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Over the years, I have given friends breaks on what I charge major corporations the full price for. Why? Because they were my friends (or so I assumed, the older you get the more careful you are about using the word “friends”). In the long run, I have realized this has NEVER worked to my advantage but always mostly to theirs. I absolutely always make sure I respect my friends and associates in business and even exchanges are rare so unless I absolutely need it, I don’t ask for friends to use their businesses to help me and NEVER for free, at least at this point. I have decided that it’s best that I don’t mix my business with my friendships and I don’t think that you should either.

Always consider what you do and why you do it. You must at all times have the utmost respect for your business and your clients. It’s OK go give discounts but just realize that it’s like telling a lie. Telling a lie to your best clients UNLESS you make it fair to everyone involved. In other words, if you are giving a discount to a client with less budget, make sure you are being fair to  your biggest clients in the process. For those who pay less, offer less and those who pay more… give more but NEVER anything for free. Here are the reasons why… (click NEXT for next segment)

Friends IMMEDIATELY take Advantage of Your Relationship

You can’t get mad at friends for seeing how knowing you can help them accomplish their goals but the question is how does it make YOU feel extending yourself and your business? THAT’s what you should pay the most attention to and focus on. They don’t look at it like this but YOU must, they will be stealing money out of your pocket. (click NEXT for next segment)

It’s not a Win/Win Situation

A majority of the time the greatest benefactor of the favor will be your friend, not you. ESPECIALLY when it’s free. An associate recently asked me for a favor for free that I KNOW he will get paid for. You read that right, by me doing the favor, my associate makes money and I don’t?  You can allow your brand to be used for philanthropic efforts, which I do all the time but NEVER as a welfare agency. If friends or associate are not willing to AT LEAST give you half or more than you usually charge you and your business are being taken advantage of. Walk away and don’t look back.

When You Give something for Free or NEARLY Free, NOBODY will ever see the value…

Why should your friends every come to you with money when they KNOW they can come with the usual, “I’m Broke”  bit and get it for free? You can’t beat FREE!

They Will Spread the Word to Other Potential Clients

Make no mistake someone will (and even if they MAY) mention it, it could hurt your bottom line. I have had clients call me and say, “I hear you are offering lower prices to other people so I need the same.” The “friend” that I have done the favor for sells me out then tells the person not to tell me they said anything so they can keep their deal in place and hurt my future business? Not good.

They will come back for MORE of the Same Thing

We teach people how to treat us. Once they learn they keep doing it, especially when it works to their advantage. You can ask for money if you want but once you give it for free there is no turning back.

How Well Will the Favor Serve your Business?

You have a bottom line and employees to pay. Is doing the favor paying you or COSTING you. (Hint: if it’s not paying you, it IS costing you… time is money)

They will “Dangle Carrots”

They will use strategies like: “I’m working on getting your some paid accounts!” As if that is supposed to sustain you. It’s even MORE insulting when they spend money with your competitors but come to you for free as if you don’t know it, problem is THEY DO which is why they do it. How well will that sit with your landlord or mortgage company? Imagine telling them “I’m working on paying you rent after this free month. What’s the problem?”

It Might not only Affect your bottom line but also your Brand

How well does the favor fit with your mission or your brand. Is it a good fit or it is out-of-place? If it’s out-of-place you are going to pay a higher price for doing it than just doing if for free. You customers will notice something that does not fit the rhythm or the flow of what you are doing and you don’t need that. Never whore your business out to do a favor for a friend.

When you object to anything they want the next time, YOU are the Bad Guy

Once you extend yourself, you are obligated for many more favors. When you complain or state your dismay YOU become the bad guy. After all, they are working on getting you some paid business what are you complain about? Your job is to shut up, lay there and get f’d by people talking advantage of you but I have some bad news… you can’t blame them… (read next segment)

Learn to say NO

When someone asks you for something and it does not feel good (that gut feeling or your intuition comes into play saying ‘I don’t like this’ simply and UNregrettably say NO with absolutely NO explanation. If they ask you why, say NO again. You don’t have to explain why you refuse to be taken advantage of. If they STILL push it.. state, “I’m not comfortable with it…. that’s all I’m going to say about it” Saying “NO” really feels good when you say it because you mean it. It feels a LOT better than saying YES when you really WANT to say no. Practice it and don’t worry about the outcome. It is them asking YOU for something not the opposite and if they don’t like the answer and decided to cut you off, you are probably better off. After all, how often do you hear from them anyway?

Be Reasonable with your discount

Respect your business at all costs. You can only offer 10 or 20% as a discount. My mother is a sketch artist and I asked her to draw a picture for me. I paid her FULL PRICE. If it didn’t have the money I would not have asked her. She didn’t even have a chance to tell me she would give me a break. I don’t believe in taking advantage of people even if I am related to them. You should have respect for a person’s business as they should have respect for yours.

Make Sure You Do the Same

A friend once told me that someone asked him to do something for them from his business and he gave them the full price and he stated they were insulted. He talked about this person like a dog and said “Can you believe how cheap he is?” The VERY NEXT week, he needed a favor from another friend’s business and he offered an INSULTING rate (less than 10% of the actual cost) the friend told him NO and now HE was insulted and told me, “Can  you believe he wanted to charge me full price?” I brought up the first situation and he paused and said … well, I just can’t afford to pay that much money (referring to the second situation) . I told him when it comes to favors, don’t expect more than you are willing to give. You are no better than the first man who you attacked and you were disrespecting him.

BONUS: Who are you Keeping Company With?

If you find that you are dealing with these kinds of situations on a regular basis, you are surrounding yourself with the wrong people and that’s the last thing your business needs. Seek those who have achieved MORE than you have to be in your circles otherwise y0u will ways be struggling. Feed and BE fed

My best in business

Kev Ross

 

Over the years, I have given friends breaks on what I charge major corporations the full price for. Why? Because they were my friends (or so I assumed, the older you get the more careful you are about using the word “friends”). In the long run, I have realized this has NEVER worked to my advantage but always mostly to theirs. I absolutely always make sure I respect my friends and associates in business and even exchanges are rare so unless I absolutely need it, I don’t ask for friends to use their businesses to help me and NEVER for free, at least at this point. I have decided that it’s best that I don’t mix my business with my friendships and I don’t think that you should either.

Always consider what you do and why you do it. You must at all times have the utmost respect for your business and your clients. It’s OK to go give discounts but just realize that it’s like telling a lie. Telling a lie to your best clients UNLESS you make it fair to everyone involved. In other words, if you are giving a discount to a client with less budget, make sure you are being fair to your biggest clients in the process. For those who pay less, offer less and those who pay more… give more but NEVER anything for free. Here are the reasons why… (click NEXT for next segment)

Friends IMMEDIATELY take Advantage of Your Relationship

You can’t get mad at friends for seeing how knowing you can help them accomplish their goals but the question is how does it make YOU feel extending yourself and your business? THAT’s what you should pay the most attention to and focus on. They don’t look at it like this but YOU must, they will be stealing money out of your pocket. (click NEXT for next segment)

—————————–

It’s not a Win/Win Situation

A majority of the time the greatest benefactor of the favor will be your friend, not you. ESPECIALLY when it’s free. An associate recently asked me for a favor for free that I KNOW he will get paid for. You read that right, by me doing the favor, my associate makes money and I don’t?  You can allow your brand to be used for philanthropic efforts, which I do all the time but NEVER as a welfare agency. If friends or associate are not willing to AT LEAST give you half or more than you usually charge you and your business are being taken advantage of. Walk away and don’t look back.

—————————–

When You Give something for Free or Nearly Free, NOBODY will ever see the value…

Why should your friends ever come to you with money when they KNOW they can come with the usual, “I’m Broke”  bit and get it for free? You can’t beat FREE!

—————————–

They Will Spread the Word to Other Potential Clients

Make no mistake someone will (and even if they MAY) mention it, it could hurt your bottom line. I have had clients call me and say, “I hear you are offering lower prices to other people so I need the same.” The “friend” that I have done the favor for sells me out then tells the person not to tell me they said anything so they can keep their deal in place and hurt my future business? Not good.

—————————–

They will come back for MORE of the Same Thing

We teach people how to treat us. Once they learn they keep doing it, especially when it works to their advantage. You can ask for money if you want but once you give it for free there is no turning back.—————————–

How Well Will the Favor Serve your business?

You have a bottom line and employees to pay. Is doing the favor paying you or COSTING you. (Hint: if it’s not paying you, it IS costing you… time is money)

—————————–

They will “Dangle Carrots”

They will use strategies like: “I’m working on getting you some paid accounts!” As if that is supposed to sustain you. It’s even MORE insulting when they spend money with your competitors but comes to you for free as if you don’t know it, the problem is THEY DO which is why they do it. How well will that sit with your landlord or mortgage company? Imagine telling them “I’m working on paying you rent after this free month. What’s the problem?”

—————————–

It Might not only Affect your bottom line but also your Brand

How well does the favor fit with your mission or your brand? Is it a good fit or it is out-of-place? If it’s out-of-place you are going to pay a higher price for doing it than just doing it for free. Your customers will notice something that does not fit the rhythm or the flow of what you are doing and you don’t need that. Never whore your business out to do a favor for a friend.—————————–

When you object to anything they want the next time, YOU are the Bad Guy

Once you extend yourself, you are obligated for many more favors. When you complain or state your dismay YOU become the bad guy. After all, they are working on getting you some paid business what are you complain about? Your job is to shut up, lay there and get f’d by people taking advantage of you but I have some bad news… you can’t blame them… (read next segment)

—————————–

Learn to say NO

When someone asks you for something and it does not feel good (that gut feeling or your intuition comes into play saying ‘I don’t like this’ simply and UNregrettably say NO with absolutely NO explanation. If they ask you why say NO again. You don’t have to explain why you refuse to be taken advantage of. If they STILL push it.. state, “I’m not comfortable with it…. that’s all I’m going to say about it” Saying “NO” really feels good when you say it because you mean it. It feels a LOT better than saying YES when you really WANT to say no. Practice it and don’t worry about the outcome. It is them asking YOU for something not the opposite and if they don’t like the answer and decided to cut you off, you are probably better off. After all, how often do you hear from them anyway?

—————————–

Be Reasonable with your discount

Respect your business at all costs. You can only offer 10 or 20% as a discount. My mother is a sketch artist and I asked her to draw a picture for me. I paid her the FULL PRICE. If it didn’t have the money I would not have asked her. She didn’t even have a chance to tell me she would give me a break. I don’t believe in taking advantage of people even if I am related to them. You should have respect for a person’s business as they should have respect for yours.

—————————–

Make Sure You Do the Same

A friend once told me that someone asked him to do something for them from his business and he gave them the full price and he stated they were insulted. He talked about this person like a dog and said: “Can you believe how cheap he is?” The VERY NEXT week, he needed a favor from another friend’s business and he offered an INSULTING rate (less than 10% of the actual cost) the friend told him NO and now HE was insulted and told me, “Can  you believe he wanted to charge me full price?” I brought up the first situation and he paused and said … well, I just can’t afford to pay that much money (referring to the second situation) . I told him when it comes to favors, don’t expect more than you are willing to give. You are no better than the first man who you attacked and you were disrespecting him.

BONUS: Who are you Keeping Company With?

If you find that you are dealing with these kinds of situations on a regular basis, you are surrounding yourself with the wrong people and that’s the last thing your business needs. Seek those who have achieved MORE than you have to be in your circles otherwise y0u will ways be struggling. Feed and BE fed

At times we need to give a little more thought to our actions as business owners especially when it involves clients. Here are a few of the hardest lessons I’ve learned over the years. I hope they can save you a lot of time and misery.

Be careful who you surround yourself with in front of your clients

I had a situation a few years back where I took a “friend” to an event because she was out of work and I knew there would be people there that could help her get back into her field. The VP of the company wanted me to ride with him to the event and I sat in the lobby with her while he got dressed. When the VP came downstairs and was ready to go, she complained that her feet were hurting and we were walking too fast. FIRST WARNING! We get to the event after the VP and I slow down for her and she speaks to everybody and she had a drink which leads to another drink and another drink.  She gets drunk and I can hear her slurring her words and speaking loudly while I’m talking to colleagues on the balcony. SECOND WARNING. I pull her to the side and tell her “You are drunk and you are talking too loud bring it down a few notches. She agrees and 10 minutes later she is even louder. THIRD WARNING. I am HUMILIATED and EMBARRASSED and my client is being cordial but I can tell he is not impressed. I opt to leave the event early just to get her out of there. As we leave she goes for the final coup-de-gras and asks several people for their cards. I was MORTIFIED as they all lied and said they didn’t bring any cards. FORTH WARNING. We leave and she takes off her shoes and is complaining about her feet again as we end up in a coffee shop and she is now fully drunk. I can’t believe I invited her and I KNEW she had a drinking problem but I was trying to help her get a job. The next day at another event, I had one glass of wine to try to relax after the mishap the night before and I got tipsy myself. I usually don’t drink. Now I have made my OWN impression.  While the client still does business with me, they have not invited me to any of their events since and its been 3 years.  I mentioned to her that she made a fool of herself and I was trying to help her and she did what people like her do, she told me I was over thinking it and that I should not care what the client thinks. I should have never expected an alcoholic to take responsibility especially when she then stated she was not that drunk.

LESSON LEARNED: I have a bad habit of always looking out for others even to the detriment of myself.  I should have escorted her back to her car and sent her BACK home when she complained about her feet and wanted the client to wait while she tried to maneuver in high heels that she could not wear. All of this could have been avoided if I had stopped everything right there or not invited her at all-knowing her history, which I did. I have to take full responsibility for this grave error for trying to help a “friend” out. I put friend in quotes because we have to KNOW who our true friends are as small business owners. There are some people who ACT like they are your friend to go along for the ride, to reap some of your benefits of your hard work, to pick your brain and drain you. My uncle told me when I was a boy that you must always make sure you deal with people in just about every circumstance, who have as much to lose AS YOU DO. That’s how you establish trust. He was right, another entrepreneur who was in the same field as me would have thought twice about doing what this woman did. I had to realize that most people are in the situations they are in by CHOICE. They don’t want to make the necessary moves to get out of a rut and we are not their babysitter. Some of us have been there too. You can’t lay your burdens on other people if YOU are not willing to do the work FIRST. Truth be told this woman is an alcoholic and people who have addictions put the addiction ahead of everything else. Being her friend was too much weight on me so I had to let her go after a couple of other really negative experiences with her. When it comes to doing businesses make sure you surround yourself with people who have YOUR best interest in mind along with theirs and not just theirs. CLICK “NEXT” ABOVE OR BELOW TO SEE THE NEXT TIP

Develop a relationship with Clients

In my field, people call clients only when they want something. In the interest of their time, I have done the same. I have been told early on by a client that I only call when I want something. I was dumbfounded by that because I thought what the hell else would I call for? Then I realized that in the true art of selling you SHOULD reach out to your clients every now and then to have a regular conversation. There is always room at the end to do a quick pitch but you never want your clients to avoid your calls. I make sure I KNOW my clients and I KNOW things about them that we can talk about besides sales. In the long run they greatly appreciate that. They know that you are there for business but going the extra mile will put you miles ahead of your greedy competitors.

Take a Vacation

I RARELY do this but it is SO important. The more you work the harder it is to leave your business in the hands of others. You fear that they will destroy your business but that’s rarely the case. Your business can survive for a few days without you and the benefit is that when you get back you are ready to take on your job with a new perspective fresh eyes and new energy. You can even take a mini vacation in a nicer resort part of your city for a few days or somewhere close.

Treat Yourself

Take yourself to lunch, a movie or the museum once a week. If you are over 50 AARP has AMAZING coupon deals where you can try different restaurants and various entertainment functions. Whatever it is you like to do pick a day to do it and do it alone or with another POSITIVE entrepreneur.

Watch your Accounting and Taxes

VERY IMPORTANT. Make sure you finances are on point. Nuff said

Step away to create Your Growth

Take a day off a couple of times a month to attend seminars of meetings that can help your business grow. The time away will do you good.

Competitors can be Dirty

When you are on top, it’s very hard to stay there and there are people who don’t want to see you there. Always be cordial, handle your business and know your enemies and what they are up to. Clients are a great source for this kind of information. When they like you they will look out for you and give you valuable information about competitors as well as your employees.

Make appearances but never isolate

There was a time when I was content to do the work, hide and just collect the money. That’s a mistake. This is your opportunity for growth. Hire someone temporarily to do some of  your work while you play politician on occasion. Never NEVER stay till the end of an event and never be the first one there. Whisk through, make sure you speak to the VIPs, leave a great impression and allow the guests to wonder where you went.

Spend your day wisely

Stay off social nets unless it’s Linkedin. FaceBook is a HORRIBLE way to spend anytime during the day as well as Twitter unless you are marketing your product. I don’t even watch TV. I don’t like wasting time.

Take care of yourself/Work out

Hire a QUALIFIED trainer and go to the gym I say qualified because there are a TON of fake trainers out there who don’t know what they are doing and you will get injured. Spend the money and the time on what actually works. Being an entrepreneur in great shape opens MANY more doors for you. I’ve seen it firsthand. Appearance IS everything. Don’t be fooled and spend money on chain gym trainers, they suck and they lack the qualifications. Real trainers balk at chains because they don’t pay enough and so they don’t work for them. My best in business… Kev

Entrepreneur lessons  – At times we need to give a little more thought to our actions as business owners especially when it involves clients. Here are a few of the hardest lessons I’ve learned over the years. I hope they can save you a lot of time and misery.

Entrepreneur Lessons That I Learned the Hard Way – Be careful who you surround yourself with in front of your clients

I had a situation a few years back where I took a “friend” to an event because she was out of work and I knew there would be people there that could help her get back into her field. The VP of the company wanted me to ride with him to the event and I sat in the lobby with her while he got dressed. When the VP came downstairs and was ready to go, she complained that her feet were hurting and we were walking too fast. FIRST WARNING! We get to the event after the VP and I slow down for her and she speaks to everybody and she had a drink which leads to another drink and another drink.  She gets drunk and I can hear her slurring her words and speaking loudly while I’m talking to colleagues on the balcony. SECOND WARNING. I pull her to the side and tell her “You are drunk and you are talking too loud bring it down a few notches. She agrees and 10 minutes later she is even louder. THIRD WARNING. I am HUMILIATED and EMBARRASSED and my client is being cordial but I can tell he is not impressed.

I opt to leave the event early just to get her out of there. As we leave she goes for the final coup-de-gras and asks several people for their cards. I was MORTIFIED as they all lied and said they didn’t bring any cards. FORTH WARNING. We leave and she takes off her shoes and is complaining about her feet again as we end up in a coffee shop and she is now fully drunk. I can’t believe I invited her and I KNEW she had a drinking problem but I was trying to help her get a job. The next day at another event, I had one glass of wine to try to relax after the mishap the night before and I got tipsy myself. I usually don’t drink. Now I have made my OWN impression.  While the client still does business with me, they have not invited me to any of their events since and its been 3 years.  I mentioned to her that she made a fool of herself and I was trying to help her and she did what people like her do, she told me I was over thinking it and that I should not care what the client thinks. I should have never expected an alcoholic to take responsibility especially when she then stated she was not that drunk.

LESSON LEARNED: I have a bad habit of always looking out for others even to the detriment of myself.  I should have escorted her back to her car and sent her BACK home when she complained about her feet and wanted the client to wait while she tried to maneuver in high heels that she could not wear. All of this could have been avoided if I had stopped everything right there or not invited her at all-knowing her history, which I did. I have to take full responsibility for this grave error for trying to help a “friend” out. I put the word friend in quotes because we have to KNOW who our true friends are as black entrepreneurs. There are some people who ACT like they are your friend to go along for the ride, to reap some of the benefits of your hard work, to pick your brain and drain you. My uncle told me when I was a boy that you must always make sure you deal with people in just about every circumstance, who have as much to lose AS YOU DO.

That’s how you establish trust. He was right, another black entrepreneur who was in the same field as me would have thought twice about doing what this woman did. I had to realize that most people are in the situations they are in by CHOICE. They don’t want to make the necessary moves to get out of a rut and we are not their babysitter. Some of us have been there too. You can’t lay your burdens on other people if YOU are not willing to do the work FIRST. Truth be told this woman is an alcoholic and people who have addictions put the addiction ahead of everything else. Being her friend was too much weight on me so I had to let her go after a couple of other really negative experiences with her. When it comes to doing businesses make sure you surround yourself with people who have YOUR best interest in mind along with theirs and not just theirs. CLICK “NEXT” ABOVE OR BELOW TO SEE THE NEXT TIP
—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Consistently Develop a Relationship with Clients

In my field, people call clients only when they want something. In the interest of their time, I have done the same. I have been told early on by a client that I only call when I want something. I was dumbfounded by that because I thought what the hell else would I call for? Then I realized that in the true art of selling you SHOULD reach out to your clients every now and then to have a regular conversation. There is always room at the end to do a quick pitch but you never want your clients to avoid your calls. I make sure I KNOW my clients and I KNOW things about them that we can talk about besides sales. In the long run they greatly appreciate that. They know that you are there for business but going the extra mile will put you miles ahead of your greedy competitors.
—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Take a Vacation

I RARELY do this but it is SO important. The more you work the harder it is to leave your business in the hands of others. You fear that they will destroy your business but that’s rarely the case. Your business can survive for a few days without you and the benefit is that when you get back you are ready to take on your job with a new perspective fresh eyes and new energy. You can even take a mini vacation in a nicer resort part of your city for a few days or somewhere close.

—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Treat Yourself

Take yourself to lunch, a movie or the museum once a week. If you are over 50 AARP has AMAZING coupon deals where you can try different restaurants and various entertainment functions. Whatever it is you like to do pick a day to do it and do it alone or with another POSITIVE black entrepreneur.

—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Watch your Accounting and Taxes

VERY IMPORTANT. Make sure your finances are on point. Nuff said

—————————–

Step away to create Your Growth

Take a day off a couple of times a month to attend seminars of meetings that can help your business grow. The time away will do you good.

—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Competitors can be Dirty

When you are on top, it’s very hard to stay there and there are people who don’t want to see you there. Always be cordial, handle your business and know your enemies and what they are up to. Clients are a great source for this kind of information. When they like you they will look out for you and give you valuable information about competitors as well as your employees.

—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Make appearances but never isolate

There was a time when I was content to do the work, hide and just collect the money. That’s a mistake. This is your opportunity for growth. Hire someone temporarily to do some of your work while you play the politician on occasion. Never stay until the end of an event and never be the first one there. Whisk through, make sure you speak to the VIPs, leave a great impression and allow the guests to wonder where you went.

—————————–

Entrepreneur lessons – Spend your day wisely

Stay off social nets unless it’s Linkedin. FaceBook is a HORRIBLE way to spend anytime during the day as well as Twitter unless you are marketing your product. I don’t even watch TV. I don’t like wasting time.

12 REASONS YOU SHOULD NEVER HIRE FRIENDS

Entrepreneur lessons – Take care of yourself/Work out

Hire a QUALIFIED trainer and go to the gym I say qualified because there are a TON of fake trainers out there who don’t know what they are doing and you will get injured. Spend the money and the time on what actually works. Being an black entrepreneur in great shape opens MANY more doors for you. I’ve seen it firsthand. Appearance IS everything. Don’t be fooled and spend money on chain gym trainers, they suck and they lack the qualifications. Real trainers balk at chains because they don’t pay enough and so they don’t work for them. My best in business… Kev

Entrepreneur lessons – Build a New Side Business from another Hobby

This one is self-explanatory but it’s a backup plan and believe me, you will need it. Not only do I do this and one other blog. I’m also a real estate agent.

Entrepreneur lessons – When it’s no longer fun … STOP DOING IT

Not only will you waste your time but your energy levels will tank and you will sleep a lot, gain weight and not look forward to the day. Remember when you started how you felt? You almost could not sleep in anticipation of the day when that feeling is gone don’t waiver and hope it will come back TRUST ME it’s GONE. Start doing your backup career until you get your next idea. It’s better to leave on your own terms than to be kicked out. KNOW when the leave.

There are no rest periods in building a business. The hardest works comes when business is great. If experience a peak … MAINTAIN IT

As black entrepreneurs, we BEG for a break at times. When all the bills are paid and we have a bit of expendable cash in the bank that’s when we tend to relax but that’s the time to actually GO TO WORK! You’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, why would you rest?  Best believe in a short matter of time you will be RIGHT BACK where you started, struggling to make ends meet if you don’t take advantage of those upswings.

Many times (and the experienced black entrepreneurs can validate this) when things are going great and sales are great THAT’s the time to hit up those clients who you have not been able to reach. Usually, they have an idea of how well you are doing and when it comes to many industries there is a “me too” philosophy. Not to mention your energy is going to be different, you won’t be begging but able to make a better presentation. Nobody wants to be left out when it appears everyone else is following a trend and winning this is the time when your business esteem HAS to be good and you HAVE to take advantage of it. Don’t wait until all the air is out of your balloon before you get back to work, get to work when things are going great and climb even higher to stretch your 15 minutes of success and build your brand.

This past weekend I attended the Living Legends event in Los Angeles. I made some incredible reconnections and established new connections within my industry that I have every intention of following up on.  Attending an event like this is like a vacation, it’s a GREAT way to motivate yourself and build your business. Pictured are the winners, stellar industry people who came to get their awards at the event and of the 9 people on stage I know off all of them but I personally know 7 of them. I greeted each one of them and congratulated them on their awards and it was great to see them.

This coming week, I’ve been invited to at least 3 other events that I would have blown off for work but I realize you never know who or what you may find at an event in your field so I am going. At lot of times as entreprenerus we work so hard, it’s our only time to socialize. I love the music and radio industry and I am excited about the future of it and where it’s going and I’m glad  I attended this great event.

There are many benefits to becoming an entrepreneur and research indicates small business owners are more satisfied than employees with regard to life conditions, employment opportunities, financial situations, personal safety, health and feeling part of the local community. As an entrepreneur the individual is doing something that they love and are passionate about, and this creates a higher level of job satisfaction. Direct marketing firm Zengo Co says that entrepreneurs often have to work extremely hard and work lengthy hours. But they say that the benefit to this is that they don’t have to be on a strict 9-5 routine and can work around other aspects of their life should they choose to.

About Zengo Co: http://www.zengoandco.com/about-us/

Zengo Co believe that people choose to become entrepreneurs to take advantage of one or more opportunities such as achieving financial independence, working with family or living a chosen lifestyle. But entrepreneurs often face many challenges especially in the first year as a start-up business. Individuals face the challenge of financing their ideas and the risk that their idea will never be a hit or in fact needed by consumers. The ultimate risk for entrepreneurs is, of course, failure. So with all this pressure and inevitable challenges that entrepreneurs face, Zengo Co have looked into what motivates entrepreneurs to keep going when times are tough.

Independence
Entrepreneurs seek and desire independence; they want full control over their working conditions and outcomes.

Financial Independence
Many individuals see business ownership as an opportunity to build greater wealth than can be achieved as an employee.

Family Business
Often entrepreneurs can be motivated by the opportunity to build a family business that can provide employment and wealth-generating opportunities for the owners’ spouse, children and extended family members.

Lifestyle
Entrepreneurs often have a desired lifestyle in mind and believe that self-employment can offer the opportunity to set their own working hours and conditions to accommodate that lifestyle.

Creativity
For others it may be the chance to get creative and do something that they really care about and love. Entrepreneurship offers the opportunity to choose the work they undertake, including when and how to do it.

Zengo Co is an outsourced sales and direct marketing company that specializes in face-to-face marketing techniques. The firm connects with consumers on a one-to-one level in order to create personal and long-lasting relationships between their clients’ brands and consumers. Zengo Co strive to improve their clients’ customer acquisition, brand awareness, brand loyalty and drive quality sales using this direct marketing technique.

To encourage entrepreneurship, Zengo Co runs a Business Development Program for every individual involved in their firm. The program gives each individual the opportunity to progress through the firm from sales rep to leadership and gives them the potential to open their own business. The program aims to teach sales skills, leadership traits, decision making techniques and team building as well as many other skills needed to become a good leader and entrepreneur.

 

Quite often, we are surrounded as black entrepreneurs by people who don’t see what we see. They mean well, they love us but they don’t understand running your own business. If you remain around these types too long you will start to feel overwhelmed, under appreciated under appreciated under appreciated frustrated. You MUST find ways to get around other MORE SUCCESSFUL business owners and check sites like meetups.com to see if there are black entrepreneur meetings or happy hours in your area. The best way to grow is to expand your sphere of influence. We can ‘t wait for it to happen, we have to do it ourselves. Finally, I strongly suggest that you read the Sunday paper or check your area online for small business seminars or perhaps you may consider taking a class in marketing at your local community college to brush up on your sales skills. If you have more ideas feel free to let us know so we can tell the other readers. My best in business

Yesterday, I had lunch with an associate. As we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed an older white lady crying on a bench while people were walking by in the midst of their own plans ignoring her. The passing crowd became a blur and my focus was on the old lady as all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind. Is she lost? Does she remember where she is? Did she just get some bad news? Is she waiting for somebody?

Whatever the situation was, she was in need of help. Initially, I didn’t see an old white lady, I saw someone’s mother, someone’s mother who needed help. I told my associate that the lady looked like she was in need of help but my associate was only concerned about making it to happy hour at a bar about a mile down the street. She was telling me to hurry up but I slowed down, I was thinking if that was my own mother, would I want someone to just walk past her and not ask if she needed help? Who gives a damn about happy hour? Then it hit me, I am a black man and this is an older white woman. If I go up and say something, will another white person accuse me of trying to rob her, if the police come will I be arrested or shot because they think I’m responsible for her fear if she is unable to talk or remember?

I finally had to sit down, close enough to watch the old lady, forcibly being split between helping another person in need, everyday racism and ignoring her like my associated wanted and going to happy hour. I was now the bad guy for showing concern which also made me question the value of the person I was with. When I looked up again, the old lady was gone, just as fast as she appeared. I don’t know if she got up and roamed around further or if a family member came and got her or if someone came to assist her, all I knew was it’s very unfortunate that as a black man, I had to debate whether or not to help another human being because they were another color and that my associate showed no concern for another human being in need. I hope the old lady is OK.

I’d like to relate this story to being a minority black entrepreneur and black entrepreneur as well. When a black male business owner is in need, his resources are often very limited or at least that’s how I originally set myself up to be. The black male business owner could very likely be the old lady on the bench in need of help but not knowing who to ask, frustrated and not having the answers or resources. While I have known other black black entrepreneurs, most were struggling or not even true black entrepreneurs trying to stay afloat. I had to start expanding my horizons because you don’t grow with people who not more advanced than you are. The story above makes me realize that we can take care of most of our problems in advance if we cover the ground we need to cover early on. We don’t have all the answers and we must develop relationships with those who do. Truth be told, I should have been having lunch with an older and wiser black entrepreneur and I should have been treating him or her for their time and wisdom.

These are the people we need to be developing a relationship within the event that we are stuck and on the bench. we must ask for help when we need it even if it comes from unlikely sources like business owners of another race. I’ve gotten great advice from black entrepreneurs from all walks of life. We never know the answers until we ask…. twice and it’s also important to have the insurance and assurance of the person around us who are better resources with greater knowledge for us. Always ask for what you want twice because the first person may not give you the answer you want but if you ask twice you will most likely get what you seek.

My best in business

This may not make a bit of sense to you but I know for a fact that if you want more you have to give more. We often hoard what we make for fear that it my not come again for a long time and being in business can be feast or famine no matter how well you do but the universe has a way or rewarding you when you unselfishly give WITHOUT THE INTENT of getting it back. That’s where most people screw up. They do it thinking they will be repaid for their good deed. That’s not what giving is all about.  Try it and see what happens.