is powerful. If your day is not going as expected and you want a “little pick me up” this just might do the trick. Powerful speech by Art Williams.

Learn from a average guy who made it really big, over $100 Billion big in 10 years. Art Williams talks about it, he says JUST DO IT. Harv Ecker talks about it. (Harv says if you have broken leg show up to work, and he is right, I know a guy how had a broken leg and was just starting out his drains business and he could not afford to tak a day off, today it is a successful small business).

Steps to being successful in business

1) Get excited

2) Have a dream

3) Gotta stand for something

4) Be controversial

5) Total commitment

6) Treat people good, make them feel special, we all want to feel that way

7) Have the desire and will to win

Be a leader

9) Do whatever it takes to get the job done

10) Just do it

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8976155746368663848

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Want to Manage Fear? What is Fear?

Posted in Articles By Experts, Entrepreneurs, Secrets to Success, Success tools, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the January 18th, 2009

Courtesy of http://robertgirandola.blogspot.com/

Fear paralyzes.

Fear makes real the problem not the solution.

Fear is the belief that a situation has power to harm, not enlighten or purify.

Fear is literally the suspension of the human mind to solve any problem no matter how large.

Fear is what causes stress, strain, greed, anger, violence, hunger, aggression, worry, pain.

Fear is the root of all evil in the world.

Fear inspires action without thought.

Fear makes what is unwanted, permanent.

We have many futures before us -

The one we choose will depend on how many of us refuse fear.

Refuse to believe that any event can’t be solved.

Accept the idea that even the worst things that happen can be invitations to greatness.

Greatness is accepting into your mind that you can and will overcome any obstacle if you refuse fear.

Be great today -

Refuse fear.

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Massachusetts Prisoner Seeks Entrepreneurial Future Upon Release – Needs Start Up Help

Posted in Articles By Experts, Entrepreneurs, Marketing tools, Secrets to Success, Small Business Government, Success tools, Your Success is Our Success and Our Mission at MSG by admin on the January 14th, 2009

I (MySuccessGateway.com) received a call today from the U.S. Department of Commerce requesting that I mail “how to start a business” print material to a Massachusetts prisoner. He wants to start his own business when he gets out. I do not know what he is in for, and I did not ask. However, I would love to see a success story here.

We have transcripts from The Ultimate Business Toolbox that teaches people how to start a business the “right way,” which we are going to donate to their success. If you too would like to send this guy information here is his mail address. It would be fun to overwhelm him with some entrepreneurial love.

Mike D.

W91555

P.O. Box 100

South Walpole, MA 02071

Please e-mail me if you want to send via e-mail and I will send it to the Dept. of Commerce. jim(at)mysuccessgateway.com My phone is 781-631-9691

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Interview with Ph.D. Psychologist PPC Adwords Guy

Posted in Articles By Experts, Guru’s, Interviews with Experts, Secrets to Success, Success tools by admin on the January 13th, 2009

I recently did an interview with Glenn Livingston (check out part 3) to talk about PPC or Google Adwords. One thing Glenn “gets” is people and their behavior. He is a psychologist by trade and a reasearch scientist. He is applying these skills to Google Pay Per Click advertising. He and his wife Sharon Livingston, Ph.D. (yes 2 Ph.D.’s in the same family) were conference speakers for My Success Gateway at a Babason MBA Entrepreneurial workshop. You will always learn a lot from Glenn and Sharon. They come well recommended by industry leaders.

Glenn Livingston is the CEO of Rocket Clicks a Professional Pay Per Click Management Company . With the recession in full swing in Q1 2009 Glenn can assist your business with Google Adwords professional pay per click management. Check the most recent interview Part 3, Glenn gives away 5 secrets to Google Adwords.

“It’s extremely unusual for me to endorse a PPC management service . But I’ve seen Glenn Livingston succeed with 80% of his projects right out of the box for more than 4 years now, and I’ve watched Jeff Hughes spend more than a million/year (profitably) on his own accounts.

If there ever was a team to trust with your PPC management, these are the guys. My advice? Grab your spot before they change their minds!” Perry Marshall

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The Storage

What Do Investors Want from A Start Up?

Innovation Success Stories

What is Business Ethics?

Integrity in the Workplace

Get a Mentor Get a Coach – Plural

Live Online Virtual 3-D Virtual Reality & Social Media Conference April 21st, 2009

Want to be successful? Here’s how. Art Williams Speech on Google video.

Want to Manage Fear? What is Fear?

Massachusetts Prisoner Seeks Entrepreneurial Future Upon Release – Needs Start Up Help

Interview with Ph.D. Psychologist PPC Adwords Guy

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