Category: Debate

5 Ways To Build Relationships With Powerful People

In this article, Jeet Banerjee shares 5 ways to build relationships with powerful people. The people you know are just as important as the skills you have in business.

 

If you’ve been in business for quite a while, you probably already know how important the people you know are. Often times, one strong connection can be the difference between success or failure.

 

 

You’ve probably seen certain individuals who seem to know just about everyone. You’re probably wondering, how do they know everyone?

 

 

It’s not luck or a pretty face that will get you acquainted with everyone important. It’s a lot more then that. These relationships are developed through establishing and nurturing important connections with people.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share 5 ways to build relationships with powerful people:

 

 

1. Go To Live Events

 

Whether it’s a conference or an event in your industry, it’s extremely important to attend noteworthy things going on. There is no faster way to network and develop a connection with someone meaningful than meeting them face to face.

 

 

Live events and conference set you up in the perfect way. Other people usually aren’t busy with something else and you have the opportunity to make an introduction in person. By placing yourself at important events, you can position yourself to develop strong connections.

 

 

2. Do Nice Things For Them

 

If there is someone you really want to meet, you need to get them on your radar. An easy way to do this is to do some really nice things for them so that they eventually notice you. Here are a few things you can do:

 

 

– Share their content

 

– Interact/engage with all their posts

 

– Email them showing appreciation

 

– Allowing them to use a testimonial or case study for their products/website

 

 

I’ve been able to develop strong relationships with powerful people over the years just by keeping up with them. If you can be a solid ‘brand advocate’ for that person, they will eventually notice you and not feel uncomfortable when you try to make friends with them.

 

 

3. Start A Podcast/Blog

 

One of the quickest way to generate a strong connection with someone is to interview them. If they are powerful, they probably get many requests to get interviewed.

 

 

I too often get requested to do an interview, but I never say no. Whether your site is small or it’s just for your own sake, I always do an interview because I enjoy doing it and any exposure is great exposure. Most powerful people think similarly to me and doing an interview gives you a good chance of making friends with them.

 

 

4. Give Before You Ask

 

Most powerful people are weary of letting others into their lives because they feel like you’re going to ask for something. It’s almost like the gold-digger syndrome that many wealthy individuals are weary of.

 

 

Instead of asking someone powerful for something, give them something in return. It doesn’t have to be something of monetary value, but you need to show them that you’re not trying to build a friendship just to ask for things. Everyone has something unique or valuable to them and you need to leverage that.

 

 

5. Ask for Introductions

 

You don’t always need to directly make the connection with the person you want to meet. I have found it often easier to get introduced to someone by asking one of their friends to make the connection.

 

 

This is a great way to get connected with a powerful person because they are more likely to value an introduction coming from someone in their circle already. If you know someone that’s got a relationship with that individual, simply share the reasons why you want to talk to them and ask them to make an introduction for you.

 

 

Conclusion

 

As I mentioned earlier, the people you know are equally as important as the skills you have when starting/running a business. These are 5 ways to build relationships with powerful people!

 

 

photo credit: Richard.Asia via photopin cc

How To Master Things In Less Than 10,000 Hours

In the last few years, Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule has been popularized. In this article, I share how to master things in less than 10,000 hours.

 

Achieving greatness can be done on many different levels. One of the most recent methods of mastering a skill is known as the 10,000 hour rule that has been popularized by Malcolm Gladwell.

 

 

10,000 hours is equivalent to just about 417 days, but nobody can spend 24 hours a day mastering a skill. Realistically, it would take you anywhere from 3-4 years to master a skill with the 10,000 hour rule (assuming you spend 8-10 hours a day on it).

 

 

However, 3-4 years seems to be a pretty long time to master something. I might just be saying that since I’m young, but I’d want to master something within 6-12 months.

 

 

While I’ve been able to accomplish quite a bit in my life thus far, I only really dived into entrepreneurship about 3 1/2 years ago. Considering that entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, I can say that I probably spend anywhere from 12-16 hours a day on it.

 

 

However, I started seeing some waves of success after about 1 year. While I was in no way a master nor am I today, I feel like you can achieve quite a bit without the 10,000 hour rule.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share tips on how to master things in less than 10,000 hours:

 

 

1. Shorten The Learning Curve

 

Before we can master something, we must learn new things along the way. From the foundations to the advanced techniques, we have to be familiar with the way things work before we can execute them.

 

 

A few simple ways to shorten the learning curve can include finding a mentor or surrounding yourself with others who are trying to master the same skills. Regardless of what your skill is, having a mentor (someone who has mastered it) can be extremely helpful in finding your own success.

 

 

Not only that, but creating a group of other like-minded individuals striving to achieve the same things is a great way to shorten your learning curve. You can share the lessons you learn and hear about the discoveries others make helping you with your journey.

 

 

2. Set Stricter Deadlines

 

Ever since the release of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, everyone automatically assumes it will take them that long to master something. In school, my teachers would give me projects or essays that were due 3 weeks later.

 

 

Truthfully, I didn’t need 3 weeks to finish that essay. I could finish it in 1 night (which is what I usually did), but my teachers still didn’t see my paper until the 3rd week. Why? Because my deadline was so far away.

 

 

When you think it will take you 10,000 hours to master a skill, your brain automatically starts to progress and digest it at that pace. If you push yourself to master a skill in 3 months instead, you’ll be surprised how much farther along you will be.

 

 

3. Practice How You Would Perform

 

If you want to master something, you must perfect the way you practice. Something that takes 10,000 hours to learn can take 1,000 hours instead if you maximize your time practicing it.

 

 

I’ve always been a strong believer of working smarter, not harder. Many companies are fixated on keeping their employees in the office for 8 hours a day regardless of what their results are. However, I don’t care how much time you spend in the office.

 

 

I care about the results you provide. I give you a task and expect it done. I could care less if it took the person 8 hours or 30 minutes to finish it as long as it’s done right. Regardless of what your skill is, practice how you would expect to perform it.

 

 

4. Nail Down The Basics

 

Regardless of what you’re trying to master, there are some foundational basics that must be perfected. Whether you’re trying to learn to play a ukelele or race cars, there are some fundamental things you must know.

 

 

Instead of worrying about the product, focus on the process. My basketball coach always told me that I had to learn to shoot the ball right before I could make it. My friends were making more shots, but their form was wrong. Guess who didn’t make the basketball team?

 

 

Form, function and processes are extremely important in the early stages. The more you practice those things, the quicker you’ll be able to master the skills necessary to develop amazing finished products.

 

 

5. Enjoy It

 

Even if I had spent 10,000 hours learning to be a good student, I wouldn’t be one just because I didn’t enjoy it. When it came to starting and running a business, I mastered it a lot faster simply because I was passionate about it.

 

 

Regardless of what you’re trying to master, make sure that you’re passionate to do so. Many studies have shown over the years that the brain is more adaptive to learning new things when it is happy doing something.

 

 

Happiness has a direct correlation with mastering skills. If you enjoy it, you will find yourself mastering it quicker than you would if you didn’t.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Regardless of what you plan to master, try using these tips mentioned above to learn something new in less than 10,000 hours.

 

 

photo credit: Marco Gomes via photopin cc

10 Habits That Lead To Success

In this article, I share my 10 habits that lead to success. By working on these habits, your chances of success dramatically increase.

 

Regardless of whether you’re an entrepreneur, artist, athlete, or something else, success is something most people chase. I found out quickly as an entrepreneur that you had to follow some basic habits to eventually find success.

 

 

While these habits take time to develop, they can be a vital tool that can help you throughout your life. In this article, I’m going to share 10 habits that lead to success:

 

 

1. Fear Nothing

 

It’s okay to be fearful of things, but it’s not okay to let fear run your world. When I started out as an entrepreneur in high school, I was terrified of what people in the business world would think of me.

 

 

I was so scared that I never met with people in real life and tried running my business completely online. I could charge thousands of dollars more, but I let fear stop me. I quickly overcame my fear and tackled the business world head on, which allowed me to grow my business to 15+ employees and sell it years later.

 

 

2. Failure Isn’t Final 

 

Failure stops so many people. It’s a sad, but true fact. I quickly learned that I can only fail when I refuse to get back up. Failure is actually an amazing thing and you should embrace it.

 

 

Learn from your failures and keep trying. You’re only a failure if you refuse to get back up when you fall down. Failure doesn’t define you OR your business, it’s just an event (something that happens).

 

 

3. Accept Positivity & Negativity Equally

 

If you only heard good things about yourself, you wouldn’t know how to potentially improve. In order to be successful, you need to be willing to hear the bad things people have to say about yourself so that you can fix them.

 

 

Don’t get upset when people are critical of you, but rather embrace it just like you would if someone said something positive. Growth is continuous and criticism can help you develop.

 

 

4. Never Say Never

 

Pessimistic people don’t do very well in the world. Regardless of what you’re trying to achieve, never assume it’s impossible.

 

 

I learned early on that impossibilities don’t exist in the real world, but only in our minds. What we believe is what we achieve so you should be careful how you think of things.

 

 

5. Be A Leader, Not A Dictator

 

Dictators command people to do things. Leaders give people reason to do things. If you can lead people, you will be successful.

 

 

Managing people isn’t a skill, it’s an art. The quicker you’re able to master that art, the more successful you will be. Regardless of what you do, communicating and managing people are going to be crucial to your success.

 

 

6. Dumb Questions Don’t Exist

 

The power of asking is unbelievable. The other day I was at one of my favorite restaurants where I was chatting with the manager who knows me very well. After telling me how loyal of a customer I am, I jokingly asked him for a discount on my takeout order.

 

 

Without any hesitation, he gave me my order for FREE. I was completely joking, but it showed me the power of asking. Regardless of what you do, ask everything that comes to mind so that you can learn and enjoy.

 

 

7. Be Weary of Satisfaction

 

99% of people don’t follow this rule and consequently the wealthiest class in the world consists of 1% of the population. Satisfaction is extremely dangerous.

 

 

Many of us have dreams of winning championships or making millions of dollars, but we stop too soon. We get satisfied with winning a few regular season games or making thousands of dollars a month. Never be satisfied with just ‘good enough’.

 

 

8. Don’t Back Down From Challenges

 

I’ve been given the opportunity to do a TED talk which I will be presenting to a live audience on Saturday. This was one of the hardest challenges I have ever taken on.

 

 

Many speakers that were set to speak got cut, but thankfully I wasn’t. This was a challenge for me and everyone knew it, but I wasn’t going to give up until I accomplished it. Being a ‘regular speaker’, it was very hard for me to transition into the rigid rules of TED.

 

 

9. Visualize Your Definition of Success Every Morning

 

What is success to you? We all have our definitions, but it’s very important to have a clear visualization of what success truly means to us.

 

 

Once you have that definition, find a way to visualize it every single morning. The moment I wake up from my bed, I have a white board with my goals and definitions of success right in front of me. This gives me a reminder of what I’m working for while motivating me every morning!

 

 

10. Be The Best You

 

Don’t change to make society happy. Be the best you that you POSSIBLY can be. You’re truly special and by staying true to yourself, you can do tremendous things.

 

 

From someone who wanted to be just like others growing up, I quickly realized that there is no better feeling than knowing that you are different from others. Embrace your uniqueness and be true to who you really are.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared 10 habits that lead to success. By implementing some of these habits into your daily life, you can get one step closer to achieving your dreams.

 

 

photo credit: Paxson Woelber via photopin cc

5 Reasons Why Starting A Business In Your Twenties Is The Best Time

In this article, I share 5 reasons why starting a business in your twenties is the best time. From my own experiences and learning, I have realized that we have the best potential situation in those years.

 

Most people think of me as an entrepreneur who started really early since I was still in high school when I launched my first business. However, I look back and wish I had only started earlier, but who doesn’t?

 

 

However, I have quickly realized that there is a really good time to start a business. That magical time is in your twenties. In this article, I’ll share 5 reasons why starting a business in your twenties is the best time:

 

 

1. You’re In Your Prime

 

Just like athletes are in their prime during their mid 20’s, you are too. You have the most energy and motivation to hustle, which are crucial skills required to succeed as an entrepreneur.

 

 

Twenty somethings are typically finding out their purpose at this age. Best of all, they’re the most willing to take risks and love to act fast on their dreams. Those are some great characteristics for someone trying to start a successful business.

 

 

2. Life Doesn’t Get Any Cheaper

 

Unless you’re drowning in college debt, this is as cheap as life will get. If you’re still lucky enough to be living at home, your expenses are very minimal.

 

 

Starting a business doesn’t necessarily mean you will start getting paychecks early on. It usually means that you’ll be making very little money with hopes of creating something bigger. The great thing about starting young is that you have very little expenses giving you the opportunity to focus solely on your business.

 

 

3. Retirement Feels A Lot Better At 30

 

If you can start a business at an early age, that’s great. If you can make enough money to retire yourself at a young age, that’s ideal. By starting a business in your twenties, you give yourself the opportunity to retire at a young age.

 

 

Ask anyone who is above the age of 30 and they will tell you how envious they are of people who get to retire young. Retirement doesn’t necessarily mean that you don’t work, it just means that you don’t need to make a certain amount of money to survive. Best of all, you can follow your passions upon retirement.

 

 

4. You Can Reset Everything

 

When you’re young, you have the ability to scratch everything and call it a learning experience. However, as you get older it becomes a lot harder to do that.

 

 

If all does go wrong with your business venture and you decide to pursue something else in life, it’s a lot easier to hit the reset button in your twenties. You probably don’t have a family and too much working experience under your belt, which means you can literally pursue just about anything else.

 

 

5. Age Is Just A Number

 

You don’t need a fancy degree, experience or a lot of money to create a successful business. No matter what your passion is, always remember that age is just a number and it doesn’t define who you can become.

 

 

Take it from someone who started at the age of 17, if you have a dream pursue it as soon as you can. There is no better time to start than today. As a twenty something, if you’re having the thoughts of becoming an entrepreneur, you’ll never know how successful you can be without trying.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared 5 reasons why starting a business in your twenties is the best time. If you are younger or older than that, just remember that there is no better time to start than now!
Note: If you’re starting a business and need help, feel free to check out my best-selling course with over 2,800 students on how to start a business.

 

 

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5 Sacrifices You Must Make As An Entrepreneur

When I first started out as an entrepreneur, I had no idea how many sacrifices I really had to make if I wanted to be successful. In this article, I’m going to share 5 sacrifices you must make as an entrepreneur.

 

Entrepreneurship is one of the toughest challenges anyone can undertake. Anything worthwhile usually requires great sacrifice and entrepreneurship is definitely one of those things.

 

 

When I started my journey as an entrepreneur, I wasn’t aware of the sacrifices I would soon have to make. However, the sacrifices were well worth it because I found my purpose in life thanks to it.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share 5 sacrifices you must make as an entrepreneur:

 

 

1. Paychecks

 

For some reason, people assume all entrepreneurs are wealthy and living the life. However, most people only see the stories of successful entrepreneurs but don’t get a glimpse into their journey.

 

 

Entrepreneurs have it tough. You start out by working harder than any ‘typical job’ and often times you don’t get compensated at all for it. As an entrepreneur, your business comes first.

 

 

If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you may have to sacrifice a paycheck for months at a time. Even worst, there is no guarantee that you will ever get paid and entrepreneurs must be willing to sacrifice a paycheck with hopes of building something big.

 

 

2. Social Life 

 

Many studies over the years have proven that the people you surround yourself with have the largest impact on who you become and how much money you make. As an entrepreneur, we all have people around us who aren’t necessarily the greatest influences in our lives.

 

 

If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to sacrifice going out with your friends every night or being with people who don’t have a similar mindset as you.

 

 

Entrepreneurs definitely deserve to party hard, but everything must be rationed. If you want to be more than mediocre, you have to make decisions others aren’t willing to make.

 

 

3. Sleep

 

Do you enjoy sleeping 8-10 hours every night? Well, I do too but as soon as I became an entrepreneur my sleeping schedule became messy.

 

 

I was lucky to be sleeping 8 hours especially since I was balancing school and my businesses when I first started. Nowadays, I get a bit closer to 8 hours but my sleeping schedule is still erratic.

 

 

You have to maintain your health, but starting a business requires a lot of WORK. I am literally glued to my computer all day long and probably spend 12-16 hours a day on it.

 

 

4. Comfort

 

If you love to be comfortable, entrepreneurship is going to be tough. Being an entrepreneur is like jumping on a never-ending roller coaster that is filled with surprises at every corner.

 

 

You must be willing to put yourself into uncomfortable situations to come out with extraordinary solutions. As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have to do a little bit of everything.

 

 

Whether it’s sales, product development, marketing, customer service, or something else, you’re always going to be doing something new. Often times, it’s extremely uncomfortable to be doing something you haven’t done before but it’s a sacrifice you must make to be successful.

 

 

5. Yourself 

 

A lesson I learned a bit later on in my entrepreneurial journey was that my business comes first, even before me. Instead of making the best decision for myself, I quickly realized that I had to make the best decisions for my business.

 

 

If you have a big ego or have a hard time putting other things in front of yourself, entrepreneurship may not be for you. You have to be willing to make the best decision for your business even if it’s not always favorable to your personal needs.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared 5 sacrifices you must make as an entrepreneur. If you truly wish to build a successful business, you have to make these sacrifices at some point.

 

 

 

Pitch Perfect: 5 Tips For Pitching To Investors

In this article, guest blogger Eric Santos shares 5 tips for pitching to investors. If you want to make your pitch perfect, this article is a must-read to be get raise capital successfully.

 

This is a guest post by Eric Santos. 

 

 

You can say I have a little experience about pitching investors, as I raised a seed round of funding for my first start-up right out of college. I have pitched to a number of different types of investors and groups ranging from local small time angel investors all the way to successful venture capital investors.

 

 

I learned many lessons along the way, including things I did right when raising funding successfully from Angel Investors, and things I did wrong when failing to raise money from Venture Capital Investors. Regardless of the type of investors you are pitching too, or whether you are asking for a hundred dollars or a million dollars, there are some fundamental lessons of pitching that are pretty much universal for any scenario.

 

 

I would like to share with 5 tips for pitching to investors.

 

 

Paint a picture

 

The best way to start a pitch is to begin with the problem your product solves. If done correctly, this is a great way to get the investors interested even before you start speaking about your product, especially if they can relate to the problem.

 

 

When speaking about the problem, it’s best to give a real world example or scenario that the investors can relate too. Paint a picture and tell a story about how a customer is experiencing a certain pain, and then go on to illustrate how your product alleviates this pain. You will have on average about 10 minutes to keep your investor’s attention during your presentation, so it’s very important that you start with a very compelling customer pain that captures their attention.

 

 

Be confident

 

Within the first 30 seconds of your pitch most investors can get a good read of how confident you are in your pitch, your company, and yourself. Investors like investing into confident people.

 

 

Confidence is usually a good indicator of competency and investors want to know the company they are about to invest their money in is ran by competent people. Displaying your confidence during your pitch also shows you have a great understanding of your business and market.

 

 

This lets the investor know not only is your concept great, but that you are the right person to execute it successfully. One of the easiest ways to develop this confidence while presenting is to learn your business inside and out, not necessarily just your presentation.

 

 

Brag when necessary

 

No one likes a bragger, but when you are the CEO of your company, sometimes a little bragging can become necessary. What I mean by bragging is, if you and your team do something exceptionally well, highlight this and bring it to the attention of your investors.

 

 

If you got a team full of bad asses that have 10 years of related experience, brag about it. If some of your users say that your app is the most used app in their phone, brag about it. It’s always better to say too many good things you’re doing than not enough. I learned this lesson first hand from talking to an investor who was judging a startup pitch competition I partook in (I didn’t win).

 

 

We talked casually after the competition and I told telling him about how strong our advisory board was and other things which I failed to mention in my presentation. He let me know I should have bragged about those things during my presentation as it could have strengthened my chances to win.

 

 

Know your technology

 

This tip is more applicable to the non-technical co-founders our there since it’s usually our jobs to deliver these types of presentations. You may not need to know how to write code, but you should definitely learn your product’s stack and technical aspects.

 

 

Become your product’s product manager. The more sophisticated the investor, the most sophisticated their questions. So although they may ask you a business question such as your cost per acquisition, they also make ask what modules you are using and why you choose those specific ones.

 

 

This is also applicable if you are giving a demo of your product during your presentation. Your product may still be rough and in its early stages, but if you know everything about your product, you should be able to know how to deliver a demo that highlights your product’s strengths and smooth out its rough areas.

 

 

Numbers talk

 

The most important advice I can give is that numbers talk, and if you’re lucky enough to be generating revenue, money talks. Investors love metrics. When I am talking about metrics, I am talking about email signups, visitors, active users, growth rates, customers, revenue, numbers of followers on twitter, etc.

 

 

The more metrics you can provide the better. Even if you only have 100 users but the majority of them use your app every day, this metric shows that people find real value in your application. Regardless if you’re product isn’t developed and you have no users, you should already began marketing your product and have an email list of individuals who will sign up once you launch.

 

 

It’s not uncommon for startups to get a couple of hundred to a thousand email signups even before their prototype is finished. When you have metrics and growth rates to reference, it’s much easier creating accurate growth and financial projections for your presentation.

 

 

photo credit: photosteve101 via photopin cc

 

 

Author Biography: Eric Santos is a blogger, social media guru, and entrepreneur. Eric is the co-founder and Business Guy at WishBooklet, a gift crowdfunding web-app that makes getting the gifts you really want easy. Eric is the current CEO of Dwibbles and former founder and CEO of Soshowise Inc. Eric received a B.S in Entrepreneurship from CSUF.

8 Things You Can Do Now To Change The World

Whether you help 1 person or millions, you are still creating value in the world. In this article, I share 8 things you can do now to change the world.

 

Believe it or not, you don’t have to necessarily impact millions of people every day to change the world. You can really do it on a small scale and that’s where you should start.

 

 

We hear more and more stories about how society is in a strong decline. Pollution, war, heinous crime, and other atrocities are always shown around us.

 

 

However, instead of thinking of all the bad that goes on in the world, we should focus on the good. How can we make a difference? What can you do every day to make the world a better place?

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share 8 things you can do now to change the world.

 

 

1. Share Your Passion

 

I didn’t know I was changing the world until someone sent me a very thoughtful email. They said that due to me being so passionate about entrepreneurship and doing everything I do, they were going to change their lives.

 

 

That feeling where I knew I was going to change someones lives just because of my actions was a great feeling. You don’t have to do anything aside from just being you sometimes.

 

 

Share positivity with others and share your passion for why you love life. You don’t know who it will end up resonating well with.

 

 

2. Take Massive Action

 

Visionaries who have changed the world forever were those who took action. Is there something in the world that you don’t like? Is there a problem with no fix to it?

 

 

Speak up and challenge the thoughts in the world that make you unhappy. Take massive action and create a fix to the problem you dread facing. If you can create value or help make peoples lives better in any way, you’re already changing the world.

 

 

3. Help Others

 

I’m extremely blessed to have the ability to help other people every single day. I get people that email me or message me asking me for help and advice. I love helping other people by giving them advice and guidance on things they need help with.

 

 

Everyone is an expert at something. Instead of worrying about sharing your ‘secrets’ with others, be willing to help others. The more you give, the more you receive.

 

 

The reason I spend 5-6 hours a week writing blog articles is because it gives me the ability to genuinely share information with others. I don’t get paid to write these blog articles or produce content that is meaningful for others, I do it because I want to help others.

 

 

4. Teach

 

I may not be the biggest fan of college or learning in a classroom setting, but I do think teachers have a tremendous value to society. Not only have they mastered a certain topic, but they’re willing to share it with others.

 

 

If you reach a point in your life where you have been able to master a certain domain, take the opportunity to share it with others. You can truly change the world by sharing knowledge. Knowledge is powerful because it gives others the ability to do amazing things with it!

 

 

5. Invest

 

If people like Bill Gates made a ton of money and spent it on fancy cars, the world wouldn’t be a better place. Bill Gates has made a ton of money from Microsoft, but he’s such an amazing person because he invests.

 

 

It’s true that he even donates some of it, but the point is that he gives back. You don’t always need to donate your money to give back. You can invest in things like people, companies, cities, and other things to really help change the world.

 

 

You don’t necessarily have to be the one carrying out the grand plan, but you can put the power in someone else’s hands by investing in them. Some of the biggest investors have helped change the world solely through their wise investments.

 

 

6. Ask

 

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. Ask someone who seems to be troubled what they need help with. You’ll be amazed by everything that they may tell you.

 

 

You don’t always have to impact millions of people instantly to change the world. It all starts with 1. I’m a strong believer of starting small and scaling up with anything you do. Whether it’s a business or solely making a difference in the lives of others, start small and scale up as you make an impact and create value.

 

 

7. Lead

 

Sometimes change-makers are people who are just great leaders. The world has been missing great leaders for quite a while now and mastering your leadership skills is vital.

 

 

Leaders don’t tell you what to do, they do it with you. Great leaders have the uncanny ability to make you feel good about everything you do. Leaders have the ability to change the way you think and great leaders can change the world with their talent.

 

 

8. Do Something

 

If you don’t know what to do or how to do it, just do something. Take the first idea you have to help others and run with it!

 

 

There is no better time to start than now. The longer you wait, the longer the world has to wait. Do you really want to hold back change any longer?

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared 8 things you can do now to change the world. Regardless of who you are or what you do, you have the power to change the world right now!

 

 

photo credit: chalo84 via photopin cc

How To Tell Your Parents You Have Other Career Plans

My parents always wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. However, I had other plans. In this article, I share how to tell your parents you have other career plans.

 

Most parents have amazing career plans for their children. They want them to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other high profile jobs. Being that my parents come from an Asian background, my parents were the same way as I really only had two career options in their eyes.

 

 

Doctor or lawyer. Those were literally the 2 choices I had regardless of whether I liked those career paths or not. I not only had to tell my parents I didn’t want to do either, but I also had to convince them to let me take time off from college to pursue my dreams as an entrepreneur.

 

 

That conversation wasn’t easy. Especially when I started the conversation, my parents weren’t willing to budge from their views. They were hoping my passion for entrepreneurship was just a ‘phase’ and that it would eventually go away.

 

 

Well, they were wrong. I couldn’t continue pursuing a career I didn’t enjoy so I had to convince my parents. It took months of effort and even today they aren’t fully convinced, but they’ve given me the opportunity to pursue my dreams.

 

 

I get emails from many young entrepreneurs who are in a similar position as me so I thought I’d write a blog article sharing how I told my parents I had other plans.

 

 

Showing Them Is Better Than Telling Them

 

In the beginning, I kept telling my parents that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and that I could make it happen. However, they kept saying that it was risky and wasn’t the best route.

 

 

The reason why their argument kept winning was because I was only telling them, but I hadn’t shown them enough. If you want your parents to support your decision to be an entrepreneur, you need to show them that you can support yourself doing just that.

 

 

It wasn’t until about 1-2 years later once I had sold my first company that they actually believed I could make it happen as an entrepreneur. It was proof. I built something myself and I showed them that I could do it.

 

 

If you have big dreams but haven’t done anything to pursue them, it’s all talk. No parent or investor will ever sign off on someone who tells them about the great things they plan to do but hasn’t done them yet.

 

 

Stay silent for a while if you have to and make things happen. Once you have proof and have proven your skills as an entrepreneur, you have a better argument with your parents.

 

 

Let Your Passion Show

 

This one is easy. If you’re really passionate about the new career path that you want to take, let your passion show to your parents.

 

 

As I said earlier, my parents thought my love for entrepreneurship would be a short-term thing that would eventually fizzle out. However, they saw for 1-2 years that I was consistently working 24/7 to be successful as an entrepreneur.

 

 

If you want to be an artist, you’re going to be the happiest when you’re painting and that’s what will take up your life. If you’re a singer, you’re going to be in the studio recording like an addict.

 

 

Letting your passion show is easy, but sometimes it takes time. Not only do you need to prove it to yourself, but you need to show your parents that you really love what you want to do.

 

 

Use Examples

 

Parents want to make sure that you are successful and play it safe. That’s just how society expects them to think and that’s how most people end up thinking. You’re one of the few people who think differently.

 

 

My parents kept making cases that being an entrepreneur wasn’t necessarily safe because so many people fail at it. While it was true, I decided to dig deep to find examples of people who were successful.

 

 

I showed them many different people who were successful as an entrepreneur and tried to show them as many parallels as possible. When I wanted to take a semester off, I made a compelling case to my parents which got them to say YES.

 

 

I told them that while college is important, it’s something that will never go away. Opportunities on the other hand can disappear a lot quicker due to competition, technology and other things.

 

 

No matter what happened, I could always go back to college and get my degree. I could take the path that they wanted me to take, I would just be a few years behind. However, I couldn’t always go back to those same opportunities after college.

 

 

This was the case I used to convince my parents to allow me to take time off from college. Show your parents examples of people who found success when they were in a similar position as you.

 

 

Don’t Give Up

 

Parents don’t always see eye to eye with everything you do right away. For me, it took me about 1-2 years before I could just get some time off from college to focus on my businesses.

 

 

The biggest thing I learned was that you have to stay persistent with your family. Take small steps and slowly gain their trust. You can’t convince your parents overnight and I realized that after some time.

 

 

Even though I really wanted my parents to see my side right away, I knew that it was going to take a lot longer. It was a really big decision on their part and they needed to build that trust with me to allow me to take such a big leap of faith.

 

 

Conclusion

 

I know it can be a struggle to get your parents to allow you to chase your dreams, but it’s something you cannot shy away from. If you or someone you know may be struggling with this, please have them contact me as I’d love to help them out!

 

 

photo credit: kevin dooley via photopin cc

How I Went From Businessman To Entrepreneur

After spending 2 years running a business, I realized I wasn’t satisfied and overjoyed with what I was doing. In this article, I talk about how to go from a businessman to entrepreneur.

Tutor, coach, salesman, project manager, billing manager, assistant, receptionist, and customer support manager. Those are the different jobs I held between the ages of 15 to 17.

 

 

In 2 years, I had tried a ton of jobs and I left every single one of them. I simply wasn’t happy. I needed to find a career path that would make me happy and provide me the joy I was looking for.

 

 

I began looking into different career paths. I came across the idea of being a businessman and an owner. I would be able to run my own business and dictate my own laws. I read a ton of books, blogs and other resources and quickly decided to create my first business.

 

 

Most people don’t know that there is a huge difference between businessman and entrepreneur. I sure didn’t. In fact, when I 17 and first got started, I didn’t even know that the word entrepreneur existed.

 

 

I wasn’t even close to understanding what a businessman was and what an entrepreneur was. I was lost in my own world and it wasn’t until 2 years after starting my business, I was able to figure it all out.

 

 

In this article, I’m going to share my story on how I went from businessman to entrepreneur.

 

 

Businessman vs Entrepreneur

 

Most people look at these 2 words as the same. When I finally found out about what an entrepreneur was, I thought it was the same thing. While I was running my first company, I wasn’t an entrepreneur, I was a businessman.

 

 

Here’s how I define the two terms:

 

 

Businessman – A person who gets into business for making money.

 

 

Entrepreneur – A person who gets into business for solving problems, creating value and changing the way things work.

 

 

I felt like a businessman because anyone could start a multimedia agency and offer the services I was providing. While these services were valuable, it was really just a great way to make money.

 

 

There was a high demand for the services I was offering, however regardless of my existence, people would still have their needs solved. They would just have to find someone else.

 

 

The Discovery

 

At 17 years old, starting my own company and seeing legitimate revenue come in was a great feeling. However, it wasn’t the ultimate satisfaction I was looking for.

 

 

In the beginning, I ignored it thinking I was crazy but the unsatisfactory feeling would not disappear. It took me almost a year and a half to figure out that I wasn’t happy enough because I didn’t feel like I made a difference or served a purpose.

 

 

That’s when I made the realization of what an entrepreneur was and what I was, a businessman. I saw entrepreneurs making tons of money, but they weren’t driven by that. They were driven by the idea of making a difference and so many of them truly were.

 

 

I wanted to be able to do the same thing because entrepreneurship would give me the opportunity to help people while allowing me to make money simultaneously. It was the best of both worlds.

 

 

The Decision To Switch

 

When I told the people closest to me that I was going to move on from my first business by selling it and focus solely on StatFuse (my next venture), people thought I was very foolish!

 

 

They said it was the biggest mistake that I would make and that I shouldn’t leave a good thing behind. However, I had convinced myself that I didn’t want to be a slave to the money. That’s the whole reason why I escaped a life of corporate hell.

 

 

StatFuse was different, we actually made a difference and solved a problem that I went through not too long ago. It was time to flip the switch and become the entrepreneur I really wanted to be.

 

 

I put up my first business for sale and started working relentlessly on StatFuse. Within 3-4 months, I found a buyer for my first company and I was able to wipe my hands clean.

 

 

It was time for a new future and I immediately felt the difference. I wasn’t making any money, but I still felt better than I did when I was running JB Media Force.

 

 

The Lesson

 

Opportunities are great, but don’t jump at the first money you see. There are a lot of opportunities in the world and the whole reason why we become entrepreneurs is to avoid being a slave to the money.

 

 

If you build a business focused around being a cash cow, you eventually end up being a slave to the money one way or another.

 

 

How They Differ

 

Below are a list of 10 significant ways entrepreneurs differ from business-people:

 

 

1. Entrepreneurs take risks, businessmen play it safe.

 

 

2. Entrepreneurs innovate, businessmen recreate.

 

 

3. Entrepreneurs think with their minds, businessmen think with their wallets.

 

 

4. Entrepreneurs love what they do, businessmen don’t always.

 

 

5. Entrepreneurs focus on cooperation, businessmen focus on competition.

 

6. An entrepreneurs rival is himself, a businessman has many rivals.

 

 

7. Entrepreneurs are always busy on something new, businessmen are busy with the same things.

 

 

8. Entrepreneurs are usually excited, while businessmen are usually worried.

 

 

9. Entrepreneurs are market leaders, businessmen are market players.

 

 

10. Entrepreneurs focus on value, businessmen focus on profit.

 

 

Conclusion

 

In this article, I shared my story of how I went from businessman to entrepreneur in the last few years. Entrepreneurs make a difference, while businessman run businesses that are aimed at generating tons of revenue. What do you want to be known for?

 

 

photo credit: Jon_Tucker via photopin cc

How To Achieve Financial Freedom In Less Than 10 Years

In this article, I will share tips on how to achieve financial freedom in less than 10 years. By applying many different lessons and experiences, I share my plans on how to achieve financial freedom.

Photo Credit 401 (K) 2012.

 

 

Before blowing out the candles on my 20th birthday, I made a promise to myself. Most people believing in making wishes on your birthday, but I believe in setting goals.

 

 

Goals require you to take action while wishes just hope for the best. I set a goal to achieve financial freedom before my 25th birthday. That gave me exactly 5 years to achieve financial freedom no matter what.

 

 

I’ve seen far too many times how money has torn up relationships and restricted people from doing what they want that I didn’t want to live my life that way. Thus, I set a big goal without much direction on how I would achieve this.

 

 

Fast-forward to today (8 months later) and I still have not achieved financial freedom, but I’ve made quite a bit of progress towards my goal. Since I haven’t achieved my goal yet, I don’t consider this guide a full-proof way to achieve financial freedom.

 

 

However, I do feel that if you listen to what I have to share from my experiences and what I have learned, you will dramatically increase your chances of achieving financial freedom in less than 10 years.

 

 

In this blog article, I will share a comprehensive guide on how to achieve financial freedom in less than 10 years:

 

 

1. Turn Yourself Into A Brand

 

Early on as an entrepreneur, I hid behind my businesses. There was no Jeet Banerjee, it was all JB Media Force or StatFuse. After selling my first company, I quickly realized that all the hard work I had put in was instantly wiped out.

 

 

Even though I made some money from the transaction, I lost a lot more than I had expected. From that experience, I learned that you must create a brand out of yourself. People buy from people, not from business entities.

 

 

It is crucial to turn yourself into a catalyst for your projects. No matter what happens in your businesses, your name will carry on forever.

 

 

2. Diversify Quickly 

 

A lot of people say that focus is extremely crucial to success, but I believe you can be focused on numerous things at the same time. For me, I saw how hard recessions hit people because they had all their eggs in one basket.

 

 

You never know what can happen. Don’t count on one business or opportunity. Create numerous opportunities for yourself so that if one does hit a snag, you’re not completely screwed.

 

 

3. Stop Saving, Start Investing

 

If you make money, your natural reaction is to probably stuff it under your mattress or in your bank account. However, I learned that saving your money does absolutely nothing.

 

 

Instead, create a savings account that can protect you for a few months, but not forever. It may be risky, but the only real way to create massive wealth is to invest as much money as you can.

 

 

If you want to be financially free in less than 10 years, you have to diversify your investments. Find different things that you’re passionate about that don’t require a ton of time and invest in them.

 

 

I’ve lost quite a bit of money from investing in different things but it’s all part of the learning experience. You have to try and fail before you really know what works and doesn’t work.

 

 

4. Stop Exchanging Time For Money

 

I love building businesses online because I don’t have to exchange time for money. Investments are even better because I can invest even less time to make a good chunk of money.

 

 

If you have to directly trade your time for dollars, you will never be able to achieve financial freedom. Your money, investments, and time should be working for you.

 

 

By creating passive income streams, you have the ability to continuously build new things that can increase the amount of money you make. It’s trouble the moment your income stops growing because you don’t have enough time.

 

 

5. Learn To Say No

 

In order to really obtain financial freedom, you need to learn how to master your time. The biggest mistake I made early on was saying yes to every opportunity that came by.

 

 

I never weighed the long-term effects that each of these Yes’s had and I quickly found out that many of these decisions were hurting me instead of helping me. Think about each opportunity that comes by and see how much time you are trading in exchange for it.

 

 

From there, think about what the potential ROI is and divide by the amount of time you are spending. You should get a value that represents how much you are making per hour/per month.

 

 

Time / Potential Return On Investment = $$$$$/Hour or Month

 

 

If that number is lower than how much money you need to be making daily in order to achieve financial freedom in 5-10 years, you should pass on the opportunity.

 

 

6. Commit To Your Goals/Success

 

When I made myself this promise to achieve financial freedom on my 20th birthday, there was no going back. I convinced myself that this was going to happen regardless of how much effort it took.

 

 

If you set a goal or commitment to achieve financial freedom, make sure you love what you’re doing and are willing to see it through until the end. The word ‘quit’ should not exist in your vocabulary once you make this vow.

 

 

7. Educate Yourself

 

The first thing I knew I had to do was to create a plan. Even though my plan isn’t finished, I have a foundation. I was able to develop this foundation by simple studying the secrets of self-made millionaires.

 

 

Whether you need to educate yourself on your market or other successful people, constantly read and learn about what others are doing. Invest in your own education because that will be key to long-term growth.

 

 

8. Network Like Hell

 

It only takes one person to change your life forever. I’ve always heard the statement, “Business is all about who you know.”

 

 

While that isn’t 100% true, it can definitely have a huge impact on your success. The more people you know, the more potential doors you can open. In order to achieve financial freedom, you want to constantly network with people and develop positive relationships that may be helpful in the future.

 

 

9. Take Calculated Risks

 

Most people who have achieved financial freedom will tell you that they took some gamble that paid off big for them. I don’t recommend taking any risk, I recommend taking a calculated risk.

 

 

Life is all about playing the odds in your favor. Figure out the ROI in every risk and compare it to the possibility of failure. If you find out an investment has a 50% chance to fail but can make 3x the original investment, it’s a risk but calculations show it’s worthwhile. 

 

 

10. Hard Work Will Compensate Your Mistakes

 

At the end of the day, hard work prevails over everything else. The stupidest people in the world can make a ton of money just because they work harder than others.

 

 

It’s true that talent alone cannot get you to the top. It’s okay to make mistakes and hit roadblocks (because everyone does), but hard work will eventually get you where you need to be. When you commit to a goal as large as this, you need to be working your ass off. 

 

 

11. Spend Less Than You Earn

 

This is a no-brainer. You’re not trying to go bankrupt in the next 10 years, you’re trying to make enough money to live the rest of your life on.

 

 

If you start seeing a good chunk of money in, this isn’t a sign that you should start spending and upgrading your life. Live your life as you would if you were broke and stick to your plan. Your plan has worked thus far and continue focusing on it until you have achieved your end goal.

 

 

12. Patience Pays 

 

Lastly, you have to be patient. When I set that goal on my 20th birthday, I wanted to achieve financial freedom right away!

 

 

However, my mentors quickly taught me that great plans take a long time to unravel. As long as you are consistent and stick to your plan, you will eventually get where you want to be. Don’t let failures, mistakes, and slow progress derail you from your big plans.

 

 

Conclusion

 

Achieving financial freedom is an amazing goal that everyone should set for themselves. In this article, I shared 12 tips on how you can be financially free in less than 10 years.