Create for Cash Blog - Creative Marketing

Online and Offline Business Synergy

According to Wikipedia, synergy is defined as “two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable alone”. It comes from the Greek word synergia, which means “working together”.

There are only so many hours in a day, and only so far you can take your business before you start to burn out. That’s when you might want to think about partnering up for some added business synergy. If you’re a new company, with new products, you need to pay your dues a little and earn some ‘street cred’ before you start approaching others for a joint venture. Everyone will want to know that you’re trustworthy, and that your products do what they say they will first.

They’ll want to make sure you’re not a scammer, flake, or con artist. They’ll want to make sure you have more Facebook friends than just your mom and your best friend, and that you have a good understanding of how business works. In other words, their reputation is at stake. After all, they’ll be introducing you to their inner circle of a few hundred or a few hundred thousand buddies, and they don’t want to be embarrassed. So, make sure you’re ready.

I’ve spent the past year and a half putting together several great products. Everything I do is geared towards the entrepreneur in some way, even if it’s how to get a job the entrepreneurial way. [Read more…] about Online and Offline Business Synergy

The Art of Starting Over

How many times have you started over? It could be a business that went south or a health issue that resurfaced, or a relationship/marriage that ended. Everyone’s been through something. You go through a loss. You feel like a failure. Basically, it sucks!

I’ve never seen so much starting over as I have the past few years. I’ve never started over so much myself as I have the past few years. As an entrepreneur you are always starting over. It’s just part of the process. But it’s never been so deep and so difficult for so long before. Dusting yourself off and getting back into the game is what an entrepreneur does. In fact, I would say this is the most important quality you need if you’re going to be an an entrepreneur. Tenacity. [Read more…] about The Art of Starting Over

Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?

It’s 9:30 at night and here I am still working. I was invited to go to a party, but had to turn it down because I still have orders to box up and writing that needs to be finished. That’s been happening a lot lately. Glad that there is work, but when you run a business there is always work to be done. It never ends. It made me wonder “Are entrepreneurs happier than employees?”

The other day I was invited to lunch. I can’t even remember the last time I was able to take a real lunch in the middle of the day that wasn’t eaten at my desk. I’m kind of hoping for a little stability right now, so I can take even an hour off and do something, like watch a movie. It’s times like this that I envy my friends that have real jobs. Okay, I don’t envy them too much because they’re sitting in cubicles all day being told what to do. Just a little stability would be nice.

A recent Gallup poll reveals how Americans feel about their jobs and how happy they are with them. 71% of Americans are not engaged in their work. In other words, they are emotionally disconnected from their jobs. This means they’re also more likely to be more unproductive when they are at work. [Read more…] about Are Entrepreneurs Happier Than Employees?

Are You Brave Enough to be an Entrepreneur?

I just found out that I was quoted in a Romanian textbook on entrepreneurship. Hhmm… Romania of all places. The quote had something to do with entrepreneurs being risk takers, a trait that all of us in that club share.

Create Your Own Job

I used to think that anyone could be an entrepreneur. Now I’m not so sure. I do a live and online webinar/seminar called “Create Your Own Job” and it’s all about creating jobs the entrepreneurial way. Not about how to start a business, but how to create unique jobs.

As I talk to people to get their input, I’m struck by how many people are afraid of taking even the tiniest risk. Terrified of picking up the phone to call a stranger or doing anything beyond their comfort zone. Many would rather wait until they get a job where someone else tells them what to do and how to do it. Even if it takes months of looking. Even if they have to take a job they hate for low wages. [Read more…] about Are You Brave Enough to be an Entrepreneur?

Are Your Customers Getting the Red Carpet Treatment?

Have you ever called someone, and as soon as you say who you are you hear a letdown in their voice, like they were expecting the lottery committee, but instead they got a telemarketer? What if it had been Brad Pitt or… fill in the blank with your favorite celebrity. Which way do you treat your customers? Are your customers getting the red carpet treatment?

After working in the entertainment industry for many years I’ve seen the lowliest nobody suddenly being hounded by everybody once they make it to a certain level. And the same people turn on a dime when they are no longer in that position. And it’s happened to me twice. The first time I was hosting a TV show and working behind the scenes in the role of producer. Saturday Night Live was at its peak and we had some of their writers writing the show. Broadway dancers doing the introduction. And Billy Joel’s arranger writing the music for my segment.

It was great. I was fielding calls from people I never imagined I would even be able to get on the phone. And they wanted to be in our TV pilot. I also got tickets to just about anything I wanted to see on Broadway. Shows I could never afford on an actor/waiter’s salary. Tickets to the hottest parties in town and dinners in the nicest restaurants. People were thrilled when I called, or at least they acted like they were. [Read more…] about Are Your Customers Getting the Red Carpet Treatment?

Is the Entrepreneurial Spirit Dead?

I’ve agonized about putting up this post because the last think I want to do is kill the entrepreneurial spirit. Life is hard enough for the entrepreneur, but with 80,000 pages of new regulations coming out every year in America it’s getting harder to keep that spirit alive.

You know the saying “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, it appears the only people who can do that are the ones that teams of lawyers and employees ready to deal with the mountain of paperwork and regulations they will have to abide by.

When I read this article, it really made me sad:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/08/03/the-inexplicable-war-on-lemonade-stands/

A lemonade stand was really the very first business I ever had. In fact, this is the first introduction many kids have to running a business. [Read more…] about Is the Entrepreneurial Spirit Dead?

What I Would Tell a Young Up and Coming Entrepreneur

Lately I’ve been giving some advice to a young up and coming entrepreneur. She doesn’t yet know that she’s an entrepreneur. But I know the traits when I see them. Fearless, determined, not afraid of hard work, not afraid of doing any kind of work, and focused.

Young up and coming entrepreneur

If you’re still a kid I’m assuming you live at home with parents or someone that pays all of your bills. Except for school you’ll have plenty of time on your hands. And plenty of energy. Take advantage of it now. You’re going to need it. Entrepreneurs work very long hours. Unless you’re lucky enough to stumble on a great idea that makes you a fortune quickly, (don’t count on it) you’re going to have to work for years before your business takes off in a big way. Ask any successful business owner how long it took before they got their first vacation or day off.

When I was 16 I opted for a half day of school and then went straight to work in the afternoon. When that shift was finished I went to the mall and worked another job. I worked another part-time job selling Avon on the weekends. And I still made pretty decent grades.

I never cared that much about school at the time because I think deep down I always knew what I wanted to do. And there wasn’t anything I could learn in school that would prepare me to be an entrepreneur. Before you think I’m trashing education, I’m not. I believe you should learn every day of your life. I just don’t think college is for everyone. Especially an entrepreneur. If your career path is doctor, lawyer, scientist or engineer that’s a different story.

Remember the up and coming entrepreneur I was telling you about? She has over $100,000 in student loans to pay off and she’s working a minimum wage job that isn’t even close to what she got a degree in. I live next to a large college and I hear that same story all the time. If she had put $100,000 into a business she would be making a lot more than minimum wage by now. And wouldn’t be paying off debt. [Read more…] about What I Would Tell a Young Up and Coming Entrepreneur

6 Ways an Entrepreneur Can Get More Done in Less Time

If you’ve ever been to a tropical island, perhaps you’ve heard that people there run on “island time”. In other words, they get things done when they are good and ready. It sounds nice, but if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you know, the kind that actually pays bills and can get more done, you can’t get sucked in to that kind of trap.

Get more done

Working from home is deceptive. I leave the TV on in the background sometimes so I don’t get lonely, but I rarely get to watch it. I keep the volume just loud enough so I can’t really hear what they’re saying. The lure to want to stop working and go play is strong. So, what’s the trick? Make your WORK your play.

If you aren’t doing something you really love to do, that you find interesting and exciting, you’re doing the wrong thing. Right now I know there’s a suspense/mystery on the I.D. Channel that’s calling me. But yet, I blog on. Because I love it. And I know if I finish all of my work I can watch back to back reruns of “Deadly Women”. That gives me incentive. [Read more…] about 6 Ways an Entrepreneur Can Get More Done in Less Time

Hiring What You Don’t Know

I remember taking a tour of a friend’s office and warehouse once. Okay, it was more like a compound. It was unassuming from the outside, but on the inside it was like a surreal toy factory.

Hiring what you don’t know

There were different divisions that handled some thousand or so products. You could walk through the hallways and see teams of people working on new designs and packaging. Then there were other groups working on catalogs and marketing. All typing away at their computers.

So I was a little surprised that the owner, the big cheese, the head honcho, really couldn’t use a computer at all. Here was a multi-millionaire that had started this business in a one room apartment with no money and built it into a powerhouse. But he could barely send an email. When I asked why, he said he hired people to do what he couldn’t do, or didn’t want to do, and spent his time doing what he was best at.

I’ve spent the past few days trying to figure out how to put an HTML banner on my site. This is not something that’s easy for me to figure out and I’ve wasted a lot of valuable time. So, I finally decided to take my friend’s advice and hire someone to do it for me. [Read more…] about Hiring What You Don’t Know

Branding a Blog

Whether you’re creating a new blog or a new business or a new product, the questions are the same. “Where do I start?” “What kind of image am I putting out there?” “Will anyone find me?” and “Will anyone care?”A lot of thought should go into branding a blog.

Bootstrapping Entrepreneur

Some people hate new beginnings because it means change. Change is scary. Change is risky. And change is a lot of work. But I like to see a new beginning as a journey, a work in progress. Create for Cash is the journey of a bootstrapping entrepreneur. Sometimes it’s lonely, often it’s scary, but it’s always exciting.

“You’re fired!”

It started years ago when I got fired from a job I hated. Not only that, but it was a commission only job where I didn’t make any money. I took the job because it had flexible hours, and at the time I wanted to be able to audition for TV commercials. One day I booked a TV commercial for a phone company. I found out the night before and couldn’t call in to work. So I called from the set while the cameras were rolling and my boss fired me while we were taping. I was crushed. I was fired from a job I hated, where I didn’t make any money and I was still crushed. [Read more…] about Branding a Blog