- September 19, 2018 -

If I believed in reincarnation, the 1960's would suit me just fine.

The "Mad Men" era.

When advertising was clever and elegant.

And the mastery of words was an art form. True craft.

When Madison Ave ad men like the fictional Don Draper wore great suits.

When David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, reigned with quotes that make me smile like this one in particular:

"Many people -- and I think I am one of them -- are more productive when they've had a little to drink. I find if I drink two or three brandies, I'm far better able to write."

Now [...]

- September 17, 2018 -

Alexander the Great...pretty cool dude even if he lived more than 2,000 years ago.

He challenged the status quo.

Wasn't big on following rules.

Liked to play the rebel, a contrarian of his day.

I knew there was a reason why I like him 🙂

Anyway, back in the winter of 333 B.C., general Alexander and his army arrived in Gordium, the capital of Phrygia (modern day Turkey) to stay for the winter.

While there, he heard about the legend of the town’s famous knot, the “Gordian Knot.”

According to Greek and Roman legend...Phrygia was without a king and an oracle (fortune-teller) decreed [...]

- September 13, 2018 -

The quickest way to go out of business is to be sentimental about how you made your money.

...sounds weird, but it's too easy to get all romantic about what's worked in the past and want it to keep working the same way forever.

You start making a few bucks using a certain strategy or tool - and you don't want it to go away or change.

But that's not how marketing work.

What worked with Google Adwords five years ago is totally obsolete today.

Facebook advertising? It changes more often than the Kardashian clan's next wacky commotion trends on social [...]

- September 12, 2018 -

We're less than three weeks away from the start to Q3.

It's when your prospects who you've been courting for months start to pull back with excuses like: "Let's regroup after the holidays."

And your knee-jerk reaction is to go into belt-tightening mode...finding ways to cut costs and ride out the season.

It's like your brain is living in what it must have been like in the Depression Era. The best of intentions end up being counter-productive.

Impulse 1: Do everything yourself.

Learn that new technology..

Do your own accounting and bookkeeping.

And the tech troubleshooting.

Blogging, podcasting, posting.

Advertising.

Creating, fulfilling, serving, supporting.

(Need a nap [...]

- September 11, 2018 -

Not with your money so much, but with your minutes.

A time tightwad.

Who's unwilling to spend yours on just about everything...work-related, at least.

And no, this is nothing new. In past emails, I've said:

"Slow down to speed up."

"Do less to achieve more."

"Complexity' is the enemy of execution."

"Remember the rule of one: one offer, one price, one ad, one video, one email a day, one call close...until it's proven."

Basically:

"Stop majoring in minors."

I know. It's easier said than done.

Easy to monitor how your time is spent for a while...and then go right back to your old ways.

Letting emails, texts, calls, [...]

- September 10, 2018 -

"I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me NOW!"

Betcha thought I was finally published. Nah...maybe someday.

It's from a scene in the "rags-to-riches-back-to-rags-then-back-to-riches" movie “The Jerk” where Steve Martin sees his name in the White Pages.

He flips out, beyond excited that he is finally “somebody” because he sees his name in print.

Come on...we've all had our "Woohoo! I'm somebody, dammit!" moments.

We're human. We have egos.

We want status on some level...both personally and professionally.

That's a given. Obvious stuff.

But I want to dig a little deeper because there's a pretty valuable business lesson in the funnyman's [...]

- September 6, 2018 -

Technology is a catch-22.

...can't live with it.

...can't live without it.

...if developers aren't constantly updating their products, they're laggards.

...if they are constantly updating their products, we're forced to adapt or die trying.

Across our two businesses, we use a lot of tools: Infusionsoft, WordPress, Podio, Zapier, TeamWork...and a mess of others that I pay for because Cheryl says they're important.

But to be honest, when she starts talking about our tech stack...

All the plugins and what they do and why we need them...my head feels like it's going to explode!

And then I reach for either a golf club or [...]

- September 5, 2018 -

Grant Cardone.

Real estate mogul. Former drug addict, turned self-made multi/multi-millionaire.

Real deal or scam? Oh, he's real.

He's the guy who drives white-on-white Rolls Royces and Lambos.

The guy who travels in his own Gulfstream jet.

He's flashy, he's a showoff. He talks out of both sides of his mouth.

He shoots his "Grant Rant" YouTube videos from inside his private jets and exotic cars...while telling you that it's stupid to buy sh*t you don't need and can't afford.

More power to him. Anybody who's built an empire out of nothing but pure hard work and his street smarts has got my [...]

- September 4, 2018 -

I hope you had a terrific holiday weekend. Being that it's called "Labor" Day, I've typically used that day to get a lot done around the house.

I don't know if you're like me, but when I'm puttering...my mind kind of wanders.

And I was thinking about the recent and untimely passing of someone Cheryl and I followed in our early days in the network marketing space.

The days when I was straddling the fence between my dying mortgage business and what was then the Wild, Wild West of online marketing for the home-based business industry.

Mark Hoverson was a [...]

- August 30, 2018 -

Ads...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

You watch the Super Bowl because of 'em.

For our wholesale real estate biz, we do a lot of ads on Craigslist.

Most real estate investors have a "love-hate" relationship with Craigslist. Some of the complaints I often hear in peer groups are...

"I've got to constantly repost my ads because they expire - BIG pain."

"The ads are magnets for other wholesalers - my competition."

"Investors who see the ads call realtors who then call me - too many middlemen now."

And yep, these are definitely limitations.

But any platform you use has limitations. I [...]