Create Your Own Job

Create For Cash is about anything you create and make money from. That could be a business, a product, a service, a piece of art, or an old tennis shoe. As long as it makes money.

Creating an Award Winning Business

Everyone loves a winner. We want to be associated with winners, get close to winners, be friends with winners. Maybe deep down it’s because we hope that some of that luck will rub off on us. And it’s the same with a business.

Creating an award winning business

If you want to prove that your business is worthy, there’s no better way than to start winning some awards for it. I think it’s great because it forces you to go through each segment of your business. Figure out how you can, not only make it better, but how you can make it worthy of an award.

I’m writing this on the heels of an award won by swiggies. The consumers voted and gave swiggies the Toyman Award of Excellence for innovation and quality.

Winning an award is validation that you’re doing something right. It’s validation that other people think your business, or products or services are as good as you think they are. And you should shout that from the rooftops. Get other people to shout it. Winning awards gets you noticed. It gets you prestige in your industry and prestige with your loyal customers.

NASDAQ award winner

The first award I entered was the NASDAQ Product of the Year award. I was up against some large companies and the winner was actually the one that got the most votes. To get in the running you were judged by the industry. But the winner was chosen from the most votes. I made it to semi finalist and NASDAQ had a big party for the winners. It was a very nice party! [Read more…] about Creating an Award Winning Business

What an Entrepreneur Can Learn From a Zumba Teacher

I always say you can learn something from everyone if you pay attention. L.A. DanceFit just opened right across the street from me so, even though I didn’t know anything about Zumba I figured it would be crazy not to at least go and see what it’s like. It’s awesome, BTW. And so is the teacher, Wil.

When I heard that Zumba was started by an aerobics teacher who had forgotten his music for class and had to improvise with his salsa and merengue music, I liked it already. One way to be innovative is simply by sheer accident. That’s how many well known inventions were created. It’s the people that realize they have an opportunity to capitalize on that lucky accident, who will succeed. So, here’s what I learned today: [Read more…] about What an Entrepreneur Can Learn From a Zumba Teacher

Networking During the Holidays

I love the holidays. But maybe not for the same reason employees like them. When you work for yourself it’s harder to shut off the entrepreneur brain. I like the fact that everything in life is a chance to learn something new. And when I learn a new skill I’m compelled to either figure out a way to make money with it, or pass the new knowledge on to others, or both. It’s just in my DNA.

I like the fact that there’s no traffic on holidays, and things are quiet. Since no one’s in their office I can’t make any phone calls or be distracted by other stuff. I can putter around the office and get creative. I can write all day long without the phone ringing, and catch up on files that have been sitting on my desk for months.

But I did take some time off today and head to a BBQ where I really didn’t know a lot of people. Since I always have the curious brain turned on, I thought this would be a good time to test out some networking skills and see what happens. I decided to hone my listening skills, which is something most people need to improve on, myself included. Since I wasn’t there to impress anyone or plug a project or get a job, I simply asked questions and listened. I would seriously recommend doing this. By forcing yourself to focus on it you’ll realize how much you really do need to improve and how much you can learn if you take the time to listen to others. [Read more…] about Networking During the Holidays

Version 1.0

I just talked to a friend of mine who has a great idea for a business, how things were going. He said he isn’t ready to launch it yet. It’s always something. Not enough money. Not enough time. The idea isn’t fleshed out yet. Yada yada.

He told me about this great idea about 5 or 6 years ago. In fact, he has dozens of really great ideas. Not one of them has ever been done. Not one of them has even been started. I just find it baffling because as soon as I get an idea in my mind I just haul off and do it, prepared or not. I call this Version 1.0. Software companies do this all the time. They get something out there and work out the bugs along the way.

‘Cause here’s the thing… you will never, ever be completely prepared. Even companies that have millions of dollars and do tons of marketing research can still have issues.

I’m sure some people will disagree with me, but I think you should get an idea as good as it can be and then run with it. I would caution against spending too much on it initially though. My first version of swiggies were pretty awful. They were made of a bulky plastic and had a bulky terry cloth band that didn’t stay on the wrist very well and was incredibly hard to thread through the bottle. I bought some off the shelf packaging and had to seal it together with a glue gun. [Read more…] about Version 1.0

How Long Should You Chase a Dream?

This is going to be one of those posts that has a question, but no answer. That’s because it’s an individual decision. You’re talking to somebody that spent 12 years developing a product before it even made it to market. And someone that hung in there for years as an actor. Some years were great, and I made several movies and TV shows. And some years were spent bartending and waiting tables for what seemed like an eternity. I’ve spent years in a relationship waiting for a ring. So, I’m really not one to tell anyone else when they should give up a dream. I guess the answer is… when you no longer have a passion for it.

Yesterday I was told that I would finally be getting a dream job I had been pursuing for about 2 years. But it started way before that. I started planting the seeds for it before I even knew I was looking for a job. And I didn’t know I was planting seeds at all. It started years ago when I went to get a Christmas tree. The guy at the lot was very proud of the trees and wanted to tell the story of how they got there. Most people were in a hurry to get their tree and go home. But I wasn’t in much of a hurry, for a change, and sensed his excitement over telling someone the Christmas tree story. So, I stayed and listened. [Read more…] about How Long Should You Chase a Dream?