There’s one quality that I believe determines whether someone will be successful, or whether they’ll fail in whatever endeavor it is they’re pursuing. It’s tenacity. I have a relentless tenacity that is so visible to everyone. My wife talks about it, my friends talk about it.
Read MoreI started this book with a question: Have you ever flown an airplane? About that question...
For many years, I joked that if I wrote a book, it would be called The Unintentional Pilot, the story about how I overcame my fear of flying. Entrepreneurship often comes with a nice big side of fear, regardless of when in life you start your business, so it’s worthwhile to address it here. What are you afraid of? What are you doing to overcome it?
Read MoreAs you grow your business, you’ll make mistakes. Forgive yourself. Then, read and re-read this chapter to avoid making more!
First of all, there’s nothing more disingenuous to me than a business that approaches you with a jab that really isn’t a jab. It’s not a give; it’s an ask. As you start your business, please be conscious of your jabbing. In the back of your mind, you must know that there is nothing coming your way from your give—and be okay with that.
Read MoreIt would be impossible for me to say too much about jabbing. So, let’s do a whole chapter on it, shall we?
I’ve never felt like I give too much information for too little return when I’m jabbing because I don’t look for a return from everything I do. The return, to me, is often as simple as a person having a lightbulb moment and figuring something out— because I gave them an insight they didn’t have before.
Read MoreDon’t expect miracles when you start your business. There are going to be early setbacks. In fact, there are going to be setbacks throughout your business life, and I’m not talking about setbacks of, like, a day without sales. I’m talking about weeks or months when shit just goes stagnant.
Read MoreI’ve already talked a lot about what a big difference Gary Vaynerchuk has made in my life and my business, but I wanted to devote a whole chapter to mentorship because it’s just that important.
Read MoreIf Google made a roadmap for how to grow a business, that roadmap would be called Gary Vaynerchuk. I followed a roadmap laid out by Gary, doing exactly what he preaches every single time you hear him deliver a keynote, or you hear him talk about deploying this on Facebook, or deploying that on Instagram, YouTube. He built the map. I just followed it and hit the start button.
Read MorePeople spend a lot of time preparing to do something, telling themselves “I’m getting ready.” Preparing to write a book, preparing to start a new hobby. They spend a lot of time getting ready to get ready. All they do is find themselves preparing, and that’s not going to cut it.
You have to jump in.
Read MoreI don’t think there’s a right time or a wrong time to start a new business. There’s just the time. Right now. Today. The opportunity to do something that you’ve always dreamed about doing is here. Often, people are afraid to step out and do what’s in their heart, to do the thing they’re passionate about, to pursue their hobby as a business, because they are either afraid of failure or, as in my case, they have a family to support.
Sure, stepping out on your own is scary. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
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