Within the next few weeks, More Caffeine Please will be a year old. In the past 12 months, I’ve tried to share as much information and knowledge as I possibly could – I hope I’ve succeeded. These are the most important lessons I’ve learned:
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Work your ass off.
I’ll admit. I’m that guy at 3 in the morning with bloodshot eyes staring at a headline for an ad trying to get the wording exactly right. I routinely put in 16 hours a day… waking up at the crack of dawn, and falling asleep well after the caffeine has worn off. But it pays off.
If you want it bad enough, you are able to go and get it. But YOU have to get it. No one is going to hand you your dream. Have a vision, and work your ass off until you’ve realized that vision.
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There are a lot of great people who want to see you succeed
I talk to my friend Scott about once a month for anywhere between 1 – 2 hours at a time. Scott is a semi retired entrepreneur who has a ton of great knowledge and insight. Whenever I’m in a pickle, I give him a call. I don’t pay Scott anything… in fact, I’ve never even met him face to face.
Ditto my friend John. John is an email marketing/adwords expert who I email every week asking for his advice on a piece of copy, or adwords, etc. Like Scott, I’ve never met John, nor do I pay him any money.
There are “Scott’s” and “John’s” all over the world who want to help you succeed(John lives in Spain, Scott lives in South Carolina). The only thing they ask is that you work your ass off. They don’t want to waste time on “dreamers”. Find mentors who want to help you – they are out there.
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Try as many ideas as you can conceive
I call More Caffeine Please my business, but in reality it is my laboratory. Every marketing idea I dream up, it is experimented first with the More Caffeine Please name. Guess what – 98% of my ideas fail. Either because they were completely stupid, or I just don’t have the money/expertise to implement them.
But, the 2% that do succeed do so because I am willing to fail 98 out of 100 times. Every plan/idea that I conceive for my customers has been tweaked on my own business first. If you aren’t failing at anything, it’s because you aren’t trying new things.
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Treat people like people
No one wants to be called a resource – they are people. Likewise, your customers don’t want to be another number, they want to feel like they are unique, and that you exist to help them solve their problem. The technology exists to have personal relationships with customers. Use it. Your customers will soon feel like you are their friend… and perhaps you will be friends with them. Becoming friends with your customers isn’t a bad thing.
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Be persistent
Remember how I said that 98% of all my ideas fail? Persistence makes up for a lot of errors. You are going to get knocked off the horse hundreds of times. Your number one job as an entrepreneur is to make sure you keep riding.
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Help others succeed
Just like others want to see you succeed, you need to help others succeed. I’m not sure I believe in Karma, but just in case it does exist, I like to rack up as many points as possible. If someone emails you asking for a quick answer, respond like it’s your best customer – even though there is a good chance they won’t pay you for anything.
If someone asks to speak at a charity event, or for some other type of not-for-profit organization, just do it and expect nothing in return. You’ll never be able to pay back those who helped you, so you might as well pay it forward.
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Love what you do
For some stupid reason, I love marketing. I love my family, Philadelphia Sports, and marketing. Your business is going to consume a large portion of your life (see point number 1), so you might as well love it. I “work” 18 hours a day without thinking twice. In fact, I get pissed because I HAVE to go to sleep at night. (I’ve tried the not sleeping thing, but it doesn’t work).
If you are passionate about your business, then it will show. You will be willing to work hard, and help others succeed. You will have mentors, and customers, and more ideas than you can actually afford to implement. And most important, you will have a business.
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One Last Thing
Finally, I’ll leave you with this. I heard this quote from someone at NASA, but can’t remember who it was. When speaking about the lunar landing he said “We were too stupid to realize that it couldn’t be done.”
When I reflect back on this past year, I can’t think of a more exacting quote.
What are some of the things you’ve learned about succeeding in business? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
The term “human resources” always conjured up an image in my head of people being dug out of the ground – like coal.
Good advice Greg, and a well written post.
I like the idea of trying to succeed at something even though you have no idea what you’re getting into, and just believing that you can make it work. I think some of the world’s top inventions and products are based on this strategy. Start something and figure it out along the way, just make sure you have a good team to work with.
Jodi, I hate when managers ask other managers if they can “allocate more resources to a project.” Why not just ask a human being if he/she minds working on something of greater priority?
Thanks Jeremy.
You bring up a great point. When people, not just business owners, fail to step out of their comfort zone they fail to grow and adapt.
This is magnified in the business world because if you aren’t adapting, you are dying.
It’s 3:27am Saturday morning. I think a great time to thank you for the mentioning.
THANKS!
>> , I’ve never met John, nor do I pay him any money.
I guess we have to do something about the “…never met John” part of it.
98% for everyone’s ideas fail – the realization of the fact is simply “Stimulating!”
As stimulating as caffeine… I think i ‘ve told you before… I love the name “More Caffeine Please” …