How do I look?

Women do this trick all the time. How do I look in these Jeans?
Does this dress look nice on me?

If you’re smart, you know how to answer without sleeping on the
couch for a few nights straight.

When we are working on a project, we always ask people..

What do you think?

It’s the easy question to ask and most of the time, our friends will say…

It looks nice or I like that.

Here’s how you get the truth.

Ask this question instead:

What’s wrong with this website? What’s wrong with this suit that I’m wearing?
What do you think is wrong with the project?

How do we make this thing better?

This makes a huge difference in how people respond. You might actually get the truth.

When you ask this question, you force people to answer the question more directly.
You force them to find the issue that’s wrong and look past the nice stuff.

Caution, be prepared to handle the truth. It can be tough to hear. But when
you really want the truth, ask What’s wrong with this picture? How do we
make this better? Even if you think it’s perfect.

You can always improve by asking the right question to get the truth.

Tell me what you think is wrong with this post?

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For those of you that don’t know who my
father is.. he is a successful entertainer from
the 60′s who is still performing all over the world.

More on that later..

Anyway, if you don’t know that, it’s impossible
to know his personality off stage. He likes to be
antagonistic in a way that provokes thought.

Sometimes he does it for effect and sometimes
he does it to get my attention (and on my nerves).
This time, I couldn’t tell why he asked me this ridiculous
question. Well, at the time the question seemed ridiculous.

Here it is…

We are back stage before one of his shows and he says to me..
” You’ve been working on the Internet for over 10 years,
WHY DIDN’T YOU INVENT FACEBOOK?”

I was taken back for a moment but I really wanted to answer.

I tried to answer the question just to stuff a sock in it but…
the answer wasn’t coming out as clear and concise as I
really wanted it to. But I tried.

Needless to say, I couldn’t find a sock.

What I did do was I thought about it. Now there is a concept
I knew I could get my mind around. I’m a good thinker!

So the whole ride home, I thought about the question.
Why didn’t you invent Facebook?

Then it clicked for me and I hope it clicks for you
if you are struggling with your career or level of
success.

Here is a hint.. You couldn’t have written this blog post and
you couldn’t have invented Facebook either. Why Gene?

It’s about your life experiences.

Inventions are usually created to solve a problem in someones life.
The problem shapes the solution. (You can write that down)

Mark Z of Facebook needed to solved the college campus problem
of sharing pictures and the relationship status of those students
among many other things. His solution is now worth billions!

Unless you were a college student faced with that specific problem…
and you had the technical expertise… plus you met someone who gave you a loan and
the world needed it… blah blah blah.. on and on and on…

Forget it! Keep it moving.

It wasn’t meant for you to invent. Let it go!

So thanks dad! I know you didn’t mean it to set me FREE..
but it was very freeing and hopefully
freeing for other people who will read my blog post.

I came to this conclusion because in the back of my mind,
I was thinking…”Dad.. why didn’t you write THIS hit song
or THAT hit song or… better yet, why didn’t you create Motown.

Why didn’t you discover this person or that person.. that was your era.
After all, you’ve been in this business over 45 years.

That’s when it hit me… his own life experiences lead him to write
one of the most recognizable songs in the world.

“DUKE OF EARL” – GENE CHANDLER

He couldn’t have created Motown.. he was from Chicago and not Detroit.

Get in your lane, recognize your strengths and look around you for what
you can invent. There is something screaming for you to develop it
and make it your own.

Forget about the ones that got away. Go and “Do You”… because Facebook and The Duke Of Earl have already been created.

Gene Culver

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Unexpected Fanatics

Why, because the taste of the people who purchased them are all different.

Personally, I would never own a pink car just for the sake of owning it.
I have nothing against them it’s just not my style.

However, I would own a red car as I approach my mid 40′s. I bet hundreds if not
thousands of men would. Not you? Maybe you? YOU? Hey, the dealers only care
about the ones who will.

The people who make cars know that different cars attract different
people. They don’t make them all the same color for a reason.

They don’t just guess who is going to buy it, they know that
they will sell for sure. If you can understand this concept you are on your way
to being very successful in business.

Gene, How does this apply to what I am looking to do in business? Easy!
You have a product that someone is going to love. The downside
is you also have a product that someone is going to hate!

So get ready for the ups and downs.

For most people, you only need 1000 crazy screaming… out of their mind…
buy anything you’re selling… FANATICAL people buying from you! We call
them FANS for short!

Fans are people who will buy it because they love it and you. They run in
and buy when the rest of the world is wondering what the heck going on
and why do they love it so much… or you for that matter.

They scream and pass out at concerts. They paint their bodies in the
school colors to show loyalty and they keep you in business.

Just do the math and you will see you don’t need a million people to change
your life. You only need a few fans.

As a father, it’s nice when your kids look at you as their hero. As a marketer
it’s nice when a company credits you with the success of their program. As
a player, it’s nice when you score the winning goal and your fans go crazy.

So… consider this…

If 1000 people around the country or in your own back yard,
love what you do and they buy your Tshirt,
album, coffee mug, calendar, remixes, autograph picture, CD series, ebook
and so much more you win and you’ll be profitable.

On average if they spend with you, without realizing it, $200 over a course of a year
on all those products. You will have generated over 200k in gross profits. That will keep
you from waiting tables, sweeping floors and taring tickets at the local movie theater.

So start with one, recognize you can’t please everyone and start building your fan
base. Make friends but not at the expense of your fans. Keep your fan base happy
and they will tell other people about you. Fans usually travel in packs.

Pick a color not a blended hue and deliver what you are, who you are and a certain number
of people will love you for it. The ones that don’t love you, can be someone else’s fan.

-Gene Culver

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Everyday I talk to business start up hopefuls and they all have one things in common.
They are looking for the perfect beat! Looking for the perfect business.

It’s not out there for most of us. Not at first! The purpose of your first business
is to help you buy the second business. If you make it in the first one or not
is irrelevant. What’s important is that you discover the bottom line to making money.

It doesn’t matter if it’s IPAD’s or Mouse Pads. Money exchanged for goods and/or services is
the only legit way to make money.

Stop getting hung up on the perfect scenario. It doesn’t exist… in the beginning for most of us.

You can market the next MLM juice, weight loss product or great piece of software…
You will make money. You can spend the next 5 months thinking of what’s the greatest
easiest, most profitable product and still never make a dime when it launches.

Get with the program. Walmart, Target and other top retailers don’t care what product you buy
as long as you buy it from them. They are in the business of exchanging goods for MONEY!

What do they sell? Answer: EVERYTHING!

I’m not saying you need to just sell anything but you may need to get out of the “Think Everything Over” mode that keeps people trapped. Trapped in how to make money. True entrepreneurs just go for it. What the heck.. just go for it. We don’t play flag football… we play rugby.

Keep the currency moving. That’s the benefit of currency, it’s suppose to flow. Flow from you to other people and from other people to you. It can’t flow if it bottle necks at your delayed and long drawn out decision making process. Trust me, the bill collectors aren’t going to wait for you to think it over.

Here’s a final thought. When you have a product that is tested, tried and true in the market place and the opportunity pops up for you to be able to sell it, consider fast but jump on it quicker.

The purpose of the first business is to help you buy the second business so…. Making money in that first company regardless of who’s product it is key to your learning curve. If you make money…use that profit to buy the second business… if you want one.

It can be Milk or Milk Chocolate. It can be IPAD or Mouse Pad. It can be peas or can peaches. The bottom line is find something people are willing to pay for and push like your bank account depends on it.

Let’s work!

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Duration: 18 minutes, 28 seconds

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Gene Culver

Growing a business online is actually challenging. What you don’t know can hurt you and what you don’t know can delay your success.

The point in which it becomes easier, it just simply morphs into a competitive environment. Once you get to the top, you have to work at it to stay there. The tools to do it better become available. The money starts to flow and your budget increases to tackle problems.

The problem with your success is where you are at any given time.

Small businesses are being beat up by the middle businesses. They don’t want you in their space. Once you make it to the middle size, it actually get’s worst. Now you have the little guys nipping at your heals to take your place and the big boys are trying to squish you so you don’t get to be their size. They don’t want you at their level at all.

You’re getting sandwiched from both the small and the large businesses.

Either way, your greatest tool is your ability to stay in it until you win and remain a student of the game. Stay consistent, stay with it and don’t ever quit. Keep getting as much education as you can and applying it to your current situation.

If someone tells you that blogging, meeting, prospecting, finding new leads, putting up websites, discovering new material, teaching or whatever… is easy… run.

It’s not easy it just very financially rewarding…. down the road.

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Here is a link with a free guide to show you what it takes to start your business. Watch the free video and get the free guide at: Should I Start My Own Business

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