Have you thought to yourself, “What am I really doing with my life and what will I be doing in 10 years?” You might be fed up with your 9am-5pm “job”, looking for work out of college or maybe you run a startup that’s isn’t giving you the sense of fulfillment you hoped for.
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Pamela Slim, author of the best-selling Escape From Cubicle Nation, calls entrepreneur Tim Berry the Obi-wan Kenobe of business planning. Guy Kawasaki made Tim his business plan expert in “How to Write a Business Plan.” He’s also the official business plan expert at Entrepreneur.com. Tim Berry describes business planning as “a fascinating combination of words […]
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So you’ve jumped on board with the Pomodoro technique and you are easing into the routine of working for 25 minutes followed by a five-minute break. But as those breaks emerge, you aren’t always sure how to spend them to best use your decompression time. We’ve put together a list of 25 break ideas for […]
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Listen to our exclusive interview with Daniel Kurzrock, co-founder of Regrained.
Dan grew up on the Bay Area Peninsula, and graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics and a Masters in Sustainable Business from Presidio Graduate School. Dan realized a passion for entrepreneurship early.
ReGrained is telling an exciting environmental story, at a time when the food industry is grappling with a mountain of food waste. That’s where Regrained steps in. They use the spent grain leftover after the beer development process and repurpose it for food products. The leftover spent grain is like an oatmeal and of course, it’s terribly wasteful to throw food out.
Grain is a key ingredient in beer. Typically barley, though sometimes rye or oats. To make beer, the grain gets cracked to expose the starches. It is then steeped in warm water, where the starches start to break down into simple sugars, which become alcohol. This process leaves brewers with huge amounts of leftover grain.
“Many of the ingredients used to brew beer do not end up in your glass. That’s not to say all brewers are wasteful. Many, especially within the craft industry, are excellent environmental stewards with a strong dedication to sustainability. However, even the most conscientious brewer can’t help but generate massive quantities of leftover spent grain. The reality is that it takes a lot of barley to produce beer, America’s favorite suds. In the United States alone, approximately 200 million barrels of beer are consumed each year, with an average of 6 billion pounds of grain used by the brewing industry.” ~Regrained
While often referred to as “spent” grain, beer grain is far from spent. The grain simply has already served its purpose to the brewer.
In fact, as a food, “spent” grain is healthier. The brewers extract as much sugar as they can from the grain to produce beer. The rest physical grain itself is no longer needed, but it is a source of plant protein and dietary fiber. We’re talking about an ingredient with roughly the same protein profile as almonds, and more than 3x the dietary fiber of oats. Brewer’s grain is a sustainable supergrain!
As consumers, we get to decide what matters most through what we choose to buy. Our mantra is simple: “Brew Good. Bake Good. Do Good.” We invite you to join us in refusing to settle for anything less. Have your beer…and eat it too! ~Dan Kurzock & Jordan Schwartz
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Lifestyle entrepreneur, inventor and crowdfunding expert, Brandon T. Adams had a big business idea, but he didn’t have enough funds to start it.
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“I am a strong believer that businesses have the power to solve some of the world’s most daunting challenges, and the Lucky Iron Fish embodies this with our commitment to improving global health in a socially responsible way.” ~Gavin Armstrong, Founder and CEO
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Listen to our exclusive interview with Mark Lack
Mark is a preeminent thought leader, author of “Shorten The Gap – Short Cuts To Success And Happiness” and sits on The Board of Trustees at The Center For Integral Wisdom – other Board members include Ken Wilber, Eben Pagan, John Mackey (WholeFoods CEO) and many other great thought leaders.
Mark has been interviewed on hundreds of podcasts, radio shows, YouTube channels, Television and magazines around the world syndicated in over 140 countries.
He’s been on the same stages and interviews with some of the biggest names in the world, like John Assaraf, Tony Robbins, Mark Cuban and Daymond John (from SharkTank), Deepak Chopra, Tai Lopez, Arianna Huffington, Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone to name only a few. He’s done all of this by the age of 25.
Mark specializes in the science of success – specifically, in helping young adults master the self-discipline and mindset necessary to achieve absolutely everything they desire.
Our success will only go as far as our own self growth. The insights Mark shares here are invaluable for aspiring social entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to take their life to the next level.
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One day when Kenton was living and working in Nairobi, Kenya at an orphanage with about 140 kids – he was walking to church with all the kids. I looked down at the little girl in a white dress next to me and was shocked to see that her shoes were way too small. They were so small she had to cut open the front of her shoes to let her toes stick out.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pair of shoes that could adjust and expand?” Kenton recalls thinking
That was the day when the idea for The Shoe That Grows was born.
Sometimes, the simplest invention can change millions of lives. That is exactly what happened with inventor Kenton Lee when created “The Show That Grows” which can adjust its size, allowing children in impoverished nations to grow up without having to go barefoot. The shoes, which come in catch-all Small and Large sizes, can grow 5 sizes and last at least 5 years.
According to The Shoe That Grows, “There are over 300 million children who do not have shoes. And countless more with shoes that do not fit.” Children without shoes are susceptible to injuries and parasites that infect humans through our feet. The problem with ordinary shoe donations is that they are soon outgrown, which is exactly the problem that these new shoes would fix.
Kenton really believes in practical compassion and that there is nothing more important than loving each other. Practical Compassion is all about doing things to help people have a better regular, everyday life.
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In late 2013, Tony Loyd had a crisis of conscience and began to explore the role of business in doing good in the world. He learned about social entrepreneurs, benefit corporations and impact investing.
In 2014 Tony left his corporate role and started a company that provides strategic planning and talent management. While calling on customers, Tony heard about the impact of the rapid rate of change and how every industry is undergoing disruption.
The very characteristics that were advantages in the industrial era have become disadvantages in the connected economy. The asteroid has struck the earth and the dinosaurs are dying. It’s just that some of them don’t know it yet.
Eventually, Tony began to understand that there is no greater way to make a significant impact on the world than to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are reshaping the world, and social entrepreneurs are using the power of startups in order to take on the grand challenges of the world.
Starting companies is difficult and complex. Tony believes that,
“If we’re going to go through the arduous task of starting a company, shouldn’t we take on the biggest challenges we can find and have the greatest impact?”
That’s where social entrepreneurs come in.
In this episode we find out how Tony built his successful podcast business, what has worked for him and has not, where it’s going next and where he sees social entrepreneurship going overall.
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There’s the traditional way; then there’s the Mallika Dutt way. Breaking down barriers is nothing new to Mallika, Founder, President, and CEO of Breakthrough.
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Interview with Finnegans CEO and Co-founder, Jacquie Berglund.
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Change Creator Magazine issue 4 cover story, Jacquie Berglund is The Rambunctious Social Entrepreneur, CEO, and Co-Founder of FINNEGANS, the first beer company in the world to donate 100% of profits to fund fresh produce for those in need.
Through the creation of both FINNEGANS Inc. and its nonprofit counterpart, FINNEGANS Community Fund, Berglund has championed an innovative, hybrid market-based approach to addressing and raising awareness about food security in communities across the Midwest.
Berglund has pursued her entrepreneurial spirit to make the world a better place, from being an important role in bringing together government officials through the OECD to train Baltic countries in market economy laws, to Marketing Director at the successful Cara Pubs where the spark for FINNEGANS began.
As the tenth largest Minnesota beer company, Berglund has generated over half a million in donations through FINNEGANS profits, partnerships, and successful events while raising significant awareness about local hunger issues. Driven to innovate, with astute leadership and the ability to rally people and organizations for a cause she has built the longest running social enterprise to donate 100% of profits behind Newman’s Own. She has built a team of four full- time and one part-time staff dedicated staff and engaged thousands of volunteers and supporters to move the mission forward and scale FINNEGANS’ impact.
Berglund’s trailblazing social enterprise has earned her prominent accolades over the years. In 2004, she received the B. Warren Hart Distinguished Service Award from the St. Paul Jaycees, and in 2005, Berglund received a “40 under 40” nomination from the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal, which recognizes and honors the top 40 business people in the Twin Cities under the age of 40. She is also a recipient of the Minnesota Jaycee top honor of Ten Young Outstanding Minnesotans, and in 2010 she was featured on CNN’s “Leaders with Heart” and “Small Business Success Stories” segments.
Berglund was named one of the “200 Minnesotans You Should Know” by Twin Cities Business magazine and was recently nominated as a 100 Year Centennial Award honoree by the Girl Scouts. In 2012, FINNEGANS was awarded the Small Business of the Year Award by the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and they also received the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award for Minnesota Business Magazine. Berglund has been awarded a 2014 Bush Fellowship. Most recently, Berglund was selected as one of 12 business leaders to watch in 2016 by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal and most recently Berglund was named a 2016 TrailBlazer by Growler Magazine
Recently, I read an article about the Dalai Lama and why he believes women make great leaders and could lead to a less violent world.
He has even gone on to state that his successor, the 15th in the holy line of his Tibetan monastery, could be female.
Why is this? Well, according to science, females biologically tend to demonstrate more affection and compassion.
At the same time, women can be tough and unstoppable! My sister is a Ph.D. in psychology who spent several years in the Air Force and also trains dogs for special needs. My wife is one of the toughest female leaders I know as she blazes a trail through her years of residency as a rock star surgeon and works hours I wouldn’t wish upon my own worst enemy.
This article is a tribute to women out there crushing it and hopefully an inspiration to others that we need out there taking a lead!
There are countless female social entrepreneurs literally changing lives and the world around them. Social entrepreneurship more important than ever today for tackling large global challenges.
Without further ado, here are 3 impressive women shaking things up.
As a bold passionate leader, Mallika Dutt, is an attorney and human rights activist taking on what seems to be an impossibly large problem. Breakthrough was founded in 1999 with the mission to prevent violence against women by transforming the norms and cultures that enable it.
Here’s a shocking statistic – discrimination and violence impacts more than a BILLION females!
Breakthrough was founded in 1999 after she produced a music video that was intended to engage whole societies and bring the taboo subject of domestic violence into pop-culture.
Now they regularly use theater, social media, pop culture, and to drive change on a larger scale.
For example, their #DeportTheStatue campaign used a stunt-style strategy to draw attention to the specific disadvantages and abuses that immigrant women experience in a flawed immigration system. The campaign reached more than 20 million people and mobilized new audiences in support of the rights of immigrant women.
In addition, they even train police, government officials, teachers, and frontline healthcare workers to help prevent future systemic violence against women and girls.
Breakthrough is one of the six recipients of the 2016 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship!
I had the honor of interviewing Mallika to find out how she did it all. You can find the feature story along with the interview in issue 4 of Change Creator Magazine.
Rags2Riches is a brand creating positive change through fashion. They work with women in an area called Payatas. Also, known as one of the poorest parts of the Philippine capital.
The Payatas waste dump is home to 12,000 families and women created a way to earn a living by recycling scrap material to make rugs. However, when middlemen got involved they took the bulk of the profits, leaving the women to earn just $.02 per rug.
In 2007, Reese Fernandez-Ruiz cofounded the social enterprise, Rags2Riches, a fashion & design house empowering community artisans.
Fernandez-Ruiz and her team connected with designers who demonstrated how the rugs could be transformed into fashion handbags, eyeglass cases and wine bottle holders, all for sale in top-end shops. They partner with local artisans to create “eco-ethical fashion and home accessories” out of upcycled, overstock cloth & indigenous fabrics and arrange for them to sell their products direct to retailers.
Over a few years they were able to increase the earning potential for those women from less than $.02 per day to $10 per day.
Hundreds of women now work for Rags2Riches.
Reese Fernandez, 2010 Rolex Laureate from Rolex Awards for Enterprise on Vimeo.
If you’re not already aware, the world is facing a major challenge with plastic pollution, specifically water bottles. According to the UN, “of the 300 million tons of plastic produced in the world each year about 6 million tons end up in the oceans.” Americans throw away approximately 35 billion plastic bottles per year!
Teeki actually takes water bottles and turns them into clothes giving them new purpose through an eco-friendly process. They are on a mission to keep plastic out of landfills. Plastic bottles take hundreds if not a thousand years to breakdown and biodegrade. Teeki’s process of turning plastic into clothing helps remove the need to produce more raw materials. According to their website, “every pound of Teeki conserves an equivalent of half a gallon of gasoline.
Now, I learned about Teeki because my wife bought their Yoga pants. One pair of pants might use up to 25 plastic bottles and the material that is the result is amazingly soft!
Teeki is all about living an active and conscious lifestyle.
These strong women are changing the world, creating meaning and acting with a purpose in their own ways and share a common characteristic of a great leader and social entrepreneur, compassion.
John Lee Dumas knows a lot about success. With a clean break from his 9-5 job in real estate investments, he started his own 7-days-per-week entrepreneurial podcast, EOFire, and hasn’t looked back.
He now owns a million-dollar business that continues to grow. And, of course, there’s still the podcasts. Getting to interview some of the world’s top entrepreneurs, like Tim Ferris, Barbara Corcoran, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, just to name a few, gives a guy some perspective. So we decided to sit down with John Lee Dumas, pick his brain and get some keys to entrepreneurial success.
“Try not to become a man of success, but a man of value. Albert Einstein”.
For John, working in a job he wasn’t passionate about just wasn’t good enough. Day after day he got up, drove to work, and began the drudgery that was his career. He was making good money, but what value did he bring into the world? His passion for podcasting came from listening to podcasts on his long commute back and forth to work. With an idea and passion, he decided to jump in and get his business going. Today his company brings real value to the world. It’s not unusual for him to spend entire days, from sunrise to sunset in the office now, doing that thing he loves. What value are you bringing the world today? Don’t just focus on the success part. That will come when you bring true value into the world.
John learned the importance of good decision (we didn’t say perfect) making during his 8-year stint in the military. At the tender age of 22, he had a lot of responsibility thrust upon him – instead of waiting to be better prepared or worrying about the fact that he had little military experience, or had never led anyone, John did something revolutionary. He made choices. Then he confidently followed through on those choices. In war and in business, A good decision now is better than a great decision later. Business is competitive. We don’t have time to wait for better circumstances. Don’t be afraid to make a “good decision” now – just follow-through with confidence.
Any entrepreneur will admit that they’ve made plenty of bad decisions, especially early on in their journeys. This is no exception for John, but he did make one really great decision that changed the trajectory of his business – he hired the right mentor. At the beginning of his business, John went out and found someone who was already where he wanted to be. (You have to hire somebody who is where you want to be, right from day one.)
This gave John the advantage right from the start, from branding to logo designs, to networking connections, to setting business goals. His knowledge of the industry was invaluable. Know where you want to go first, then find and hire somebody to help get you there. Don’t just hang out with “successful” people. Find that person who most closely resembles the kind of success in career, business, or life whom you want to emulate.
This excerpt was taken from issue 3 of Change Creator magazine. Subscribe now to read the full article and more.
Ben Simkin is the founder of BusinessNET, a leading Online Marketing Firm that to-date has increased clients’ sales by over $1.45 billion. BusinessNET provide end-to-end marketing and sales services to established companies worldwide.
Understanding who your audience is and how to reach people who are predisposed to what you’re offering is essential. You offer must match your audience.
We love Facebook marketing but until you master this craft you will struggle to get results.
In this video Ben Simkin discusses the must have elements for getting Marketing working, whether it be on Facebook, Google, Newspaper, Direct Mail or any kind of marketing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26oJ6orfaVM
It’s easy to ignore an animal that exists in a biome you can barely create in your imagination, which may be one of the reasons endangered species are receiving so little support from the public. People are emotional, empathic creatures. To care, they need connection—the kind that only real encounters can achieve, and where better to build them than online?
“Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.” –Albert Einstein
Digital and wildlife ecosystems rarely intersect beyond what software and the internet can do for NGO administration and marketing. Gautam Shah is ready to revolutionize that by disrupting the way you engage with wildlife. Gone are the days when you had to fly to the African bush to see an elephant. If you can’t travel to them, Gautam’s going to bring them into your living room using a radical collection of digital concepts gathered using a strategy that’s ground-breaking in the conservation sector.
Shah’s brainchild is called Internet of Elephants, and it’s perched on the cusp of a journey that’s likely to change the face of the environmental sector forever. He believes that, if he can make you fall in love with nature, you’ll be more inspired to protect it. He’s creating a digital planet that brings you up close and personal with species your children may never have the chance to see outside of a photograph.
“My world, my earth is a ruin.” – Ursula Le Guin
Shah began his life huddled in the lap of Mother Nature. “As kids we always had deer and raccoon [..] around us,” he explains. His extended family was heavily involved in conservation in India, and this formed a foundation that might have led him to start an NGO like any other if his career hadn’t made him want to aim for greater things. Gautam’s childhood birds and bees were substituted with ones and zeroes when he began a 20-year career in software development that ultimately came full circle, returning him to nature in Kenya, which he calls “the Silicone Valley of wildlife conservation.”
Home to one of the world’s most important environmental sectors, it had a unique approach to social entrepreneurship: eschewing donor dependence. This planted a seed in Gautam Shah’s brain that began to spout leaves in his next destination: Nairobi. Here, he learned the inner workings of social entrepreneurial strategy. “I […] started to believe that [self-sustaining enterprises were] absolutely non-existent within the wildlife conservation sector outside of eco-lodges and tourism.”
A for-profit funding model would create more possibilities than an NGO could, allowing Shah to direct his conservation efforts towards something that’s kicking up one of the decade’s most important insurrections: the internet of things (IoT).
“Only the impossible is worth doing.” – Akong Rimpoche
Shah’s funding model is as revolutionary as his business concept. The non-profit sector’s revenue doesn’t exactly paint a picture filled with rainbows and roses. NGOs are famous for their financial fuzziness and chaotic fundraising. The USA’s biggest non-profit organization, United Way, produces an average revenue of $3.87, whereas the nation’s largest for-profit corporation, Apple, churns up an annual revenue of $39.5 billion. Shah is among the first to find the obvious solution to this revenue chasm: set up a for profit company to support your causes so that he could make a real dent in the endangered species figures and the environmental mayhem surrounding them.
“ Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan
Collective intelligence wins more battles than individual savvy, so Shah began his social entrepreneurship quest by setting up a hackathon to capitalize on the shared brainpower of individuals working in the tech industry. What was intended to gather no more than 30 people ultimately reached 20 million, and it was done using negligible investment. In 2014, programmers, mobile strategists, designers, and their friends crowded into Solstice Mobile’s building to participate in a weekend-long brainstorming session that cut away the chaff of expected, normative concepts and replaced them with trailblazing ideas.
Prizes were offered, but a competitive spirit was dissolved by allowing a pier-judging process. Many of the teams have moved forward with their ideas, and some have been applied to Internet of Elephants.
One of the highest walls conservation organizations have to bring down is figuring out how to bring real change using minuscule budgets. The hackathon brought that wall crashing down with dramatic flair by acquiring a spectacular event space and offering platform testing services to tech companies including Cisco and Esri in return for their free use for a social cause.
The concepts that arose from the weekend were stellar. Team VultuRe developed a virtual reality teaching application, and Team Awe developed an app that gave users the capacity to follow animals in real time. Other winning teams leveraged everything from gamification to interactive applications.
“Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity” – Horace Mann
Internet of Elephants was launched with similar flair. Gautam actively engages his audience through social media like the Facebook Tech for Wildlife group so that the collaborative think-tank he created keeps moving. Many of his IoE ideas were inspired by Cecil, the lion that became a superstar in death after falling victim to canned lion hunting. The Zimbabwean incident proved that celebrating animals captures the public’s interest far more effectively than generic marketing ever could. IoE will thus be using a similar effect based on a more positive spin. “We want 20 million people to wake up in the morning and check their phones to see where their elephant is,” says Shah.
Internet of Elephants is still in its infancy, but it’s already captured the attention of the Stanford Review, Futuremag, and the Skoll Foundation.
It’s recently signed up several powerful partners from the gaming and zoological sectors. Solstice Mobile, Little Chicken, and The Chicago Zoological Society are on board. The organization is ready to start raising finances to develop a series of new prototypes, expected to be rolled out in June.
Humanity has an inherent love for animals, so all that’s needed to generate large-scale change is a way for people to develop relationships with them. Through gamification and similar tools, the organization hopes to generate a starting annual revenue of $1 million a year. Whether it will ultimately produce an income comparable to the world’s most successful for-profit corporations remains to be seen, but under the supervision of a social entrepreneur with the leadership skills and business savvy of Gautam Shah, it certainly seems possible. In 40 years, humanity has managed to obliterate 50% of its species, so the time for change has come.
“Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” – Carl Sagan
This article was written by Kirsten Holmes and originally published in Change Creator Magazine issue 3.
Interview with founder of Addicted 2 Success, Joel Brown.
With a website that has received more than 50-million unique visitors, a popular podcast show, and an upcoming role in a movie, Joel Brown is by most standards, a successful man – some might even say he is addicted to success.
Indeed, Addicted2Success is the name of Joel’s thriving self-development brand. It is a name which he admits might cause a little eye-rolling in some people. But this is not the self-serving tale you might expect.
Joel Brown’s mission is to pass on the tools, habits, and mindset that make people successful. The rewards he gets are just a pleasant side effect of his always-giving mentality. He loves nothing more than sharing practical and proven steps so that others can achieve their desires.
Lesson number one: The more you give, the more you get.
Some people find their “one” passion early and spend their whole lives dedicated to fulfilling it. Joel Brown was not one of those people. He had stints in the music industry, sales, and even spent time saving wild animals in the desert in North West Australia. Except for the music industry, nothing else stirred his passion.
Passion, it seems, is a curious thing. One day you might have it, and the next day it could be gone. At age 13, Joel knew he had a passion for music. He loved beat-making, producing, and DJ’ing. He even started producing shows for local radio stations after exercising his instinctive persuasion skills.
Throughout his tender teen years, Joel showed the kind of persistence and determination that was sure to lead to a long and thriving career in the music industry. However, he gave it all up. Somewhere along the way he lost his passion for music.
Giving up on music was the first time Joel had given up on anything, and it felt strange. He knew, however, that it was the right thing to do. New life experiences and changes in the way we look at life can cause a shift in the things that once made us passionate.
That is what happened to Joel, and so he left his music career behind. But, not long after, he developed an even stronger passion.
Lesson number two: We don’t just have one passion in life: values change, experiences come, new passions surface.
Joel Brown is not the only person to have lost a passion in life. He also wasn’t the only twenty-four-year-old to find himself in a slump. That can often happen when you suddenly find yourself without a cause in life. One of the primary cures for this, it seems, is to find a new passion.
Joel found his new cause after a chance meeting with Jordan Belfort. The sales company that Joel was working for organized a workshop, and he was able to meet the Wolf of Wall Street face-to-face. That meeting changed Joel’s life. He learned the importance of having clarity, of thinking big, and of having a long-term vision.
These are key ingredients in the recipe for success. Clarity of mind allows you to stay focused on primary goals, thinking big prepares you to exceed those goals, and with the long-term vision, you can envisage and plan for potential obstacles.
After meeting Jordan, Joel became a man on a mission. He began devouring self-help books, listening to motivational speakers such as Anthony Robbins, and carefully mapping out his life plan.
It is, as Joel teaches, important to document your goals and visions. But, more importantly, you need to “write down how you’re going to get to where you want to be.” Not many people have a fair idea of where they want to be in 5, 10, or 15 years, but when pressed can usually give a broad description of how they intend to achieve their goals.
Writing it down on paper, however, forces you to get things out of your head in some detail and acts as your roadmap. Seeing is believing, as they say, and once it is written down you will have a clearer picture.
Lesson number three: Spend time on Clarity. Write down your goals and chart your roadmap to achieving those goals.
Related: What you need to know about creating new habits
One of the most important things that happened when Joel met Jordan was his shift in mindset. He becamehungry for self-improvement and gained a desire to make a meaningful impact on the world. He found another passion outside of music and became energized once again. The whole experience revealed another interesting thing; when you are passionate about something you become massively energetic.
Even though Joel was still working 12-hour days at his sales job, he still found the time to work on his media platform, addicted2success. Instead of asking. Like most people do, “how do I find time,” Joel asked, “how can I make time.” He was so passionate about his new project that he would complete his days at the sales job and head straight home to work on developing his new business. It wasn’t long until he was able to leave his sales job and commit full-time to the new business.
Time for Joel is important, but he also values energy above all else. Some people complain about the lack of time, but spend the bulk of it camped out on the sofa in front of the television. People who value time over energy might live to eighty but, says Joel, “I’d rather be the guy who lives to 50 years, who gets up every day, travels the world, and experiences everything that life has to offer because I had enough energy.”
Lesson number four: Do things that light you up; energize you; make you feel alive. Having lots of energy is more fulfilling than having too much time.
They say you are the average of the five people you spend time with. That is because your network of friends has a powerful effect on your behavior, mindset, and unconscious mind. The books you read, the things you watch, and the websites you frequent all have a similar effect as your network of friends. They create habits.
Back in 2011, when Joel first discovered his new passion for helping others succeed, he began reading, watching, and listening to as much self-help material as he could get his hands on. He started tuning his mind to a new way of thinking, creating new behavioral habits. He became less motivated by money and more driven by the need for freedom and wisdom. The unconscious mind, as Joel says, is stubborn. You have to force it into a new way of thinking, and that will often require a change of external influences. When you have successfully imprinted new information on your unconscious mind, knowledge becomes wisdom. Joel says, “Wisdom is more powerful than knowledge.”
Lesson number five: Success often requires a change of mindset; a change of mindset often requires different external influences.
Passion and motivation differ for everyone, but they can normally be identified by the energy they bring to your life. Joel gets energetic by giving and helping others succeed. He loves creating things and giving it to the world, knowing that someone, somewhere will benefit from his work.
Joel is not the first or only self-help professional out there. But he is by most standards a huge success. The reason is that he stands out from the crowd. He stands out because he knows what he is talking about, he has a genuine willingness to help people, and he is exceptional at what he does.
Uniqueness, Joel says, is the best way to win in business. You need to bring something different to the table. You need to be outstanding. And with the lessons he gives, you will have all the tools needed to become an outstanding success.
Lesson number six: You don’t have to be the first or the only, but you must be unique.
There are numerous articles, blogs, and gurus that claim to have the secret to business success. It can, therefore, be difficult to believe that it could be as simple as, “nature.”
It comes down to the general well-being of individual entrepreneurs that can be enhanced and improved by nature and all of its wonders. These benefits are what generate the incredible results felt by those business leaders that take time to experience the world around them.
Not only has there been a range of studies that have shown the mental benefits to having a deeper connection with the natural world, but also there are business lessons to be absorbed through observing our surrounding environment.
Nature is:
Here we will focus on why we need nature in our lives and how that can be easily achieved in a professional environment.
The benefits of nature on your overall health seem to be endless, but essentially it comes down to reducing stress.
Nature is immediately relaxing to us as it is filled with colors, sights and smells that human beings are programmed to find soothing. Any advertising expert knows that colors have various effects and the blues and greens of the world are naturally beneficial to our stress levels.
With reduced stress comes a whole range of health benefits including lower heart rates, reduced anxiety, and a heightened immunity.
Closely related to the benefits of the body, the natural world has been shown to greatly improve mental wellbeing. The entrepreneur with a sharp and tranquil mind is the one that will always do best in more stressful situations.
You don’t necessarily have to believe in a traditional soul to be able to see the benefits of nature on the more spiritual side of an individual.
It can be described as a: oneness, a deeper understanding, and an inner peace.
While these concepts are related to the mind, they represent so much more than day-to-day thoughts.
For those who want to succeed in business over an extended period of time, it is crucial to managing the “soul”. Many of our included methods will assist you in achieving this on a regular basis.
Many individuals, when they first hear this method, think that it is too basic. That is, until they try it out. You will be amazed at how many details you have missed when you really take the time to look at what you should have been seeing every day. This not only gives you a dose of nature as quickly as possible but also trains the mind to notice more and reap the benefits.
Whether you hang panoramic views on your walls or include plants and stones in the decor, every little bit helps. This effect can even be achieved with the use of roughly-carved wooden desks.
Being outside gives you more than just contact with nature. Sunshine plays a huge part in our mood and productivity. If you are not lucky enough to have an office with sunlight from dawn till dusk then there are a range of products that provide great alternatives.
Explore your city, find local parks and make sure you spend some time each day around nature. It seems simple but it is often the most neglected method of getting in touch with nature and one that can be put into practice every lunch break.
As every entrepreneur knows, work doesn’t stay at the office. Connect with nature at home through watching documentaries and reading National Geographic all from the comfort of your couch. Even an action as simple as this has been shown to have a range of positive effects on the mind and body.
Forget the usual corporate venues and take the entire office outside, think: zoos and national parks.
Outdoor Sports – You don’t need to go on a two-week-long vacation, make what you do after work and on the weekend part of your experience of nature. You can choose to battle it through adventure sports or observe it through bird watching.
Into The Wild – Hiking vacations, canoeing trips, jungle adventures – at least once a year spend as long as time and money allows exploring nature.
Animals – Whether this is achieved by owning pets or visiting exotic animals in a zoo or safari, up close encounters can give you a quick dive into the more remarkable aspects of nature.
Meditation and Yoga – One of the most interesting ways to connect with nature is through the oneness of yourself. Meditation is an ancient technique for getting in touch with your surroundings. The more amongst nature you can be when meditating the better.
Often entrepreneurs hold the view that time spent away from the desk is time wasted, but this is certainly not the case. There is a value in any activity if it generates a better mentality towards business and places you in a more productive state.
Your wellbeing makes all the difference to your company. The experiences you have will add new direction and your happiness will positively affect the morale of the entire company.
Nature is the key to achieving this and gaining the rewards that accompany it.
This article was originally published in issue 3 of Change Creator Magazine by Cameron Devall.
When vegetarian Lisa Curtis was a Peace Core volunteer in Niger, she was struggling to find foods to provide her with energy and adequate nutrition. A woman at a community health center suggested she try Moringa.
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Sam Goldman is D. light’s co-founder and CEO. He is an Ashoka Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Along with co-founder Ned Tozun, he is recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s top 30 social entrepreneurs. In 2013, D. light won the $1.5 million Zayed Future Energy prize.
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Are you a social entrepreneur or just someone interested in the idea of setting up a social business? Why not learn and build your network by attending an event geared towards social entrepreneurship?
You might be surprised with the number of social impact conferences happening every year. This is a good sign as it means more and more people are engaged in businesses and projects that could bring lasting positive impact in the world.
Although some events come with a hefty registration fee, they are worth looking into, especially if you have the budget. For those who cannot afford to go, some of the conferences offer fellowships or volunteer opportunities.
Want to know what conferences to check out? Here are 7 of the most popular social entrepreneurship events in 2016.
When: June 7-8, 2016
Where: Ronald Reagan Bldg., Washington DC
Website: https://www.socinnovation.com
Who Can Attend: Tech entrepreneurs, students, professionals
Cost: Day 1 Only $895, Day 2 Only $995, Full Conference $1, 495
Are you wondering how you can incorporate social entrepreneurship with technology? Are you interested to learn how business innovation can meet social transformation? Then head off to the Social Innovation Summit and learn from the different speakers of this twice-annual event.
Held in Washington DC and Silicon Valley every year, the Summit gathers more than 1000 professionals from different sectors in the society. Get a chance to meet Fortune 500 Corporate Executives, venture capitalists, government leaders and nonprofit heads.
Technology is at the forefront in this event, but investment, philanthropy and international development are also given the spotlight. This is open to everyone, and you can register to attend for only one day or opt to join the full conference.
When: June 14-16, 2016
Where: Boston, MA
Website: https://www.classy.org/collaborative
Who Can Attend: Non-profit organizations, foundation professionals, students
Cost: Free for nominees of Classy Awards and accepted fellows of the program
The Collaborative brings together leaders, influencers and innovators from all over the world to share their knowledge and experience with the participants. This yearly event is ideal for young social entrepreneurs who are starting out or are already engaged in their own businesses. What’s great about this conference is its fellowship program aimed at students or recent graduates who are interested in social innovation. The competition is tough, but if you have what it takes and you make it through as a Fellow, this is a great venue for you to learn from the top leaders and innovators. One of the event highlights is the Classy Awards. They are given to organizations and social enterprises that have shown excellence in social innovation. The nominations closed early in February, but there is always next year to apply.
When: June 15-16, 2016
Where: Santa Monica, CA
Website: http://digimarcon.com/west/
Who Can Attend: Senior marketers, entrepreneurs, digital executives and other professionals
Cost: Virtual: $295, Main Conference, VIP & All-Access Pass: Starts at $595
The best thing about Social Entrepreneurship is it covers a lot of industries. For digital marketing fellows and enthusiasts, the event to attend is DIGIMARCON West.
There is no denying the importance of digital marketing in running a successful business. Most social impact businesses are web-based, so it is a must to be updated with the latest strategies and innovative technologies.
Topics like Content Strategy, Social Media, and Data Analytics will be covered in this big event attended by digital marketers and social innovators. DIGIMARCON is also happening in Houston, Toronto and New York so you can catch one nearest you.
When: June 21-23, 2016
Where: Washington DC
Website: http://www.mcon.events/about/
Who Can Attend: Entrepreneurs, community organizers, students and professionals
Cost: In-Person: Starts at $350, Live Stream: free
MCON recognizes each generation’s desire to contribute and make a difference in the world. From a one-day virtual event in 2011, MCON has now grown in leaps and bounds and has expanded its reach to 14,000 online visitors and 300 in-person attendees in 2015.
Participants can take part in the discussions, listen to the speakers and network with other attendees. The goal is not just to inspire, but also to spark a movement and create change in their respective communities and organizations.
When: September 13-16, 2016
Where: Fort Mason Center, San Francisco CA
Who Can Attend: Social impact investors, Venture Capitalists, entrepreneurs, and professionals
Cost: Starts at $795
The Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) Conference is an annual event taking place in San Francisco CA. Since its inception in 2008, SOCAP has drawn more than 10,000 people and is considered as the largest conference on social impact investing and social entrepreneurship.
Investors are looking for new businesses to fund, and SOCAP is a venue to find social entrepreneurs with big ideas needing some seed money. In the event, participants are educated on impact investing and how it can benefit a lot of social enterprises.
To date, SOCAP has helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs, and they continue to support them through scholarships and trainings. The conference is open to anyone interested to attend. It’s best to buy your tickets as soon as possible as this is always a sold-out event.
When: No Date Yet
Where: Silicon Valley, CA
Website: http://www.ges2016.org/
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is happening in Silicon Valley this 2016. This exciting event has convened in different countries all over the world. This year, America will be on the spotlight as it showcases the best of what the country has to offer in terms of entrepreneurship.
Venture capitalists, impact investors, global leaders and entrepreneurs will gather together and come up with initiatives to address social issues. The event also offers opportunities for entrepreneurs to build networks with industry leaders so they can put their ideas to action.
Silicon Valley is the perfect location for the event because of its dynamic vibe and can-do spirit. There are no dates for the Summit yet, but check out their website and sign-up for their newsletter for updates.
When: No Date Yet
Where: Cambridge, MA
Website: http://www.ignitinginnovationsummit.com/
Igniting Innovation Summit is perhaps one of the most exciting social entrepreneurship conferences coming this 2016. Organized by Harvard undergraduate students, this event gathers together big names in the social impact sector. Although this only runs for a day, the event promises a full-packed program.
Last year’s summit held pitch competitions for startups, showcased interactive presentations from young innovators, and engaged everyone in powerful keynote speeches from three big influencers.
This year is bound to be even bigger and better. No date is announced yet, but do check out their site for updates. There you have it, seven of the most exciting events on social entrepreneurship. If you have already decided on what event to attend, do not wait until the last minute to buy your tickets. For those who cannot go to any of the events mentioned, you can always plan for next year. As a startup social entrepreneur, you have to go out of your way to collaborate and network with other like-minded individuals. Attending conferences can help you do just that
Leadership is the art of persuading others to complete a goal or task. A boss is just the person in charge, but a leader is someone who inspires and guides. Are you a leader or a boss?
We often use these words interchangeably, but they mean very different things. A boss is a person in charge giving orders. A leader may also be superior, but they are invested and engaged. A leader has a positive effect on workplace culture in ways a boss can not. Here are our tips to help become an effective leader:
The Golden Rule We all know, “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” Leaders follow this axiom. Treat your team the way you want to be treated, and the way you want them to treat your customers. You set the standard of behavior. Leadership is about being an example.
Personal Growth The best way to grow your business is through your own personal growth and the growth of your team. Encourage and reward team members for continuing education for personal and professional growth. Your commitment to development will improve your team.
Seek Feedback Embrace feedback from your team as an opportunity to learn. However, employees may be a little gun-shy. Reach out to your team. Ask how you can improve as a leader. Listen to hear, not just to respond. Avoid negative reactions and listen to what your team is telling you.
Be a Role Model Your behavior and characteristics are a model for your team. If you walk the walk, your team will follow. Your employees see you as a model of success and naturally emulate your behaviors. Be the change you want to see in others.
Reward & Recognize An effective leader will appreciate the work and dedication of their team. Those who are recognized and rewarded tend to work harder and are more loyal. Treat your team well and they will treat you well.
Keep Promises Your credibility relies on keeping promises. It does not matter your knowledge, charisma, or ability. It all goes down the drain if one can not keep promises. A strong moral compass is essential to effective leadership and removes any questions about your integrity.
Dr. Catlin Powers, a social entrepreneur, is the co-founder and CEO of One Earth Designs, a social enterprise that produces solar cookers. up.
The daughter of two teachers, she grew up in many places around the world: Peru, Mexico, China, South Africa, and California. Dr. Powers received her doctorate from Harvard University, holds two solar energy patents, and serves on the technical advisory committee to the International Standards Organization.
A Harvard School of Public Health graduate, she went to the Himalayas as an undergraduate to study climate change. She found that due to smoke from fires, the air quality in the homes there was 10 times worse than the air in Beijing. She also learned that the local people were deforesting the area for their fuel.
From this experience, One Earth Designs was born. One Earth Designs, the creator of the SolSource solar cooker, is a socially responsible company.
One Earth Designs is B CORP certified. B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. One Earth Designs also holds the fourth highest score ever awarded by the Global Impact Rating System (GIIRS).
ONE:
If you have co-founders, your relationship with them means everything about the success or failure of your company. Fighting is fine and natural, but you have to respect each other and know how to communicate effectively.
TWO:
Take the time to stop and think about the bigger context of your work, and make sure that you are still building toward the world you want to live in the future.
THREE:
Remember to sleep.
With the SolSource solar cooker, you can cook delicious meals in 10 minutes. It’s easy-to-use, has zero carbon emissions and is 100% solar powered. The price you pay for SolSource helps fund the cooker in developing countries.
What started as a project with Nomadic families in the Himalayas has expanded to projects in Africa, Asia and Latin-America, and we are fighting global energy poverty and bringing cleaner air to families around the world.
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Blake Mycoskie started his first business when he dropped out of college after his sophomore year. The company, EZ Laundry, soon employed more than 40 people, and was generating close to $1 million in sales. Blake sold that company in 1999.
He went on to create an outdoor billboard company, co-found a cable network, an online driver’s education service, and a marketing firm specializing in brand development and viral marketing.
While in Argentina in 2006, Blake met his future wife. The charity she was involved in inspired him to create Shoes for Better Tomorrows (TOMS).
TOMS has expanded from its beginnings as a one for one for-profit company, donating one pair of shoes to an impoverished child for every pair of shoes sold. Now TOMS donates sight-saving surgeries from their line of sunglasses, and a TOMS Bag purchase supports Giving Partners, delivering vital materials and training needed to help provide a safe birth regardless of the facility.
In 2011 Blake wrote the New York Times bestselling book, Start Something That Matters. The book tells the story of TOMS. The book also gives six simple keys for creating or transforming your own life and business.
Here are 3 success tips from Blake Mycoskie that are unique and thought to provoke.
ONE: On where to get business advice, Blake says:
You don’t always need to talk with experts; sometimes the consumer, who just might be a friend or acquaintance, is your best consultant.
TWO: Blake’s tip for efficiency:
The best tool I have for efficiency is always carrying a journal and as simple as that sounds, one of the things that is most exhausting for a human being is remembering things. So what I found is anytime I have an idea or thought or something I want to do, if I write it down as part of a continuous list, then my mind doesn’t have to store it, so my mind can be more efficient and more creative by not having to remember all these things.
THREE: Blake’s thought on one the one for one business model:
Giving builds loyal customers and turns those customers into supporters…You can find passion and profit and meaning all at once, right now.
Blake’s experiences are inspiring to people all over the world. If you’d like to create a business with purpose check out our Essential Startup Guide for the direction you need to get going!
Further read:
The terms social entrepreneur and social entrepreneurship were used first in the literature to social change in the 1960s and 1970s. The terms became more popular in the 1980s and 1990s, promoted by Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, and others such as Charles Leadbeater.
Before the term gained traction, those who fit this description were outsiders or radicals that seemed to bring positive change to deprived communities single-handedly. Characterized as extremely optimistic visionaries who had infinite willpower, they use entrepreneurial skills and innovation to address significant social and/or environmental problems. Profit did not motivate this free-thinking and inspirational group. Years ago they didn’t have a name but today we call them, Social Entrepreneurs.
Similar to the way business entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss to improve systems, invent new approaches, and create solutions to change the world around us for the better.
We support all efforts to use business as a tool for positive impact. Some groups, such as the Skoll Foundation, define social entrepreneurship more specifically as changing the equilibrium of an established system.
We use the term “Change Creator” and define it as: A person who uses entrepreneurial skills and innovation to improve the wellbeing of people, animals, and/or the environment. They use business and organizations as a tool for change and have a vision to benefit the planet as a whole.
A social entrepreneur or “Change Creator”, can operate a nonprofit organization or a for-profit business. Each can serve a purpose for the greater good making real change in the world.
We call this, business with purpose.
There are many amazing people around the world doing great things as social entrepreneurs.
Muhammad started Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976. Yunus was teaching economics when a terrible famine hit the region, leaving people starving to death in the streets. His solution was to provide collateral-free micro-loans to the very poorest people in the area, allowing the poor to fund their small businesses and stop the cycle of poverty. The result has been nothing short of incredible: with $4.7 billion provided to 4.4 million families in Bangladesh, Yunus has kept millions of people out of poverty. Today more than 250 other institutions follow the same micro-lending model.
Daniel was elected as a Senior Fellow for his work as a leading social entrepreneur by Ashoka. The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Nonprofit Times included him on its annual list of “50 Most Influential People in the Nonprofit Sector” In 1987 he founded an organization under the name CompuMentor which evolved into Techsoup and Techsoup Global as the internet started to become a vital tool for nonprofits to change the game. Their mission is to connect nonprofits with the technology they need to progress in their causes. Today, they have over 200 employees, an annual budget of $30MM+, and are in over 235 countries/territories. Their network has now reached 690,000 organizations and delivered over US$5 billion in technology tools and philanthropic services.
Dale is a social entrepreneur on a mission to inspire more generosity in the world. Sevenly sells apparel that provides $7 from each purchase to charity. Each week they work with a new charity. They have raised over $4.4 million and helped save or improve many lives.
Scott went from a being well-established club promoter to a volunteer around the world and had experiences that completely changed his perspective. He was impacted by his experiences so deeply that today he has now helped millions of people gain access to clean water and continues to do so. To date, charity: water people like you have funded 17,370 water projects in 24 countries!
Susan B. Anthony is a historical figure who was a leading social entrepreneur. She fought for women’s rights in the United States, including the right to control property and helped spearhead the adoption of the 19th Amendment.
Interested in Becoming a Social Entrepreneur? Well, you’re in the right place. Our goal is to give you the tools, and insights necessary to invigorate that drive to be a social entrepreneur.
If you have a way to solve a social problem, you can start your social enterprise now. Starting a social enterprise will vary in complexity depending on the task at hand, non-profit or for-profit status, and funding. Seek the guidance of friends, business professionals, and fellow social entrepreneurs, and you could be on your way to changing the world in no time.
The potential for growth is huge. The internet is opening up new avenues for social collaboration. Social entrepreneurship will continue to come from many more sources. It needs to become a mass activity, not just the domain of inspirational mavericks.
Are you the next Change Creator?
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Networking can be intimidating. If you’re a new business owner, the task can seem even more daunting with the added pressure to sell yourself and answer the dreaded “so, what do you do?” question. Learning how to make a notable first impression is essential to growing your business and creating lasting relationships.
Effective networking is actually fairly simple, and we’ve put together a short list of tips to kick-start the process for you.
As much as you don’t want to think of yourself as a salesman, having the confidence to self promote is absolutely essential for effective networking. Having an elevator pitch handy (a quick, persuasive sales pitch) that you’ve practiced can help break the ice. Business Insider published a great article on “How to Sell Yourself in 30 Seconds and Leave People Wanting More” which guides you through the steps of creating your elevator pitch.
“Your elevator pitch should answer three questions: Who are you? What do you do? Where do you want to go, or what are you looking for? You need to know exactly what you want to achieve or no one can help you get there.”
You don’t want to be that person standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Before attending a networking event, make sure you do some research and have some topics of conversation tucked away. Research an individual you hope to connect with prior to the event and discover some of their interests, hobbies, most recent publications or accomplishments.
Saying, “I loved your most recent article on xyz topic” shows the individual you’re informed, but relating on a more personal level, such as talking about an interesting hobby, or something you both have in common, shows that you’re a real person. People love to talk about themselves. Open ended questions are a great way to spark continued conversation. Effective networking doesn’t need to be all about the business.
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Thinking only of how you can profit by networking with an individual is a rookie mistake. Of course the goal of networking is to exchange information and eventually profit from your new contacts. However, focusing only on those individuals who can benefit you will be apparent, even if you don’t realize it. Practice active listening. Don’t brush someone off, interrupt, or try to force a sale. Even if the connection isn’t effective immediately, it may be in the long run. Which brings us to our last tip….
Your effort in effective networking will go down the drain if you fail to follow up to reaffirm the connection. After meeting a new connection, make sure to get their contact information/business card and send a brief follow up email mentioning what you talked about in conversation, how you can help them, and how you’re looking forward to possibly working with them or speaking with them again in the future.
Effective networking doesn’t need to be complicated. Practice makes perfect. Follow the simple tips above and add your own personal flair. You’ll feel like a pro in no time. Contact us to learn more about effective networking strategies, pursuing meaningful work, or becoming your own boss.
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.
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Jeff Skoll’s name is right at the top of the list of most impressive philanthropists of our time, nestled in between Bill Gates and Carlos Slim Helu. Forbes estimates that his total donations to be $1.2 billion, but that’s no serious achievement—not for Skoll, anyway.
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It’s no longer true that the company with the most money wins. The bully does not always come out on top. Brand names need not always be the go-to destination of choice.
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7:30 AM to 6 PM every day. Almost 53 hours at a day job each week. Luckily, I only needed 4 or 5 hours of sleep each night, so that I still had 80.5 hours to do what I wanted. Over half of my week was spent solving someone else’s problems, being undervalued and stifled working for someone else. My lack of time and schedule was stopping me from doing what I was called to do.
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For years, doing what I wanted during those other hours usually meant working on something else. I had been making music, art, furniture, and designing minimum viable products (MVPs) for companies that I thought should exist. I tried to sleep as little as possible and even designed short, but impactful workouts to optimize time and make time for my second job – working on these other projects. I skipped hanging out with friends unless they were friends that also shared my passions – interrupted once in awhile by an occasional “useless” outing to a bar, restaurant, or birthday party.
I was extremely successful at my corporate gig, learned a lot, and made a lot of great and long-lasting connections. But this drive to build things and help people is relentless. The groundbreaking ALS Ice Bucket Challenge showed me how much people were willing to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Subsequently, I began quickly iterating a social impact company. This time was different. This time, I would not watch other people execute a similar idea. I would not watch them and be left saying something silly like, “I had that idea before them.”
Part of the reason that this time was different is that I found a cause and project that resonated with one of my lifelong goals – organizing people to do good. Being a survivor of a parent who lived with cancer for ten years, ultimately passing in my early teens, shifted my set of values growing up.
I then created the social impact company Bstow — a platform that allows users to donate spare change to any nonprofit company automatically. This allows me to make good on that promise to myself. This is what I always wanted to do — help people. This drives me daily. When you start your venture, you need to find your driving passion. There will be difficulties, and your “why” is what will push you forward in the face of adversity.
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I resigned from my full-time gig four months ago, and I’ve learned more in the last four months and made more authentic connections in that time than the four years I spent in college.
If you’ve built something, you know it’s all in the execution. The idea is about 0.01% of the effort. This time was different. I started executing immediately. I didn’t know how to do about 90% of what I know now, but I learned by having two-week sprints, learning on the job while executing mission-critical business and development initiatives to advance my company.
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Be flexible with your idea and make sure that you are passionate about the underlying problem you are trying to solve.
Validate core business concepts and important features of your product by talking about it with many people. I would suggest building a landing page and using Twitter, Instagram, and other social channels to get the word out to many people so you can get real feedback from people you do not know.
There will be problems. Your original concept and feature ideas will change. Be ready to take feedback in stride, silence your ego, and pivot when necessary.
You will hear “no” a lot. You have to decide when it’s right to listen and when it’s right to ignore. This will be one of the greatest determinants of your success. Things may seem difficult or even impossible. There is always – always – a solution!
The only guarantee I can make is that if you do not take action on your ideas, then you will not succeed at them. Building a company is very risky, but with that risk comes commensurate reward.
I am risking it all. I’ve learned to embrace fear as a sign that I’m pushing myself in the best ways possible. Comfort is my enemy.
Anything I’ve saved from working at my former job is gone, but I’m happier than ever. We’re launching our social impact platform soon. I’m sprinting. Come with me. You can do it too. We can succeed if we work together! We can only succeed if we start!
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At the heart of effective brand building will always be engaging storytelling. Consumers will struggle to build affinity with a product or company, but a great story can help solidify certain qualities that the brand represents. Whether it is a commercial, a social media campaign, or a print advertisement, there are ways to use storytelling to convey a strong identity. up.
Assuming you already have a business and product to offer, the following storytelling tips can be used to develop your brand.
A good story will contain a hook that draws people into the narrative. Across all types of media, people are attracted to stories of underdogs and triumphs over adversity. Another common story is of a journey or quest to achieve a major goal. Alternatively, adding some humor can work, with a strange situation or a happy accident that helped in the building of your business.
There are really only a limited number of broad narratives you can use, but they can be shaped with their own characteristics. Studying a variety of sources, including similar brands, television shows, movies, and novels, will uncover a host of ideas you can adapt. Your story should be personal and unique, but don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from established sources.
Personality is integral to brand development, with customers reluctant to trust a faceless organization. A brand does not have to be built around an individual person, but an ethos, identity, or outlook can give something to believe in. In many cases, though, the company founder may have an interesting story that can be developed. Many established brands are associated with founders who are no longer involved in the company, but the story still resonates with audiences.
There are numerous outlets for promoting your brand, so look to tailor the message for the specific platform. Videos can tell a longer story, making use of narrative, visuals, and slogans. Social media and print ads have less space to tell a story, but you can still achieve a lot in an image. Various aspects, including color, font, logo, and design, all convey something to the viewer, so look to develop styles and threads that can run through all your promotional work.
Inventing a compelling story might sound like an option, but this will lead to problems. A false story will eventually be found out as your brand grows, but most audiences can sense a problem before this happens. Look for authenticity in your storytelling, avoiding a disconnect between the company and the message. Of course, your story will need to be crafted for it to become memorable, but at its core it should be authentic.
There are occasions, such as a promotion on a shopping channel, where heavily promoting products will work. However, where you are attempting to build your brand over the long term, avoiding overt marketing will prove more successful. Focusing on the story of your brand, the emotions associated with a purchase, and the benefits of your products will help to make sales, but will stay with your audience far longer.
A good story is hard to forget. Over time, whenever a person hears your brand being mentioned they will recall the emotions expressed through your advertising. Memorable branding can deeply embed an idea about your business, whether that is a feeling of luxury, inclusiveness, quirkiness, or any other powerful emotion.
Using these techniques, creating a compelling story is easily achievable. This story can be developed to build your brand across a variety of platforms. Many purchases are made for emotional reasons, so the ability to tap into these emotions can help you create a sustainable business that lives in memory.
We all have life experiences. Some reflect failures and some are successes.
If you’re an aspiring social or business entrepreneur you have probably heard that you should surround yourself with people that do what you want to do and can lift you up.
Why not take a page or two out of successful entrepreneur Richard Branson’s playbook? His list of accomplishments is nothing to sneeze at. Now we might not all go on to create the next Virgin Records or Airline but we can learn an awful lot from a person who’s walked that path.
Whether you have heard these core tips before or not doesn’t matter. These are foundational pieces of advice that we all need to hear every so often as a reminder. It’s so easy to slip back into bad habits or poor lines of thought.
Take these seriously, apply them in your life, make them habit!
Richard Branson is visible.
You have to be willing to put yourself out there. No great leader hides behind a desk.
Branson always makes a point to visit his staff and meet customers.
During interviews, Branson has mentioned that when he is on one of his flights, he will go and meet his crew and passengers with a notebook in hand. Why? This way he can both hear and record their ideas (remember what we said about listening?).
This is a very busy person and despite that, he takes their names and email addresses and makes a point of responding to them by the next day. That is very powerful.
He also puts himself in the spotlight, whether it’s on the internet or TV or movies.
You can’t be afraid to put yourself out there!
This is straightforward but many people neglect it because of fear. It’s easier and more comfortable to go with the grain than against it. But no “game-changing” idea was ever status-quo
Great leaders think without boundaries and believe in themselves despite what others say. If they think you’re crazy, maybe you’re on the right track then. Detach yourself from other people’s opinions and ideas and believe in yourself.
“Challenge the status-quo, disrupt the market and say YES! And remember that innovation is an endless quest.” ~Richard Branson
Branson broke the mold with banking. Virgin Money is a bank in Britain where the branches look more like living rooms than banks. There are tables for Wi-Fi, newspapers, and comfortable seating. This eliminates lines and teller windows.
Branson has stated that he never has gone into any business purely to make money. He believe that if money is your only motive, then you shouldn’t launch the business at all.
“As you design your product or service, remember your resolve to serve the public; business is about improving other people’s lives. Hopefully, once you’ve done that, more money comes in than goes out. From Virgin Records and Virgin Atlantic to Virgin Money and Virgin Active, our team has always launched businesses out of a genuine desire to disrupt the status-quo and improve things for customers. “ ~Richard Branson
This is a great piece of advice. Why?
A great business has loyal customers but loyalty has to be earned. You have to earn their trust and offer them a lot of value. When you build a business to solve a problem that offers people value, and that’s your driving force, money will follow.
One of the most difficult of all, aside from attempting to stop complaining, even for a week.
Humans tend to wait for their turn to talk. We get thoughts in our heads which are triggered by what the other person is saying. As soon, as that happens we are no longer listening, we are planning what we’ll say.
Some people will cut you right off because they get so anxious they just can’t wait. Have you ever experienced this or even done it to someone? Don’t lie, you know you have! We all have.
Dale Carnegie, author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” will back this recommendation up any day of the week.
It’s a bad habit and it takes practice to break a bad habit.
Richard Branson’s success is also attributed to the fact he was a great leader. Great leaders have learned the value and power of genuinely listening to a person.
You can have a conversation with someone for 30 minutes and just listen sincerely to them. They will walk away thinking it was a great discussion.
“To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. Brilliant ideas can spring from the most unlikely places, so you should always keep your ears open for some shrewd advice. “ ~Richard Branson
You want to be unique. You want to do something nobody has done before to stand out. That’s great but it doesn’t mean you have to do something that’s overly complicated.
Look around, there are many problems the world faces today which can be seen as opportunities simple business solutions.
“Maintain a focus upon innovation, but don’t try to reinvent the wheel. A simple change for the better is far more effective than five complicated changes for the worse.’ ~Richard Branson
So often, people feel the need to over-complicated things which not only makes it more likely to fail but it takes longer and requires more investment. Stay focused, keep it simple.
All business owners should have a content marketing strategy to make sure they get the most out of their content. Those who have a written content marketing strategy are more likely to find content marketing effective for their businesses, have less content-related stress thanks to knowing what they will do and when they’ll do it, and have a clear idea of what their ROI is. To put it simply, if you don’t have a content marketing strategy, you’re writing in the dark.
What holds most business owners back from writing a content marketing plan is feeling overwhelmed by the thought and not knowing how to go about it. Creating a strategy for your content marketing is not as complicated as it seems. Here are the necessary sections your plan needs to embody:
Your content marketing plan should include a short list of reasons why you’re creating content in the first place. It sounds simplistic but you’ll be surprised at how much power and focus you get from taking a few seconds to think about WHY you’re doing something. Whenever you feel low on motivation to work on content marketing, read your list of reasons why it’s so important to your business.
After you know why you’re using content marketing, create a new section in your content marketing plan for objectives. Specifically, what do you want to accomplish with content marketing? Do you want greater brand awareness? More leads? Higher customer retention rates? The goals for your content marketing will determine the direction it takes.
Also write down what makes you unique. How will you be different from your competitors in your social media usage? This is similar to determining a unique selling point for your business. In fact, what makes you stand out in the social space may be the same as or close to what your unique selling point is.
A content marketing strategy should have a section that outlines which platforms you will use to spread your content. Include your objectives and plans for successful engagement for each platform. Because every social media site has its own culture and methods that work, you need to address that for each subsection. Your approach should be catered to each platform and clearly defined, so that you can easily find your voice when marketing your content.
Next, you must write down how you will measure your content marketing success. Determine what metrics you will monitor and how you will collect the necessary data. The metrics you choose as indicators of your content marketing success will be based on your objectives. For example, if you want more leads, a metric to look at is clickthroughs. There are many social media analytics tools available, so research relevant tools and write down which you will use to monitor your content marketing progress.
Another crucial section in your content marketing plan is target audience. Provide a thorough explanation of who your target audience is, what they need, what their pain points are, where they can be found, etc. Writing down the most important information about your target audience will help you consistently deliver the right message with the right approach. A way to make this even easier is to create a persona, so that you’re talking to one person every time you market your content.
You now have all of the necessary components of a good content marketing strategy. Print out your plan when you’re finished typing and editing it, and regularly consult it while marketing your content. Don’t be afraid to update it when necessary. The worst thing you could do is never look at your strategy again after writing it.
Adriana has an interest in a wide array of topics, such as psychology, natural remedies, and relationships. Her articles reflect these interests because she writes about what piques her curiosity. Adriana also enjoys horse-back riding and watching Asian dramas.
The days when social enterprises could attract audiences purely on the merit of their altruism evaporated years ago. In its place lies an industry so packed with movers and shakers that it’s reached the apex of global marketing innovation.
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Habits are more than just the things that you do; they’re who you are and how you feel. Your habits define the amount of success you can achieve and how you’re destined to react to any given situation. And there are four destructive mental habits that successful people don’t have. Each one will erode your mental and emotional resources, drive you to make bad decisions, deplete your energy, and waste time that you’ll never get back.
1. Waste
Successful people know how much energy they have before decision fatigue sets in, and they only use their energy to move them toward their goals. On the other hand, most unsuccessful people waste more energy than they purposefully expend. Start treating your mental energy like a scarce resource, and say no to distractions and extraneous tasks. You’ll be amazed at how much more focused you’ll be on your goals when you stop giving away your mental energy.
2. Worry
Successful people are faced with problems and decisions that would make others curl into a ball in the corner and cry for their mommies. But they face these issues with clarity and calm, and avert crises on a daily basis. They’re able to accomplish this by recognizing the futility of worrying. Worry isn’t a solution, it’s just a bad habit that many people can just as easily decide not to make. Most people worry because they are choosing to focus on variables outside of their control. Successful people face the facts of the situation and don’t waste time thinking about unknown factors, what-ifs, or conjecture. By staying focused on finding a solution, on the facts at hand, and what they have control over, they avoid draining their valuable resources on something as pointless as worrying.
3. Doubt
A little self-doubt can be a healthy thing. But when doubt is your dominant emotional state, then you cripple yourself before you even start. People who habitually doubt themselves fear failure more than they fear standing still. Successful people have a much greater fear of standing still than they do of failure because they understand that failure doesn’t stop them from achieving their goals — inaction does. They don’t have time to doubt themselves because they’re too busy taking action toward their goals. If their action fails, then they try another but they always push forward.
4. Blame.
Because successful people accept failure as a natural part of their journey to success, they don’t waste time blaming others when inevitable setbacks happen. Instead, they try to figure out what happened, what they can learn from that failure, and then plan their next move.
Trying to cast blame whenever things don’t go according to plan is a corrosive exercise that sows seeds of distrust, disloyalty, and fear among your team. That will only lead to more dysfunction. However, this doesn’t mean that successful people don’t hold those around them accountable. If mistakes were made, those who committed them know that repercussions will be fast, final, and fair.
Successful people are an elite group of action takers who don’t allow knee-jerk emotional reactions to compromise their vision or their goals. This does not mean they’re emotionless, disinterested in their employees, or narcissistic; they’re simply able to avoid common mental pitfalls that keep so many others from attaining their goals. By not allowing these four pitfalls to hinder your progress, you’ll be well on your way to greater success in your industry, and you’ll benefit from a new-found confidence and determination.
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.”
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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:
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.
It’s tough to quit the safety of your day job for the uncertainty of running your own business. You’re not guaranteed a steady income, you have to set your own schedule and you are personally responsible for the success or failure of your company. As you would expect, it takes a different set of tools […]
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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. […]
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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!
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
