Personal Development

Straight out of the Harvard Review from Nov-Dec. of 1996, these questions are still relevant today. Of all of the businesses that start, a staggering number fail. Every time I hear the number of successful businesses, it lessens and lessens. I recall hearing most recently that one hundredth of one hundredth sounds about right. As a young entrepreneur, these three questions can help your chances of success by:

1. Looking into your definition of success (Where do I want to go?)
2. Mapping the road to success (How do I get there?), and
3. Addressing obstacles (Can I do it?)

Where do I want to go?

As an entrepreneur, you needs to consider what you want personally from the business(es) you start. Are you looking to get filthy rich? Have an outlet for creative talent? Spend more time with the kids, or on vacation? None of these are bad things, but each one lays a separate foundation for the company you will create. 

Once you pinpoint what you want from your business, you should give serious thought to what it really takes to get there. If you're looking for filthy rich, you'd better be capable of the long term risks, late night hours, and delegation of your company. If you want to spend more time with the kids, or go on more vacations, realize that the way to do that is not by spending all day every day slaving over that next deliverable. You need to create a company that will facilitate those goals! I mention this under the "Where do I want to go" heading because you may need to reconsider your goals after considering the type of business you need to create.

How will I get there?

Be clear in planning how to get where you want to be. Account for geographic reach, policies, rates of growth, decision making, and financing the business. As Albert Einstein said, "You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." If you can't articulate your thoughts on how to get there, you should take a second (or third) look.

Make sure that your plan, whatever it may be, can generate sufficient growth and profit. If money is to business what ATP is to humans (think oxygen), then you'll need enough of it to keep going. Also, ensure that your plan accounts for the fact that "stuff happens." Over the next ten years, there will be significant technological change, political change, and economic change. You can't be prepared for everything, but having thought through what you can definitely helps.

Can I do it?

When I read this question, I instictively said "Yes!" After further consideration, this question is much more difficult to answer. Even if your strategy is flawless, it's worth nearly nothing if you can't execute. Can you get the resources you need to succeed? Can you help develop your employees to their fullest?

When asking this question, consider that you will need to establish the infrastructure to facilitate your company's operations. If you want to grow quickly and sell, you'll need to develop systems of delegation, financial management, and much more. If you are looking for freedom to spend time with your family, you'll need to ensure that your business can handle not having your undivided attention all the time.

Lastly, know that as your business grows, your role will likely need to change. You may start on the front lines, doing the day-to-day. As time goes on, you'll find that your role develops to a management role, where you spend your time training and teaching. 

Summary

These three questions are admittedly extremely difficult, but they must be asked. Make sure to revisit these questions as time progresses - goals aren't static all throughout your life. Likewise, each of these questions build off the other two, so your answers may vary widely the next time you think about them.

I'm a big fan of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I've used it to get out of some tight spots, to meet and befriend new people, and to get involved in some really excellent opportunities. Each of the skills I have learned in studying NLP have helped me make use of a model I learned called KFC. No, not that chicken company either - KFC is a model that helps you reach your goals. Here's the lowdown:

K - Know What You Want

Easy, right? Not always! To really get what you want, you have to know exactly what it is you want. An example is that of a person who wants a million dollars. There are a slew of ways to get a million dollars. You can borrow it. You can steal it (I don't recommend this one). You can work really hard all your life for it. You can borrow two million dollars and lose a million somehow. If all you really wanted was a million dollars, you've reached your goal. If, however, your real goal was financial freedom, or a million dollars in liquid assets with no other debt, you'll definitely not be able to use a few of the above methods to get there. Knowing what you really want is the first step of the process.

F - Find Out What You're Getting

Contiuing on with the million dollars mentioned above - if you want a million dollars of your own with no other debt, and yet your income is rapidly declining, you're definitely not moving toward your goal. You need to know what it is you're getting, and compare it to what you want.

C - Change What You're Doing To Get What You Want

This is the toughest of all three, but it makes perfect sense. If you want something but are not getting it, something has to change - you. What changes can you make to put you on the path to getting what you're looking for? Change what you're doing, and assess the results. If it helps you in the right direction, good job! This is the perfect place for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. I like to study those who have reached the same goals that I set for myself. I like to figure out what behaviors they have, and what has been critical in them reaching their goals. Wherever it makes sense, I try to make those behaviors part of my being.

As you change, your goals change. As your goals change, make sure to reassess the situation and see if you're getting closer to your new goals. This process is circular, and each of the three parts need to be considered regularly. If you feel so compelled, give me an example of what KFC can help you with!

I have an acquaintance with an excellent business idea, enough funding to be getting on with, and excited companies ready to buy his product, and yet is making $0 in sales. I have another acquaintance who hesitated submitting numbers that had too much speculation involved in them. Yet one more person I know doesn't like getting involved with anything until he knows everything about it. What do these three people have in common? I think the answer is that they are waiting for an event that can never happen.

Many young entrepreneurs get pretty wrapped up in their product or service. They insist that it must be just right before it is capable of making money. The truth is that it's better to have a mediocre something making a difference in people's lives than it is to have an excellent something making a difference in nobody's. For instance, I've developed a piece of software for websites that makes keeping your website up to date as easy as sending an email. I made it just for myself, and had no intention of selling it. I had a few people that found the same problems with their websites as I had with mine - they were time consuming to update. Having this program that I made, I was able to help them along with their sites. The software is nothing spectacular, it simply gets the job done. If I didn't release the software because I wanted it to be perfect, I don't think I would have ever completed it. It is more valuable being available to people in its simple form than it is not being available at all because it's not yet perfect.

If I can impress upon you any single piece of advice for your company or idea, it's this: DO IT. Don't wait for some idea of perfection. Make it good enough to have value, and get it out there. If you're capable of making it fantastic in the same time period, then do that too. Then, let your customers tell you what there is to improve, and improve!

I want to toss this out there and see what sticks for you. Multi-tasking is something that is expected of almost everyone these days. Being able to do more than one thing at once (walk, chew bubble gum) seems to be the only way to do anything. But is it really all its cracked up to be, or is it simply shooting yourself in the foot in a more productive-looking way?

Why Multi-Tasking is Good

Multi-tasking is good because making progress on more than one front at a time ensures your project(s) will be completed faster. You will get the added benefits of experiencing two or more different pieces of progress, learning multiple things at once, and seeing finished projects more frequently. Imagine the benefits you can gain if you're able to increase your profit by 10% because you've finished several 2% increases at almost the same time. You will also be able to take what you've learned from one project, and put it to good use in another immediately. For example, you might learn a shortcut to an equation you frequently use while working on Project 1, and that same shortcut presents a breakthrough on Project 2. When considering the positive results that multi-tasking brings, it's easy to say that multi-tasking is good.

Why Multi-Tasking is Evil

Multi-tasking is evil because it guarantees that your focus is never on one problem at a time. It pulls you in several different directions, and the experiences you get aren't as powerful because they are being saturated by other potentially conflicting experiences. For instance, two projects that you are working on can each have an emergency arise. The first emergency requires your physical presence in the next nearest city, while the second emergency requires your physical presence in the office for 24 hours straight. Unfortunately you are not able to internalize the causes of each of the emergencies because you must go from one to the other immediately. Multi-tasking also adds stress to your life by setting unrealistic expectations. In the previous example, you may stress about not being able to be in both places at once. You might also stress about not being able to foresee and both emergencies. To put it simply, multi-tasking is a burden to a productive workflow, and an inhibitor to a healthy life.

Having reviewed some pros and cons of multi-tasking, I believe that doing more than one thing at a time is a good way to get a bad result (unless it's literally chewing bubble gum and walking). If your goal is to meet a quantity of work, it may be the way to go. If you have any duty for quality, you may want to reconsider.

If you read my post "Does Read Speeding Work," you've already seen that the key to stop subvocalizing is to not give yourself the time to. How do you do that? Simple: read faster! Let's say that the fastest you can talk in your head is 300-350 words per minute. You should have a tough time subvocalizing at 500wpm if you can't speak that fast. Let me equate this process to making you comfortable with driving at 120mph by starting you off at 300mph. Learning to take in 500 words per minute or faster will have a learning curve, but here's how it's done.

Take a book that you have available, and turn it upside down. Yes, upside down! Open it up to the beginning (well, the end) and set it flat on a table. Put your hand gently on the place where you would start reading (the words are, of course, upside down). Using your hand as a guide, move it across the lines of the page at a rapid rate, following the tips of your fingers as it goes. Do this for several minutes, and don't worry if your fingers don't glide across EVERY single line. The goal here is to let your eyes move across the page, picking up each word/line/paragraph. Try for speed and consistency. It should be fairly easy since we won't get caught up in the story line of an upside down book!

After doing this exercise, turn the book right side up. Try and read the book at a rate that seems natural to you. You will probably find that you're trying to read faster than you can subvocalize. This process can get frustrating, because you've conditioned yourself to always want to subvocalize when reading. All I can say is "keep at it," because it will work for you. As you begin picking up on words, phrases, and sentences, you should try the exercise again. Turn your book upside down and have at it.

You may notice that you're starting to read more than one word at once, and possibly more than one line at once. If so, good job! You're on the right track. I encourage you to look into speed reading courses and find one that is a good fit for you so that you can continue your growth in this area. This skill has saved me quite a bit of time, and kept me on top of the game in several ways.

Every young entrepreneur knows that in the information age, there is simply too much material that needs read, and not enough time to do it in. That's why I learned how to speed read. Most people that I've talked to about speed reading are under the impression that speed reading is the same as scanning. Even Woody Allen said:

"I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia. "

For those that think speed reading jumbles things up and makes ledgible text look like the title of this article (did you notice the Spoonerism?), you should try this exercise:

1. Grab a couple index cards.
2. Have a friend write a few simple questions (that you'll know the answers to), one on each card.
3. Have him flash the question in front of you for half a second, and then take the card away.
4. See if you can answer the question.

Chances are, you can! This simple exercise is truly the foundation of the speed reading that I have learned. It removes the one crutch keeping you from reading at outstanding rates: Subvocalization. Since you were able to see the question, read it without subvocalizing, and then answer it, you have proven to yourself that you don't lose comprehension speed reading!

Just that exercise answers the question "Does speed reading really work?" It does! It is also valid for higher rates of reading, and more difficult subjects than fun trivia. I've used it to pass history exams with only 15 minutes of study (right before the exam, actually). Sadly, stopping the subvocalization process is a little more difficult than just doing this exercise. With enough dedication, however, you can make significant progress in a short amount of time. Here shortly, I'll be posting an article about how to stop subvocalizing. Check back, and put it to the test to see how long it takes you to get through your Inc. Magazine this month! 

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." - Benjamin Franklin

We've all heard it, and several of us have noticed the link between all of these things. It's not that waking up early turns your bath water into vitamins and your clothes into gold, but waking up early gives you the opportunity to be much more productive each day. It is said that Sam Walton woke up early in the morning to travel to other retail outlets in search of good deals. When he found one (and he often did), he would be able to get the merchandise back to his store before the day's rush. As easy as Ben's quote is to say, it certainly seemed difficult to wake up early - at least for me.

Then, I Googled one day for How to Become an Early Riser, and found an excellent post in Steve Pavlina's blog about the subject. He informed me that to get up early in the morning, you have to follow three simple guidelines:

Set your alarm for a specific time to wake up EVERY DAY.

For example, I set the alarm for 5:30 AM. This gives me time for a long shower, breakfast, and a good hour and a half to work on my projects before getting ready for work.

Condition yourself to automatically get out of bed once your alarm goes off.

OK, so this is a bit more difficult. I literally practiced getting out of bed when my alarm went off. I'd set it for 5 minutes from now, and lay down and get comfy. When it started blaring, I'd turn it off and go stand in the shower (not turn it on, for the practice sessions). It may sound silly, but it really works!

Go to bed when you're tired.

This is an easy one. Find a good measure of how tired you have to be in order to fall asleep within a few minutes of hitting the pillow. Go to bed at that point.

Those three things, when put together, really help you wake up early! If you mess up and sleep in, you'll stay up a little later, which means that the next day you'll just be a little more tired. Your body knows how much sleep it needs, so if it needs to adjust, it will. If you really want to wake up early, I suggest starting by conditioning yourself to have an automatic response to your alarm. Then, give the process a try for 30 days and see if it works for you!

Many young entrepreneurs are so focused on the work they do that they don't pick up on the subtle differences between an excellent networker and a poor one. Here are a few tips that I have picked up by participating in networking events such as the Oklahoma Venture Forum.

Wear your name tag on the right.

This tip was given to me by one of the founders of an extremely successful securities company. When at an event, wear your name tag on your right side so that when shaking someone's hand, they can easily find your name. This helps them to remember your name; it also removes the awkward feeling associated with not knowing your name if they've been introduced to you before.

Introduce yourself to new people.

This one can be extremely difficult without practice. Networking is about meeting new people, learning about new businesses, and making others feel good about themselves. If you never branch out and introduce yourself to new people, accomplishing your goals will be much more difficult. Having a tough time introducing yourself? Here's how I do it:

1. I find a person I'd like to meet.
2. Make my way to that person, and take note of whether they are engaged in a private conversation.
3. If not, listen in, or join in.
4. When the opportunity presents itself, I simply extend my hand and say "Brad Fair."

That four step process seems difficult to those who haven't practiced it, so I encourage you to practice EVERY chance you get!

Find out your acquaintance's line of work.

This one is pretty easy. It should go something like "So, Bob, tell me about the work you do." It's even easier when their name tag has their company name on it: "Joe, I see you work with the University. What do you do there?"

Take note of what they say, too. I have met people whose services I needed shortly after meeting them. I have also referred friends to people that I have met, which is a win-win situation for every party involved (read on).

The priceless question.

This is the pièce de résistance for young entrepreneurs. This question will thrill your acquaintance, and make them happy to have met you. It works so much better when you actually make use of its answer, too. The question:

"How can I tell if somebody is a good prospect for you?"

Your goal here is to be able to refer this person business. This single question has often been the difference between somebody remembering my name and business, and someone forgetting who I was the moment I walk away. Also, any time you can refer somebody to an acquaintance, they will think very highly of you - after all, you've just helped put money in their pocket!

I know that networking can be hard, especially for those who are shy. The only way to get better at networking for business is to do it constantly. Don't worry if you make a weak impression at first. The thing about weak impressions is you get to try again after they forget who you are! Try for a strong positive impression by following the steps I've outlined above.

If you're like most people (the odds are in my favor in guessing that), you realize that there's too much stuff to do, and not enough time to do it in. This is especially true of young entrepreneurs because you're being pulled in every direction all the time. It's suprising how much time is wasted each day because people don't realize that there are faster ways to do common (and necessary) tasks to increase the time you have to accomplish your goals. Here are three things that I've made a conscious effort to improve that resulted in more usable hours during the day:

• Becoming an Early Riser

  I was curious about how those early morning folks did it, so I Googled it and found a great article on the subject. It took a little practice automating my awakening (so that I couldn't talk myself out of it), but the results were excellent. I sleep between 5 and 8 hours, averaging 6.5 each day. Assuming that most young entrepreneurs feel sleep deprived at 8 hours, let's say I'm gaining 1.5 hours a day simply by being an early riser! That's a gain of almost 3.5 times the normal work-month in my year!

• Learning to Read Effectively

  "Does it really work," you might ask. Yes! My freshman year of college, I found a little flyer on my desk as I walked into class. On it, it promised that I could read up to 3 times faster by taking this course. I thought about the benefits and decided to attend the 1 hour "seminar" advertised on the flyer. The presenter explained that she could teach me how to read much faster, and study more efficiently, by attending her course. She then showed proof that it worked by running me through a few exercises. Just in that hour, my reading bumped up by 100 words per minute. After taking the course (at a minimal cost compared to its savings), I was at around 1000 words per minute with no loss in comprehension. Don't let any non-speed readers tell you that it doesn't work if they haven't tried it! I know I have saved several hours a year using this skill, and I've been able to obtain more information than I could have beforehand.

• Getting Things Done

  Since I never really cared to be the most organized person in the world, there were a lot of things I was supposed to do that slipped through the cracks when they shouldn't have. Mostly, homework. I finally got tired of it and wanted to figure out a way to keep on top of all of the things that I had to do. I'd read about Getting Things Done in a few different places, and thought I'd give it a shot. I bought the audiobook from iTunes, and listened while I was out and about. Unlike many systems that only work when you do everything to the letter, Getting Things Done gives you several productivity enhancing ideas. In my opinion, the two most helpful are defining a next action, and reminding yourself of pending actions. If you are even the least bit unorganized, consider buying the book, or renting it from your local library. You'll stop wasting your time recovering from dropped balls, unnecessary planing, and trying to remember what's on your plate.

There are a few more things that I do to find more time, and between them all, I feel like I am much more productive than I could have ever been otherwise. I will write more about each of the three ideas above in the future.