In this video, Vungle court big-name investors, so co-founder and CEO Zain Jaffer offer tips for courting investors.
1. Be Hungry
The first thing that will lead you to success in fundraising (and anything in life) is hunger. The moment you get complacent, the game is over. Naturally, most entrepreneurs are hungry because they have little money, but once things start to look good and investors start showing interest, there is a tendency for entrepreneurs to get excited and celebrate prematurely. The deal isn’t closed until the money hits the bank, so stay hungry.
2. Adjust Your Mindset
Change your mindset when thinking about investors — they are not evil opponents who are out to destroy your business. Instead, think of investors as partners for life, who will continue to back you in subsequent ventures. Changing your perspective will mean you will treat potential investors with respect, and will naturally focus on the value-add they bring beyond just finance.
3. Have Integrity
You need to have integrity in everything you do. When you pitch an investor, make sure you are honest but firm. Investors expect you to learn quickly but don’t expect you to have all the right answers. So if you’re asked a question and you don’t know the answer, don’t make up something or deflect the question. Investors are quite measured with the questions they ask, and they’ll quickly detect that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
4. Maintain Confidentiality
When an investor asks who else you are pitching to, don’t disclose names without permission — this puts you in an awkward position. It signals to investors that you can’t maintain confidentiality, but also harms your negotiating position, as investors may collude in hopes of getting a better deal.
5. Have a Big Vision
Investors are mandated to invest in high-growth businesses with multi-billion dollar potential. So make sure you clearly articulate your big vision and where you want to be in the longer term. Nothing turns off investors more than entrepreneurs who think small.
6. Target a Big Market
Investors put a lot of focus on funding startups in high-growth and emerging markets. You need to be able show investors that the market you are targeting has the potential to be worth billions of dollars. More importantly, you need to show you understand the key trends that make a market big. It also helps to try and quantify the size of a market — even though it may seem useless, it will lead you to appreciate the key factors that drive the value of a market.
7. Know How to Frame the Product
You’ll be surprised to find that few investors will test your product (especially at the seed stage), so it’s important to speak about your product on a higher level. Always stress the benefits about how your product solves a key problem, rather than getting caught up in the details of features. Remember: Investors don’t invest in features, they invest in real businesses.
Writer: Zain Jaffer
The Southern rapper details how he's financially conscious after going through some eye opening situations early on in his career, and how he plans to save for years to come.
Meet Amun 3554. Doesn’t look like much, right? Little more than a mile wide, it’s one of the smallest M-class (metal-bearing) asteroids yet discovered. Unless it ever decides to smash into us — a theoretical possibility, but extremely unlikely over the next few centuries — it will continue orbiting the sun, unknown and unmolested.
That is, unless Planetary Resources has its way. Planetary Resources is the asteroid-mining company launched Tuesday in Seattle, with backing from Microsoft and Google billionaires, along with the equally prominent James Cameron and Ross Perot Jr.
Its object is to completely dismember poor little rocks like Amun.
That’s because Amun is a goldmine — well, not gold so much. But it does contain a cool $8 trillion worth of platinum, an essential precious metal used in everything from jewelry to fuel cells to computers (and one that’s currently trading at the same rate as gold — $1500 an ounce.) On Earth, only a few hundred tonnes of the stuff are produced every year.
The $8 trillion figure is an estimate based on observations by John S. Lewis, professor of planetary science, author of Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets, and now a consultant to Planetary Resources. He also found 3554 Amun to contain another $8 trillion in iron and nickel, and a mere $6 trillion worth of cobalt.
So, the total payout from one unassuming asteroid? $20,000,000,000,000.
That’s what got Planetary Resources co-founder Peter Diamandis so excited. “There are $20 trillion checks up there waiting to be cashed,” he enthused at a space development conference in 2006.
Trillions and TrillionsAnd 3554 Amun is hardly alone; it’s just one of the few asteroids that has been submitted to rigorous chemical analysis. Another mile-wide Near-Earth Asteroid, known as 1986 DA, is said to contain 100,000 tonnes of platinum and 10,000 tonnes of gold. That’s worth another couple of trillion. Not too shabby.
How many of these mile-wide metal paydays are up there? We have only a vague idea. Nearly 9,000 Near-Earth Asteroids have been discovered so far. Planetary Resources’ best guess is that represents just 1% of the total.
That’s why the company is focusing its efforts on launching space telescopes first; they’ll do the prospecting, then report back on the lowest-hanging fruit. It’s not inconceivable that Amun could be worth pennies compared to its compadres. Then the asteroid retrieval and mining process — all done by robotic spacecraft — can begin in earnest.
Beating Apple with Ease?To become the wealthiest company in the world, Planetary Resources need only capture one rock. Less than that, in fact.
Apple, currently the world’s most valuable company, has a market cap of $500 billion. To match that in resources, let alone market cap, Planetary Resources need only mine one-fortieth of 3554 Amun.
Of course, there’s a catch. You couldn’t offload all those metals on the world market at once, for fear of crashing their prices. But the company would still own that much in equity, which would allow them to borrow against it. They would be that wealthy, to all intents and purposes. That’s just how capitalism works.
Still, for all this wealth, platinum and gold may not be the most important thing the asteroid miners are hunting. The water on some ice-bound asteroids could count for more in the long run. Not only does it make the existence of life in space that much easier, but it can also be broken down into the perfect rocket fuels: hydrogen and oxygen.
The more Planetary Resources starts a gold rush, the more important water in space becomes. No wonder the company is already talking about building a chain of orbital and space-bound refueling stations. Ice from asteroids and comets could be the next oil industry.
Check out these interviews with the Planetary Resources team, and let us know in the comments: have they got what it takes to make it?
Writer: Chris Taylor
Company: Planetary Resources
Source: Mashable
As humans we all experience the five basic emotions of fear, love, sadness, anger and joy throughout the course of our lives.
When it comes to harnessing your emotions to further your personal success, there are several strategies which you can implement to this end. To help you in this important endeavor, let’s examine each one of these emotions separately in more detail below, and how you can turn them to your favor.
Fear Can Be Motivating!
Fear can be debilitating, even causing you to freeze up altogether. However, it can also be a strong motivating force for success, if you view it properly. How can you do so? Rather than letting the fear build up inside, until it eventually weighs you down, you must use the object of your fear to push you towards action instead. For example, if you’re having trouble with mounting bills, then you may be afraid that you’ll run short of money. This is perfectly natural, and trying to will this fear away simply isn’t realistic. Rather, you need to embrace this unsettling feeling, and use it to rocket yourself towards success!
Fear can make you push harder at work, so that you’ll earn more money. Perhaps you’ll strive for a promotion, which you otherwise wouldn’t dream of aiming for. Or, you may volunteer for tasks that you’ve been too intimidated in the past to consider, like giving a large sales presentation to a client. These types of actions will be spurred on from fear, but they can all have a positive effect upon your situation. Another way you could look at this dynamic, is to use your larger fear to allow you to tackle something which you fear less. In our example, you would use the fear of running out of money, to overcome your discomfort with public speaking.
Love Can Be Compelling!
Love is typically thought of as a positive emotion, but it isn’t often associated with success. While it will help you to create strong relationships with people around you, how will it help you rise to the top? This is an excellent question, but the truth is, having a love for your profession, occupation or business can be essential to achieving your dreams. After all, you can’t expect a straight road ahead, as everyone experiences setbacks at one time or another. Yet, if you truly have a passion for what it is that you do, you’ll be able to persevere through these tough times!
How to Spin Sadness.Sadness is a bigger challenge, and spinning it to aid you in your drive for success, can be a more difficult task. That being said, if you are sad about a specific failure in your life, this can be turned into an advantage. First of all, you likely never want to feel this way again, giving you the impetus to do whatever it takes to succeed the next time around. Secondly, sadness is itself a reflective emotion, and if you use this period of thinking back upon a particular event constructively, you can come out ahead. Think hard upon what you could have done better, and how you’ll improve when you’re given another opportunity.
Anger Can Be Positive?
While you may see how the above feelings can be used to achieve success, you may wonder how anger can be positive. Typically it isn’t and anger can be very destructive – if you allow it to affect your better judgment. However, when properly harnessed, it too can be a force for good. For example, if another business or colleague has beaten you out for a new client account, you might be furious. Rather than blowing off steam at home or around the office, you can put that anger to work instead. Let it drive you to make more sales calls, hone your presentation skills or learn more effective ways to communicate. In other words, you’ll be striving to show whoever beat you who really has the upper hand, and furthering your own success at the same time!
Joy Livens Up Life!
You’ve probably heard the saying, “follow your bliss.” This applies to both your professional and personal life, and it can yield fruit in each area. While it must be taken with a grain of salt, and you must continue to be responsible in your choices, chasing your passion is a great road to take. Why is this true? As we already covered in the section on love, passion is a potent type of inner drive. Also, if you truly enjoy what you are doing, then you won’t have to force yourself to work long hours or put in the time necessary to see success. These will come naturally, and you will find yourself wondering how your day went by so quickly! In sharp contrast, if you count the minutes at work every day, then you are probably in the wrong profession. You’ll always be fighting an uphill battle, as your heart isn’t really invested in the business at hand.
Conclusion.
You now know how to use the five basic human emotions, to achieve your own success! Rather than letting these feelings control you, or hold you back, you can choose to turn them to your advantage. Trying to deny them, or push them aside, can be a losing struggle. Instead, you should recognize that these are powerful forces, which you can use to further your dreams. When taken in this way, emotions can be your secret weapon, for realizing the success which you’ve always imagined!
Writer: Joel
Watch the Ka-Ching Dynasty Documentary for an inside look at China’s wealthy young millionaires.
16 Interesting Facts About China’s Millionaires
1. There are currently 2.7 million high-net-worth (HNW) individuals in China with personal assets of $950,000 or more, and 63,500 ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals with assets worth $15.8 million or more.
2. Among China’s wealthy, the most popular leisure activities are traveling, reading, and tea tasting.
3. More than 60% of HNW Chinese are collectors, and their favorite thing to collect is watches.
4. HNW Chinese shop in Hong Kong an average of 3 times a year, and 73% say it’s their favorite place to shop.
5. For men, watches are by far the most popular luxury item to purchase overseas. Among women, it’s cosmetics.
6. More than half of HNWs bought watches last year. Among the ultra-rich, yachts and private jets are becoming more popular.
7. The average HNW spends close to $24,000 a year on gifts, and the most popular gift among wealthy men is watches.
8. Despite an ebb in China’s housing market, real estate remained the most popular investment for the wealthy.
9. More than a third of China’s wealthy have pets—5% own chinchillas.
10. Leisure travel is currently the biggest expenditure for HNW individuals, and many expect to spend even more on travel in the future.
11. Education is another big spending area for HNW individuals. 85% said they planned to send their children abroad to study.
12. 29% of China’s HNW individuals are Buddhist, compared to 18% of China’s overall population.
13. While most high-net-worth individuals in China still don’t use the Internet to shop, it’s now their #1 source of information about consumer products.
14. Beijing has more HNW individuals than any other Chinese province.
15. High-net-worth individuals in China:
- 60% are male, and their average age is 39.
- They mainly invest in real estate and stocks, although their interest in fixed income investments is gradually increasing.
- They own an average of three cars, four watches, and take 20 days off a year.
- Their favorite sports tend to be golf and swimming.
16. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals in China:
- 80% are male, and the average age is 41.
- Their main source of wealth is through the ownership/sale of their companies.
- Real estate and stocks remain the two most popular investment choices, but they also invest more in art and unlisted companies.
- They own an average of three cars, six watches, and take 20 days off a year.
- They like playing golf.
1. Mark Zuckerberg – $13.5 billion
The raw numbers are stunning – at 26-years-old, Zuckerberg is the 52nd richest person in the world, according to Forbes. His personal value soared by 238% over the past year, with investments from the likes of Goldman Sachs upping Facebook’s value to $50 billion.
But the Facebook founder’s impact on the world of culture, communication and business is something that is hard to sum up in numbers. Just witness Facebook’s, albeit slightly overplayed by western media, involvement in the recent uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya.
In an entrepreneurial sense, Zuckerberg’s creation has opened up a whole new category for developers and web start-ups. And it’s clear he’s not happy to rest upon his laurels – Facebook has recently made aggressive moves into the area of email, instant messaging and even movie rental. Zuckerberg’s value looks set to balloon further in 2011. 2. Dustin Moskovitz – $2.7 billion
At just eight days younger than Zuckerberg, Moskovitz has the enviable title of the world’s youngest billionaire.
A roommate of Zuckerberg’s who dropped out of Harvard to work as Facebook’s first chief technology officer, Moskovitz’s entrepreneurialism hasn’t been confined to the social media giant.
In 2009, he raised more than $10 million in funding to create Asana, a software firm that aims to boost workplace productivity. Asana has been in private beta mode ever since, with a launch planned for later this year. 3. Yoshikazu Tanaka – $2.2 billion Want to become a multi-billionaire entrepreneur before your temples start greying? The way to do it in recent years, going byForbes’ list, is to start a social networking platform.
Tanaka, formerly of Sony, started Gree, Japan’s largest social networking site, as a 26-year-old in 2004 as a hobby. Originally a tech incubator, Tanaka switched Gree’s focus to mobile gaming, with fruitful results.
The popularity of Gree’s colourful site, which allows users to customise avatars and play games, has seen its stock rise by 35% in the past year. It could be set for a collision course with Facebook after Tanaka revealed plans to set up shop in California. 4. Eduardo Saverin – $1.6 billion
Another Facebook co-founder, Saverin was given a sympathetic portrayal in the 2010 movie The Social Network. After Facebook relocated from Harvard to California, Saverin stayed beyond and, infamously, had his 34% share diluted.
In an out-of-court settlement, Saverin is believed to have secured a 5% stake in Facebook and his inclusion as a co-founder on the site’s own biography.
Saverin’s reaction to his exit from Facebook and the subsequent portrayal in The Social Network is philosophical: “The true takeaway for me was that entrepreneurship and creativity, however complicated, difficult or tortured to execute, are perhaps the most important drivers of business today and the growth of our economy.”
Since his Facebook departure, Saverin now lives in Singapore and has led an $8 million investment in tech start-up Qwiki, which compiles information on a topic into a multimedia presentation.
"Facebook has been a big thing and will be a big thing,” Saverin has told the New York Times. “Qwiki is early stage, but they are on the path to be a game changer." 5. Eric Lefkofsky - $1.6 billion The plethora of group buying sites that have sprung up in Australia, and abroad, in the last 12 months has somehow left the category appearing rather hackneyed.
This, however, shouldn’t take away from the phenomenal success of the site that created the niche – Groupon.
Lefkofsky co-founded and provided $1 million in funding to The Point in 2007. The business, owned jointly with Andrew Mason, changed its name to Groupon a year later and was valued at more than $1 billion last year.
Not a bad return in three years for Lefkofsky, who is also the co-founder of VC fund LightBank and an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 6. Sean Parker – $1.6 billion Perhaps surprisingly for such a well-known entrepreneur who founded Napster back in 1999, this year marks the first appearance by Parker on Forbes’ billionaire rankings.
Parker may well be best known to the general public through an unflattering portrayal in The Social Network, but his business acumen in recent years has helped build his fortune.
Not only does he have a 3% stake in Facebook, he is also a managing partner atFounders Fund, a VC company that backs tech companies. Recent successes include the formation of Plaxo, a contacts management system, and Spotify, an online music streaming service that is currently planning an assault on the US market after a successful introduction in Europe. 7. Peter Thiel – $1.5 billion
Another partner at Founders Fund, Thiel is similar to Parker in that he started a widely known online business, in his case PayPal, in the 1990s before moving on support other start-ups.
Thiel sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, pulling in $60 million personally from the sale. He then made a $500,000 angel investment in Facebook two years later, although he’s understood to have now sold the majority of his stake.
In recent years, Thiel has made a number of canny investments, backing start-ups such as LinkedIn, Slide and Yammer, which recently expanded to Australia. 8. Yusaku Maezawa – $1 billion Maezawa has had an interesting path to the top. Formerly the member of a Japanese punk band, he discovered a lucrative sideline in selling CDs at his band’s gigs. This then developed into his own mail order business, called Start Today.
His next leap was the most profitable. In 2004, he started up Zozotown, which caters for fashion-conscious shoppers. The website resembles an actual shopping mall, with retailers setting up stores and selling on consignment.
The business was subsequently floated, with Maezawa owning 59%. Sales have grown on average by 50% in the last five years, thanks to an army of 2.3 million subscribers, with pre-tax profit standing at $US54.6 million. Maezawa is reportedly plotting a play for older customers via an alliance with Yahoo Japan. 9. Mark Pincus – $1 billion
To some, Farmville is an inane, intensely irritating game. Tell that to Mark Pincus, the billionaire founder of Zynga, which makes Farmville – a game that has snared more than 60 million addicts worldwide.
Pincus founded Zynga in 2007, naming the company after his late bulldog. He has since hitched his wagon to the rise of Facebook, with Zynga’s games, which also include FrontierVille and Mafia Wars, reaching 250 million consumers.
Following a round of funding, Zynga has been valued between $7 billion and $10 billion. Not that the start-up journey was completely smooth sailing for Pincus.
In 2009, he told TechCrunch: “I knew that i wanted to control my destiny, so I knew I needed revenues, right, fucking, now. Like I needed revenues now.”
“So I funded the company myself, but I did every horrible thing in the book to just to get revenues right away. I mean we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this Zwinky toolbar which was like, I don’t know, I downloaded it once and couldn’t get rid of it.” 10. Oleg Bakhmatyuk – $1 billion
As glorious proof that modern-day start-ups don’t have to rely on dazzling online applications for fast growth, Ukrainian entrepreneur Bakhmatyuk has built his fortune upon the humble egg.
Cashing in on Ukraine’s status as the ‘breadbasket of Europe’, Bakhmatyuk founded egg producer Avangardco in 2003. He floated a 20% stake in the company in June last year, a move that valued the company at $US1 billion
Find out how this company that started from such meager beginnings has emerged as a $1 billion dollar brand.
A lot of people have big dreams, positive aspirations and cute destinies, but only 2 in 20 see their hopes materialize.
The Internet lifestyle could be likened to financial freedom, when you’re in charge of affairs, you can travel the world of your dreams, sail the Pacific if you want, live in nice environment where the sounds of morning birds ooze out from the riverbanks.
You looked at your life (and the current business you run), and you’re not even close to financial security — let alone freedom. The world seems abstract from your end, and you keep asking yourself:
“Isn’t there a way to change my life?”
Don’t be perturbed — there is a way out of every ugly situation. But it’s never a smooth journey. Earning six figures annually is not an illusion – it’s actually doable. In this post I want to give a wake-up call to your inner spirit. Have an open mind as we explore the world of Internet opportunities and how to grab the ripe slices.
Are you ready?
Stop Limiting Your Life
The greatest enemy of man is himself. If you could break loose from your inner thoughts that tell you success is far off, then there is no mountain anywhere you cannot climb. In fact, most of the things you’ve been taught about generating income may not be worth it.
What do I mean?
The cliché that you should go to school, study and get a good job afterwards (along with a bag of benefits) is a limiting factor. We’re living in the information age, where a single idea can settle a man or woman financially for the rest of their lives. Academic qualification has its place in this world, but not necessarily in the areas of making money and touching lives around the world.
I think the real education is outside of the tertiary institutions. The real education you need is right where you are – in your environment: the people, events, news, technology, communication, business startups, etc. You can learn so much from the above mentioned channels than in the four walls of a university.
With that in mind, I’m sure you’re now closer to living the Internet lifestyle. If that’s the case, here are four point checklists to further speed up your journey.
- Decide on a Course from Day One: It’s the most lucrative step you can take towards making a dream come true. This course is your channel of earning in life. When properly approached, it’s going to set you free financially.
- Aim for Six Figures Annually: Those who do not set their mark to earn six figures may not get there, irrespective of hard work. Making a living on the Internet is a deliberate effort. Challenge yourself to earn six figures annually, but attack this goal creatively.
- Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: it’s a big mistake and may land you in a jungle where there is no hope of survival. Stay with proven systems and realize your dreams faster.
- Build a System, Not a Business: Yes, a system is what guarantees financial freedom. Those who live the Internet lifestyle today have systems, not mere business enterprises. A system stays even when the business is gone. It’s your ultimate goal.
Decide on a Course from Day One
What exactly do you want from life?
A ‘course’ in this instance refers to a chosen business model. And believe me, for you to live the Internet lifestyle you need to start building something that can generate income.
Successful people choose a definite path in life and stay there. They kept pace with the times. They complained at some point but didn’t give up. Think of the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. It wasn’t an easy journey when they started out, but today they’ve built systems that can last for generations.
I’ve chosen a unique path towards achieving my goals. As a freelance writer, I’m dedicated to changing the world with words, and to help small business entrepreneurs experience a cooler side of the world and grow their business. It’s my course –what’s yours?
Have you discovered what you’ve been called to do on earth? You should render a unique service to the world. It doesn’t matter how vague the vision seems, success is around the corner. Stick to the course, you’ll laugh louder!
Aim for Six Figures Annually
Can you earn six figures in 12 months?
Of course you can, if that’s your goal and you work it out. An earnings of $100,000 for a particular year means you can live the Internet lifestyle if every stead remains equal. But this income seems so huge in my eye, and I’m sure you’re wondering how you can make so much.
A great way to simplify this is to breakdown the amount by 12 months. And afterwards, divide the result by 30 days.
100,000 divided by 12 = $8333.33/month
$8333.33 divided by 30 = $277.78/daily
Wow, we’re getting somewhere. It seems six figures is not that big!
So, is it possible to earn $277.78 every single day?
Absolutely…it’s 100% possible!
A lot of bloggers and affiliate marketers generate over $500 daily. Freelance writers can also boast of making that much. So, can you if you put your mind to it.
This is the only amount that’s worth it. As you pursue a course towards financial freedom, don’t accept mediocre advice or give up. Whatever business model you chose should bring you closer to earning six figures annually; and $277.78 on a daily basis. Can you do that?
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel…Not One Bit
Small, midsized and multinational businesses are resorting to the Internet for expansion. Potential customers have all migrated to the Internet for convenience. If you’re not getting the ‘real juice’ online, something is definitely wrong. Maybe you’re trying to reinvent the wheel — and if that’s the case…why?
Is it that you want to change the world with a unique idea, something phenomenal and powerful? Yes, that’s a nice course and I urge you to pursue it. But for the sake of earning six figures within the next five years or thereabouts, you need to align yourself with proven business models and explore it.
The world is a big place; there are no limitations except the ones you make up in your mind. And most of the time we do what we have to do…until we can do what we want to do. Living the Internet lifestyle is possible, but reinventing the wheel will only hinder your speed. Affiliate marketing, product creation, blogging, website-flipping and domain packing, pay-per-click publishing, AdWords arbitrage and freelance business are all lucrative ventures.
Any of these models can yield six figures annually if you give your heart to it. So don’t try to create a new business model; it’ll definitely take time before you gain notice. Stay with proven money-making channels. Explore as much as you can and impact your world positively.
Build a System, Not a Business
In as much as I’m an advocate of starting your business, I strongly believe you should also grow. Think out-of-the-box and transform it into a system. A system is the only guarantee for financial freedom. Investors and business owners know what I’m saying.
A true Internet entrepreneur who is living in an exquisite mansion, traveling the world over and supporting the less-privileged doesn’t have a business anymore. They have a system.
A system will continue to generate income, irrespective of economic states or weather changes. Typical systems online are Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon. These are no longer small businesses and since they’re listed in Fortune 500 Magazine as the Top 100 Thriving Companies in the United States, it surely means they’re doing the right things. You should learn from them. But how?
Reinvest into your small and startup business. Build more niche sites and monetize them. Outsource a handful of tasks to capable hands (freelance writers, developers, designers, researchers, virtual assistants, etc.). Focus on what you enjoy doing and build a strong foundation for a blissful Internet lifestyle.
Internet Lifestyle Takeaway
Have clear goals for your life, and be specific on the business model you chose. It’s all about being the best at what you do, and to position your life where the cool rays from nature can shine upon you.
Writer: Michael Chibuzor
The CEO of “Virgin”, Sir Richard Branson owns over four hundred companies and is estimated to be worth US$4.2 billion dollars. Now in his sixties, Branson’s business ventures range from Airlines, Formula One, Cosmetics and Space Exploration just to name a few.
It’s plain to see that Richard Branson knows a thing or two about achieving the ultimate success. So we have decided to share what can be learned from this widely successful, charismatic and respected entrepreneur.
Richard Branson’s 7 Success Tips To Live By
1.Saying “Yes!” is Fun
What makes Sir Richard Branson unique is that he is entertaining. He often defies conventional wisdom, pushes the envelope, and says, “Yes” more than he says, “No”.
One of Branson’s many books is entitled, Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life and Business. This flamboyant attitude towards business is a primary reason he has become a corporate iconoclast and continues to amaze, and overall – create value and make money.
2.If You Are Going to Dream, Dream Big!
For a man who started out with his own local newspaper and record store to an airline and telecommunications magnet, Richard Branson knows how to dream big. He has built eight billion-dollar companies and there are no signs of slowing down. Branson’s grandest project that is blowing everyone’s minds is Virgin Galactic, a ship for suborbital space travel.
In addition to space travel, Branson continues to dream big with his Virgin Oceanic project which offers deep sea travel. It is in hopes that people can soon see the lowest trenches of the oceans. It’s hard to think one can dream much bigger than that.
3.Having Fun is Fun
Richard Branson gets asked what the secret to his success is regularly. He replies that he has no secret. He just works hard, works smart, and above all has fun doing it.
“Have Fun, Work Hard and Money Will Come” – Sir Richard Branson
“When it’s Not Fun, Move On” – Sir Richard Branson
Branson states that as soon as he stops having fun on a project, it’s time to move on. A life is too short to be unhappy.
4.Always Take Risks – Calculated Ones
It seems Richard Branson’s lifestyle can be construed as irresponsible and brash. Branson is highly intelligent and while pushing the envelope, the risks he takes are always scrutinized before committing.
While Branson likes saying, “Yes”, his decisions always come with extreme due diligence which is standard in any business venture or acquisition, especially in the numbers Branson is known for dealing. One of Branson’s mottos has always been, “Be bold. Don’t gamble.”
5.Live for the Moment
Live for the moment. It’s a cliché however resoundingly applicable and true. Often aspiring entrepreneurs forget to live and enjoy the things life offers them. Because hard work and long hours are a part of entrepreneurship, these people need to live for the moment and enjoy the experiences life throws at them.
Branson says that even dedicating 80 hours a week to a business still allows for a few hours of fun. Don’t forget, people can have fun at work too.
Branson encourages people to still have goals outside business. In 1997, Branson participated in a race around the world in a hot-air balloon. He says people still need to live their lives as best as possible.
6.Always Give Respect
Respect in business was an attribute Richard Branson learned early in his career.
In his first meetings with Japanese businessmen in the early 80s, Branson was amazed at the politeness and the respect they gave young Branson despite his shaggy-sweater jean-wearing appearance. The Japanese taught Richard to always treat everyone in your business with respect, not just those that you need to impress. Someday you could be doing business with them.
7.Give Back
Another commonly used cliché is that money is the root of all evil. Unlike living for the moment, this does not have to be true. Many of the largest charity organizations were founded by very successful entrepreneurs who had very humble beginnings.
Richard Branson believes the true meaning to life is to help others; to make the world a better place to live for all living creatures. I’m sure most would agree.
Here is a final word that resonates clearly. “Success can take off without warning.” Richard Branson has experienced a few dark hours; where he thought he was finished and hope was fading fast. However like many successful entrepreneurs they believe they make their own luck; and the harder you work the luckier you get. Success can come in a blink of an eye.
Writer: Joel
So, you have finally found what you are passionate about, you blog about it regularly, you love to write and come up with new ideas, but nobody ever told you all the other bits that were involved in blogging. The guest posts, the commenting on other blogs, the social media requirements, the eBooks, the eCourses and that’s not including the other job you may be holding down.
So how can anyone become a productive blogger with all these tasks to perform daily?
- The Writing
- The Reading
- The Commenting
- The Marketing
- The Stats Checking
The Writing
The cornerstone of what blogging is; writing. Bloggers have different schedules, some like to post once a week some more often but even if you just post once a week, we know that’s the tip of the iceberg when it comes to writing. Bloggers need to guest post, others regularly contribute to fabulous sites like Lifehack. Bloggers also regularly write free reports, eBooks and eCourses to help their readers fulfill their dreams and passions.
The Reading
Bloggers regularly read large amounts daily, they read content from other blogs, they research the latest trends in how blogging is progressing and they openly read what the competition are writing.
The Commenting
They also read lots of blogs so they can comment on these blogs and spread their wonderful opinions around the blogosphere. Or rather they look for blogs with similar topics and comment regularly. When blogs use plugins like CommentLuv this helps drive traffic to their site as the last post will show up at the bottom of the comment.
The Marketing
Online and offline. Social Media helps to build connections and create relationships. Engaging readers in conversation can help to create a following necessary to grow a blog. Offline marketing can also help to drive traffic from other sources that you wouldn’t normally have access to online.
The Stats Checking
A killer habit in the first year of blogging. It’s so motivating to see that people are actually reading and even better subscribing to your blog, but how much time are you spending watching their actions? Yes, it’s good to know which posts are popular, but it’s also important to breathe and let it go.
80/20 RuleNow we know some of the tasks we should all be doing as a blogger but the question remains, “how do we fit them all in?”
I know you know the answer to this one. Yes, you guessed it: we pull out the calendar and schedule time for all these tasks. But before we do that, let us look at the 80/20 rule and see how much time you are currently spending on these tasks and which ones are actually helping you grow a successful blog.
List out all of your daily blogging tasks and write down (honestly) how much time you spend on each one. Now look at all the tasks and critically assess which tasks are growing your blog. Which ones actually get you followers and subscribers? Which ones suck your time like a nasty time vampire? Could your work week in fact be reduced to a Four Hour Work Week?
Focus on the WritingLeo Babauta of Zen Habits would tell you to ditch the things that aren’t important, to focus on the writing, and that if you produce good quality content the traffic will come. While that may be true it’s important to note that when Leo started he wasn’t just writing one good quality post a week he was writing 10 of them. Although I do believe with Leo’s tactics, I also believe that a little of the other factors can help the rest of us carve out a space for our blogs on the internet. So if you want to follow Leo’s tactics of focusing solely on your writing you want to check out this post which will tell you how you can write lots of content in short periods of time.
Focus on Your PassionWhat keeps most bloggers motivated and productive is the reminder of why they are doing what they are doing. Most of us started out with a mission. A vision to share our skills, knowledge or experiences with the world in the hope that they can make a difference in the lives of others. Reconnect with that passion daily, write it up over your desk if necessary and when you realize you have gone off track look up and get back to writing that good content that will make not just the most productive but the best blogger on the block.
Writer: Ciara Conlon
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