Podcast

• Beth Davis is the president of Dakota Resources. Dakota Resources has created financial products that help bring capital to rural areas. They also have an entrepreneur development program that helps create an infrastructure in those local communities and a network across South Dakota that supports entrepreneurial development.

• There are freelance opportunity in the production of radio and television.

• To start a copywriting business, Beth recommends visiting an ad agency or nonprofit organizations. Often nonprofits don’t have in-house staff to do the writing for them.

• Do market research and find out where the need for copywriters exist; who is currently in the market; where the opportunities are, and where the people who hold those opportunities hang out. Invest the majority of your resources where these people hang out.

• Start with a Facebook business page that would refer to a website that would carry examples of your work.

• Invest in a quality website.

• An important quality for any entrepreneur is leveraging the gifts, talents and passion of others. It is really important to know yourself, know what you are good at and then pay other people to do the things you are not good at.

• Letting go of control is probably one of the scariest things for entrepreneurs, but one of the most necessary to grow a business.

• Find other entrepreneurs who are also passionate about what they do.

• There are two things that move people out of poverty or out of a place of scarcity.

• One of the things that Beth encourages people to do is, even if you are an introvert is to go talk to people. Tell people your ideas; tell people what you are working on.

• Growing luck: It is what happens when you risk sharing your dream or sharing your idea.

• Questions are so powerful. People like talking about themselves. Show interest. Ask questions and soon people will be asking questions about you. That creates conversation and dialogue.

• Risking and sharing your dream creates opportunity for connection to luck.

• Luck can be manifested by intention.

• The second one is assets. Invest in savings and invest in education.

• Do something every day that moves you toward your vision. Just keep taking small steps in the right direction.

• If you are truly committed, the universe eventually aligns with you. If you are clear about what your purpose is, you have clarity of vision and you are willing to be open to how that vision is realized then your purpose will be manifested. As long as you are putting energy every day towards that vision and purpose, eventually the alignment will happen.

• We live in a world of networks, not hierarchy.

• You don’t have to be a big manufacturer to make a big impact on your local economy and on your own livelihood.

• Support local businesses.

• Small businesses have always been the major economic development drivers in this country.

• Follow your passion. Connect to what makes you happy. Life is too short to waste time and energy worrying and lamenting about what you don’t have.

• Create it out of your own passion.

 

Beth Davis Contact Information

 

Website

Overview

 

Email Address

beth@dakotaresources.org

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Pat Hiban is the owner of Pat Hiban Group of Keller Williams Realty.  He is also one of the founders of GoBundance.

Sometimes people around you believe in you more than you believe in yourself and if we listen to them and they say, “Do this.” You can do it.

People evolve.

Use the same patterns that you previously learnt in other businesses and apply them to your new business, it can work.

Pat’s pattern is getting the right people on the bus with him.

It is all about the talent that you know.  He found up and coming agents and got them on his team. His agents were better at selling homes than he was.

The people running his businesses are first class.

Have an organizational mind that is not negative, but critical. There is a fine line between being positive and seeing it as possible and also critical. You can do both, however, it takes a balance to do both.

Pat’s goal is to add horizontal lines to his income.  For example, he can add a horizontal line by buying a house and renting it out. He adds another horizontal line by giving people money to start a business and the business starts to pay dividends, etc. You have to think that way from the beginning.

Work smart versus work hard.

It is ok to evolve. It’s ok not to be the same person you were ten years ago.  Recreate yourself.  Go into something different. Remember the patterns that helped you succeed in your first business.  Use those patterns in your new business.

Baby boomers can look to their passion, get a job doing what they are passionate about, and learn the business.

Show your worth by being the best.

Don’t waste your time doing something that you don’t want to do.

Evolution is natural.  It is supposed to happen. We are supposed to evolve.  We are supposed to grow.

When you grow, it hurts but it is natural. It is supposed to happen. Don’t fight it. It may seem drastic to you, but there are stories of people who have evolved and have been successful.

As we get older, we are supposed to become our best self.

Pat Hiban Contact Information

Website

www.gobundance.com

http://www.hiban.com/

Facebook

hibanpat

Instagram

@Iampathiban

Email Address

pat@hiban.com

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• Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. BNI was founded in 1985. The organization now has over 7,000 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world.

 

• Ivan learned from his trucking business that when money is tight, don’t fib to people. Don’t tell people, “You’ll get the check this week.” People will work with you if you are just honest with them.

 

• You can’t talk your way out of something you behave yourself into.

 

• It took him twenty years to get to the point of success where he is now. He had lots of failures along the way. It is those failures that are the best lessons as what not to do in order to be successful.

 

• Define yourself by your successes, acknowledge your failures, learn from your failures, move on and don’t live in those failures.

 

• Make a plan, it is a road map. However, sometimes there are detours along the way and you have to be willing to go with them.

 

• Set goals and set up a system to measure your performance to achieve your goals easily.

 

• Ivan’s philosophy is to do six things a thousand times and not a thousand things six times.

 

• To start a business, ask yourself these questions. What are you passionate about? What do you like doing? Start with that. Then you look for business opportunities in those areas that you like doing.

 

• He was able to build his BNI brand by writing books, which he is passionate about.

 

• You may not have the answer, but you have to know where to find the answer.

 

• You can start to build a following by writing a blog and building a platform. You do that for a year or so and you’ve built content for your book. Once you have the following, you will have a reputation that can enable you to get the interviews, but it also will give you credibility for jobs and it will open up doors.

 

• Get out and connect with people. Networking is a contact sport. You can’t rely on just your content to replace your contacts.

 

• Build credibility through your blogging and writing, as well as connect with people face to face. This will help you build your business.

 

• VCP Process – (Visibility Credibility Profitability). First you have to be visible in the community. People have to know who you are and what you do. Then you have to establish credibility. That is when people know who you are, what you do and that you are good at it. Profitability is when people know who you are, what you do, that you are good at it and they are willing pass you referrals on an ongoing reciprocal basis.

 

• Networking goes wrong when people try to jump over visibility, jump right over credibility and try to get right to profitability.

 

• Offer help and people will hand you their business card.

 

• Last year in BNI, they passed 6.6 million referrals and generated $8.6 billion dollars worth of business for their members all around the world.

 

• Ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. If you go with what you are passionate about and you are on fire about it, don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers.

 

• Only you can motivate yourself.

 

• If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’ll be right.

 

• The only choice to have to get you where you want to go is to try. Any other choice will get you failure.

 

• We have a lot less control over winning or losing at something than we do over trying or quitting at something. Always try, you can eventually win. If you always quit, you can never win.

 

• To be part of BNI, go to www.bni.com. Find a local chapter, go visit a group.  They allow one person per profession. They get together every week.  They pass each other referrals. The only way to join is to be approved by the local chapter.

 

 

Ivan Misner Contact Information

 

Website

www.ivanmisner.com

www.bni.com

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/IvanMisner.BNIFounder

 

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Penny Sansevieri is a promoter of authors from around the world; Guy Kawasaki being one of them.

Many authors write a book to become famous.  Many people want to write a book to build their platform, to get more business and to get more speaking.

A book is a 24/7 promotional tool. It is also a good business card to have.

A book is a great way to get yourself out there.

Book writing can grow your business just as it grew Penny’s.

Penny used the first book she wrote as a positioning tool to get her interviews in newsletters and online print publication. She also used her book to pitch herself to speaking events.

Being in business is not always the easiest thing in the world.  This is part of the reason so many businesses fail because people underestimate the amount of work involved.

Publishing companies have become very risk adverse which means that if you don’t have some kind of a platform, social media or newsletter following, it will be really hard to get a traditional publisher.

Before deciding to go with a traditional publisher, think about the following: are you willing to give up creative control of your book? Are you willing to wait eighteen months for the book to get published?

The positive side of dealing with a traditional publisher is their ability to access distribution channels.

An important question to ask the traditional publisher is what the distribution will look like for the book and make sure to get it in writing.

With self-publishing, you can get access to those distribution channels, but you have to do the work to get there.

Regardless of how you publish a book, you still have to market it on your own.

If you decide not to have an agent, you should get someone to vet the contract.

Read some of the trades like Publisher’s Lunch; it is important to know what is happening with publishing companies.

No matter how you decide to publish, it’s a business. You need to decide what’s right for you and for your business.

The quickest way to get your book published is through self-publishing. 

Depending on what the book is about, you can do a book and a workbook. There are a lot of options out there.

The amount of pages that you should have in your book should be around fifty.

The cost for self-publishing can be as little as $500 for a cover to $2,000 for a cover.  You can pay $100 to do the interior or $500 to do the interior. Ask a consultant to give you some guidance.

If you spend your money wisely, you can have an absolutely beautiful book without having to break the bank.

Penny likes CreateSpace because they are inexpensive, they are efficient and they don’t try to upsell you.

You have to be willing to go the extra mile. You have to be persistent; don’t let the NO’s discourage you.

Marketing is the key.

If a nonfiction book is tied to a business it will probably be fairly successful. If you write a non-fiction book, you need a platform and you need to be an expert.

You can make revenue, but you have to be smart about it. If you are publishing a book, think about publishing more than one book. One book does not an empire make.

Keep the book short and to the point.

If you have a book, get it out there.

A book can be a legacy; a book can be an expression of yourself.

Penny Sansevieri Contact Information

Website

www.amarketingexpert.com

Email

Penny@amarketingexpert.com

Aaron Young is the CEO of Laughlin Associates. Laughlin Associates helps corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships get greater asset protection, tax reduction, state planning and exit planning.

There is opportunity to start a cellular phone communication business and accessory business.

A small way to start is setting up a kiosk in a mall or become a small agency.

Baby boomers can start this business for under $100,000.

An important thing to remember is to replenish your inventory. You need money to have sufficient products to sell as well as you need to have the ability to cycle two or three times through your inventory and still have enough money to pay yourself.

Figure out what your cycle is for turning over your inventory.

Don’t have too broad of an inventory. Be wise in your purchasing.

Think about your ideal location. Do your research.

You can buy an existing location. The existing location has historical data on what is being sold.

Be out in the market, talk to people, and let them know what you are looking for. Articulate your vision and goals. If you engage the market, the market will find opportunities for you.

Learn about the market; figure out what you are good at, figure out what you enjoy.

Baby boomers can get better connected by speaking, writing, recording podcasts because it is something that most people don’t do and by doing it; you set yourself up as an expert.

People are seeking leadership. If you provide the leadership, they will hire you and as you become better known as an expert in that field, you will get paid better.

It’s important to get around people who are of your caliber or ahead of you so they can push and challenge you a little bit. Together you can talk about things you have in common about your business but also hear new thoughts and ideas.

Figure out a way to stay current, figure out what is just starting, and how to stay ahead of things. If you can do this, you can have a very fun and adventurous life, make money and have a lot of stories to tell.

The fast growing population of new entrepreneurs are people over 55 years old.

Baby boomers should tap into their avocation.

Aaron recommends asking yourself: If you could forecast forward and say, “What’s the life that I want? If I could have my dream life what would it look like?” Answer these questions and make sure the answers are in the bounds of reality. Write them down in long hand on one piece of paper. Read it every day and start articulating it to people. What you will find is that that pathway that is impossible for you to see on your own will start to line up for you. If you can have a clear vision of what you want and you can articulate it, others will come into your life and say, “Read this book, let me introduce you to somebody, come with me to this thing or you should listen to this cool podcast”, that will start happening.

When you just know about something, you don’t think it’s a big deal. But the fact is there are a lot of curious people out there and you can tell with all the Google and YouTube searches. You don’t have to tap into many of these curious people to make money. A fraction of the percent can make you a multi-millionaire. It’s amazing what you can do.

You are only limited by your confidence to keep trying.

Aaron Young Contact Information

Websites

www.aaronscottyoung.com
laughlinusa.com

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John Hobbs author of The Secrets of Successful Inventors, inventor of the Hydro-Run.

Until you become successful at something, you have to really pick something, choose it and go after it.  If you start digging too many holes, you’ll never accomplish anything.

There is a website called http://youvention.com  and it walks you right through the patent process to protect your ideas. It’s a provisional patent that last for twelve months.

John suggests reading a few patents so you understand rules about claims.

The number one trait of a successful entrepreneur is perseverance.

Questions to ask yourself when thinking a creating a product. Can you get it out and get your product exposure?  Do a business plan. How big is your market? Who is going to use it in this market? Work with your numbers. Write down every feature and every benefit of that feature, this will help your patent attorney protect it later on. 

Product developers can help you with materials, help give you rough costs on what it will cost to produce your product and make suggestions.

Most new products need exposure and even with great exposure online, you still need television. To produce and air it roughly costs $100,000.

Your selling price can be five times the cost and once you start selling more, your costs should go down and selling price can be seven times the cost.

The key is to grow and to be able to have extra capital to start growing your product line.  At the end of the day, you don’t want to stay with a single product. 

Performance based companies won’t start seeing a paycheck until they start selling product.

John created his product because he realized when he was running that hydration was really important.

Created a water bottle that is designed to envelop the hand and it requires virtually no effort to hold. When you get thirsty, there is a trigger and a valve inside the bottle and you can drink.  They are sold in pairs, one for each hand. They encourage proper form and posture while you run.  They only weigh nineteen ounces full and four ounces empty so they never become a burden to use. They hold fifteen ounces of fluid.

They are manufacturers and they want to market to Sports Authority, mom and pop shops, all online retailers, all fitness and expo people, overstock.com. They will expand their line by doing a survey.  Everybody that purchases will get a two question survey.  What other product would you have purchased if we had it to offer at this time? What product would you like to use most at winter time?

John encourages each and every person to go for it. At the end of the day, you are not going to regret it, if you go for it and don’t make it.

John Hobbs Contact Information

Email Address: jhobbs@apg.rocks

Website: http://athletesperformancegear.com/

Phone number: (239) 404 2871

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Jeff Slutsky author of Streetfighter Marketing, Street Fighter Marketing Solutions: How One-On-One Marketing Will Help You Overcome the Sales Challenges of Modern-Day Business, No B.S. Grassroots Marketing: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Take No Prisoners Guide to Growing Sales and Profits of Local Small Businesses and many more.

Team up with an expert that can bring something unique to the table.

Sell your expertise or get a piece of the action.

Baby boomers should take your expertise that you have learnt on the job, start to make your knowledge available to others who might need some help to grow their business.

First thing to do is have a business plan. Find out what you want to be. What are your strengths, what information do you have that can be of value, who are the people that are likely to use your services, what is out there already and how can you reach them, how do you price it? Plan first before you start spending any money; plan ahead of time.

When you offer your services, make sure you package them in a way that there is good value as well as good information.

The toughest thing about being a consultant, speaker or writer is getting the business. You spend 90% of your time getting the business. 

Sell information that people are willing to buy in a variety of formats such as seminars or speeches, coaching one on one, book format, electronic book on Kindle, audio book, videos and so forth.

It is easier to create a book now, self-publish.

Demonstrate your expertise.

Sell a package:  Look for low cost, so you can pass the saving on to your customers.  Have different packages at different price points.

Selling services directly to consumers, baby boomers can start by trying to develop relationships with other businesses that are non-competitive with your business that would be willing to refer customers to you, maybe for a referral fee.

Every time you tell somebody what you do, give them a business card or a flyer; make a connection, ideally one on one.  That is so much more powerful in helping people who are in the market for what you have and to want to use your services.

Get on the phone, follow-up.  You can’t wait for them to come to you.

When baby boomers start their business, focus on getting the business, get the cash in, don’t worry about the pretty stuff, do the hard work first, making the connections with people that will pay you and the rest will fall into place.

Jeff Slutsky Contact Information

www.jeffslutsky.com

www.streetfightermarketing.com

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