I've written here before about the importance of transcribing the wisdom you consume. This is one of those blog posts. Chris Brogan is a prolific writer and thinker. His podcast, The Owner's Mind, is a mix of interviews and smart rambles. I love both formats. 

Chris recently released an episode where he spent time riffing on failure and success. He dropped so many pearls of wisdom that I had to keep stopping my walk with Max to take notes. Here's what I learned.

"Your excuses will never be as interesting as the story of how you got things done." 

One of the keys to success in business and in life is to start, start, and start again. When we start new projects we learn from the experiences. That knowledge brings us closer to success, so we must move forward and stop making excuses why we don't. As Chris said, "Your excuses will never be as interesting as the story of how you got things done." I love that!

Your persistence and promises will lead you to success. You need to focus on the promises that you make to yourself and to others. Have the strength to keep starting, but don't confuse being busy with progress. 

If you want to succeed you have to have successes. Starting can be fun, but we often don't love the follow through. If you are always starting something you are never finishing. The key is to make smaller goals and simpler wins. Feel that success and keeping pushing forward. 

Be sure to subscribe to Chris' killer email newsletter for more of his wisdom. 

What small wins can you achieve today? I just wrote a blog post. How about you?

We can easily forget what Thanksgiving is all about as we stuff ourselves with turkey, aggressively shop for deals, and argue politics with our family. Luckily, the keyword is right there in the name of the holiday to remind us what it's about - thanks.

We should be thankful all year, but we get distracted by our business, family, and Netflix. If we take the time each day of the year to be thankful, we will all be more kind and reflective. I feel like this is needed now more than ever.

As we ease to and away from Thanksgiving 2016 here are some fresh ideas on how to be thankful.

Be smart with your smartphone: Set a daily reminder asking, "What am I thankful for?" Stop your day to ask and answer this question to yourself during a quite moment. It will only take a minute and can quickly become a positive daily habit.

Journal it. Use a small notebook to jot down what you are thankful for each morning or before bed. This will become a valuable resource to turn to when you have a crummy day. Flip through it and realize you live a charmed life.

Walk and talk. Get outside and clear your head. I use the voice memo app on my iPhone to record why I am thankful. Don't worry the passersby will think you are speaking on your phone. Nobody will know you are secretly talking to yourself. It will be our little secret.

Say Thank You. Review your recent emails, voice messages, social media interactions and instant messages. There are people deserving of your thanks. Pick up the phone and tell them why you are thankful, or write them a personal note and mail it. There is magic in the tangible interactions.

The Cheater's Guide to Saying Thank You

I enjoyed watching Carly Slater's Ignite Seattle presentation, "The Cheater's Guide to Saying Thank You". In it, she suggests that instead of being thankful to someone, we should be thankful for them. This helps us realize exactly why we are grateful. It's great advice.

Take it a step further and acknowledge someone for something they care about. In her presentation, Slater says you can find what someone cares about by noting difficult or rare things they often do. Tell them you have noticed and why you are thankful for it. Take a moment now to consider the people in your network and what they care about.  

Don't let Thanksgiving be the only time you are giving thanks. Happy Thanksgiving (and belated to my Canadian friends). 

This article originally appeared in The Tennessean Newspaper.

Networking isn’t just something you do during a conference. It is a process you must take part in before, during, and after the conference.

Effective networking leads to new business opportunities and new relationships. As I wrote in my book, New Business Networking, networking is paramount to your career and business.

10 Tips to Network Like a Pro at a Conference

1. Practice your elevator pitch

Practice your elevator pitch before you go. Who are you? What do you do? Why are you attending this conference?

You will be asked these questions, so rehearsing your answers ahead of time will help you prepare your thoughts. Plus, you might discover another reason why you are attending that you hadn’t considered.

2. Show up early

Try to get to the conference early, and stand near the registration table, entrance, or food area. These are the places where people congregate.

When you first arrive, solo attendees will especially be seeking a friendly connection. Don’t let them become wallflowers.

Also, consider approaching sponsors and introducing yourself. A casual conversation with a conference sponsor led to my book deal.

3. Express interest in others

Be more interested in other people than yourself.

4. Ask questions

Ask questions, and actively listen to the answers. Use eye contact and body language to show you are listening.

5. Talk to strangers

Forget what your parents taught you. Everyone is there for a similar reason. You are all sharing the same experience. A good icebreaker is to ask someone what they thought of a particular speaker or who was their favorite speaker of the day.

6. Be personable

Use a person’s first name several times as you are speaking to help you remember it.

7. Take notes

Take notes on a person’s business card about your conversation to refer to later. Can you help this person? Who should you introduce them to? Don’t forget to bring your cards, too.

8. Keep it fresh

Things can get stale during conferences. Bring mints and gum to keep your breath fresh.

9. Stay hydrated

Drink plenty of water, and go easy on the alcohol.

10. Stay connected

Follow up with each person you meet after the conference. Staying in touch is a crucial part of networking.

Follow up with a pleasant email, remind them what you spoke about, offer them a link to an interesting article, connect on LinkedIn, or schedule a “no agenda” coffee meeting.

Use my tips, and I guarantee you will have an amazing time at your next conference. Do you have your conference networking tip? Please leave a comment. 

Photo from Flickr by Cydcor

There are two precious resources all entrepreneurs swear by: time and money. With less time, we earn less money. When you work for yourself as a solo-practitioner or solopreneur, time is even more precious because you don't have a staff to assist you. Every hour should be accounted for in your workweek.

About six years ago, a close friend started his own business. We used to work together, but he decided to depart to start his own company. Our friendship faded because he could never commit to getting together for a coffee, lunch, or beer, like he used to. I couldn't understand this, but I understood once I started my company, Futureforth.

When you earn a paycheck you have more free time to socialize. When you work for yourself, you must consider whether that time will amount to new clients, customers, or something to benefit your fledging business. Yes, obviously we all need to fit in social time, but you won't grow your business if you are spending all of your time socializing. You also must beware of complacency when business is booming, all businesses have ups and downs.

I now get a little frustrated when I join someone for a coffee meeting only to learn that it is a social call and not something work related. Don't get me wrong, I love to socialize, but when I am seeking new clients, I must focus my time on business development and not casual coffee chatter. Free time is an oxymoron to an entrepreneur.

No Agenda

I recently set up a coffee meeting with an acquaintance I admire. He spends much of his time traveling for his business. He was home from London, but about to depart to New York in just a few days. Before he was back from London, I had reached out to ask him if he would like to join me for a coffee. In the email, I included two important words: no agenda.

Had I not used the words "no agenda", he might have anticipated my meeting request would lead to new work, or some form of professional collaboration. He might have ended up feeling disappointed, or worse, annoyed. I wouldn't blame him.

Time is a precious resource. During his few days between traveling, he probably had work to do and family to spend time with. Using "no agenda" told him that this was indeed a casual coffee meeting invitation, nothing more.

I believe that when planning social calls with fellow entrepreneurs we should add "no agenda". This lets the recipient know that this is strictly a casual meeting. I am writing this now because the gentleman pointed out how much he had appreciated my use of "no agenda". He knew from those two words that our meeting would strictly be a social call. I wasn't selling anything or buying anything. This was just an opportunity to chat and catch up with someone I admire.

Rather than risk disappointing or annoying your network, be clear on why you wish to meet with them in the first place. Respect their time and they will respect you. If there is a business opportunity to discuss, let them know. If it is just a friendly, catch-up coffee meeting use "no agenda".

This article originally appeared in The Tennessean Newspaper. Photo from Flickr by Pascal Maramis. 

A few photos from the first BarCamp Nashville, August 18th, 2007. 

BarCamp Nashville, the free, technology unconference is celebrating its tenth year this Saturday, October 15th. If you have any interest in technology (and you should), you would be nuts to miss this celebration. 

My friend and co-founder, Marcus Whitney, recently wrote a wonderful recap blog post about how BarCamp Nashville came together. Our main goal was to put Nashville on the "digital map". We wanted the world to recognize the technology talent in our city. Our plan was to launch BarCamp and later PodCamp Nashville (now known as Craft Content), and pass the organizing torch to a new team each year.

CORRECTION: After our panel today, Marcus reminded me of the reason why we passed the torch. Originally, we had planned on doing the second BarCamp Nashville, but Marcus started his own company and decided not to do it. So Kelly Stewart (one of the original organizers) and I decided to pass the torch to the next group. Who knew my mind would be foggy after nearly ten years. 

The model has worked well. Each year a new person takes the lead of a specific task and the previous person becomes a mentor. For example, if one person manages sponsorships in 2016, the person who managed it in 2015 teaches them everything they need to know. It's been cool to notice how different people have changed roles over the years as they have learned new skills or wanted to test to new areas of interest.

Countless New Friends

I can't speak for each volunteer, but I can imagine that their experiences have led to new areas of expertise for their careers and businesses. Plus they have made new friendships with fellow volunteer organizers. I know that personally, I have made countless friends from my involvement as an early organizer and co-founder, and later as a speaker and fellow attendee.  

BarCamp Nashville was created by our community for our community. It is with deep thanks to all of the attendees and speakers who have made it an amazing event each year. I also want to thank the gracious sponsors who paid to make BarCamp happen. Finally, and most importantly, I want to raise a glass to toast all of the dedicated organizers who have continued to grow and nurture Nashville's original unconference.

BarCamp Nashville Organizer Roll Call (2007 - 2016)

Abby Whisenhut
Adam Auden
Alan Eatherly
Alan Fox
Alex Ezell
Alison Slamon
Andrew Duthie
Anna Stout
Ashley Bright
Audrey Hunter
Audrey Shores
Bart Renner
Bayard Saunders
Ben Wilburn
Berenice Valdes
Bob Kalwinsky
Bobby Brock
Brad Blackman
Brianna Reed
Bryan Duplantis
Cal Evans
Carla Swank Fox
Carter Harris
Catherine Hardin
Chad Taylor
Chase Ramsey
Chris Mihalcik
Chris Riesgo
Chuck Bryant
Clark Buckner
Cliff Corr
Colin Yearwood
Corey Davis
Courtenay Rogers
Courtney Seiter
Cristina Cinque
D'nelle Dowis
D'nelle Throneberry
Damon Romano
Dan Cotton
Dan Eggenschwiler
Dani Heileman
Dani Heilman Howell
Darren Crawford
David Beronja
David Payne
Dean Shortland
Deanna Vickers
Deborah Fisher
Deborah Sanderfur
Diane Sanders
Doris Palomino
Dustin Thomason
Edwin Acevedo
Elizabeth Elmore
Emily Fordice
Emma Everett
Eric Near
Eric Shuff
Erica Cosminsky
Erin Cubert
Erin McInnis
Erin Page
Gaines Kergosien
Hannah Moyer
Heather Venesile
Heidi Short
Jacques Woodcock
Jairo Ruiz
James Logan
Jamin Guy
Jenni Leeds
Jennifer Nash
Jessawynne Parker
Jessica Murray
Jessica Peoples
Jimmy Thorn
Joanne Eckton
Joe Smith
John Ellis
Jordan Kasper
Joseph Bradley
Josh Cole
Julia Corrigan
Julie McReynolds
Julie Moore Dey
Kailey Hussey
Kate O'Neill
Katherine Neunaber
Keith Miles
Kelly Stewart
Kenny Silva
Kerry Woo
Kim Hatcher
Knight Stivender
LaCheka Phillips
Laurie Kalmanson
Les Gebhardt
Lesley Smith
Lindsey McMurray
Lisa French
Lucas Hendrickson
Marc Apple
Marcus Snyder
Marcus Whitney
Marissa Benchea
Mark Rowan
Mark Williams
Marshall Romero
Mary Carnahan
Mary Kergosien
Mathew Laughlin
Matthew Jackson
Max Trenkle
Maynard Garrett
Melanie Friebel
Melanie Meadows
Michael Daugherty
Michael Morton
Michelle Price
Michelle Ward
Mike Conrad  
Mike Logsdon
Miller Canning
Nayeli Anaya Hernandez
Neil McCormick
Nicholas Holland
Nipun Joshi
Paul Sunderhaus
Penny Cupp
Rachael Kahne
Rob Wingfield
Robin Thorpe
Russell Campbell
Sam Bradley
Samantha Yeargin
Scot Justice
Scott Greer
Scott Troutman
Sean Hill
Steve Cunningham
Sue Anne Reed
Tabitha Tune
Thomas Vaughn
Tina Wisneski
Todd O’Neill
Tom Cheredar
Tony Grotticelli
Winston Hearn

Did I miss you? Sorry about that. Please leave me a comment. 

Join Us This Saturday

Marcus and I will be hosting an interactive question and answer session with each other and the audience on Saturday. We hope to see you at our session, A look back (and forward) at BarCamp Nashville. Check out all of the other amazing sessions planned too! All for free. 

Happy 10th BarCamp Nashville. 

You know those people who you meet who you can tell are good people. Joe Calloway is one of those guys. Joe helps organizations focus on what is truly important, inspires constant improvement, and motivates people to immediate action (I stole that from his site). Jos is the author of nine books, a business coach, and a keynote speaker.  

Joe and I met for a coffee a while back, and we instantly hit it off. His long career as a speaker, consultant, and writer has certainly inspired me to keep pushing forward, even when the going gets rough. It gets rough sometimes. Anyone who says it doesn't is a liar; don't trust them. 

I recently reached out to Joe to check in and to say hello. Just a day after our email exchange, a package arrived at my door. I was excited to find a sweet letter and his latest book, Keep It Simple: Unclutter Your Mind to Uncomplicate Your Life.

Just as the title suggests, Keep It Simple is a short and simple book about simplifying your life. I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. I’m going to buy a few to give to friends who need to simplify things in their own lives, too. 

10 Joe Calloway Quotes That Will Inspire Simplicity

The following are ten quotes from Keep It Simple. Use these to start moving yourself in the right direction by simplifying your business, career, and life.  

"In order to get to simplicity, you have to have focus."

"Focus means clarity. Clarity means knowing what is most important."

"Getting focused is the path to simplicity, and simplicity is the path to success and fulfillment."

"Successful people have the ability to make the complicated simple."

"Our goal should always be to do that which creates value for our customers."

"As we simplify, we increase the likelihood of success."

"Complication freezes you into uncertainty and inaction."

"The quality of your life is largely determined by the quality of your relationships."

In addition to the inspiring ideas in his book, Joe recommends several thought-provoking exercises. Two of my favorites are the following.

"Create a “let-go-of list”. There is great wisdom and power in this idea, as you can’t accomplish the things you aspire to until you clear the space for them to happen."

"Think about every person in the past three days that has made a favorable impression on you. What was the common factor?"

I highly recommend picking up this little gem and putting it to work for yourself. Leave me a comment if you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'm a fan of Paul Jarvis. I've enjoyed his Sunday Dispatches email newsletter for sometime now. His message resonated with me this week (as it often does). In his email he wrote,

"The problem I’ve personally come up against lately is that thinking up these new ideas, new products and new models is a little addictive. At least to me. And now I realize that I’ve let my business get far too unfocused."

I am in the same boat. What's really challenging is working for myself. When I earned a steady paycheck, I could work on side projects whether they earned money or not. Most of them didn't, but that wasn't my intention. Now that I work for myself, I'm completely accountable for my time (and money).

I am absolutely dying to start a new podcast. I know what I want it to be, I know the guests I want to have on it, but it comes down to two things: time and money.

I figured out that my last podcast took me about four hours for each thirty-minute episode each week. That time included my guest research, lining up interviews, conducting interviews, editing the podcast, producing show notes, and promoting each episode. Aside from a few sponsors, the show didn't earn much money, so I had to kill it. I needed to focus on Futureforth, so I could be sure my family was being fed.

I have many new ideas for new meet-ups similar to my previous ones. I want to start a small, private mastermind group (message me if you're interested). I've been sitting on a conference idea for years. I had a new book idea, but realized it wouldn't land me consulting or speaking work, which means it wouldn't earn enough money. You get the idea.

Money, money, money...

Money, money, money... why does everything have to be about money? Because every minute of my day is on me. Because I have to feed my family. Because I want us to be able to afford the richest experiences (not things).

Did I solve this dilemma in this blog post? No. Maybe you have some ideas. I'll keep you posted on developments here.

Luria Petruci (AKA Cali Lewis) GeekBrief TV interview with me at Mac World in 2009. Photo by Griffin Technology.

I'm a big proponent of ethical, good-natured, non-douchey networking. I even wrote a book about networking, and my keynote presentation is all about the topic too. 

I had the great pleasure of catching up with an old friend yesterday, while we streamed live video on Facebook (video below). Luria Petruci is an early technology adopter and innovative talented video host. She once went by the name Cali Lewis and ran GeekBrief TV. I still remember when she interviewed me at Mac World in 2009. Her energy and honesty shined through her work as much then as it does now. We kept in touch via Twitter over the years and ran into each other from time to time in-person at CES.  

Networking isn't just about establishing relationships. It's about keeping in touch and looking for ways to help the other person. 

In our conversation, we spoke about the importance of networking for your career and business. I shared tips on how to grow and nurture your network online and offline. It's pretty clear how excited I was to catch up and chat with Luria after so long. I hope you enjoy our conversation and learn a thing or two about networking.

If you want to learn more about creating online video, you should definitely check out Luria's courses at Geeks University. She has been doing web video for as long as there has been web video, she's truly a pro. 

I recently returned from a family adventure. We flew to Denver, rented a car, and embarked on our first DelaneysGo.com road trip. We had a wonderful time exploring the great states of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. There was just one small catch, I still had to get work done along our journey.

When you run a small business, you can't simply unplug and stop working altogether. Yes, a family vacation should be all about spending time with your family, but you should never neglect your clients.

If you are like me, you have probably found yourself in the same boat (maybe even on a boat). The following are some tips to help you run your business while on your family vacation.

9 Tips to Work Remotely With Your Family

1. Let your clients know that you will be on the road for a couple of weeks before departing, so they know to expect a delay hearing back from you.
2. Set up your trusty, Out of Office email auto-reply with the details.
3. Split the driving time with your spouse, so you can tend to your email and catch up on industry news and social media.
4. If you need to get writing done, complete invoices and proposals, you can tether your laptop to your phone. Avoid videos, so your telecom doesn't penalize you with bandwidth overage fees.
5. Since you will be sharing a hotel room with your children (like us), you will probably get to bed at a relatively early time each night. Be sure to wake up before the rest of your family and head to the lobby to work. Bonus points if you can walk to a local café with Wi-Fi. This gives you a little local flavor, plus you support a fellow small business.
6. If you can't sleep because of the looming work you know you need to get to, sneak into the bathroom and set up your temporary office. Type quietly as you perch over the toilet (not so ergonomically designed). Stand-up comedian and Conan O'Brien staff writer, Brian Kiley, is known for writing material this way.
7. If you are RVing or camping (we camped), check to see if the park has Wi-Fi. You will be surprised to learn that many do.
8. Always be brainstorming ideas for new content along your travels. Use a notepad and sketch out your thoughts for blog posts, newsletters, and any other content you plan to produce.
9. If your family is quietly reading, sleeping, or staring deeply into their devices as you travel, listen to an audiobook or podcast on your headphones. I usually choose non-fiction, business-related content, so I can discover new techniques to market my business and help my clients with theirs.

Be clear with your family that you still need to get some work done during your family vacation. Remind them that your business helps to pay for their trip. Without my amazing clients, we wouldn't have been able to go on our adventure.

I asked the DelaneysGo newsletter subscribers for their own remote working tips. Matthew Rogers suggested that we should be prepared with all fully charged devices to get work done. He uses his iPhone's personal hotspot to download client files. He also suggested using text edit to draft blog posts, since other software that depends on an internet connection can be spotty. Marc Apple recommended setting a certain time of day to check emails and to make phone calls. He urged readers to stick to that schedule to make the most of your time away.

Most importantly, understand that a family vacation should primarily be about your family. I am not suggesting you bury your head into your laptop or behind your mobile device during your whole holiday. Be open with your family, so they understand why you need to get work done.  Don't forget why you are on a family vacation in the first place. 

Have you traveled with your family and still got your work done? I'd love to hear how you did it. 

This article originally appeared in The Tennessean Newspaper.

Outsiders Beware. Your Brilliant Idea Could Be Terrible.

Several years ago, I was standing in the security line at Nashville's airport. I stood there anxiously like the rest of the cattle, with my shoes in one hand and my bag in the other. As I lowered my shoes into the white plastic bin, I noticed a brilliant marketing move. 

The base of the bin had been lined with an advertisement for Zappos, the online shoe store. Picture placing your old, worn shoes into a bin with an ad encouraging you to order your next pair online. Talk about reaching your target market, right? Brilliant! 

This was the first time I had seen the white, security bin boxes branded. I imagined how many people would see the ads before arriving to their gates. What do people do when they get to their gate? They wait. They hop on their phones, tablets, or laptops, to surf the web before boarding time. I imagined Zappos' sales had spiked as a result.

Photo from http://blog.garrettspecialties.com/2009/05/22/

She shook her head in disagreement and said, "It's terrible."

When I passed the security check, the TSA agent stood behind the conveyor of plastic bins. She looked to me as I picked out my shoes. I told her I thought it was a brilliant idea for ads to be placed in the bins. She shook her head in disagreement and said, "It's terrible."

She explained that since the ads had appeared in the otherwise white bins, passengers were continuously leaving something behind. The ads camouflaged their wallets, passports, purses, and keys. I wondered how many people had to dart back to security in a mad panic after realizing their wallet was left behind. I bet people have even missed flights because of this. I agreed with the TSA agent that it was a terrible idea after all. 

What can seem brilliant in a boardroom can be terrible once rolled out, because there is not enough knowledge about the environment. I don't blame Zappos for this, I still think it was a clever idea. Unfortunately, it has also proved terrible for TSA agents and unsuspecting passengers. 

Can you think of other examples of brilliant, terrible ideas?

Will your idea fly? How to test your ideas.

Listening to Erik Fisher's Beyond The To-Do List podcast came at a great time, because I am working on some new ideas for my business. His guest was, Pat Flynn, from The Smart Passive Income Podcast and author of the new book, Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money.

I'm a big fan of Pat Flynn. Like other podcasters, he shares great advice for internet marketers. However, he approaches things in a very conversational, non-expert style. I am confident in saying that Pat Flynn is an expert in online marketing, but he delivers in a non-pushy or self-inflated ego kind of way. He's a good guy. 

The Beyond The To-Do List interview is about Pat's latest book, Will It Fly?, which is the question every entrepreneur should be asking before launching anything. Pat urges listeners and readers of his book to test their ideas before moving ahead. 

The following are key takeaways from the interview. I encourage you to listen to the full interview for more nuggets of wisdom from Pat and Erik. 

How to test your business ideas.

Grab your copy.

• Too many choices will stop you from moving forward. The unknown can cause enough fear for you to give up on an idea before you even test the waters.

• Get the answer to the question first.

• Consider the opportunity costs. Mike Stelzner from Social Media Examiner says, "You can't start one thing without stopping another."

• Don't rush into it. You need to decide on the idea and determine the steps you will need to make to move forward.

• Understand where the points of failure are.

• Make sense of your ideas by visualizing them by mind mapping. Check out MindMeister.

• Pat loves using post-it notes to create the order of his ideas by clumping them, reorganizing, and more. Beth Kanter has an excellent post about facilitating meetings with sticky notes.

• Figure out the problems you are solving with your idea first.

• Every great business solves a problem.

• An entrepreneur is a problem solver.

• Market research is crucial.

• Create your market map. Understand what's out there first by using the Three P's.

P: Places. Determine all of the places where your customer is online and offline. 

P: People. Find out who the influencers are in the space who have gained the authority. Use Twitter's advanced search to find them. Use podcasting networks to find them. Refer to the owners of popular LinkedIn Groups.  

P: Products. Figure out what the products are that already exist. You can find a position in the space if you see what is already out there. 

• Use Amazon to find the books on the topic and read the three-star reviews. Pat explains that these reviews tend to be the most honest. Reviewers provide the authors with suggestions on how the book could be improved or with new ideas not covered. These are items you can address in your product.

• Refine your idea after you have done your research.

• Get a few people to pay for your idea. Tim Ferris talked about validation in his best-selling book, The Four-Hour Work Week.

• Don't pretend to have a product with a buy now button. Instead, be honest and tell your friends, fans, and followers that you will create the product if you get enough buy-in from them. Ask them to pay up front to show they are truly interested in your idea. Make it a discount price. Include access to your early customers to help you shape what the product becomes.

• Set S.M.A.R.T goals.

• If you do not meet your goals. You know the product may not be a right fit.

• Do your homework and validate your ideas.

• When you have an idea of any kind. Talk about it with people close to you. You might be afraid people will steal the idea, but they won't.

• The pros of sharing your idea with people far outweigh the cons. The benefits include seeing and hearing the feedback. You get to have them poke holes in the ideas. They will also help you make it better by providing you with new ideas.

• Share your idea with strangers too. Don't just take one person's opinion. Use this feedback to help you determine whether you should proceed.

• Consider joining or creating a mastermind group to share these ideas.

• Onboarding means offboarding other things.

• You will need to make sacrifices in order to launch your new product. You will have to say no to other things that steal your focus.

• Make the product your one thing. Make it a healthy obsession.

• Everything you read and learn should contribute to that one idea.

• Don't let other things slow down your new idea.

• Work-life balance is a myth. Don't let your balance teeter too much to one side or the other. Be sure your communication is strong with your loved ones.

• Share what you are working on with your family, so they are aware. They will understand you will be busy if they know what you are doing. Be sure to refocus your time on them too.

I recommend you hop over to Amazon right now and pick up a copy of Pat Flynn's book, Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don't Waste Your Time and Money. 

You can listen to the full interview below and grab the show notes at Beyond The To-Do List.

Photo by Dave Delaney. All Rights Reserved.

My kids are nine and ten years old. For the last several years, I have been recording them on the morning of their birthdays. Each birthday, I use the voice recorder app on my iPhone, to ask the birthday boy or girl one simple question. 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have been fascinated with this question since I began to pause and reflect upon my own career, throughout my adulthood. I find the answer to what we truly want to do for a living can often be found in the things we most enjoyed as children. 

When my brother, Mike, was about eight, I performed magic and comedy for his friends at his birthday party. I was probably eleven years old. I was a class clown. I loved making my friends laugh, but the ultimate win was cracking up a teacher. I remember Ms. Hickey once laughing hysterically as she turned to the chalkboard to hide her laughter from the class. She couldn't reveal that I had her busting her gut. 

Years later, I would study improv comedy at Second City. I even had my own improv comedy troupe when I lived in Ireland. Improv is something I've been itching to do again. In fact, I'm (finally) going out this Saturday to see an improv show in Nashville. It only took me eight years living here to finally do this.

I loved creative writing in school. I used to write short stories, poetry, and I wrote in journals religiously. As I got older, the journalling stopped. It's something I have started doing again recently. Of course, I have this blog to share my thoughts with you. I also write on the Futureforth blog, Tennessean newspaper, and in my personal email newsletter (you are subscribed, right?). 

I loved drama class in school too. My earliest memory of performing on stage was doing Little Red Riding Hood in Grade 3. I had been demoted from my role of the lumberjack hero because I had goofed off one too many times in class. Instead, I was re-cast as a tree. I was more of a prop than I was an actor. My direction was to simply tilt my body horizontally as if to collapse slightly as the replacement lumberjack swung his axe into me. From there he would hear Little Red Riding Hood’s desperate yells for help and run to her rescue. 

My parents sank in their seats and my teacher's face became raging red with anger. 

When the lumberjack scene arrived. I stood erect with my arms spread out like a great oak tree. My parents and the audience probably noted my stylish wardrobe of a green turtleneck, dark brown corduroy pants, and trendy Buster Brown shoes. The lumberjack swung his axe into my side, but instead of following my direction, I had a better idea. I slowly fell forward with my face nearly smashing against the stage floor. I fell like a real oak tree wood, “Timber!”.  The audience roared in applause and laughter as my parents sank in their seats and my teacher's face became raging red with anger. 

I love making people laugh. I love being on stage in front of an audience. I know this is why I became a speaker. I always leave the audience informed, but make sure they laugh during my presentations too. There is nothing worse than a dry, boring speaker. 

Recording what Ella and Sam want to be when they grow up is an exercise for their own reflection as they get older. The recordings are private. I have no intention of sharing them with the world. I just want them to realize that as kids, they already have wonderful ideas on what they will be when they grow up. I want them to stay in tune with these ideas as they grow. I don’t want the system to distract them from following their true passions. Sir Ken Robinson has an excellent book called The Element. Robinson wrote, “The Element is about discovering your self, and you can’t do this if you’re trapped in a compulsion to confirm. You can’t be yourself in a swarm.” 

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I bet your favorite duties in your job stem from your childhood passions. Maybe you are lucky enough to do what you have always dreamed of doing. Or maybe you are stuck in a job that has nothing to do with the true you. Take some time to jot down what you wanted to be as a kid. Add the things you enjoyed most as a child. Now ask yourself how you can begin to weave these interests and passions into your work. 

Honesty is the best policy.

I buggered up scheduling a meeting with a client today because I mixed up timezones (sorry Zoe). I apologized to her and told her the truth. My mum taught me that honesty is the best policy. Your mom (or maybe Ben Franklin) probably taught you this too. 

Today, I saw a story on LinkedIn that inspired this post about honesty. No matter how clever you think you are in concocting a lie, you aren't. This lie cost a guy a job and it wasn't even necessary. 

Brian Connors, Managing Director and Co-Founder of AllSearch Professional Staffing wrote this post. 

Never a dull day in Recruiting. A "Professional" Sales/Management Candidate cancelled an interview today because they and child had a bad car accident, child had to go to the hospital. Even sent us the pic. How sad right? Not so fast, Google "bmw car accident" if you will. I guess our only remaining question for this future superstar of business is, just how did you get from the streets of India to a hospital in Atlanta in just 3 hours?!

I had to search the image myself. I use the Google Image Search Chrome extension to easily search any image online.

Sure enough, I found the original photo on Hindu.com by Sushil Kumar Verma.

"Honesty and integrity are absolutely essential for success in life." - Zig Ziglar. 

What's your biggest regret? 

A chalkboard was set up in the middle of New York City asking passersby to write down their biggest regrets. As the board filled up, the filmmakers noticed that all of these responses had one alarming thing in common. Do the things you'll regret not doing.

More common life regrets from the blackboard: 

• Not saying "yes" to things.
• Being too afraid of failure.
• Wasting time. 
• Not going after your dreams.
• Not keeping in touch with friends.
• Not finding the time.
• Just doing plan B.
• Staying in your comfort zone.
• Not pursuing your career.
• Not getting involved.
• Not speaking your mind.
• Not following your dreams.

The moral of the story is to treat every day as a clean slate. Do the things you'll regret not doing. 

Take a moment today to jot down your own regrets. Life goes by quickly, consider doing something different today to put you in the right direction. We all need to aim to reduce our regrets. What are you going to do?

When I worked at that gas station, I had a regular customer who always cracked me up. He was an elderly man with a thick British accent. When he came in each week, I would ask him how he was. He would stare up into my eyes from his seat and give me a sly smile. 

"Do you have an hour? I am going to need about an hour or more to tell you how I am. It's a complicated question with a complex answer. I would love to tell you how I am. Will your boss mind if you slip away for sixty minutes to listen to me tell you how I am?" 

I would smile and awkwardly reply that I didn't think that would be possible. He would nod and explain that I should refrain from asking how he was doing if I didn’t really want to know the answer. I always laughed and appreciated his candor. 

The Business Rhetorical Question

The biggest business lie is the one you answer when someone asks you how your business is. I have heard this question hundreds of times at networking events and conferences. The answer we always hear is that business is great, we are very busy. It's a lie. 

The truth is that most people wouldn't attend networking events or conferences if business was booming. They attend to meet new people and hopefully land new business, and that's perfectly fine. That's part of what networking is all about.

I love Chris Brogan's take on the "busy" answer. He's not busy, he's blessed. 

Maybe the next time someone asks you how your business is you should be honest. Tell them you are seeking a new client. They may be able to provide you with an introduction, or perhaps they can hire you. Just don't take sixty minutes to answer their question.

I am currently writing this from a small town north of Toronto, Ontario. I had lunch with an old friend who is a steel salesperson today. He spends his time driving from metal shop to metal shop across the province meeting with owners to close sales and build his network. He is old school and it works for him.

I asked him for his advice on how he makes sales and he told me to knock on some doors.

Most of my business at Futureforth comes from word of mouth. The trouble is, I sometimes depend on it too much. Instead of knocking on doors, I wait for the business owners to knock on mine. It doesn't sound very proactive, right? It isn't.

Instead of driving back to his office after our lunch, he was going to pop into a few businesses he noticed as he drove to meet me. He literally will walk in unannounced and introduce himself. He's not a pushy, sales guy. He simply wants to meet the owners and get on their radar. 

People do business with those they know, like and trust.

He will ask the owners if they need any steel now. If so, he will offer to get a quote. If the owner says no, he will suggest that he give them a quote to share his prices. My friend is a charming, good guy. He's not a slick, sales jerk. 

His main goal is to make people like him. He reminded me that people do business with those they know and like. If they like him, they will decide to give him a chance for business. Once he makes a sale, he's in with that new customer. 

It all starts with knocking on some doors. It was a good reminder for me to do the same. How about you?

Photo from Flickr by C.C. Chapman.

One thing you will learn about me by subscribing to this blog is I have had many jobs in my life. I love sharing stories about them, like fending off jerks at gas stations. I have also worked at many bars and restaurants over the years. This story is about a lesson I learned as a server that you can apply to your business. 

I once worked for a restaurant/folk bar / Jewish buffet/club in Toronto called Free Times Café (still going strong). Like many restaurants and bars in T.O., this one is in an old home. It is decorated with funky lamps and mismatched tables and chairs. It has a cool, eclectic, artsy vibe. 

Nights for me were filled with folk music and serving beer; Sundays had live Klezmer bands and enough latkes and blintzes to make anyone cry, "Oy!". I also had busy weekday lunches, serving neighboring office workers and college students. At Free Times, I learned the secret power of a free slice of pie. 

The Secret Power of a Free Slice of Pie

One weekday, I was serving a table of four women over lunch. One of the women was annoyed because her meal came out much later than the other three. The kitchen was backed up, a mistake was made with her order, and she had to wait and eat after her friends had dug into their dishes. 

As a server, you have only a few things to get right to serve people. Getting the orders correct and high-quality is essential to ensuring customers are happy. In addition, smiling and remembering names always helps. Going that extra mile in any way possible will ensure a nice tip. 

The hungry woman was angry about the situation. I couldn't blame her. There she sat, salivating, as her colleagues pigged out. I knew the secret to making everything good again - the pie. 

We usually had two different cakes or pies each day of the week. The server's job was to pretty up the plate and up-sell them to customers. A slice of pie already looks nice, but add a little syrup, whipping cream, and a dusting of cinnamon or chocolate powder, and boom! That's a fine-looking dish. 

One dollar earned us a lifelong customer.

After clearing the woman's plate, I delivered a delicious-looking pie plate. I apologized for the mix-up in the kitchen and exclaimed dessert was on me. Her anger changed to joy as her eyes lit up in elated delight. Her companions all burst out with a supportive laugh. All was good in the world again. The event made the lunch a positive and memorable experience. 

Not only did the lady leave happy, but she returned several times each month for lunch with friends. One of her colleagues returned for lunch soon after. She sheepishly admitted she had hoped I would mess up her order so she could get the free pie, too. 

One free slice of pie cost the house less about a buck. One dollar earned us a lifelong customer. I would say it was worth every cent.

What can you offer your disgruntled customers to make things great again? It probably won't cost you as much as you think. 

We have challenged one another in the NBN Club to read two books each month for the year. You may scoff at the simple quest of reading twenty-four books in a year, but to me it is a challenge. What can I say? I am a slow reader. 

My first book of the new year is Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim. Blue Ocean Strategy presents a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant and outlines principles and tools any company can use to create and capture their own blue oceans. Cirque du Soleil and Curves are two such companies that have created their own blue ocean businesses. As I read the book, I pictured Julien Smith's Breather as a great example as a company that found a blue ocean.  

The following are fifty takeaways from the book. I recommend reading the book in its entirety to fully grasp each point. The takeaways include points and questions you should consider regarding your own business. It definitely made me rethink some aspects of my digital marketing consulting business, Futureforth.

50 Takeaways From Blue Ocean Strategy

1. The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.
2. Value innovation occurs only when companies align innovation with utility, price, and cost positions.
3. …those that seek to create blue oceans pursue differentiation low cost simultaneously. 
4. the creation of blue oceans is about driving costs down while simultaneously driving value up for buyers. 
5. Effective blue ocean strategy should be about risk minimization and not risk taking.
6. …you must begin by reorienting your strategic focus from competitors to alternatives, and from customers to non-customers of the industry.
7. Every great strategy has focus, and a company’s strategic profile, or value curve, should clearly show it. 
8. By applying the four actions of eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating, they differentiate their profiles from the industry’s average profile.
9. A good tagline must not only deliver a clear message but also advertise an offering truthfully, or else customers will lose trust and interest. 
10. …companies must understand how to read value curves. 
11. Rarely do sellers think consciously about how their customers make trade-offs across alternative industries.
12. What are the alternative industries to your industry?
13. By looking across buyer groups, companies can gain new insights into how to redesign their value curves to focus on a previously overlooked set of buyers. 
14. What is the context in which your product or service is used? What happens before, during, and after? Can you identify the pain points? How can you eliminate these pain points through a complementary product or service offering?
15. If you compete on emotional appearance, what elements can you strip out to make it functional? If you compete on functionality, what elements can be added to make it emotional?
16. The process of discovering and creating blue oceans is not about predicting or preempting industry trends. 
17. Focus on the big picture, not the numbers.
18. …the strategic profile with high blue ocean potential has three complementary qualities: focus, divergence, and a compelling tagline. If a company’s strategic profile does not clearly reveal those qualities, its strategy will likely be muddled, undifferentiated, and hard to communicate. 
19. A company should never outsource its eyes.
20. A company’s pioneers are the businesses that offer unprecedented value.
21. They should use innovation because, without it, companies are stuck in the trap of competitive improvements.
22. Reach beyond existing demand.
23. Do you seek out key commonalities in which buyers value?
24. Non-customers tend to offer far more insight into how to unlock and grow a blue ocean than do relatively content existing customers. 
25. What are the key reasons first-tier non-customers want to jump ship and leave your industry?
26. Harboring within refusing non-customers, however, is an ocean of untapped demand waiting to be released. 
27. …by looking to second-tier non-customers and focusing on the key commonalities that turned the away from the industry.
28. What are the key reasons second-tier non-customers refuse to use the products or services of your industry?
29. …explore whether there are overlapping commonalities across all three tiers of non-customers. 
30. …retrain existing customers and seeking further segmentation opportunities.companies need to build their blue ocean strategy in the sequence of buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption.
31. Does your offering unlock exceptional utility? Is there a compelling reason for the mass of people to buy it?
32. Is your offering priced to attract the mass of target buyers so that they have a compelling ability to pay for your offering?
33. Can you produce your offering at the target cost and still earn a healthy profit margin?
34. The last step is to address adoption hurdles. What are the adoption hurdles in rolling out your idea?
35. Yet it did so many different tasks that people count t not understand how to use it. 
36. Unless the technology makes buyers’ lives dramatically simpler, more convenient, more productive, less risky, or more and fashionable, it will not attract the masses no matter how many awards it wins. 
37. Create a strategic profile that passes the initial litmus test of being focused, being divergent, and having a compelling tagline that speaks to buyers. 
38. To secure a strong revenue stream for your offering, you must set the right strategic price.
39. It is increasingly important, however, to know from the start what price will quickly capture the mass of target buyers. 
40. People will not buy a product or service when it is used by few others. 
41. …the strategic price you set for your offering must not only attract buyers in large numbers but also help you to retain them… an offering’s reputation must be earned on day one, because brand building increasingly relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations spreading rapidly through our networked society. Start with an offer that buyers can’t refuse.
42. They key here is not to pursue pricing against the competition within an industry but rather to pursue pricing against substitutes and alternatives across industries and non industries. 
43. To hit the cost target, companies have three principal levers. 
44. Partnering, however, provides a way for companies to secure needed capabilities fast and effectively while dropping their cost structure. 
45. A business model built in the sequence of exceptional utility, strategic pricing, and target costing produces value innovation.
46. In every organization, there are people, acts, and activities that excretes a disproportionate influence on performance.
47. People remember and respond most effectively to what they see and experience: “Seeing is believing”.
48. Numbers are disputable and uninspiring.
49. Showing the worst reality to your superiors can also shift their mindset fast. 
50. You must create a culture of trust and commitment that motivates people to execute the agreed strategy - not to the letter, but to the spirit. 

Have you read Blue Ocean Strategy? Did it make you rethink your business? 

I'm always on the lookout for my next books to read this year. Please leave a comment with your favorite business books. 

Photo by María Victoria Heredia Reyes. 

I wrote yesterday about a regret I have. We all have regrets. Don't lie and say you don't. I have been thinking about this lately because I sometimes compare myself to others I admire. Once again, something I shouldn't do, but I do - you do it too. 

Heather has girlfriends she gets together with once a year who she met in college. I always hear stories from friends about their college days. I get envious and I wish I had done the same thing, but I didn't. 

I Wish Had...

Fill in the blank, I wish I had ________________________________________________. Now replace "I wish had" with "I am glad I". 

I Am Glad I...

I am glad I went to university for night classes and on weekends because I approached it in a much more mature way. I built relationships with faculty who I am still in touch with today. I excelled in my classes because I took them so much more seriously than I would have out of high school. I did it while I worked during the day and while Heather was pregnant. I remember it fondly. 

I wish I had become a speaker, so I would be in as much demand as some of my peers like Scott Stratten, Mitch Joel, and Chris Brogan. 

I am glad I waited to become a speaker until later because I am much more rehearsed and knowledgeable about the topics I speak on now. I am glad I didn't speak before studying improv with Second City, because I know how to read an audience and deliver content that leaves them thinking, inspired and laughing. 

What about you? 

I Wish Had... 

I Am Glad I...

Photo from Flickr by Guian Bolisay

We all make mistakes at work. Hopefully, they are never serious enough to get you fired. I made my share of mistakes at the companies I have worked for. Thankfully never anything big enough to get me fired (or even reprimanded - much). My biggest mistake had nothing to do with the work. 

My friends will be surprised to learn that I'm more introverted than I let on. People know me as an outgoing guy, usually high-energy, and fun-loving. This is true, mainly around people I know, or when I'm in a situation where people want to speak with me. It is probably part of the reason why I absolutely love to speak at conferences and corporate events.

I regret this...

My mistake when I worked with people was I would choose to eat alone. Heck, Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz even wrote a killer networking book entitled, "Never Eat Alone". The truth is that I did too often, and I regret this. 

“Wherever you are in life right now, and whatever you know, is a result of the ideas, experiences, and people you have interacted with in your life,” - Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz. 

When I would eat solo it would usually be in my car, hidden on a residential street where nobody would find me. I would gobble down my lunch listening to a podcast, reading a book, and writing in my journal. I clearly remember reading Chris Guillabeau's "The Art of Non-Conformity" over Publix sushi in my old Subaru Forester. His book helped me as I moved on to work for myself. 

When I did eat lunch with my co-workers, I would always enjoy their company. We would have plenty of laughs and it would be fun, but I didn't do it enough. Do you?

Your Lunch Challenge

Ask your colleagues to lunch tomorrow. Do this because you want to get to know them better. You probably have more in common than you know. You might find an opportunity to help them with a work-related project. You may even become friends outside of the office, so when you leave the company (and most of us eventually do) you can still keep in touch. Maybe you will meet up over lunch.