5 Things Every Entrepreneur should be prepared to do For the New Year 2010

As we approach the new year of 2010 we sit in one of the most interesting times in human history. As Entrepreneurs we have the opportunity to change the course of the U.S. economy, with a little help for the administration of course. The New Year 2010 will be what you, as an entrepreneur, make it. Going in to this New Year know that there are some things we all need to be aware of. Social Media and its presence in the world of marketing and promotions, regulation changes, tax changes (not for the good with our current administration), the availability of talent in the marketplace and cheaper money are just a few of them. So, in order to be ready for this upcoming New Year we all should be prepared to do the 5 following things:

5. Work Hard- It is plain and simple looking into a crystal ball and seeing the trends of 2010 I see that money will be cheaper and it won’t matter to entrepreneurs any way. We have been thrust into a world of pain and confusion and the only way out is to work harder than the person next to you. This is OUR TIME to shine because we have the grit that others don’t and it will pay off greatly. Personal lives and “4 hour work” weeks will not exist during this time. Entrepreneurs have to be able to separate themselves from their business and remind themselves they still have a family these days, suck it up this year and work right through all the hardship. Also remember that this will be the era of handshake credit, no question on that. Build out an in house credit solution for your clients to use to pay later. This will increase the amount of payments you receive by allowing more people to buy your product. Get more buyers, not more margin.

4. HIRE, HIRE, HIRE, this will be the time of all times to make a move on talent. People all over the country are losing talent because they cannot pay enough and people are losing jobs where the businesses cannot sustain the payments they are making. In the New Year 2010 we will see a great increase in layoffs and a struggle to pay bills, this means any stupid human could tell you that there is a huge talent pool out there right now, so use it and free up some time for you to grow even faster.

3. Train like never before- There will be a high precedence set on training in a world like the one we are about to see. If we have $80,000 a year people looking for jobs and taking $50,000 a year jobs this tells us they came from a much larger shop and need the major training to be reminded of big dollar corps of yester year. Be professional even if you are small, it will attract more talent than you can possibly imagine! Training can work like a recruiting tool if done right. Just remember that you time is valuable and find ways to save time in 2010.

2. Save Time, Use Technology- because money will be selling at a premium to you in 2010. The ways to save time are simple and need no explaining what they do. So to make this useful to those that are reading it I will make it simple by explaining how to use this new technology. Use video, ALL THE TIME!!! Record every training session, every board meeting and every client meeting, it allows to be played over again at your leisure. It also allows you to be able to prove things that may take up your time later with proof. Use lots and lots of webcasts and save on flight money. By a good version of some speech to text software and experiment with it to see if it is worth the time saving. Get yourself the newest Neat Works scanner and go to town; you will never have to input info again!!! Use CRM’s and Project managers religiously, they will be the big heroes for you. The more technology you use the more money and time you save.

1. SELL YOUR PRODUCT YOURSELF- There is a very bad trend that exists in the “Entrepreneur World” and it is the trend of being too good to sell. Owner need to be on the phone 2 times more than the best salesman in the firm. You, as a CEO, have the responsibility to make calls all day and find a way to sell somehow. What I have done in the past is hire a full time assistant and let her do a lot of the smaller things I was doing, just so I could sell again. Think as though you weren’t the owner and you saw the owner working harder than you on the day to day and then out selling you in the end of every month, what a cool thing! There is no bullshit in that statement, only truth. If you are running a company and can find an hour a day, make calls and try to sell, you keep the commission and prove yourself to the crew right away. Selling the plan is the most important thing anyone can do all day, make sure you fit your time right. Use Social Media, Text Campaigns, New Software, and an electronic newsletter to save some funds and some costs. Hire a Social Media firm and let them take a listen to what you plan to do, if they can help, let them and start to build in an implementation schedule.

This is not a “get ahead” idea, this is a must for you as an entrepreneur in 2010, The New Year. You can either be brought in now, or forced in later. The New Year of 2010 will be one that makes new legends and keeps some people poor, the choice is yours. Often times we see that most people that do not succeed have the same excuse, I just didn’t have enough time. Start finding that time over the rest of 2009 and by the time the New Year 2010 comes in you will know exactly how to get this done. There will be many more of the posts to read, so please feel free to send me a comment.

By Eric A. Rice

San Diego, California

America, an overview, with Mason Weaver

America, an overview, with Mason Weaver

A New Sheriff In Town?

A New Sheriff In Town?

Boom Media Social Media Integration

Social Media is the future, are you ready for it?

Boom Media Social Media Integration

View more presentations from erice25.

Bruce Ruff For San Diego County Sheriff

This guy is great and needs our support! Make it happen San Diego

Bruce Ruff For San Diego County Sheriff from Eric Rice on Vimeo.

Congrats to Grant and GDI

Local Turlock Agency Named “Insurance Broker to the Stars”

Grant W Davis, President of GDI Insurance Agency, Inc, in Turlock, CA announced today that GDI was named as the insurance broker for Steve Perry’s new motion picture studio Masque Entertainment, being built in the heart of Donald Trump’s new golf resort in New Mexico.

GDI has developed a national reputation as the go-to broker for difficult insurance projects. Grant Davis has published articles for nearly two decades on ways to control premium costs and manage risk, among other related topics.

GDI was contacted early in 2009 by consultants working on the Masque Entertainment studio project, after doing a web search for an insurance broker for their project.

According to Grant Davis, “Most insurance brokers spend a lot of time focusing on controlling the buying decisions a client has by running to the insurance market place and locking up the lowest priced insurance companies so only they can offer those prices. Then they disappear until the following year’s renewal. In the insurance world this practice is referred to as ‘blocking the markets.’

“GDI, as part of one of the largest insurance brokerages in the country, has worked to develop contracts with the nation’s largest insurance companies, taking price off the table as a buying concern for our clients. Instead of rushing to stake a claim on the lowest initial premium available, GDI spends time developing ‘risk management’ programs designed to lower the number of expected losses, as well as the size of losses a client might have. This triggers large premium discounts for our clients, which, ultimately, lowers the price.

“For Masque Entertainment’s new studio, GDI worked to get the risk management right. Once that was done, getting competitive coverage and pricing just fell into place, as it always does for our clients.”


(GDI Insurance Inc is located at 801 Geer Rd in Turlock, CA 95380. GDI can be reached by phone at (209) 634-2929 or at www.gdiinsurance.com. For information on Masque Entertainment, visit wwwmasquestudios.com.
Also, for more of Grant Davis’ insights on salesmanship, visit his blog at www.thehabitualsalesman.com.)

Spreading The Word

|
More

BFC's Local Shark Tank

BFC's Local Shark Tank

Eric Rice's Entrepreneur Tips

We see it all the time, “Eric my product is amazing, my office design is perfect, my books are run well…….why am I going broke” and the answer is always the same—YOU ARE NOT SELLING. The purpose of any business is to sell products or services, period. Most businesses fail, not because it is the law of averages, because the person running them had one of the following problems:

1. They couldn’t break the paradigm of going from a W-2 salary employee to a 1099 Self –Employed machine. This is a problem. This is why most businesses fail. Most people are taught to do “a job”, not “run a business”, which are far different things. “Doing a job” is nothing more than filing your role within the system, and most of the time getting paid a fraction of the value of the job. “Running a business”, has no function, YOU MUST KNOW AND DO EVERYTHING, from the smallest to most important task—EVERY DAY.
2. They couldn’t get out of their comfort zone. People are funny; they love to do what is easy and want to be paid like they did the things that are hard. Being successful is all about doing things that everyone else hates to do or doesn’t want to do. We have to teach these candidates to get out of their comfort zone and break through the barriers that hold back their peers.
3. They never learned to sell. What a problem this can be for an entrepreneur, not knowing HOW to sell. Think about it, once you have a product or service, what good is it if nobody buys it? Sometimes the best product or service in the market is never heard of because the owners didn’t know how to sell, really know HOW to sell. We teach them TO sell and HOW to sell during this phase, while they sell their business that they have been working on.
4. “I am a business person not a salesman”. WOW, this is a killer. No one says that you have to sell used cars out of the back of a flea market like a bad movie. Think of some of the best salespeople out there, they are the names you know. The entire panel of multi-millionaires on Shark Tank, some of the best salespeople to ever live. Sean (P-Diddy) Combs, Tony Robbins, Donald Trump, Suzie Orman, David Letterman, the list goes on and on. These people have made it in their industry because they are always on the sale. When people realize that a salesman is the same thing as a businessman, they sky is not even close to the limit. The common misconception that salesmen are bad is controlled by the way that a sale is done. Learn to embrace it and use it right.
5. I need money to make this work! Big problem for most businesses. Entrepreneurs seem to follow the trend of the popular failures and successes of those that have been where they are. Make sure you have a product and or service that is good enough to not need money from anyone else.
6. One revenue stream. This is 2009 and the world of specialization has hit, but the specialty is in knowing how to pay your bills. Companies that limit themselves to their business alone as a revenue stream will be left behind. We will teach our candidates to learn about other businesses and partner with the right ones to ensure that SOMEONE is always selling and revenue is always coming in. Make no mistake about it, the consolidation era is here and those that embrace it will come out on top.

Boom Media, Politics, Exclusive to Obama Software

(San Diego) Eric A. Rice, President of Boom Media, has obtained the exclusive rights to the same patented software used by the Obama campaign during the presidential race. This software was used heavily to drive traffic to Obama’s’ websites and other internet postings. Boom is currently handling over 7 campaigns for congressmen, governors and a senator at the moment. Along with the multitude of businesses and entertainers, Boom has developed a division that is dedicated to the social media work of politicians. “We are humbled to have the chance to help our government in any way we can. It is paramount that today’s politicians understand the working of social media and use it properly.” Says Eric Rice. Rice goes on to say, “Getting the exclusive on the Obama software was pretty unexpected and amazing at the same time”. Boom Media is expecting to be able to triple the traffic that a website gets within a few weeks based off of historical data about the software, which is used by Sports Illustrated and many other nation brands. The Law Firm of Gaston and Gaston, along with Chris Snook of No Limit Publishing played a major part in this deal and will be assisting Eric Rice and Boom Media through 2012.

Grant Davis, Insurance Expert, On Mind Reading

Have you ever thought “if only I could read my prospects mind I could make the sale”?

What if I told you I could teach you how to read a prospects mind? Do you think that would be helpful?

No really! I haven’t lost my mind, but I can read yours. And I am about to teach you how you can read your prospects mind. Here’s how!

One big decision saves us from making a lot of smaller ones. So if you can figure out just a few of the big decisions your prospect has made you can with some certainty know how they will respond to other smaller questions. Once you are in sync with your prospects thinking you can reframe your proposals, by asking questions you already know the answer to.

A few examples will help illustrate this for you.

Here is an easy one to start with: As you look around your client’s office you notice a lot of pictures of family doing various activities. You ask about a few of the photos, and spend a half hour talking about how important building good memories for children is, and how those memories will last a life time, and influence generations to come. As these children have children they build great memories, and so on.

What have we learned? This prospect has made a few big decisions. 1. Planning is important. Why? Because this prospect talked a lot about planning activities and building positive memories on purpose. This prospect doesn’t leave the things that are important to chance. 2. The future is important. Why? Because this prospect spent a lot of time talking about the effects of planning to build positive memories for grandchildren, and great grand children and beyond. 3. Family is important, particularly the “future family”

From that brief encounter you could write several pages about what is important to your prospect and why it is important.

So let me ask you this. If you asked your prospect if providing for education was important? What do you think the answer would be? If you showed your prospect a way to guarantee the cost of education would be provided for the current children, grandchildren and so on, would that prospect be interested?

What if you had a great plan for this prospects business? I think you get the idea. Mind reading is easy if you can elicit the core beliefs and major decisions your prospect has made.

A few more examples:

1. A born again Christian.
2. Someone that runs 20 miles a week.
3. I lost 40 pounds and my good cholesterol is now right in line.
4. I built own home.
5. I decided long ago to do what was right. (this one is tricky as to us it you need to know what set of standards your prospect is using as “right”)
6. What I do for a living.
7. What I do on the weekends
8. What I do with my free time.
9. I believe in the death penalty, or I don’t believe.

Every little thing gives us clues as to the fundamental basis by which our prospect filters information, and how and why they will answer a particular question we ask.

Once we think we “have the core beliefs and values” we need to ask lots of questions to dial in on exactly what the cultural basis the core values and beliefs are applied against.

Once we have this final piece of the puzzle, we in fact can read our prospects minds. We almost don’t need to ask the question as we will already know how our prospect will answer it!

Goal Attainment

From; Grant W Davis

Many people talk about goal setting workshops. Which is great fun, and very motivational. As for me I'm into goal attainment. Think about it for a second.... Goal setting vs. Goal attainment. One gets you pumped up, and blue sky motivated, but only Goal Attainment gets you what you want!

I know it is the journey not the destination that matters. Sometimes I agree with that. But if your goal is to eat today, or earn enough to pay the bills, or some other pressing need. Then the journey isn’t very fun anyway, so let’s skip it, and just achieve our goals! Then go on vaction! That all said, I have kept journals since the mid 1980’s when I first read think and grow rich. And I seem to arrive at my goal, with a new one already in place. So the journey is important. Part of my journey today is setting up this website, not knowing if anyone will ever care to take a look at it.

The basis of what we will be doing in the members section. I start from the simple premise that every good thing comes from God. I also have noticed that different people have different goals. This convinces me further that our goals, (dreams) come from God to each of us based on gifts he has already given us. By this I mean as we look deep inside and ask ourselves what do we really want out of life, and start to write it down, I believe my goals are different than yours because my life, and the gifts God has given me are also different than yours. For me faith in my goals has been a key ingredient. My faith has been strengthened by the knowledge that your goals, (dreams) are different than mine. The things I want, and dream about are not the same as the dreams you have for your life. I believe this is because each of us have our talents, and purpose in life, which is very distinct for each of us. Again this is a key part of goal attainment. Being sure that our dreams are unique for each of us, and that as we are given the dreams and goals, we are also given the ability to achieve them. Next I believe that my thoughts are as real as my hand, or foot, or any other physical thing. My thoughts I consider spiritual as compared to physical things. Goal attainment is then for me the process of taking my thoughts, dreams, goals, desires from a spiritual place into this physical world. A few rules I have discovered: •Faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain. No one said you wouldn't have to pick up a shovel! •Must be for a good purpose •We can turn the soil, plant the seeds, water, fertilize, and weed the garden, but only God can make a seed grow! In the members section a large section will be devoted to setting, and attaining goals. Grant W Davis President GDI Insurance Inc 888-991-2929 Gdavis@gdiinsurance.com www.thehabitualsalesman.com

Grant Davis, Insurance Guru, on Profits

Of growth and profit I would take profit.

That is if I had to choose!

Un-planning for failure! The theme of the day seems to be lack of a clear business plan. Beyond today, or next year or the year after where is your business heading and why?

The question is very similar to questions I ask when I review financial plans for my clients and prospects. These past few years it seems I have run across a lot of people that lost 30-60% of their money and have an almost cavalier attitude towards it. I have heard comments like; That happens, Stocks go up and down, You just have to hang on to your stocks and they will come back, this is normal, everyone lost money.

The list goes on. There are even groups of people that get together to tell them selves it is ok that they just lost 60% of their money.

I always ask, why? Why is a 70 year old widow’s nest egg exposed to market risk of any kind? Does she need the money? Is there a financial plan that requires a 12% minimum return or she will lose her home, etc… The answer I find more often than not is there is no plan at all, and no reason for the exposure to market risk.. By the way I have never had a client lose one cent on a plan I put together in 30 years. Why? Because there is no need to take risk if the plan is sound. Systematic savings is the most important part of a person’s financial plan, not the rate of return.

So what does lack of planning and or pursuing the wrong plan with out a reason have to do with your business plan, or lack thereof…? Hum… A good business plan provides for growth and profit growth without risk.

For most people risk is a result of desperation, or failure to plan, or flat out bad advice.

If we are to plan for success, then lets pay attention to the key word “Plan”.

Grant Davis, Habitual Salesman

Bruce Ruff, San Diego County, La Mesa Debate