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entrepreneur and the traps you can find around. It is a short book, you can read at a stretch and then - most importantly - APPLY.
I met Fabricio in Ricardo Bellino’s Elite Plus Mastermind in Barcelona, where I told my story of how my book has become Bestseller on Amazon and how it changed my life.
If you are starting your entrepreneur trip, the best thing you can do is to be around someone who has already done it and realy wanna share his wisdom with you. In straightforward language that is easy to understand. If Fabricio has done it, you can too. As he says, it will not be easy (anyone who tells you otherwise is lying on) - but possible.
We were doing an exercise to write a synopsis of a book. Fabricio was the first to deliver his work and today - just five months later - I have the manuscript of his first book in front of me. Fabricio is a doer. He speaks little and does things. Learn by doing. As you’ll do in this book. It is also so generous and share their success formula with you in this practical guide. And just like Fabricio, this book goes straight to the point without toreos.
In this book you will find all the resources you need to help your way to being a success entrepreneur. It is a very practical manual, which goes to the point, without false promises, realistic, and you will discover a path that the author has traveled for years and now synthesized for you in an hour of reading. Wonderful.
Fabricio is one of those people who does something and then explains it, not like others who only sell smoke, or those who speak from hearsay or unproven ideas. Fabricio only explains what he has worked on. In this book, Fabricio explain how to be a success
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So have fun reading - and apply the tips! Much success!
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Marc Reklau, Bestseller Author of “30 Days – Change your Habits, Change your Life” with more than 150 thousand of downloads and sells at Amazon.
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Bob dylan a Nobel “How many roads must a man walk to be called a man?” Ricardo Amorin once wrote “Entrepreneur is the business man who work hard” Guy Kawasaki other greatest said “You can not change the world if you are dead and being without capital is be dead” I chose three great masters in which only bob dylan I haven’t met yet to write this introduction to you dear reader. It is true that I have chosen as inspiration a book one of the greatest entrepreneurs I have met, Mr Guy Kawasaki, without doubt one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to the entrepreneurial world. Are many ways to explain the differences between the entrepreneur and the business man or even how to teach you to have your own business. Some entrepreneurial can talk about it, because there are so few who can really enjoy this pleasure of success in their own. Circumstances of the most varied has prevented the entrepreneur can succeed, currently extremely complex markets and a lot so many troubles a long the road. The secret is don’t step to much forward, do simple, do effective. I wrote this book and now writing this introduction because I’m a soon of this circumstances, other entrepreneurial thought too much dreamer and less executioner. Often said that the entrepreneur is not what wanted to be the entrepreneur is what could be! I’ve created the “Aprendi Fazendo” means learning by doing to help into the entrepreneur start your own business with a simple steps! Without delay, without stalling without bla bla bla. At learning by doing I’ve listen all entrepreneurs with all ages in many countries and have no doubt: Entrepreneur is a way of life! Fasten your seat belts, we are taking off in a shortly, enjoy the journey and like said the poet; one thousand miles journey begins with a mile. Fabricio Morini 4
If you acquired this e-book, I will assume that you wish to be a successful entrepreneurial. Have you ever imagined your company increased, consolidated and succeeded on the market? You, a known great CEO, invited to give lecturers all over Brazil. It’s a dream, isn’t it? The first news I have to give for you is: it won’t be easy. Not even close! But the second news is that your company’s success depends only of you and your efforts. In this e-book you will learn everything you need to know to start your successful business. But when we talk to “start”, we aren’t talking about make a planning to elaborate a business plan… Nothing related to make a lot of plans. The thing is to have a lot of practice! If you have a great business idea and are crazy to take it off the paper to begin to undertake, welcome on board. Fasten your seatbelt and let’s go!
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You have a great business idea and are decided to invest in it. And now? Which is the first step to remove the plans from the paper and put them into practice?
Start!
That’s right. Without further delay, without think more than necessary, without architect the perfect business through years and without letting the opportunity slip away.
The moment to start is now!
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1 .1 W h a t i s yo u r m e s sage ?
1 . 2 Pass th is messag e!
Have you ever stopped to think about which is the greatest goal to be achieved by your company? A lot of entrepreneurs open their business just by the need or the desire to make money.
There is no point in having a noble message to be passed if you don’t pass it effectively, right? That being said, leave the Facebook messages and Instagram photos for after the success. Drop the declarations you read from the “business gurus” and start your own business. RIGHT NOW!
Here’s the first tip: the reason to start anything is to known that you can really change a market niche. Can your business cause a positive impact on the world? If your company ceased to exist, it would be missed? Find this noble message and make a difference, innovation must be your number 1 mark. And it couldn’t be different. After all, if you don’t make something new and creative, you’ll be limited to make the same thing other companies already do. And, in this case, which would be your great differential on this case?
Remember that all messages are very nice, but they don’t fill the stomach. Take your original message to your public and start to work! As good as your business idea can be, and no matter how many benefits it can bring to the public, if that information doesn’t reach the ears of the interested people, it will be useless. It’s the same to have the cure of a disease, but not warn anyone, waiting others to come until you looking for it.
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A lot of entrepreneurs need to understand that regardless the time spent theorizing, planning, re-planning and rebuilding a business, it will never be perfect. You’re not the first and definitely won’t be the last to fail at this point. In fact, even after put into practice, a business will never be perfect. It will always have something to be improved and it’s exactly through this way that the company will grow. The question that remains is: why lose time on theory if it’s more tangible optimize your business when it’s already in functioning? You have to start. The company is open and the business is moving forward. The things that aren’t alright, you correct. The things that are already well will continue the same way. In a few months you’ll advance more than you would with years of planning made on paper! How can you do this? Establish goals, find partners and associates, obtain the first loyal clients, and create innovative products with unique designs and, specially, a test! Create several versions of a same product and adapt it according to your clients’ reactions.
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1.4 Fo llo w a flig h t plan Have you ever encountered a task that you weren’t feeling comfortable to make and it occurred due the fact you were procrastinating through plans? Your bedroom should be organized and then you planned to organize the clothes in a specific standard and to place the books in another shelf. Even before making this, you changed the plans and, later, changed it again. You would do this until weeks had passed and the bedroom remained messy. The logic for your company’s plans works on the same way. Of course all business needs a plan and every plan has a beginning, middle and end. But which one is the best plan? Any one, since you execute it! And that’s what separates the men from the boys. Once again, there’s no use to search the perfect planning while your business remains stopped. Make a planning and execute it. If on the middle of the path you note that the things aren’t going well, make adjusts, remake the plan. Have you ever heard that’s through the hard path that things become straight? 9
Goals, milestones and tasks. You must concentrate on these three words to know how to measure how your business is
Goals:
1.5 Wake up : eve r y b us i ne ss m ust have a re s u lt !
Sare the pretensions you have for your business. They can include performance measurements of your products; market dimensions; gross profit margin; conversion rate; return over the investment for the client; among others;
“It’s not usual for a business to show results on its first years”,
Milestones:
“if you really love what you do, you don’t need positive results”.
the company’s points of reference, delimiting the progress. Here appears points to how prove your conception; raise capital; balance the finances; complete a prototype; among others.
Really cute, isn’t it? But it’s not exactly this way that things work. Don’t get deluded with great lines or great lectures; You have to obtain results if you want to go far.
Tasks: are those tasks connected directly to your project, such as project, manufacture, sell, send and give technical assistance to your product or service. 10
It’s only through the knowledge about what your company does and about what it can offer that you’ll be able to establish how it will distinguish itself from the mass of competitors. Have you ever stopped to think about this? Then let’s go!
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2.1 Aft er a l l , w h a t you r e al l y do?
2. 2 B e clear
Face the reality. This question will ever come until you and if you don’t answer it in 15 seconds, you don’t have a business or you don’t know what you’re doing. If you don’t know what your company has to offer, how do you expect your clients understand this?
If you have a message to transmit, you need to do this in a clear way. Nobody is very interested in having to discover what you can offer, thus, deliver it right away. Look at the 8 laws to be clear:
Are you familiar with those small businesses that sell several goods that arise, last a few months and then close? If you ask to the owners of those businesses what they sell, they’ll hardly know the answer, because they commercialize food, clothes, and sporting and decoration goods. A true lack of focus, isn’t it? If you have a clear goal to impact a determined niche, you certainly won’t have numerous products from several natures like the owners of the small business. Your product or service will must attend specifically that public with excellence!
1) Be positive. The market wants to know which your clients’ advantages are. 2) The focus is the client, not you. Leave your ego at home. 3) Inspire. The business partners want to make businesses that are worthy. 4) Small message, big impact. Your message must be perceived right away. 5) Be extremely specific. Don’t let people tired. 6) Have knowledge that nobody can copy and transmit it. 7) Have a positioning that last for many years. 8) Differentiated is good; different, not quite. 12
2 .3 Give s m a l l s t e p s , dre am bi g.
When choosing your company’s name, don’t invent anything very complicated, be simple and creative. Search for a name that makes sense and remit to your activity, but don’s fall on the sameness of equal names; after all, your company is unique and you don’t want to be mistaken.
Are you familiar with those stories about entrepreneurs that made devastating success overnight and became millionaire? Be sure that it wasn’t exactly this way that things occurred. Success never happens by chance. It doesn’t exit magic.
Other practical tips are: use a capital letter that’s on the beginning of the alphabet, so it can always be on the top of the listings, and avoid the use of numbers, which can confuse people due the fact they won’t know if they must use numeral or write numbers in full.
You won’t climb the steps of success if you don’t give one step at one time. The process will always be hard, but the results will be consequences about what you really do. And is there anything more rewarding than this? But of course this won’t be possible if you don’t have a big dream or a goal that you desire to achieve. If it’s through this way, you won’t be climbing a stair, but will be walking in a straight line (or even climbing down a stair!).
2 .4 W h e n the s ub j e c t i s you r nam e , d on’ t h e s it a t e .
2.5 Speak directly with yo u r clien t o r i nvesto r. Would you be more willing to listen a company with a product capable to fulfill the dream of thousands of children or capable to fulfill the dream of your son? The offered product is the same, but the way he’s sold can change everything. Your message must be strong at the point it will touch who’s listening to you, and nothing better to this than adding a personal touch. While imagining your product into lives, your clients and investors will became more favorable to buy your proposal.
A lot of entrepreneurs don’t understand the importance of a good name for the company. It turns out that the client must know who you are right away, and an adequate name is essential for this. 13
2.6 Do n’t g o w i t h p r e tt y w ord s; go stra igh t t o the p o i nt . “My PUV is…”, “I made my benchmarking this way…”, “we make screw all Mondays…”, and other meaningless phrases. Nobody is interested to know technical terms and metrics that interest only your company. What really matters is your product or service and how you can be useful for the interested person. Therefore, it doesn’t matter what is being sold or to whom it’s being sold; what matter is you being simple and effective. Avoid technical terms and also generic and subjective terms that are already used by other companies. Sounds unique!
2.7 M as s m e s s a g e . You know what’s better than to be known by your clients? Being known by everyone! Everyone, without exception, from the janitor to your client, must know what the company does. It doesn’t matter if it’s sell pins
or create a rocket, everyone must know. This way you’ll be remembered not only by those who are consuming your product or service, but also by everyone that may, one day, need what you’re offering.
2 . 8 D on’ t f org et: th e market d e f i ne s w ho stays an d wh o g o . When you release yourself on the market, you may expect positive and negative things; the market says who stays on the dance floor. However, if the market’s answer is negative, sleep and wait. The grandiose answers for your next step will be there. You may develop a product aiming a determinate niche and hit another that didn’t even had crossed your mind earlier. Your options, on this case, are to “fight” with the market and remake your product, or to accept that target and take the best out of the situation. The market can’t be controlled, but your business depends only of you!
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Every entrepreneur wants to convince and perhaps this is the most important thing! Forget that old story of “it worthwhile, what really matter is to compete”. It’s a pure demagogy because nobody is interested with the second place. Even less an entrepreneur! Here’s an important information that every investor want to know, something very simple that is the same your friends and family always wanted to know: but after all, what you do? What your company does? This is a crucial information! It’s the famous anchor or also known as boss car! In this moment, here’s two basic information: without melodrama and without further delay! Unfortunately, a lot of entrepreneurs tend to make a biography on this moment. Wake up: nobody wants to know where you spent your childhood and neither your life dramas. The investor wants to know what your company does!
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3 .1 K n o w w he r e you are st e p p i ng.
3.2 Prepare th e sh o ck.
The entrepreneurs think, whatever the reason is, that de basis of a presentation are the slides, numbers, and the macroeconomic situation. Beautiful words, aren’t they? It’s a shame that no one is really interested in them.
Nobody presents anything in 10 seconds. You need 30 minutes to present a concise, simple and effective idea. However, prepare the surprise, prepare the shock! Look at how you can organize your presentation: • 8 slides • 10 minutes of slides • 10 minutes of questions • 10 minutes of shock!
The great triumph here is the investigation that you make about your investor before the meeting. You must know what he likes! How he likes it? At what time he likes it? What he does want to hear? Which are the most relevant information about him? The reverse is also true. What he doesn’t like? Why he doesn’t like?
Understand: the idea of a presentation is to stimulate the interest. The investor must exit the reunion saying: I wanted to hear more about this!
And now, my dears, a father advice for you: do this before you are pressed because, ate the moment of pressure, you’ll have to treat everything with dexterity and perhaps won’t have the breath to keep moving on!
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3 .3 Tra i n i ng l e a d s t o p e r f e c t i on Prepare yourself well, because you may have only one opportunity. The advice here is to train and train a lot. Don’t forget that Mozart only played the piano well when he already had 10.000 hours played; in other words, similar to the Germans, train everything until exhaustion. Train at home, at the gym, at the bar. You have to live, to breath your presentation. And don’t worry in disturb friends and parents with your presentations. It’s more valuable a friend sick of hearing you and a delighted investor than otherwise!
3 .4 T im e t o l i s t e n m ore and sp e ak les s . When the shock is passed, it comes the moment to listen more and speak less. What you had to be told was already said. Now it’s time to listen! At this moment, who speaks first will lose. It’s time for your potential investors express themselves regarding what you just presented. If you did everything right, they’ll have nice things to say. 18
3.5 Th e fan tasy islan d Some entrepreneurs’ thinks that’s a good idea to invent numbers or to adapt statistics so it can make things appear better than what they really are. But if the investors are in the position they’re occupying is because they’re not stupid. Please, don’t go into this. Work only with facts, without inventing numbers or patents. Don’t invent famous phrases, don’t invent anything. Just make things the way they must be done!
3.6 Lo o k fro m th e h elico pter If you’re flying with a helicopter above the clouds, you’ll have the thin air, but will suffer a little or almost nothing with turbulence. If this situation occurs, you’ll must go for the jugular! Prove to your investor that you’re capable to see things from above. Show a future vision and capacity to anticipate the situations that are still to go. This is a huge differential among the entrepreneurs of the innumerous presentations that your investor watches daily. 19
3.7 T h e Po w e r Poi n t The PowerPoint is the peacock of the corporate and student world. Very pretty, but don’t have a lot of meat! Several people get more attached to the special effects and all accessories that it’s possible to use rather the true content. The entrepreneurial must know how to use the tool at the best possible way. Nothing with exaggerated effects or too much slides, which serve only to let people sick. Go straight to the point!
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The business plan is the substitute of the old magic balloon. I explain: it’s that old story that tell how a business plan aims to offer convincing subsidies for managers, investors, founders, directors, friends, relatives, dog, grandmother, grandparent, father, mother, etc. As the same occurred on the magic balloon, the business plan remains mystical, mythological and unattainable. It’s more pathologic due the fact that, currently, any conversation ends with a “can you send me your business plan so I can take a look into it?” Well, who takes a look is a franelero; I want a partnership! However, don’t be mistaken: you’ll need one. But let’s teach you how to produce a punctual business plan and to end, once and for all, with all that silly corporate waste of time. 22
4 .1 Elabora ti n g the c o r re c t f l i ght p l an Your investors face the business plan the same way as a flight plan: it has the function to give a direction for the company. Without those documents, nobody knows correctly where the plane or the company will go. Let’s say that the investor or someone decides to place a bet on you. Definitely a flight plan will be a strong tendency to reinforce the idea. Now, let’s say that the investor won’t place a bet in you. So, this flight plan will hardly be useful for anything. I could bet that this comrade would never ever read your plan. Here’s the first truth: search for who’s really interested in you! The entrepreneurs still think that they’ll hear those phrases from television programs: pass me your account data and I’ll make the deposit right now! Forget this because it won’t happen.
We already know that your flight plan won’t make any miracle, but let’s see which are the right reasons to elaborate a flight plan: 1- At the final stage, a serious investor will ask you: “Deliver the flight plan to me and I will make a due diligence”. Deliver it right away. It’s a part of the game! 2- The elaboration of this plan will make you reflect about which team you want to work with. The plan serves to give a direction of how to reach your objective. Through it, you can make the due corrections. 3 - The plan helps you to remind of what must be done to make your airplane reach its destination. It also serves to repost everything that has been covered, not done and not said. 4 - Elaborate this flight plan is much more to you than to any other person. It’ll be your guide! The truth is that businesses are always a summer night or taxi drivers: they talk too much, but don’t say anything, or even better, they execute absolutely nothing. You must use your plan to guide you, the famous black on the white, without wasting time, without further delay. 23
4 .2 I n t r o d u c e your s e l f f i rst an d t he n you si t at t h e t a b l e . And, finally, here’s the updated flight plan model, feasible and achievable, also known as executive summary!
Please, don’t delude yourself. First, the entrepreneurs must make a presentation and, after that, an executable plan. A lot of times, the entrepreneur sees the plan as the alpha male of the bunch. No way! The alpha male is the presentation, the plan is a Siamese cat.
• • • • • • • • • •
Here’s the correct process to adopt:
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Elaborate a presentation with 10 slides - the Overview;
Train. Make a presentation for, at least, 20 people, and choose the most shameless and with bas character that you know;
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Reunite the barbaric! Join your team and begin the debate about all points;
Present for the investor;
Title Problem Solution Business model What you really do Marketing e sales force (you’re dead without this!) Concurrences Management Financial projections Timeline
IMPORTANT! After investigating your investor, make a list with the questions he will make. Train a lot and have everything in advanced. Impress him!
5 And then, begin to elaborate a flight plan.
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Never forget: None of the targets are sufficiently strong if you have ammunition or heavy gauge. I have a good friend who, every time we dinner together, tells me: “The possibilities to raise capital are the same of you arrive home and your wife say “Hi lovely, glad you arrived. I’m making that wonderful pasta with cheese sauce; there’s also an iced Coke zero on the fridge waiting for you and, to complete, I bought ice cream for dessert. When you finish I’ll prepare a massage and I already called your friends so you can spend the night laughing”. And I always answer: “You’re exaggerating; the chances are much more difficult”.
an utopia on the market, which says that raise capital isn’t very difficult, but then you ask to those people how much they raised and the conversation stops! Don’t elude yourself: raise capital is a very difficult task. Generally, this help is available for people that are already on the market for a long time. It’s that old story: the bank loan money for those who already have it. The entrepreneurs must appeal for the bootstrapping and do more with less! Indeed, big companies started this way: HP, Dell, Apple… Dream big, bust start small!
Let’s go to the reality: you’ll need to eat a lot of rice and beans to get until there. There’s
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5.1 M an ag e t o have c a s h f l ow ; no p rof i t at the fir s t m om e nt !
5. 2 Make yo u r weath er fo recast. Any entrepreneurial at the right mind must make a forecast about what is really needed to keep in the market. Project this. Have knowledge about the market. An example is, in case you want to have a bakery in your neighborhood, think:
Currently, the conditions of an entrepreneurial improved a lot. You don’t need to pay for an office; you can go to a good café and transform it into your office. Less bricks, more algorithms. That’s the logic! The apply the bootstrapping, you must make your flight plan on the following style: • • • •
- In front of me there are 400 apartments - There must be 2 persons living in each apartment. I can sell at least 2 French breads - However, not everyone is going to come here. This way, if 2 persons live in each apartment, this is: 400 x 2 = 800 persons and, among them, 10% will come buy breads in here. - That’s a daily average of 80 persons paying between R%15,00 to R$20,00. In other words, R$1.600,00 of breads per day and R$48.000,00 in a month. However, be careful, because it’s very easy to be mistaken when the market is very big.
Low initial capital; Short sell cycles; Short payment deadline; By word of mouth advertising.
The cash flow is something that a lot of entrepreneurs don’t care about. Several of them don’t even know what this is. I will tell you a truth: learn this urgently; on the contrary, your plane may crash at any moment!
The law of success in this case is to be pessimist. If you’re pessimist, you won’t miss the count. Start small and know where to attack, step by step, and advance!
There’s no magic and you can’t ignore the laws of economy. If you have more expanses than revenues, there’s no miracle capable to save your business. There’s always a comrade telling you that on the internet the dreams are dreams and that you must follow your dreams. But only dream isn’t enough! Don’t forget that you need a true company.
Another care to be taken is to not be misled by the high estimated values without consider the expanses you’ll have. On the case of your bakery, R$48.000,00 may seems to be a good value, but it can, in fact, be giving you prejudice. 27
5.3 Do fir s t, r ev i e w l a te r. One of the bootstrapping characteristics is to do. You do first and review later. Change what’s bad and keep what’s good. Always improve. This will give you an immediate cash flow and a very important feedback about the real world. But pay much attention: be careful with the quality when using the bootstrapping. The intention is to release products that are still at a test phase, but if the mistakes presented are grotesque, the market won’t forgive you!
5.4 I ’m ex p e r i e nc e d . Every time you listen this phrase, BE CAREFUL! It can even be relevant to have experience, but it’s not a prerequisite to a business move forward. A lot of expert professionals present a lower performance compared with professionals who are at their first job. It’s all a question of focus and motivation. That’s why you must look for persons that want and have passion to make before everything else. This passion will make them do everything that’s at their reach so your business work correctly, and this is exactly what you need. Besides this, professionals without experience tend to cost less to company’s safe, which jibe with the bootstrapping strategy. 28
You’ll have 1000 energy and time standards. Please, focus at what is important. Assuming that you already left the children phase, where you want to do everything you see and listen, assume the position of responsible adult.
5.5 Focus at what is important.
Now you need to execute tasks and give the example as leader. The future leader is the comrade that makes! But it’s not only about just make, but make what is really important. You won’t pass a whole afternoon choosing the model of your office’s curtain when you have products to develop and sell, right?
5. 6 Choose t he battles yo u ’re g o in g to fig h t. The old company used to plan and execute at any price, at any market. The future company chooses the niche in which it’ll work. This means that you’ll choose the battles you’re going to fight. If you’re wearing a swimming briefs, cap and glasses, and someone challenges you for a race with obstacles you won’t compete, because you’re not prepared for this. The same works for your company. If your products are high performance computers for video edition, you must not compete with the domestic computers line.
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5.7 Take a s how c a s e w i th t he cost u m er s.
What about ?
A lot of entrepreneurs think that they found the perfect product, which attends all their whole needs. But they forget that the product must attend the needs of the client and not by their own. That’s why you must listen who will purchase your product. Invite 10 or 20 interested persons in what you’re offering to make a barbecue. See what they want, what they need, and delight them!
5.8 Face fi g h ts . Let’s go to the reality: nobody wants to stay over the wall. People stay there to not become indisposed. Assume a party and use this at your favor. Instead starting from the bottom, use a brand that already exists on the market and take a place against it. This practice will give you visibility – at a low cost – , without considering that this can indicate you what gone right and what gone wrong with basis on your competitor experience. 30
5.9 Don’t pay a lot of money to know something you already know.
Reality or fantasy? There’s no business magic and neither a secret formula. The truth is only one: you must have focus, capital and do a lot to make things work right. Therefore, you must not spend your capital, which is already limited, in promises of easy and fast success. This won’t happen and you’ll still lose a quantity of money that could be used in your business.
5 . 10 I m p ort ant v s. doe sn’t in terest For your business become successful, it’s essential to know the difference among what’s important and what isn’t interesting for you. Check this out: Important: - Develop your product; - Sell your product or service; - Get paid for this. Doesn’t interest: - Workspace; - Mobile; - Computer; - Equipment; - Materials; - Cards.
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“Have a deep comprehension about this question is the differential among a business success and failure!
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We, entrepreneurs, tend to be fooled by ourselves several times during our entrepreneurial life. And the aspect in which we make more mistakes, without a doubt, is at the moment to set up the team, recruit people. Currently, I deal with this theme as a critical factor of a company. I took too long to understand the following: a company is the same as persons. It’s they who do or don’t make thing happen. And don’t fool yourself with that tale which says that “I’ll put someone do to this later and he/she does”. That’s not how things work!
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6.1 Em ploy the b e s t .
6 . 2 B r i ghtn ess o n th e eyes.
Recognize the best among people. The best are generally that group that challenges us, that stress us, that execute. There are three groups of persons that you must have in your team. I call them:
You need people with brightness on their eyes. It doesn’t matter how crazy or daydream an idea might be, they’ll support you. You need the crazies to walk along with you. If found this really early. You must be close to people that believe in what you do, what you think!
1. The suicide. People that don’t care about the schedule. They may work 20 hours straight if necessary to obtain success. 2. The strategist. People that transform the raw work into strategy. They’re familiar with the market.
For your business become unique and innovative, you’ll need this touch. On the contrary, if your employees were all skeptics and keep their feet on the floor, you’ll end being just one more company on the market.
3. The executers. These are the most important: the ones who let their hands dirty!
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6.4 C o nvin ce wh o wan ts to be co nvin ced.
6.3 Heavy weapons.
A lot of entrepreneurs think that what generally will lead people to help in your project is: salary, benefits, medical assistance, and insurance. Not at all! And, if those are the reasons, fire this collaborator RIGHT AWAY! Don’t waste time with leeches, which jumps from branch to branch, thinking that they fooled another entrepreneur. The collaborators must care with your cause and it’s your obligation sell this to them. All of them must comprehend your vision and do everything they can to help the organization achieve its goals. And in the middle of this aren’t just the collaborators, but also the investors, executive board and consultants. All reunited with the same goal!
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I have to talk with my wife. I have to talk with my mother. I’m waiting my girlfriend return to decide it. Have you ever heard any of this? On the next time you hear this, ask the candidate: I should interview you or who decides for you? Please, don’t waste time. Speak with the people that decide! If the interest is at this level even before the partnership closure, imagine after a few months of work. Who acts this way certainly doesn’t fit on that group of professionals that we just talk about on the previous item.
6.5 A t t h e m o m e n t t o of f e r t he job, d o n’t b e p r e c i p i t a te d See very well what distinguish the professionals you taught to be the most promising of the market. Currently, the word is totally globalized and stand out is becoming harder over time. That’s why you need to invest on the honest and in those who execute. A lot of times you’ll face practically same curriculums and profiles, and that’s going to be the differentiation you’ll make among them!
6 . 6 I nt e rp re t t he co n text TEverything that’s in the curriculum and is said by the candidate must be interpreted very carefully. Dou you know the story about the professional that was “responsible for the growth and consolidation of the company X on the market”? It may say that he was an employee of the company at that point, but that doesn’t mean he had an essential role. That’s why you must learn to interpret the context of information that is presented to evaluate the real profile of the professional you’ll hire.
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6.7
Normally, when we select someone to work in our team, we are, all time, asking ourselves: “Did I chose right?”.
Follow your intuition, but be careful.
Fact is that, at this time, your intuition enters. It’s always very delicate, but we, entrepreneurs, tend to focus in our intuition and this can be fantastic sometimes, but can also be a huge disaster. The secret is: don’t elude yourself. The professionals divide themselves into two groups: the ones that dedicate and assume responsibilities, and the ones that live giving excuses. What’s your team?
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Without a doubt, the theme with higher taboo among the entrepreneurs! Especially after the tendency regarding the digital marketing, everything became worse. Now, everything seems very easy, very simple. The expression of the moment is DIGITS. Stay tuned. The world is divided in two groups when it’s about the capital: the ones who have it and the ones who have to loan it because they don’t own it. And I’ll assure you from one thing, paraphrasing Frank Sinatra when she refers to New York City in his song: “If you make here you, make in anywhere”.
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7.1 B r ick by b r i c k .
7. 2 Pow e rf ul p resen tatio n .
A capitalist, an investor or a wealthy parent doesn’t care if you have or don’t have passion for the business. What they really want to know is: how much they’ll invest and how much they’ll gain in return? In how long? That’s the explicit game!
After the brick by brick construction, it’s time to create a powerful presentation. Don’t be afraid to copy, since you can bring something feasible.
To do this you must construct a business brick by brick, concrete! Don’t stay at the idea’s field; construct a good business plan and convince your favorite capitalist.
The thing here is the same as a theater: you have to make your audience – an investor on this case – to want more. He has to be delighted and on the expectation for the next chapter!
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7.4 Secu rity.
7.3 Don’t stand still.
You’ll need to make your presentation around 30 times to make a good presentation. Give traction, accelerate, improve what’s bad, keep what’s good and get advices. Don’t stand still. And if you fail to give your best ate the presentation, you won’t be able to cause a stir at your investors – and will fail to obtain your capital.
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Be safe. If you can’t, search for a solution! In no way you can post yourself as insecure or not to known information and details about what you’re talking. It’s not like on the Geography presentation at school, about subjects you’ll never use. We’re talking about your company. You must know it like nobody else will! Don’t forget that the investor, in the background, will be investing in you and not in your project. You’re the face that represents all your organization; therefore, honor all the efforts you already employed on this dream.
7.5 Pr ovo ke your s e l f.
7 . 6 Ge t r i d of t h e experts.
Don’t come up with that old usual talk about “there’s no concurrence in my market”.
Don’t go after what someone tells you. Or go, but knowing that, at some point, and I hope it’s early; you’ll have to know things by your own.
You can’t tell yourself that fudge. Have empathy; put yourself at the investor’s place. If you didn’t hear that, would know right away that it would be one of two paths: or it doesn’t have concurrence due the fact there’s no market, or that there is, at least, 1.000 companies telling the same story.
You’ll have to prove how good is to be alone for a moment to prove yourself that you’re capable to execute the tasks. We’re not saying that the experts are dispensable, but you’re still even more essential!
Showing naivety won’t help in anything. Bear in mind that when it’s about the investor, he just want to know about numbers! That’s why you must be realist; provoke yourself and give it real.
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7.8 Wh ere am I stu ck?
7.7 Lame excuses from investors and entrepreneurs.
Who never heard them? From such quantity they were listened, is possible to make a list. Unfortunately, 99% of the time you’ll hear every kind of excuse. That’s why I say this word when someone asks me the key to success: Persistence! - “Your project is still an embryo; let’s talk next year?” - “Your project is already big and a reality; let’s talk next year?” - “If you acquire an investor that finance the raw project, we enter with the rest.” - “Is it scalable?” - “You have to start small, really small!” - “We already invested too much this year”. I dream with the day that someone will hear and will simply tell me: “I don’t know, I’m a little bored; let’s grab some bear?”” 43
It’s very important to know all details when you approach an investor. You can’t be caught unaware. Remember we talked about make a research before your presentation? Let’s reinforce this point once again. Besides to know the investor’s taste, it’s always nice to know if he’s trustable and which is his real situation ate the market.
7.9 R a is in g r i s k y c a p i t a l w i t h p ar e nt s, frien d s a n d s i m i l a r.
1. The client. Someone very experienced that knows exactly what the client want; 2. The genius. The man who has the best solutions at any moment. The one that people are incapable to follow because they’re afraid of his ideas; 3. The father. That totally fraternal comrade. Everything for him is motive to deink a coffee, much calm and much talk; 4. The correct. The one that only steps on the line. He’s the more serious than a children who just made something wrong; 5. The lobbyist. He has all the contacts, from the electrician to the president of his nation.
Be careful! These would be the last persons to appeal in case you must appeal to someone! Very simple: friends and business are like olive and water. But in case you don’t have other option, please, follow the following instructions: 1. Maintain the professionalism 2. Understand what they want 3. Provoke their feelings Never is sufficient to emphasize: only do this as a last resort. After all, you don’t want to ruin years of friendship due a misunderstanding related to money, right?
7.10 M an ag i ng p e o p l e Money on the project means responsibilities. If you acquire a risky capital, be sure that the investors will want to know who the members of your board are. That’s why I traced the profile of some professionals that is nice to have in your company:
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Another really important question is related to the work with the management. A lot of times, conflicts and complicated solutions can happen. Check out some tips: • Preserve yourself. Don’t enter in silly discussions. Ask yourself at every 10 minutes: it’s worthy to continue this subject? • Indicators and information are the power! You need information from all kinds to touch a management or company; • Let the reports prepared two days before the meeting. There’s no way to be prepared for a good meeting without a good report; • Never surprise a management in a negative way. Tell everything and don’t hide anything! • Feedback. Reserve one day to let them discuss a feedback. It’s very important!
Like we’re saying since the beginning, open a company isn’t a simple task, but it’s not a monster. With patience everything will fit the axis and your business will move forward really quickly. You just can’t be stuck in theories and planning without starting! To the contrary of what many entrepreneurs think, a successful business isn’t a perfect idea put into practice, but it’s a good idea that was improved according to the rhythm – or according to the variations suffered by the market. Now that you reached the end, bear in mind the tips presented in this e-book and start working! Without thinking more than necessary, go and give the first step. Is by giving one step per time that soon you’ll become a successful entrepreneur. 45
D e s i g n b y Fabio L. Souza - 48 9165.4651 www.fl-design2009.myportfolio.com 46