There are two main phases companies exist in: the profit phase or growth phase.

The growth phase is like pedaling your bike up hill. It’s hard. It take a lot of energy. But usually it’s worth it.

Once you get to the top of the hill you typically enter the profit phase. That’s where you start coasting. You use all the energy that got you to the top of the hill and coast down to the bottom.

There is much more risk and less benefit for the principals of the company in the growth phase. Most of the money that comes into the company is put right back into the company to keep growing.

In the profit phase risk is minimized, expenses are cut and excess money is funneled directly into the owners’ pockets. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. However, it’s not what our area needs to move into the next era of the business world.

Most of the world is growing: New York, LA, India, China. The list is wide and varied.

There is extreme innovation happening everywhere. And very few things that we do in our region need to be produced here. Another state or country could do them just as easily.

It is not lost on me that we are almost directly in-between Detroit and Pittsburgh:

Detroit is in a dark ages. Pittsburgh is in a renaissance.

We could go either way.

The only way to move into our own renaissance is through growth.

And the only people that can do it are business owners. They are the people who need to sacrifice, risk and grow.

If the business owners don’t do it we will likely fall back into our own dark times. If that happens we all lose. Our communities, our citizens and ultimately our own businesses.

We are our own saviors.

If we coast and profit we will ultimately die.

If we work like hell and grow everyone wins. And not inconsequentially, the riches for those who grow will be significantly greater. But you have to risk and sacrifice now.

That’s the rub.

This is a risk. You definitely could fail. You could definitely pick the wrong path. You could step out of your comfort zone only to meet defeat.

But know this: You have come from a background of risk. You and your founders risked everything to get where you are today. You know risk better than the vast majority. If there is anyone who can manage risk and drive through it, it’s the business owners. You can do it!

And I’ll tell you something else: Fortune favors the bold. 

Those who risk often succeed. In fact, they usually succeed. If you truly risk. If you truly drive forward you likely will succeed.

So how do you do it? Here are some thoughts:

• Force your company to become savvy with online marketing. You know it’s the future. It is where everything is moving. Your business is moving there. Become smart about it. Here’s some places to get help with that:
• If you are in Akron, come to a Digital Akron event: http://digitalakron.com/. They are free and all about helping you succeed in online marketing.
• I do a free Web marketing show on Friday’s at 3:15pm, Friday Internet Marketing. You can get to that here: http://sagerock.com/live
• Go to Web Association events. They have great content: http://www.webassociation.org/
• Force yourself to innovate.
• Invent another product.
• Push your services to a more advanced level.
• Make your customer service innovative and great.
• Travel.
• Go to trade shows on the coasts.
• Go to Europe, China, India.
• Go to Canada for God’s sake. It’s only 4 hours away.
• You need to know that you are in a global market. Your competitors are no longer down the road. They are all over the globe.

You simply have to become a stronger, sharper human being. You can’t be the stereotypical conservative, slow-moving Midwesterner. You will get killed.

But I know you can do it. You have a work ethic unlike most others in this country. It is probably on par with the Chinese. You are determined. You are steadfast. You can do this!

But just be sure you do do it. Do it for your neighbors, family, kids and co-workers. We all desperately need this from you.

 

I was very influenced by the HBO 2 part special on Saddam Hussein.

The overarching message was that he killed everyone who disagreed with him.

He became incredibly paranoid and convinced everyone was out to get him.

Granted, there were a lot of people out to get him. But he couldn’t tell the difference between those who were trying to help him and those who were trying to get him.

If you didn’t agree with him he killed you. That’s a terrible management strategy. You need good, honest advisers around you.

Ultimately, he ended up in a hole in the ground looking like this:

Saddam was like many small business owners.

He was exhausted, paranoid, beat up and attacked at every angle.

If there is a psyche of a person I’ve gotten to know over the years it’s small business owners.

I work with them a lot and I am one. That dual role (living with them and being them) gives me a deep sense of understanding and empathy. I get, to the core, why they are the way they are.

Here are some adjectives that come to mind when I think of small business owners. It isn’t every small business owner because they are a varied group. But I would say I see these character traits more often than not:

Pros:

• Warriors
• Persistent
• Knowledgeable in core small business philosophy
• Self-assured

Cons:

• Tired
• Suspicious
• Arrogant
• Myopic

I think it’s important to say that while the “cons” sound bad, it’s important to know that small business owners have only become that way because they are a product of their experiences.

They are tired because they have been beat down by vendors, customers and the government for years and years.

They are suspicious because many people have tried to take advantage of them. Everybody is testing to see if they’ve just encountered a sucker.

They are arrogant because they are the only people in their lives that have been willing to take risks and make big moves.

They are myopic because they don’t have enough money to hire enough people to get all the work done. So they end up vacuuming the floor before clients come to the office.

Yes they are bad traits but it’s not because they are bad people. They are just products of their environment. 

This is how Saddam ended up in a hole looking like  a homeless man. This can happen to you. (Well maybe not literally in a hole. But you get the analogy.)

While these Cons are nothing to feel guilty about or to feel that they represent you as a human, make no mistake. They are cons and they are limiting your growth potential.

Here’s how to get over them.

I strongly recommend reading the “Daily Practice” by James Altucher here:

How to be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps Altucher Confidential

I’ve seen versions of this from other people but this is a very good process.

If you can implement that practice into your daily life I promise you those cons will melt away.

That said, time is never on the side of the small business owner. Because of that, I’ve become a fan of drugs.

I do 20 mg a day of Citalopram. It’s used to treat depression.

I would not say that I’m deeply depressed. But my doctor definitely thinks I’m depressed. If you look at the con list they align pretty closely to the signs of depression.

I know taking drugs to deal with emotions is a taboo topic. But I don’t really care.

The cons in that list for me have significantly lessened.

If you are in the anti-drug crowd then I highly recommend strenuous exercise. Like running.

Running is actually a stronger drug, in my opinion. I will often reach levels of euphoria. The big difference is that the Citalopram is more even.

Running is more spikey. I feel omnipotent for a couple hours but then fall pretty quickly back into my negative thought pattern.

But whatever you are comfortable doing: just do it!

You can’t will your way out of those Con characteristics. You have to work your way out of them.

But I’m here to tell you, if you don’t manage them they will just get bigger and bigger. They will end up consuming you to the point of implosion. Trust me. I’ve seen it.

I love short books.

I am not a person who feels like I need 300 pages to get my money’s worth.

I finally got to reading “The Dip” by Seth Godin this weekend. I was able to get through it in about an hour.

It was an hour well spent.

I always love a book that takes me to a whole new world of thought and perspective.

The Dip did that for me.

The concept is pretty straight forward, and actually makes sense once you think about it:

The harder the path is to success the less likely your competitors will be to follow you.

The trick is determining if the path is too hard for you as well.

If you can’t make it to the end of the journey you should never start it to begin with.

But if the journey is worth taking you have to push through.

As I was reading I pulled some quotes out of the book. Here are the points that really hit home for me:

• “Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.” Seth Godin “The Dip.”
• “It’s the choice to give it a shot and then quit that you must avoid if you want to succeed.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “In a competitive world, adversity is your ally. The harder it gets, the better chance you have of insulating yourself.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “Before you enter a new market, consider what would happen if you managed to get through the Dip & win this market.” Seth Godin ”The Dip”
• “It’s human nature to quit when it hurts. But it’s that reflex that creates scarcity.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “If you can’t make it through the Dip, don’t start.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “If you want to be a superstar, then you need to find a field with a steep Dip… & get to the other side.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “You need to quit before you get to the Dip. Don’t quit while you are in the Dip.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• I think I’m getting it: If you want to succeed you have to go where others won’t go… and get to the other side. Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “People who make it through the Dip are scarce indeed, so they generate more value.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “Countless entrepreneurs have perfected the starting part, but give up long before they finish paying their dues.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “Don’t fall in love with a tactic. Instead, decide once and for all whether you’re in a market or not & get through that Dip.” Seth Godin ”The Dip”
• “Someone with nothing to lose has quite a bit of power.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.” Seth Godin “The Dip”
• “When the pressure is greatest to compromise, to drop out, or to settle, your desire to quit should be at its lowest.” Seth Godin “The Dip”

The key to all of this is knowing when to quit and when to stick. I feel like the book does a nice job helping you determine which is which.

I haven’t done a contest in a while. So in light of the Christmas season let’s do one right now.

In the comments below tell us a quick story of when you quit or when you stuck and how you felt the outcome was.

I’ll randomly pick a winner from the comments and send you this book – hardcover or Kindle, whichever you prefer.

I’ll pick a winner on Friday, December 16 by noon Eastern time.

I’ll go first (but since I already own it I probably won’t pick myself as a winner):

I got my Realtor real estate license once when I was young.
I tried everything to get new business. I held open houses for other agents. I cold called the phone book. I sent post cards to spouses of people who just died. I couldn’t sell a piece of real estate to save my life. I never sold anything. It was the first thing I couldn’t really do in my life. It was also the first big thing that I just quit. It shook me up for some time. But now I feel confident it was the right thing to do. I REALLY love working in Web marketing. I don’t think I ever really loved anything about real estate.  This journey also let me learn that it’s OK to fail. I’ve failed many times since. Failing at real estate made all the other failures less painful. Today I am completely cool with failing. In fact, I now believe failing is the key to getting to success. So the whole process was a big plus for me.

OK. Your turn. Tell me your Dip.

I am an envious person.

In fact there are many emotions I have that I’m not proud about myself.

• I’m jealous.
• I covet things.
• I’m competitive.

on and on.

I thought of these this morning because of a brief moment I had in the car this weekend with my mom, wife and kid.

We were driving back from the Christmas tree farm, after having found maybe the best tree we’ve gotten in many years. It seemed like a particularly good batch of trees this year.

We drove by two big, well kept buildings next to each other. They were companies I had never heard of. But based on the size of the buildings and how nice they looked, I would say that whatever they did, they did it well.

My mother said, “Wouldn’t you love to know what they do in those businesses?”

The first thing that came out of my mouth was: “I know what they do. They make more money than me.”

I meant to say it to get a little laugh. Which I did. But the best jokes always have an element of truth.

That’s how I always feel about people who are doing better than me in business.

I never think about where I’ve come. I only think about how far I have to go.

But here’s the thing… you never win the game of life.

• Walt Disney never saw Disney World.
• Martin Luther King Jr. never saw his dream come true.
• Ghandi witnessed the partition of India.
• Steve Jobs died during one of his least praised releases.

Indispensable men die every day.

We are not meant to win this life. But yet we all seem to set out like there is a finish line that has to be reached.

If you believe in God I think all he wants us to do is TRY.

“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.

One of the greatest men our country has ever known just hoped people would remember that he tried.

That’s all any of us can ask.

The issue, I think, is that we all fight a daily war between Quantity and Quality. And quite honestly, I think Quantity usually wins out. “How much can we pile into one day?”

I have at least a dozen emails in my inbox that need answered. And this is after my assistant has cleaned up the “unimportant” ones.

I have endless projects that need to be done.

• Proposals need to get out.
• Calls need to be made.
• Meetings need to be setup and attended.
• Clients need attended to.

These are all items that are on the Quantity battle line. The Quality military is always pushed back… especially on a Monday.

How is it that the weekend, a time we are all supposed to take some time to relax and be with our families, that we are so crunched on Monday morning? I think it’s because we’ve all been fortifying the Quantity army for the last two days.

• “I need to do this.”
• “I need to remind him to do that.”
• “I’m going to call her to have that meeting.”

Quality is just continually pushed further and further down.

But take 5 minutes and think about what could strengthen Quality:

• The book you want to write.
• The new product you want to create.
• The new invention you have in mind.
• The book you want to read.
• The class you want to take.
• The conference you want to attend.
• The coaching you want to do.
• The exercise you want to do.
• The family trip you want to take.

How much better of a business owner, employee, parent or spouse would you be if you could spend 8 hours a week on those things?

If you are like me, week after week goes by and you haven’t spent 1 hour on any of those.

It’s because Quantity is winning the war. We’ve been made to believe that Quantity is the hero in this story. But it’s not. Quality is the true protagonist.

I would like to suggest that while Quantity seems like it is the path to success, Quality is where true success lies.

You just have to steal a little bit of time from Quantity. And I’ll tell you a secret: You give so much to Quantity already, he’ll never miss it. He’s fat with your time.

This is where I don’t want you to steal it from:

• Your minimum of 8 hours of sleep each night.
• Time with your kids and spouse.
• Your exercise.

Steal it from work.

You already take time from work. We all do.

Pick one thing:

• The book.
• The exercise.
• The new product.

And just try.

• Jot something down on a piece of paper.
• Make a tiny outline of steps that need to be done.
• Just take 5 minutes.

I believe this: The more Quality you bring into your life the more Quality you will get in return.

Do 5 minutes this morning. Do 5 minutes this afternoon. And do the same tomorrow, and the day after.

I believe there are people who spend more time on Quality than they do on Quantity. I actually believe there are people who have mastered this so much that every time they see the slightest bit of Quantity slip into their schedule they throw it out immediately. They have mastered the art of Quality.

I’m not there… by a long shot. But that’s my goal. I want to live a life of 100% Quality. I believe it is how I’m ultimately going to be most useful to the world.

But today I bet I have about 5% Quality and 95% Quantity.

I’ll get there. I just have to try.

What does this have to do with marketing? Everything.

The best marketing comes from a resource of immense Quality. It’s impossible to market well a pile of crap… no matter how big the pile is.

Good marketing starts with a good product. Quality. Not Quantity.