5 Daily Routine Changes to be a More Productive Entrepreneur

I’ve learned that relationships are important in all aspects of life. There are many reasons why relationships matter but I speak to 3 which are applicable to anyone.

Some people may be introverts and if you’re an entrepreneur you might have that tendency to try and manage things behind the computer if possible. Let’s face it, it’s easier when you don’t have to put yourself “out there”. Can you develop a relationship online, yes. However, I will confidently say, there is no better way to build good relationships than in person. It’s a very different experience. So, you have to be willing to put yourself out there.

For example, it’s like the boy who’s afraid to ask the girl to dance because he doesn’t want to face potential rejection. We can guarantee one thing in that situation. By not asking the girl to dance, the boy 100% guarantees he will not dance with that girl and rather than feel pain from rejection he will likely feel pain of regret later. That was never me of course (wink).

Speak up and engage people. Get out to events that help you meet people you want to talk to. Help others in need. Take someone out to lunch or coffee. Life is just better when you have a network of reliable support but it not just about receiving, its also about giving. You have to be willing to do both. Building a team or network of people is defined in the social entrepreneur industry as “building your tribe“. Again, no matter what the circumstance in life it’s always better to have a strong network of people you can rely on.

When you approach a transitional time in your life it’s important to not do it alone. Build a community of friend and people you can rely on for support. Having these relationships is key!

Below are 3 key take aways I’ve learned after looking back on my personal experience. Many people may feel this is common knowledge but it’s amazing how many people don’t take action.

Essential Guide to Starting a Successful Startup You Love

FREE DOWNLOAD

ONE – Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are

This is a tricky one and could get me some criticism but it’s worth discussing so hear it out. We don’t want to judge people but who you surround yourself makes a difference, a big one. I have learned this first hand over and over. It is said that if you calculate the average of your closest 5 or 10 friends total income it will reflect your income. Think about that for a minute. How is this possible? Why do people like Tony Robbins study successful people and learn from their success? They are studying how they think. The environment around you triggers thoughts and those thoughts trigger action or lack of. What you think matters tremendously. Energy is very contagious between people. So, if you surround yourself with people that see opportunity in everything and are progressing in life then that will rub off on you and lift you up. They got those good vibrations!

So, you want to spend time with people who are doing what you aspire to do.

If you ever played sports you might have noticed you perform better when you hang out with the best guys on the team. If you hang out with the people that complain and really don’t perform well, you will be dragged down with them. This applies in anything you do. I have experienced it first hand many times. At the end of the day, the people around you are the people who are influencing you. They are putting ideas—good or bad—into your head. They are the people you’re learning from and getting better with. So get amazing people around you each day!

TWO – Friends will do favors for friends and go the extra mile to help you

Who are you more inclined to help out, someone you know in passing as an acquaintance or someone that you have connected with as a friend? This does not mean you should strategically become friends with someone to take advantage. However, when you are friendly and listen to people and maybe put a little effort out to develop a relationship a bit more than usual, you have a stronger support system. Have you ever gotten a discount because you know someone, or maybe you got a job or even a promotion at work because your boss was a friend who was more willing to push for you to succeed? As the saying goes, “it’s who you know, not what you know”. Build a strong support system, help others and they will help you.

THREE- Speak up and the Universe Just Might Respond (law of attraction?)

If you have a vision for your life you should write it down, talk about it, make a vision board. Whatever you can do to bring what’s in your mind into the physical realm and begin sculpting it. Without a vision you are playing darts with out a dart board. You are a fart in the wind! Be willing to talk to people about that vision and tell them what your dreams are and what you love. After all, if it’s your passion it should be top of mind and all you want to talk about anyway. I usually talk to everyone about what I’m thinking and I pick their brains. A few years ago, I was looking for insights and advice from another entrepreneur and as always picked that persons brain and told them my thoughts. Years later, I got a call from that person who offered me partnership in a great new opportunity. He said, base on our discussions he knew it aligned with me and that I would be a good fit. What if I never opened my mouth?

Research has shown that being more extroverted in daily behavior can lead to more positive moods. So step out of your comfort zone, talk to people, listen to people, help people, and build your tribe!

I’m passionate about social entrepreneurship and making the world a better place. I have over 15 years of professional business experience and have founded 2 companies as an entrepreneur.

Right now I’m the founder of Change Creator magazine app which is truly designed to push mindful business, making it the standard to use business to solve social and environmental problems. “Business as usual” is no longer an option.

Check out the magazine for free with this 28 page starter kit.

Get Empowered with updates and stay on top of your game!

Subscribe

More Comments

3 Young Bright Minds Changing The World

We are faced with many challenges today and one of our greatest untapped and infinite resources on Earth is the human brain. As Will and Ariel Durant say at the conclusion of Lessons of History, the only sustainable revolution is in the minds of people. It’s an absolute disgrace that an estimated 5 billion people on this planet live in poverty today. Over 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10 per day and over 50% live on less than $2.50 per day!

Human beings are born curious and despite challenges with our educational systems some beautiful creative minds today continue to surface and share amazing new solutions to problems that make the world a better place.

The younger generations, such as the millennials, seem less concerned about making money and more concerned about finding “work” that offers purpose and fulfillment. Work that renders social capital (improvement of the quality of life) which is far more valuable to the world than financial capital.

There are an endless amount of amazing minds out there making a difference today.

Below, we share the stories of 3 of them.

ANN MAKOSINSKI: Thermoelectric Flashlight

For more than a billion people across the planet, electricity is a limited, rare commodity. Sixteen-year-old Ann Makosinski from Canada learned of this reality and dedicated a science fair project to the situation. “I’m half-Filipino, half-Polish, and I was talking with a friend who lives in the Philippines,” Makosinksi recalls. “My friend was failing school because there was no electricity at home. She was supposed to be studying at night. I came to find out that a lot of people around the world don’t have access to electricity and wanted to find a way to help people in that situation.” Human beings have electricity running through their bodies at all times.

A light bulb went off in Ann’s head, who then created a prototype for the hollow flashlight which is a hollow aluminum tube that cools the sides of Peltier tiles at the flashlight’s cylinder. The warmth from the human hand heats the other side, thus creating power. This gave her a flashlight that needs no batteries or solar charge. This simple yet brilliant idea won her the Google Science Fair and has the potential to improve the lives of people all around the world.

Since before Ann could walk she was interested in experimenting. Her flashlight brought her to the Canada-wide science fair, where she earned a gold medal and was awarded for distinction in the energy sector. She won first prize in her age group at the 2013 Google Science Fair. And this year she is slated to be on Team Canada at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). “I was listed in Time magazine’s ‘thirty under thirty’ and have given three TED Talks, too,” she says.

RYAN HRELJAC: Clean Water For Developing Countries

The Ryan’s Well Foundation grew from the commitment of one boy, Ryan Hreljac, who at the age of 6 learned of the great need for clean and safe water in developing countries in his 1st-grade class. With the support of friends, family and the community, Ryan raised enough money to build a well in Africa.

In 1999, at age seven, Ryan’s first well was built at Angolo Primary School in northern Uganda. Although Ryan started raising money for water projects in 1998, the Foundation was not formed until 2001. Since then, Ryan’s Well has helped build over 822 water projects and 1025 latrines bringing safe water and improved sanitation to over 805,813 people. Over the years, the foundation involved over 650 schools in 30 countries in fundraising activities.

Each year, they share their message with over 120,000 people, mainly youth, through various speaking engagements. Now, the work of Ryan’s Well has become the story of countless people, young and old, from across the world who are inspired to take responsibility and make a difference either in their own communities or like Ryan, in faraway places. Ryan’s story has made people realize that anyone, even kids in

Grade 1, can make a difference. Ryan Hreljac – Ryan’s Well

ANGELA ZHANG: Cancer Fighting Nanoparticle System

At the age of 17 Angela was a Senior at Monta Vist High School in California. She was working on an after-school project which in turn won her the $100,000 grand prize at the Siemen’s Competition in 2011.

What she developed was a nanoparticle system that not only allows for noninvasive imaging of tumors but also delivers drugs to attack cancer cells. “Angela created a nanoparticle that is like a Swiss army knife of cancer treatment,” said Tejal Desai, a bioengineer at the University of California, San Francisco, and a competition judge. “She showed great creativity and initiative in designing a nanoparticle system that can be triggered to release drugs at the site of the tumor while also allowing for noninvasive imaging.”

After her big win, she did countless media interviews, got to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, and even met President Barack Obama. Angela originally envisioned herself attending Stanford and staying home in Silicon Valley, however, she landed at Harvard which has also been good to her.

“Learning is taken to another level. It’s like drinking a fine wine with multiple flavors and depths of complexity,” Angela said. “Part of the joy of learning at Harvard is coming from her supportive classmates who are in the same rigorous grind.” “It is a stressful place, but it’s not stressful from competing against one another,” she said. “We are a common force going up against the school, trying to conquer all the things they throw at us.”

You Might Also Enjoy:

Start Defining Your Target Audience With These 10 Questions

The very first step in any communication or marketing strategy is defining your target audience so you can tailor your message or pitch appropriately. For businesses, this is usually your typical potential buyers of a product or service. For a nonprofit, it could be potential clients for a program, volunteers for an initiative, advocates to spread a message, or donors to support a cause.

One of the biggest mistakes that budding personal branders make is trying to appeal to everyone. Think about the game of darts: You have to aim in order to hit the board. If you don’t have a dart board you’re aiming at nothing.

There are many ways to go about discovering the ideal person. You must define their demographics and psychographics.

Below are some examples of things to think about that would get you started.

1. How Old is my Ideal Client?

Defining an age range for a your ideal audience is a very basic but great first step that has to be considered. You may feel that you appeal to all ages. In that case you need to create segments and prioritize them. If you try to reach everyone, you won’t reach anyone.  If you were running a socially conscious progressive media platform, anyone can read that but you’d likely get more attention from the younger generation, therefore, you’d probably want to prioritize your efforts around them. You can always expand your targeting later when you have captured that first segment.

2. Is my Ideal Customer Male or Female?

Women make most of the buying decisions in families, but some products or services tend to garner men’s attention more. If a small business caters to both sexes, that’s also important to know. If you’re not sure, you can always run a test using platforms like Facebook to collect a bit of data on who is most receptive to your offer/message.

3. What is my Ideal Customer’s Income Level?

This question not only indicates what price point the product or service should target, it also potentially gives people in business leadership a glimpse at the ideal customers’ education level and occupation. It’s important to understand where a person’s head is at based on the conditions they live.

4. Where Does my Ideal Customer Live?

If your audience comes from a 50-mile radius around the physical location, there is no need to spend money or time advertising elsewhere. Or, if all sales are done online, knowing which areas of the country generate the most revenue can help in future planning.

5. How Do my Current Customers Differ From my Ideal Customers?

A small business can have a core group of loyal customers but still be looking to expand that base as mentioned earlier. Maybe the ideal customer is willing to spend more with the company or requires fewer interactions to close a sale–shorter sales funnel.

6. What Are the Values Held by my Target Audience?

Do your ideal customer’s values align with your startup’s values? Companies that know their ideal clients’ beliefs and values can use that information when creating their social media content strategy. If the values are fluid, that’s important to know, too. It shapes how you talk to them so you they are receptive.

7. Are You Reaching an Aspirational Audience and do They Buy Into You?

Perhaps a small business caters to people who need a product or service immediately. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of people who might want the product in the future. Many times, people need to buy into you or your story before they actually buy from you. So it can take time and several small commitments (ie. signing up for an email list) before they spend anything. Creating a mystique about a service or item using social media platforms can keep a business at the back of clients’ minds.

8. Where are You Customers Online?

You have to figure out where in the blogosphere and social networking world your idea customer hangs out.  There are plenty of services a social entrepreneur could use to reach potential clients, but they each have inherent strengths and weaknesses. If they are a new entrepreneur they might be reading a business blog but connected to that is the social media marketing blog, tech blog and maybe even news/culture.   Twitter, for example, is not as good for product photos as Instagram or Pinterest. Owners have to learn about each platform and whom each serves and what their key qualities are.

RESEARCH: Click here for Pew Research Center’s Demographics of Key Social Media Platform’s

9. What problem and I’m solving for my ideal customer?

You need to be able to describe what problem you’re solving for your ideal customer and how you’re solving it. A close look at a product or service will indicate its most appealing attributes based on who would benefit most from it. Perhaps it is eco-friendly or custom made and you’re reaching a person who is a new mom looking for safe eco-friendly solutions.

10. What Motivates my Target Audience to Action?

Business owners can get a head start on targeted messages when they know what moves their ideal clients toward taking the plunge. Is it a coupon? A free gift with purchase? Online recognition of their purchase? Any of these factors are helpful to know.

The Ultimate Bootstrapping Toolkit For Entrepreneurs

Over 10 years ago, the founder of Change Creator, Adam Force, started his first business on a budget. When you start your first business you usually don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on tools and contractors because there is a level of uncertainty in your mind and there should be. You always want to validate an idea on a small budget.

To operate lean you don’t just need to save money on the tools you leverage to operate your business. You need to develop some basic skills to manage and implement key processes yourself. This saves you money, time and makes you more valuable.

The items in this toolkit are all specifically selected based on tools that have been used by Adam for years with great success. Many tools have been tested and these are the one that was found to be most helpful. Of course, there are many more tools out there but we have not used them all. We are only sharing what we know and standby.

The key areas covered include:

  1. Video development
  2. Design and image creation
  3. Social
  4. Management
  5. Communication
  6. Lead generation
  7. Measurement

We can guarantee you will learn new solutions with this toolkit and they will empower you to operate like a pro without the high expense.

10 Reasons Why Branding Is Important for Any Social Enterprise

People in today’s society is pretty standard. They wake up, and while getting ready for the day, they are likely checking the news and not just on CNN or Fox…In addition to these traditional sources of information, consumers today are connected to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any other variety of social media networks and online communities. […]

Continue reading

6 Steps to Become Willing to Take Risks

Many of today’s entrepreneur’s and business leaders will tell you that one of the ways to become successful is to take big risks. Business leaders take risks every day when making decisions. They have to introduce new products to an uncertain market, find new ways to outshine competitors and make daring decisions that pay off very well. How can you become a grade A risk-taker? Here are some handy tips to begin taking risks in your life!

1. Do your homework first.

Taking a risk isn’t exactly the same as taking a blind leap of faith into the abyss. Every good risk is preceded by the necessary amount of diligent research. You should examine all your options and find out the risks and rewards associated with your decision before you make it. What could possibly go wrong? What are the worst things that could happen if you fail?

2. Be prepared for failure.

Nobody wants to fail, but it is something that sometimes feels inevitable. After all, the Silicon Valley model is “fail fast, fail often.” If you do fail, will it totally cost you your business and leave you bankrupt? Or perhaps you will only lose a few weeks of time. Make sure you know the consequences of what will happen if you fail. You should also make sure that you have some sort of safety net to fall back upon.

3. Learn to face your fears.

You should never do a head dive into something you are totally scared of. However, there is another way of getting over your fears. Perhaps you fear to talk to new people or trying a new marketing strategy. The best way to get over such a fear is by facing it a little at each time. This is called exposure therapy, a means of facing your fears by slowly exposing to them a little at a time. If you fear talking to new people, start off slowly and start small conversations with strangers. If you fear a new marketing strategy, test it on a micro level and slowly scale upwards.

4. Don’t be a perfectionist.

Just because you can’t pull it off perfectly doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do your best. Plans are hardly ever executed as they were intended to, but that doesn’t mean those plans are always unsuccessful. The fear of not doing something good enough is what keeps many people from taking risks at all.

5. Ask yourself what will happen if you don’t take a risk at all.

What happens if you don’t do anything and just stay still? What will happen if you decide to play it safe rather than being bold? What will the consequences be? For example, if you never went for your Bachelor’s degree in college, you might be stuck with a high school diploma flipping burgers for the rest of your life. If your company does not try marketing in a new industry, your competitors might overtake you.

6. See your failures as an opportunity to learn something new.

Even the greatest of us make mistakes. After all, Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he successfully made a single light bulb. Just see your mistakes as something to learn from and know that your future endeavors will be improved because of it.

These items are by no means a comprehensive way of making sure that you are ready to take risks in both your business and personal life. However, these will serve as stepping stones for you to become less risk adverse and make the decisions you need to make. These items are by no means a comprehensive way of making sure that you are ready to take risks in both your business and personal life. However, these will serve as stepping stones for you to become less risk adverse and make the decisions you need to make.