7 Secret Strategies forEntrepreneurial Success
Dush RamachandranAffiliate Summit West 2012
Jan 9, 2012
Money-Meaning Matrix
Money
Mea
ning
Astray Artificial
Aspiring Actualized
Why align money and meaning?
Even the most successful entrepreneurs face difficult times
Harley-Davidson sold to AMF - 1969Repurchased by Willie G Davidson - 1981
Secret # 1True success lies at the intersection
of money and meaning
Hire and Delegate
The same skills that grew your company from $0 to $10M could stifle growth from $10M to $50M
• Hire skills you don’t have• Give them all the
information they need to be successful
• Help them when they get stuck
• But get out of their way
Expecting the same skills to scale the company from 0 to $100M is like driving on the highway in 1st gear
Worst Excuses for Not Delegating
• I don’t have time to teach someone else the job –it’ll be easier for me to just do it
• I can’t afford to hire the right level of person• My business is different – it’s hard to explain
to someone else• No one can do it as well as I can
Secret # 2You can’t grow if you won’t let go
You don’t know what you don’t know
• Even the most powerful man in the world doesn’t have all the answers
• What you don’t know can seriously hurt your business
• Even worse, you can waste valuable time trying to “figure it out”, when someone you know has the answer. You just need to ask!
You trying to run your business without asking for help is like the President fighting a war without the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the National Security Advisor
Favorite Excuses for Going it Alone
• If I ask for help, I’ll appear weak and vulnerable.• It’ll take me longer to ask for help than to figure it
out myself• I’m smart, I can figure this out by myself• I can’t afford to spend money to get help• My business is different, no one understands it like I
do• What will they think of me?
Asking for Help…
Charles Rolls Henry Royce
Created an incredible world-beating partnership
Secret # 3Ask for Help
Know where you’re going?
• When you don’t plan, you’re planning to fail
• Starting or running a business is like driving while blindfolded
Secret #4Have a Plan for Success
Ideas aren’t enough• Many
entrepreneurs live in their heads
• Don’t wait until it’s perfect
• Take massive action
• Do the hard things first
• Do at least one difficult thing each day
Secret #5Execute – Take Action
Next month’s revenue?
• The key to a sustainable business is predictable revenue
• Build recurring revenues
• Even small amounts per customer build big revenues on a recurring basis
Many marketers who wanted to sell their businesses couldn’t – revenue was unpredictable
Why predictable revenue?
• If you ever hope to sell your business or seek outside financing, predictable revenue is critical
• Valuation of your business for shareholder buyouts or other changes is very difficult without predictable revenue.
• Building an organization and committing to expenses is impossible
Secret #6Build predictable revenues
More things are wrought…
…by networking than the world dreams of
Affiliate marketing superstars Jeff Siegel and David Gonzalez made millions through networking
Networking Secrets
• People prefer to do business with people they know (or least have met)
• Put your picture on your business card, for instant recall• Attend as many networking events (Conferences, MeetUps,
parties etc.) as you can• Follow up with people immediately after a networking event• Offer to help before asking for a favor• Make a list of people you want to meet and seek them out• Don’t be afraid to go up to speakers after their session
Secret # 7Network Diligently
The Seven Secrets
1. Align money with meaning2. Let go to grow – Delegate3. Ask for help4. Have a plan5. Execute – Take massive action6. Build predictable revenues7. Network diligently
Dush Ramachandranwww.askdush.com