Entrepreneurship
Lessons, mindset, and strategies for building and running a business.
132 posts
The Death of Email
I take great delight in my growing collection of screen captures of ads declaring "The Death of Email." I take a picture of the ad, then I click on it to fin...
The Inevitability Cheat Code
Mike Tyson once said "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." When you stepped into the ring with Mike Tyson circa 1986, it was inevitable y...
Imagine If You Applied Your SELF
When my mother passed, I found a red box with all my old report cards. It was an amazing walk down memory lane. The thing I loved most was reading the handwr...
That's Not Your Job
I once saw a great interview with Quentin Tarantino on The Charlie Rose Show. He told a story about a lunch that changed his life. Quentin was having lunch w...
Your Own Personal Pluribus
I just watched the amazing Pluribus Series on Apple TV. The central idea of the story is simple and unsettling: what happens when every person in the world i...
Irrational Confidence
The first time I saw the words irrational confidence together was in a book called Overachievement. It was written by a sports psychologist who has coached a...
The Purpose of a Podcast
There are three models of podcasts that currently exist. The most common model involves one person interviewing a celebrity or people who have notoriety in a...
Syndication
There are two ways to grow your business: You can either scale it... or you can syndicate it. While some businesses are more suitable for scaling, others fit...
The Four Seasons Valhalla
I do a podcast with my friend Dan Sullivan called "The Joy Of Procrastination." And one of the things we talk about a lot is how Dan and his wife approach ho...
Enjoyable Life
I’m sure there’s a good reason why you’re an entrepreneur. If you’re anything like me, it’s probably because you like problem-solving. And conceptualizing id...
The Cost of Success
Sometimes, success comes at a cost. You may find yourself with a successful business, but your days are packed full of work you're not excited to do. And you...
Vending Machine
Sometimes, when your business is going well and you have more clients than you can handle, You come to a point where you start playing with the idea of helpi...
Lifestyle business
Many people talk about creating a 'lifestyle business'. But very few set out to find a business that meets that goal. The reason for that is, that a lifestyl...
How It's made
Have you ever watched How It’s Made? It’s a great show. And what they do is, in each episode, they take you behind the scenes and show you how everyday objec...
Predictable Vending Machine
After many years of working with various entrepreneurs and business owners, I’ve found that one common mistake people make (especially the one-man-band busin...
The Protocol
To scale any business, you must first nail your result-getting protocol. Because that's the basis for the scale-ready algorithm. And, you've heard me say thi...
Chain of Events
I did some work with a party rental company here in Toronto. When I asked them who’s their largest check client, what’s the jackpot for them, they said, “ An...
A Lottery
In certain industries, emergencies are the most common way to get new clients. Think plumbers, electricians, roofers… or any other business that falls into t...
Book Title Formulas
Can you guess the most important thing about a book? That’s right, its title. Your book’s title should be so compelling that when your ideal audience reads i...
The Discipline of Market Leaders
Remember how I always tell you that you must plan to dominate your category? Well, sometimes this also means deciding on what your core activity is and becom...
The Biggest Band in the World
There are many more people out there who can execute a scale-ready algorithm than people who can create an algorithm that’s ready to scale. And the fact that...
Outcome Based
Let me ask you something, How big do you think my email list is? I mean, how big would you expect it to be for a guy like me? You know, with my profile or my...
Monetizing Results
Whenever you start a new business venture… a big part of its success is to build a community around it. Especially when you’re in the lifestyle or well-being...
Franchise Prototype Thinking
Have I ever told you how much I like the franchise business model? There are two reasons. First of all, I always talk about breaking businesses into the Befo...
Ghost Restaurants
I read an article in the Chicago Tribune about a new concept called ‘ghost restaurants’. Have you heard of them yet? The headline was " Nine Restaurants, One...
Thriving Affiliates
Sometimes, when you have a groundbreaking product, it makes sense to license it to other people in your industry. Say, you have a new hair-thinning solution....
One Target Market at a Time
The most confusing part for many business owners is selecting a single target market. I know it sounds simple. But when you get down to it… There are just to...
''One for One'' Model
Most business owners who provide a service that’s project-based have one big problem in common… And that’s scaling. Think about it: The only way to scale a p...
Who not How
We’re living in a world right now where it’s never been a better time to have ideas. Think about it; Whatever you can imagine, no matter how ambitious or cra...
Filters And Amplifiers
Sometimes you want to know if your prospect meets certain criteria before you can help them. For example If you help people get loans, you might want to know...
Creating a Movement
When you have a great message, an idea, a system or framework, that you know is helpful to people… and you want it to spread as wide as possible… The first s...
Competetive Advantage
Do you know what’s the best way to get rid of your competition? Doing things that nobody does... And sometimes, this means going against what’s perceived as ...
Name Droppers
When I was in college, my friend Neil and I used to run a painting company, And the way we got clients was... We created another company called Name Droppers...
Tiger-proof Business
Several years ago, I was flying to LA and, to pass time, had Forbes magazine to amuse me. There was this article about the top 100 entertainers that caught m...
The Culture Code
There's a great book by Clotaire Rapaille called "The Culture Code." In his book, Rapaille explains how everything in our lives is based on an imprint that w...
Unearned Income
Let me ask you something… If you took 100% of all the money you’ve made in the last 12 months, what percentage of that would be “unearned income”? That is, i...
Three Words
Your whole marketing strategy can be distilled down to just three simple words: Compel, Convince, Collaborate. You need to COMPEL somebody to raise their han...
Your Biggest Opportunity
One of the biggest marketing ideas around is risk reversal., It means taking the chance, taking all the risk and putting it on your shoulders instead of on y...
Where It All Starts
Have I ever told you how the whole “More Cheese Less Whiskers” idea started? I used to read a lot of articles about psychology and human interaction dynamics...
Escape Valve
Here's a curious thing... Very early in my "internet" years, I discovered that the fewer options I put on the site, the more people opted in. That's where my...
Start Here... Again
The secret of entering the conversation in your prospect's mind is figuring out the timeline they're on that leads to your product or service. Because when y...
Are You a Doer?
Sometimes, the only thing stopping you from having an enjoyable and successful business is YOU. We all thrive in different situations, and figuring out what ...
The P&G Principles
There's a book about Procter & Gamble called "The P&G; 99". It describes the 99 principles P&G; uses when thinking about new markets and how they operate the...
Future Money
Here’s what I find fascinating: People are far less attached to future money than present money. For most people, present money is already spoken for. This m...
Simple Website Formula
I have a formula for measuring websites… and it goes like this: Eyeballs + emails + hearts = faces. You have to have eyeballs. That’s the first number I’m in...
Results vs Tools
People often assume the value is in their tools. But the reality is, nobody really cares about the tools. Your product or service… that’s not where the value...
Gift Card Ideas
Here’s an idea: Next time you run a promotion, use gift cards. Instead of doing the usual “Buy one get one free…” or “50% off…” just give away $20 (or even $...
The Marketing Equation
Since the beginning of time, commerce has been driven by exchanging goods or services for money. You have a widget or service people want the results your wi...
Scalable Workforce
One necessary requirement of a scale-ready algorithm is to have a scale ready team. sALIM ISMAIL If you think of Peter Diamandis’ books Abundance and Bold as...
Dig Well, Get Thirsty
I’m sure you’ve heard about Robert Cialdini’s new book. It’s called Pre-Suasion. And it’s the “sequel” to his seminal book Influence. I’ve read it four times...
Winning Small
There’s a guy you’ve probably heard of; he spent a great deal of money building a rocket. And when he launched it... it crashed. Soon after, he built a secon...
The Multiplier Effect
You can look at your During Unit two ways: At the most basic level, it should satisfy your CORE objective: to deliver the product or service you promised. If...
The President's Choice
Have you ever heard of Dave Nichols? Maybe, if you grew up in Canada. But if you didn’t, Dave Nichols was the president of the biggest grocery store in Canad...
Syndication For The Win
If you're at the point in your business where you’ve figured out a cool and efficient way of doing things, and you’re wondering, "How could I license this or...
When Marketing Works on YOU
I am always hyper-aware of when marketing is working on me. Are you? I travel a lot, so I notice when things in the hospitality service work amazingly well a...
I Love Marketing LIVE! (Wednesday)
Here's the link to join us at 1pm ET today: ILoveMarketingLive.com Joe Polish and I are getting the band back together. This Wednesday, April 8th, we go live...
Six pack abs as a service
For over 30 years now, one of the things I do is help real estate agents grow amazing businesses. In that 30 years, the big wins for the real estate agents h...
Email is DEAD
I take great delight in my growing collection of screen captures of ads declaring “The Death of Email.” I take a picture of the ad, then I click on it to fin...
Think Small. Win Big.
We all want to win big. Somewhere along the way, most of us were conditioned to believe that the path to winning big is to think big. Bigger markets. Bigger ...
Human Nature Always Wins
If you want better response from your marketing, don’t start by trying to change people. Start by accepting that human nature always wins. One of the surest ...
I like you
Joe Girard is widely regarded as the greatest salesperson in the world. He sold cars. For several years he set sales records. It's Documented in the Guiness ...
Three-mile famous
I coined a phrase... And it goes like this: Focus on getting three-mile famous. What I mean by that is… When you have a brick-and-mortar business like a fitn...
Creating Hope
There's so much negativity in the world right now. No matter what you read or hear it’s all about the fear and division. But, what if you could do something ...
Selling Before Creating
Dan Sullivan always says, "Sell the tickets before you write the play because if nobody buys the tickets, you don't need the play." There have been many time...
Technical vs Psychological Sales
The technical capabilities needed to make a sale online are completely different from the psychological capabilities needed to make a sale online… The techni...
Syndicate Your Systems
In any type of consulting business, there are two types of clients… The ones where you’re familiar with their line of business, maybe they’re in the same bus...
One Word "Trick" That's Cures Procrastination. Now.
Here's a thought for Wednesday as you're planning the rest of your week... When I’m procrastinating, which is often, it’s almost always because I’m not exact...
Vision, capabilities and reach
Any kind of successful venture has got to have three key components: Vision… capabilities… and reach. But here’s the thing. It is vision and reach that provi...
Turn-key system
One of the winning formulas I used throughout my career is syndication. I started out in real estate and did a lot of work there. But all of the wealth I’ve ...
Brand
I grew up in Canada... And until recently, I used to spend every summer, from May till October, in Toronto. So I’m tuned in to the Canadian pop culture. For ...
Consumer durables
Here’s a little wisdom nugget from one of the greatest investors of all time... Warren Buffett is known for doing annual meetings in Omaha, with all the Berk...
Meeting a New Need
Our reality has changed tremendously in the last few weeks... And right now, the number one concern people have is for their own basic survival. There are on...
Three mile famous
I coined a phrase the other day… And it goes like this: Focus on getting three-mile famous. What I mean by that is… When you have a brick-and-mortar business...
The easy button
I’m a big fan of processes. In fact, everything I do in my business is based on them. This way, instead of working IN the business, I’m free to work ON the b...
Testing your hypothesis
When you want to test a new business idea, here’s what you shouldn’t do… You shouldn’t start by thinking about how much you should charge for it. And yet, I’...
Global vs local
There’s an interesting phenomenon happening right now… And it’s the biggest migration our society has ever faced. Have you noticed? We’re all moving to what ...
The magic ticket
Imagine you’re a small hotel manager. Say, 100 rooms at $100 per night... Now, your ideal scenario is to have all rooms booked at all times at their standard...
The Four C's
There’s a great book I recommend everyone should read… But it’s especially beneficial if you have any kind of coaching business. The book is called “The 4 C'...
The killer app
It’s been a few years now that marketers keep saying, “Email is dead!’ But all I’m seeing is evidence of the contrary… People use email more than ever before...
100% cheese
A while ago, my friend Gorana shared this on her Facebook: "More Cheese Less Whiskers with a 3-year-old... Me: James, it's time for a bath. James: Nooooo!! (...
Activity vs results
There’s a reason why coaches, consultants, and other service providers have a hard time selling their packages... Most of them sell activities instead of res...
Changes
I read an interview with Jeff Bezos some time ago. There’s one part that I keep thinking about ever since... When the interviewer asked Jeff what he thinks i...
Buying reflex
I had a major breakthrough in lead conversions this year. It’s this: There are only two-time frames when it comes to converting your prospects - Now and Not ...
Talker's block
Everybody’s had writer’s block a few times in their life. I know I have. And it usually happens when you sit down and try to wiggle your way into writing som...
Money-making collaborations
I was watching some Dude Perfect videos over lunch the other day. If you’ve never heard of them, let me tell you… Theirs is one of the greatest success stori...
Collaboration
We’re at a point in our society where collaboration has never been easier. For example, look at Kylie Jenner... About a year ago, Kylie was on the cover of F...
Multitasking
Many people believe they’re good at doing multiple things at once. But here’s the myth about multitasking… There’s no such thing! You can’t do two things at ...
Free-range thoughts
Here’s the thing about focus and getting things done… In order for you to focus, you need to eliminate distractions. The problem is, even when you eliminate ...
Golf
Many years ago, when I was trying to figure out how to get more done in less time… I realized I never ever have problems with playing golf. Every time I deci...
Time For Everything
Whenever I talk to people about productivity the one thing I keep hearing is… “I just don’t have time for everything.” But here’s the thing. There IS time fo...
Convincing vs compelling
You’ve heard me talk about “convincing vs compelling” a number of times... Because it’s such a game changer for any kind of lead generation. And while you ma...
Leads and sales
Everyone wants as much leads as they can get… and convert them into customers as fast as they can. And it’s pretty common to use some kind of funnel for that...
Goldmine
I had a client in Canada who does branding, packaging and management for hockey players. Now, bear in mind: If you want to be an NHL hockey player, the best ...
The power of broke
Joe Polish and I did an I Love Marketing episode with Daymond John about “the power of broke”. And the main message in that episode is, there’s huge opportun...
Who vs How
Every entrepreneur has a reason WHY they do what they do… It might be, you have a specific knowledge and want to help people with it. Maybe you want to do a ...
Self-Milking Cows
I’ve been working with entrepreneurs for a long time. And what I realized is… Most of them are struggling with the same thing: They’re all trying to do it al...
The local global business model
Every time someone comes to me and says, “I'm thinking of starting an online business so I can reach the whole world…” My response is always the same: That’s...
Audience Advantage
I read a great book recently. It’s called "I Don't Want To Be Rude But” by Simon Cowell, the guy who created the Pop Idol TV show. (That later became America...
Unique ability
I’ve been looking at office buildings here in Winter Haven recently. And what I realized is... When I see a building, I just can’t see its potential. I don’t...
Theory vs results
When it comes to business, I take the scientific approach to everything I do. What I mean by that is, I first come up with a hypothesis about what I think it...
The power question
When you want to make progress as an entrepreneur you have to adopt better mindsets… And the very first mindset you must adopt is to think about collaboratio...
Podcasts
Podcasts are great… They’re probably one of the best mediums to get your message out. And it’s the number one tool to build trust and make people want to sta...
Cheese & whiskers
I have a podcast called More Cheese Less Whiskers… You probably know that already. But what you may not know is why it’s called that. I read some articles a ...
Testimonials
I want you to rethink your way around testimonials… Normally, business owners use testimonials to shine a light on them. To tell other people how great their...
Familiarly new
People don’t like novelty. We think we do, but what we really mean is… We’re attracted to new versions of something we already know and like. Just look at mu...
Celebrities
I got to meet Shep Gordon last year. If you don’t know who Shep is… He’s probably one of the biggest music and entertainment managers ever. Throughout his ca...
Cookies
Imagine if I brought you into my home, I sat you in the living room... and said: "Hey, Dean. I'm really happy you're here. If there's anything you want to ea...
The bridge
How do you build the bridge between “People don’t know you” and “Now they’re working with you”…? Here’s the bad news: You don’t… There’s no one bridge that c...
Songs
Here’s a little “secret”… When it comes to business, all the money is in scaling. It’s in exploiting, maximizing, and optimizing results you get from everyth...
Original work
When people say, “I can help anybody!” and then, on top of that, have three or five or eleven different things they can do for clients… They usually believe ...
Unused capacity
There’s a guy called Gamal Aziz who used to be the general manager of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. And Gamal is sort of a legend. Because when he joined...
Proven protocol
There’s two reasons why I’m such a big advocate for creating your own “protocol” for how you generate results for people... First, your protocol proves you c...
Bigger pie
There’s a common myth among business owners that goes like this… “If only I could reach more people… If only I could go global, and expand my reach… then, I’...
Horse for sale
You know how the saying goes? Sometimes, the best way to sell a horse is with a sign that says, "Horse for Sale." I have no idea where I heard that first. Bu...
Different game
What would you do if you only get paid when your client gets the result? Whenever I say that… even as just a thought... people think I’m saying they should s...
Hard to prove
We all know that design matters… We don’t have much scientific data to prove that claim, but on an intuitive level we all kind of get it. People are attracte...
Human to human
People usually say to me, “I have a B2B business…” or… “I sell B2C…” But you know what? No matter what your industry is… engineering, consulting, real estate...
Flagship communication
Everybody loves to focus on how to get more leads… But, before you start adding new people to your list… what’s really important is to set the context around...
The hero
When Gary Vaynerchuck first started his Wine Library TV show... He initially thought it’s going to be like QVC for wine. He thought he was going to come on c...
Scalable ideas
I was at Strategic Coach in Chicago not long ago and… I was talking to Joe Polish. We discussed how, as a society, we fetishize so much the execution and sca...
Definition of success
One of the best things I ever did was 20 years ago… And it was this: I went through an exercise which helped me create a guide post for my definition of succ...
Convenience of relationships
I often mention this great article I read in the New York Times called The Tyranny of Convenience... I’m sure you remember. It talks about how convenience is...
The 2nd best band in Dublin
What’s the number one problem for anyone who’s starting something new? That’s right, it’s, “How do I get the word out?” Because, even though there’s millions...
Bingeable audience
Most of the time, I talk to business owners who have a business up and running… … and we brainstorm ways to apply the 8-Profit Activators to identify the tar...
Consistency and longevity
This year, it’s been six years since I’ve started my Breakthrough Blueprint event... And it all came from a conversation I had with my friend, Dan Sullivan, ...
Greatest leverage
You’ve heard me raving about syndication many times before. And for good reason... You see, syndication is one of those things where you do the work once, an...
Proprietary metrics
The one thing that convinces your prospects to buy from you the most... is proof that you can help them get the results they want. That’s why, when you’re ju...
The “easy button” solution
One thing that we all have in common is… We all want results. I know I do. And I’m sure you do as well. Hey, I’m willing to bet all your prospects want resul...
Starting a conversation
I’ve said it many times before and I’m going to say it again… The best way to start a conversation with somebody is with a book or a report of some sort. The...
Monetizing your podcast
I don’t know if you've noticed... There are a lot of podcasts in the world right now. It’s becoming the cool thing to have. But, as with anything, you’ve got...
Big opportunities in thinking small
Have you ever heard of Snapple? It’s an iced tea beverage company here in the US. Here’s something fascinating about them... When Snapple launched their new ...
One Word "Trick" Cures Procrastination. Now.
Here's a thought for Wednesday as you're planning the rest of your week... When I’m procrastinating, which is often, it’s almost always because I’m not exact...