The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur- Building Business Block by Block

I read a Facebook note this morning that simply blew me away in its empirical simplicity and reality. It was by David Mullings, entrepreneur and co-founder of Random Media LLC which in turn owns and operates Real Vibez Media. Real Vibez is fast becoming a brand synonymous with quality media marketing and delivery; pioneering ways individuals access and enjoy Caribbean Culture and Entertainment.

David recently endorsed the book “The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur”, which I am eager to read and review (see his testimony on the back of the book). He is in great company with the likes of Donny Deutsch, Host of CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch & Chairman, Deutsch Inc. and Bill Bartmann, self-made billionaire & National Entrepreneur of the Year (twice) by USA Today, Inc., and E&Y & Founder of Billionaire Business Systems.

The note, titled “David’s Most Recent MBA vs. TPE Moment” (TPE=Toilet Paper Entrepreneur), was about David’s recent “Eureka!!” moment about building his business.
He received a mind-blowing tip from an advisor, “B” which simply stated:

“… prioritize the top 5 things and knock them down one by one. Build Rome brick by brick.”

David’s MBA thought process was to seek funding to pay a company to build the whole “house” at once but “my TPE brain says to start laying bricks right now instead of waiting on the loan approval to buy the house.”

How many of us still think that way? We have great ideas, but await the ‘big money’ before we can make progress.

STOP IT! Stop it now!

Hahaha! Sorry for the harsh reprimand. But in this day and age of entrepreneurship in the current economy, it seems the best solution may be the ONLY solutions… build Rome, build YOUR Empire… brick by brick. I am by no means an economist, nor do I consider myself an entrepreneurial expert. But I am a GREAT TPE student and apply things I learn daily to the development of my own businesses.

I have registered a cleaning and concierge company in New Jersey and am taking my time (and little resources) to buy my Vacuum cleaners, solutions etc one by one. And you know what… the company will become operational much faster than awaiting the big loans or the big check. Similarly, my soon to be launched entertainment magazine, YaadNoyz Magazine has enormous potential to be a heavy player in the Entertainment Media industry, but I am building it slowly and carefully, using the resources available now while seeking more and progressing forward at all times.

Apply David’s “Eureka!!” moment to your own life and business development strategy. Instead of being stagnant because of lack of money and resources, use what you already have to build from the bottom up… of course, without compromising quality and your own standards. You will be in great company with EBay, You Tube, Yahoo and PayPal which all used this building-block strategy (The TPE way).

Thanks for this early morning inspiration David (I read it at 5:30AM). Anyway, I am out… have blocks to build!

Paula Yee Sing-Edwards

http://www.paulayeesing.com/

GOOD “WORTH” ETHIC

“The tragedy is that so many people look for self-confidence and self-respect everywhere except within themselves, and so they fail in their search.” Dr Nathaniel Branden


In all aspects of our lives we find ourselves evaluating our worth. Are we worthy of this clique of friends, do we fit into a certain school, are we good enough for that guy or girl…
Our esteem and self-worth are tied into a number of factors. Family status, money, career, education, experience even fashion sense all play roles in our feeling of worthiness (or worthlessness) at different stages in life. We put a value on our selves.

In the business world the same challenges exist. We must rate ourselves and express this value to our colleagues and employers. Self-employed entrepreneurs often have to set rates that reflect the worth of the company and the products and services offered. There is a popular story of a gentleman who went into a consulting business after leaving his job of many years. After finishing a presentation to a potential client, the VP of Operations of the company invited him in to discuss the terms of agreement.

Of course the gentleman expected a long, wordy document with legal jargon but instead got a single sheet of paper with the following 4 words:

Rate….. Hours…… Other Conditions…….

Being taken off guard, the gentleman said he will take the going rate of the competitors; but the VP insisted he wrote a quote.

Several months into the project, after good results, the VP decided to share a tip with the gentleman:

“I know that you have not been in business for yourself before, but whether it is your own business or a job, you must know your worth all the time. We were willing to pay you twice as much because that is what we had assessed in terms of what you could do to save our biggest customer from moving away.” He continued, “So now that we have been able to regain our customer’s confidence in us with your help, how much are you worth?” And he again gave him a piece of paper to fill up. It had the same four words as the first one. The gentleman had poor ‘worth’ ethic (sure he didn’t after!)

My husband is one of the most talented music producers and audio mixing engineers I know. He is extremely knowledgeable but refuses to add audio mixing to his list of services offered by our music production company. He doesn’t think he is ‘good enough’… doesn’t think his skills are of enough worth to be paid for. It’s great to be a perfectionist (speaking as one myself) but after a while we need to realize our strengths and not be afraid to explore new areas of our business. This is poor ‘worth’ ethic.

As a business owner or an employee; you must regularly do an analysis of the portfolio of your capabilities and services (talents) and determine what it is worth. This allows you to:

· Assess your strengths and explore opportunities to expand the business

· Improve on the weaknesses, increasing your company’s worth.

· Create confidence in the consumers and clients about the quality of the products and services (coupled with reputation, of course)

· Put yourself in a position for promotions


Always remember the importance of good “worth” ethic!!!

T.C. Feat. Capleton -

Mapping Your Journey to Success

Mapping Your Journey to Success


http://www.paulayeesing.com/

So I am sitting here at my desk writing my September map. Yea… “writing” my map… I have to, without it I am like a headless chicken going blindly in circles.



I refer to myself as a Jane of All Trades and ‘Work-In-Progress-Master of Most’ (if not all). At any given time I have countless ideas swirling around my mind…like noise…mental noise. Every time I had a thought I began to pursue it and neglect the former idea I was pursuing. This resulted in a lot of half-completed plans and half way achievements. Not good. I had to think of a way to control my ideas and bring each of them to fruition in a sensible fashion and stop wasting energy and time chasing every thought.



According to a study by the Ford Foundation:





• 23% of the population has no clue what they want from life and as such, they have very little.





• 67% of the population has a general idea what they want out of life, but no clue how to attain it.





• 10% of the population has specific goals





• Only 7 out of that 10 achieve their goals half the time





• The top 3% achieved the goals 89% of the time



The difference between the 3% elite group and the rest was: THEY WROTE DOWN THEIR GOALS!!! Can you believe it? Sounds too simple, right?






But it kinda makes sense, doesn’t it?





Goal-setting is like a map - it guides us to our destination, allowing us to have a bird’s eye view of the route. We can avoid time-wasting dead ends and detours. Dreams and wishes become goals when they are written; in some strange way writing them down materializes them and makes them probable. I like the phrase “dreams with a deadline” which I have heard used to describe goals.



These are tips to creating my maps for success:





• Get a calendar as visual aid; the mind tends to follow what is in front of it.





• Set aside an hour a day to plan. Force yourself into the habit.





• Work backwards- Focus on your long term goals and decide what short term activities will lead to your long term target.





• Plan tomorrow the night before- While you sleep, your mind will organize your time. I have a white board by my desk that I write my daily tasks on. Then at the end of the day I erase the accomplished ones and leave the undone ones for the next day. Of course the aim is to erase them all!!!





• Start the day with a mental run-down of your agenda. Then just do them! Walk with an idea notebook to jot anything that comes to mind.• Of course keep in mind that there may be obstacles. Plan for these proactively and not re-actively. Just steer around the obstacles and keep on moving.





• Reward yourself when you achieve your goals. Give yourselves mini-incentives to go even further. But if course don’t waste time patting yourself on the back for too long…there is still lots to do!






Anyhoo my friends, I am going back to my mapping! See you at the finish line of success!











Paula Yee Sing-Edwards


http://www.paulayeesing.com/

Leading By Intimidation…Support or Oppose?

I am a fan of Sean “Puffy” “Diddy” Combs. I admire what he has accomplished as an entrepreneur and a mogul in the various industries spreading from music and entertainment into the fashion and beverage industries (Ciroc). One the most looked forward to ‘Diddy event’ for me is his reality TV shows and no doubt his latest “I Want to Work For Diddy” on VH1 is choc -full of entertaining moments, educational moments and thought provoking moments.

The show is about young men and women vying for the post of personal assistant to Puffy. Of course week to week they will be faced with incredulous challenges and seemingly ridiculous tasks which, stupendous as they seem, are the reality of the entertainment business. I can definitely see how working for Diddy can prepare you for a job working for anyone and anything. The Government should consider a ‘Diddy Bootcamp’ for privates in the army as a mandatory training course (Hey! Don’t forget you got the idea here Sean!).

I can’t help but to notice that Sean Combs’ presence comes with extreme intimidation in his underlings and expectants. I would describe my leadership method as Participative, where I get involved with my team and work alongside them to encourage and build a positive rapport and hence improve self confidence in job performance and productivity. Diddy, on the other hand uses an Autocratic style.

Does this style of leadership work? Hmmm… I can go on and on and speak against this method, claiming that putting down employees and intimidating them lead to them continually questioning their abilities and compromising productivity. But does it really? Diddy seem to produce very efficient individuals prepared for the harsh industry; many of whom have gone off to create successful companies after learning under the ‘Diddyship’. What then can I say about his intimidating presence? It seems to work!

I worked at Go West, official distributor of Guess? apparel in Jamaica and I never forget Ms Pessoa. Once her car pulled into the parking lot we all had to be BUSY. If there were no customers, no unfolded shirts, no crooked hangers, WE MADE SOME! We had to create work because no one should be idling at any time. I believe that though it was intimidation, there was deep respect; we kept the place up to the high standard demanded by her and at no time did we feel we could drop the ball and become lackadaisical. Her methods were successful! Go West was and still is known for its atmosphere and air of exquisiteness.

On the opposite end, I have seen instances where managers or supervisors try to develop an atmosphere of equality and friendliness which resulted in disrespect and subsequent discord. The worker begins to feel he needn’t to stand by the hard and fast rules of the company and sometimes try to progressively break more to see what he can get away with in the presence of the supervisor. At that point, if the manager or supervisor tries to reprimand the employee, the relationship is adversely affected.

I am led to believe that leadership styles are directly proportional to who is being ‘led’. Those under the autocratic ‘Diddicratic’ method need to be tough, strong, and (somewhat subservient at the same time) and is not discouraged by shame and intimidation. The Participative and Laissez Faire leaders have employees who are self sufficient, confident, and who acknowledge and embrace the distinction among roles in the hierarchy of the company.

What is the best leadership method? What method brings out the best in employees and results in highest level of productivity?

Paula Yee Sing-Edwards

YaadNoyz Magazine

YaadNoyz Production LLC

CONVERSATION STARTERS FOR NETWORKING

As I mentioned in my previous blog, there are numerous outlets where we can network. It needn’t be confined to events prescribed for networking and corporate mingling. We can meet people who can have positive impact on our lives personally, spiritually or business-ally (hehehe) anywhere we conduct our day to day tasks: the gas station, the gym, the park, the train, the bus, a cousin’s- friend’s- child’s birthday party… All that is needed to network are confidence and willingness to approach others or be approached.

What can make it easier is a conversation starter; that quip or question or statement that invites a response and perhaps creates dialogue and VOILA!!!...we have networked.

Conversation starters are situational…opportunistic even. If a situation arises that gives us the opportunity to start a conversation, then we do it. If a person is standing next to us (within ear shot) in a train or by the bar at the party, these are examples of opportunities for conversation. If the person we want to meet is across the room, we position ourselves within that person’s circle to make a conversation possible.

Of course, let me be very clear that we only start conversations when we truly want to; not because we are being ‘forced’ to or ‘we guess we should do it for our business ’. The insincerity will be obvious and will rather leave a negative or false impression of us, let alone our business.
I thought I would list a few starters that I have used and some that I researched. Remember, let the question FIT the situation aptly (or at least contrast with it tastefully or humorously).

· Wow! It’s hot today! Was it this hot yesterday?
(Yea yea..you KNOW it was hot yesterday, but they don’t know YOU know!)

· What a great event. The music is blazing and people are having a great time. This was really well planned
(This is especially great with the PLANNERS of the party!)

· That dress is hot on you or That is a realllllly nice dress or I love that shirt.
(of course, if it is true. And with this- we don’t want to sound like we are flirting. So choose the statement that gives the least mixed signals)

· Did you hear about the earthquake in LA?
(If they heard- allow them to speak about it. If they didn’t- offer info you have)

· You guys make a beautiful couple. How long have you been together?

There are too many to list, but I hope this was helpful or at least inspiring to go get ‘em! Now go forth and network!

Paula Yee Sing-Edwards

YaadNoyz Magazine

YaadNoyz Production LLC

http://www.yaadnoyzmagazine.com/ (coming soon)

“You Had Me From Hello”-Work your Network!!

By now everyone knows that networking is the core of any entrepreneurial venture; Networking is marketing and marketing is key in promoting yourself, a service or product. Image and reputation (-thanks David M.) play powerful roles in the success (or lack) of any business. What is often forgotten is the fact that we don’t need to attend ‘networking’ functions and conferences to do so. We can interact and market in our day to day goings-on. The gym, the gas station, the bank, the supermarket, a child’s party are great untapped sources of contacts, customers, consumers and patrons.

I have always been a socialista; as a child I somehow knew the power of having certain contacts. I remember tugging at my dad’s shirt compelling him to introduce me to any police officer I saw anywhere…for some reason I believed I would need to have them as close friends (hmm..What was I thinking I would need them for??). It was the same for just about any professional, as I walked with a ‘contacts notebook’ to jot numbers…was so cute…I was like 10!

But this weekend, after reading “How to Work a Room” by Susan RoAne, I decided to go steps further with my networking. As a guest at a sweet 16 for the daughter of a friend of a friend - my friend’s grandparents could no longer attend, so my husband and I were the replacements. We were 2 of 4 black persons in a mostly Jewish circle and I thought to myself “self….let’s put our reading into practice!”

I took my friend’s mom’s hand and we took over the dance floor. Soon my husband joined in and we got others involved too. People were rooting for us and asking us to show them our dance moves etc; complimenting my husband and myself on what a great couple we seem to be…
I saw a couple on the dance floor make their way to the bar (open bar yipeeee) I followed so as to strike up a conversation. We chatted for a bit about their 28 year marriage, their kids, exchanged introductions and bingo…I left my mark. Similarly, I greeted the hosts (the parents) and commended them on an awesome event during the party and on our departure. I circled the room and shook hands with the people at most tables and met other professionals present at the event.

Yesterday I got a call from my friend who invited us informing me that we were the talk of the party and “everyone is still talking” about the awesome couple. There is now an open invitation to any event the family is hosting!

The point is…even those of us who think we have the keenest networking skills…with a CONSCIOUS effort to do more, we can make marketing magic! I did not market my upcoming online magazine, YaadNoyz Magazine, since it is still in the works, but I laid a foundation to chat business in the future.

Make eye contact today with someone and spark up a conversation..watch it work magic for your business life or even your personal life! Tomorrow I will discuss a few of my “conversation-starter-uppers”. Talk about the weather, the gas price, the color of her dress…be honest and confident and leave your mark.

You can have them at hello!!!

Paula Yee Sing-Edwards

Image and Identity Consultant

YaadNoyz Production LLC