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TRANSFORMYOUR
DREAMS
INTO
DOLLARS
V2M
WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM
BY
FRANKF.LUNN
AND
MICKYDEMING
Visualize
2MonetizeAfreshapproachtoenTREPreneurialsuccess
SOLD TO THE FINE
frank@kahunaworld.com
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TransformYourDreamsintoDollars
V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM
V2M: Visualize 2 Monetize
Visit us at www.trepschool.com and www.kahunaworld.com
ISBN: 0-9728300-9-X
Copyright 2013 By Frank Lunn and Micky Demingc
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TableofContents
Part 1: The Vision of Entrepreneurship
1. A New Mindset of Entrepreneurship
2.
3. Take the enTREPreneur Pledge
4. The Drive of Entrepreneurship: A Compelling Why
5. The Heart of All Business Endeavors: The Value Exchange
6. Keeping it Simple: Entrepreneurship 101
7. Taking Meaningful Action: The Essentials of Entrepreneurship
8. The S.T.A.C.K. Strategy for Meaningful Action
9. Step Up to the Challenge: The Spirit of Entrepreneurship
Part 2: From Visualize to Monetize
1. The Business Plan: Putting the Dream on Paper
2. The Business Plan: A Plan of Action!
3. An Introduction to the Four Pillars of Business
4. Operations and Logistics
5. Marketing and Sales
6. Accounting and Finance
7. Capital and Funding
8. Tying it All Together: Your V2M Plan
9. Time to Take Action and Enjoy the Ride
The Visualize to Monetize Plan
TransformYourDreamsintoDollars
V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM
Part-1
The Vision of Entrepreneurship
“Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a
chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor
fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought.” – Robert
Green Ingersoll
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What is Entrepreneurship?
Are you an entrepreneur? If not, do you think you could be one?
Before you answer that, let’s back up. The word entrepreneur is long, difficult to spell and has a variety
of meanings to different people. Most of the time the word conjures up this image of a bold,
risk-taking business man who is on top of the world one day and at rock bottom the next.
Whatever your perception of entrepreneurship is, please take a minute and set it aside.
This book is presenting a new way to think about the word, and hopefully how you live your life. We
don’t see an entrepreneur as a certain type of person or even a specific career path. No,
entrepreneurship is a mindset. It’s a way of life that seeks to benefit others. Entrepreneurship pursues
meaning, solves problems and takes ownership of a situation.
Entrepreneurs can be people starting businesses, but they can also be teachers, employees, students
and parents. This book will focus on the skills needed to succeed as an entrepreneur starting a
business, but you will learn the requirements for success have more to do with who you are than the
skills you have.
And if you learn to truly think like an entrepreneur, with a willingness to overcome whatever stands
in your way, you will find that the entrepreneur spirit will guide you toward satisfaction and success
in any path you take.
What is aTREP?
We refer to entrepreneurs as TREPs as we have built our community at www.trepschool.com. You may
be wondering, what the heck is a TREP? Well, it’s our way of thinking about this new mold of
enTREPreneurs.
Today, we are seeing a collective “stepping up” of many entrepreneurs who are unsatisfied with the
way things are and are doing something about it. Every generation has had entrepreneurs, but today,
with the connectedness of our world and the rapid pace of communication, entrepreneurship has a
new feel.
The traditional picture of the “businessman” banker-type of entrepreneur has given way to the jeans
and hoodie, working in a coffee shop developing an app. The thing is, the old style of
entrepreneurship hasn’t been replaced, but expanded into an endlessly diverse community of those
who are seeking to use their talents and gifts to make something happen in the world.
“Change your opinions, keep to your principles;
change your leaves, keep intact your roots”
- Victor Hugo
A New Mindset of Entrepreneurship
ANewMindsetofEntrepreneurship
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The TREPs are good with their hands so they start a general contracting business. They have a passion
for coffee and community, so they start a coffee roasting business. They are stay-at-home moms, who
find a way to monetize their knitting hobby. The TREPs are young or old, reluctant or bold, and come
from all corners of the globe.
That’s what this book is all about. Entrepreneurs today are having success in a multitude of ways.
Technology allows individuals to start businesses at a minimal cost and often from their own laptop.
This creates a desire for many to pursue entrepreneurship. When people hear about the opportunity
to do what they love, work with who they want to work with, when and where they want to – this is
going to appeal to many.
The problem is, people want it, but don’t know where to start. That’s why we have written Visualize to
Monetize. Many people don’t have much trouble coming up with a vision of success. But the
challenge is to narrow down that vision into something concrete, then take the practical steps
necessary to have money start coming in.
This book is broken into two parts. The first will explain the mindset a successful entrepreneur must
have. This comes first, because if you aren’t able to think like an entrepreneur – taking personal
responsibility for actions, being accountable to the choices you make – no amount of teaching will set
you on a path for success.
We finish this introduction by going back to the question we started with. Do you see yourself as an
entrepreneur?
It’s time to think differently about that word. In some ways, it’s easier than you may have expected.
Anyone can do it. Anyone can learn the skills necessary. Anyone can come up with the resources to
get started.
But in other ways, it’s more difficult than you expected. There is nobody to answer the questions,
except you – the entrepreneur. When challenges and setbacks come, there are no excuses, nobody
else to blame.
In this book we will teach you the heart of entrepreneurship – providing value to others. We will teach
you to keep track of the key pillars that will sustain your business, and provide a framework to grow
it beyond yourself.
ANewMindsetofEntrepreneurship
So What Do They Have in Common
Do You See Yourself as an Entrepreneur?
This book will explain the characteristics common among those who succeed in entrepreneurship. The
strongest indicator of success in entrepreneurship is not your skills, knowledge or competency. What
will determine your success is your character is your willingness to overcome adversity, to constantly
learn and adapt, and how relentlessly you are willing to pursue your goals.
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TimetoTakeActionandEnjoytheRide
But the most important thing you can learn, which will be a theme throughout the book, is that for you
to succeed you have to take control of your circumstances. The TREP mindset is a mindset of personal
responsibility meeting opportunity awareness.
No matter what you are doing, even if you are still an employee - if you take personal responsibility
of your own life, and purposefully direct your efforts toward providing something good for others –
you are on track to being a TREP and beginning a journey of a meaningful life that benefits and serves
those around you.
There’s no better journey you can take.
Let’s get started on making it happen.
“The TREP mindset is a mindset of personal responsibility
meeting opportunity awareness. ”
We will give you the tools you need to stay on track, focusing only on what matters, instead of wasting
time on things which don’t move you toward your goals.
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If you’ve ever been lost driving, you understand the maddening frustration once you discover the
correct route. This part is frustrating, because in that moment you realize how much time and mileage
could have been saved had you known the correct path from the start.
That’s how we want you to think of this book. We call it Visualize to Monetize (V2M for short),
because we are trying to show you the shortest, most direct route from your vision of a business to the
point where you are actually bringing in money. The way to do that is to provide directions, and cut
out all the wasted, unnecessary steps that are doing nothing to advance you toward your goal.
Why Not Just a Business Plan?
Most business plans are created out of necessity for a bank or for a potential investor, but they are just
not practical at this point in the process. There will definitely be a time and a place for business plans
and marketing plans and financial projections—just not at this stage.
Assume you have an idea for a business and you are looking to get started. Before you sit down with
a banker or potential investor, think about sitting down with a good friend over a long cup of coffee.
You are excited about some ideas, but don’t have everything figured out. What would you share with
your friend? Would you share your passion? Your dreams? Would you talk about the thrilling potential
of converting your skills and passions into a benefit to others, and to actually call that work?
This imaginary conversation with your best friend is the basis of your V2M Plan—Your plan to take you
from a dream (visualization) to an actual revenue producing enterprise (monetize).
Attention to Detail (But not yet)
Please don’t misunderstand us. Success in your business will depend largely on your ability to pay
attention to detail and make things happen. In fact, we will even encourage you to prepare a business
plan and create a projected budget for your first year (See part 2).
However, the difference here is a V2M plan starts where all entrepreneurial success must start – with
you.
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
- JRR Tolkien
The Visualize to Monetize Plan
TheVisualizetoMonetizePlan
A Conversation Over Coffee
First of all, to be blunt, typical business plans are like a Master’s thesis in futility. They are not really
useful and are designed more as a way to weed people out than to be a helpful guiding force to a
start-up entrepreneur. I mean come on… Do you really need to put together a five-year financial
forecast before you have your ideas fully thought out?
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That’s why we’re not worried at the very beginning about the minute details. The first step is to
determine if you are mentally prepared for the road before you. Next, we have to think about the
business you have in your mind. What’s your motivation? If it’s for status and money, we don’t expect
your fire to last long.
A V2M plan starts with you sharing ideas with your closest friends, throwing stuff against the wall and
seeing what sticks. It begins with an idea that should make your eyes light up.
Laying the Groundwork
When you build a house, you must begin with a firm foundation. Without that, thinking about the
beautiful interior decorating will be pretty useless. To get started on our V2M plan, we are going to do
just that. We want to build a solid foundation in your mind of what it’s going to take to succeed, so the
house doesn’t collapse and have to be rebuilt from scratch.
It may seem impractical to focus on wild dreams, the entrepreneur spirit and personal responsibility
when we are talking about taking a business idea into monetization.
We completely disagree. To think about monetization, and how the financial details will work is like
thinking about the windows of the house before the walls are up. We need the foundation. And your
foundation will be your vision combined with the entrepreneur mindset of success.
The Value Exchange is a phrase you will see throughout this book, and in depth in chapter 5. In short,
the Value Exchange is where you find a way to convert your skills into something other people want
enough they are willing to pay for it.
This will be the foundation of your entire business life, and in order to even find a realistic Value
Exchange, your first step will require a shift in focus away from yourself and outwardly toward others.
This is why we don’t want you to focus too much on details, because it really comes down to this
simple exchange. If you can provide the value for others, you will have success.
The rest of Part 1 will provide the guide for you to think like an entrepreneur, while Part 2 will break
down each step toward monetization. Each chapter will lay another brick for the foundation of your
success.
This book is not a recipe for guaranteed success, but rather a road map to point you in the right
direction. This is the groundwork to ensure the building you build is established on a firm foundation.
TheVisualizetoMonetizePlan
Take the enTREPreneur Pledge
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The determining factor of success in your journey will be the character and persistence you have,
and more specifically – the person you choose to be.
If you look across history at those who made a difference in the world, and those who achieved the
goals they desired, you can find common threads that made these people special. These
characteristics were more habits than genetic gifts. These successful people have a way of looking at
the world that is different from most of the population who are willing to settle for average.
And just as much as we may observe that these characteristics are present in those who achieve
greatness, we can also see, maybe even more clearly, that those who lack these qualities will never
rise above mediocrity and see their dreams become reality.
You may think it’s a corny exercise, but before we move on, we want to present you with a TREP
Pledge. The TREP Pledge is made up of six characteristics that if pursued fervently will lead to a
fulfilling and meaningful life.
Say them out loud and with conviction and see if you can agree to not only say this pledge, but really
get it in your heart. If you agree and can say these six affirmations as the enTREPreneur Pledge,
you will find it to be a phenomenal foundation from which you can build any enterprise and with it a
fantastic future.
TaketheenTREPreneurPledge
“Conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time
when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor
popular, but one must take it because it is right.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Remember, this future is not just yours alone but is shared in the future of everyone your enTREPre-
neurial journey affects. It includes your family, your employees, (current and future), your investors,
vendors, partners, peers, collaborators and ultimately the customers and clients you serve.
The TREP Pledge
I am responsible – I am the person responsible for me. It is my role and my obligation to do whatever
is necessary in whatever measure necessary to achieve the outcomes I seek. I have tenacity towards
my goals and the determination to follow through until I achieve my desired outcome.
I am grateful – Life isn’t perfect, but I am thankful for what I have and my opportunities.
I am opportunity focused – I choose to see problems and obstacles as opportunities and challenges I
can use to my advantage with enough creativity and determination.
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Simple, but Not Easy- Definitely Worthwhile!
While all of this may seem like a no-brainer, most of our society does not follow these simple
affirmations. Most would think they do, but if you examine their lives, they would be missing some
key attributes. While we could write chapters and even books on each one of these, it is clear to see
that an entrepreneur who believes in these with conviction and lives each concept with purpose is
simply unstoppable. Obstacles and roadblocks? Sure, they will be there along with negative people,
bureaucrats, tough economic conditions, governmental intervention, bad weather and a host of other
things out of our control.
EnTREPreneurs don’t wait for things to happen. We make them happen. We create the conditions we
seek. We design and build the future to our own specifications. Certainly we have challenges and
obstacles like everyone else. Instead of stopping us and shutting us down, entrepreneurs use these as
opportunities to get stronger and more creative.
The TREP Pledge is simple, but not easy. That said, it is definitely a worthy aspiration and ideal
standard. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. If you cannot honestly say these six
affirmations with conviction, then perhaps you are not cut out for enTREPreneurship and should
instead seek a time for money type situation instead (Otherwise known as a job). However, if you can
learn to embody these characteristics you will have no problem improving your life and enriching the
lives of all those you touch. What a great feeling and an awesome responsibility!
TaketheenTREPreneurPledge
I am positive – I add value to others and agree not to be a whiner, complainer or a person that in any
way diminishes others.
I provide value to others – I believe in positive value exchange. I can earn as much money as I want
as long as it is in the direct proportion to the amount of value I can provide to others.
Every relationship I am in is an opportunity for me to add value.
I have integrity – I am honest with myself first and everyone I deal with.
The Drive of Entrepreneurship: A Compelling Why
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Answering the Questions
Let’s go back into the coffee shop. You are sitting with your buddy, having a chat about dreams, plans
and somehow creating a future of personal freedom and sharing your gifts with others.
Depending on who you are talking to, you are likely to get a wide spectrum of responses, but one
certainty is you are going to hear a lot of questions.
How is this going to work?
Who is going to want this?
Your goal is to make how much?
At this stage in your planning, you may or may not have answers to these questions. In fact, as you
progress, you will find a much longer list of questions you have never even considered!
But as you encounter the questions and the doubts, and you sometimes even question yourself about
whether or not this is a legitimate idea – there is one question you must answer before any others.
Why?
The Question You Never Answer in a Business Plan
This is another reason why we encourage a V2M plan over a traditional business plan at the early
stage, because until you have a compelling reason why you are starting a business, you haven’t started
anything yet. People start businesses for a variety of reasons, and we are not here to preach to you on
what your motivation should be. Something like this can’t be faked or produced out of thin air anyway,
so there would be no use in trying.
No, your Compelling Why is something that comes out of your core. And this is what
entrepreneurship is all about. Entrepreneurship is for someone who can’t sleep at night because they
have an idea they can’t get out of their head. It’s about seeing a real problem in the world and feeling
an obligation to help solve it. It’s about being grateful for what we have, and finding a way to use our
gifts to help others.
TheDriveofEntrepreneurship:ACompellingWhy
“Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you
are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue,
and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause
greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other
than oneself.” -
- Viktor Frankl
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In the beginning stages of entrepreneurship, a combination of imagination, adrenaline and caffeine
will sustain you through the low times and long nights. But years down the road, you will need
something bigger to keep you on track.
What to Do with Doubts and Fears
Our natural instinct is to jump right in and answer those Who, What, When and How questions. These
are the ones we have to point to in order to explain the feasibility and practicality of our ideas. But the
reality of entrepreneurship is, whatever your plans are at the very beginning are going to change. You
can’t predict the future.
The real indicator of entrepreneurial success is a willingness to overcome obstacles - a relentless
desire to succeed at all costs – and the only thing that’s going to lead to that kind of dedication is a
Compelling Why.
People will be quick to tell you not to pursue your dreams. They will tell you about the risk involved
and about how hard it is to make entrepreneurship work. They will encourage you to stick with
something “steady” or “safe.”
And this is the point most entrepreneurs never make it past. The doubts from others will lodge
themselves somewhere in the mind, and at the first sight of trouble or a roadblock, fear kicks in and
the would-be entrepreneur is suddenly frozen and timid.
When those fears and doubts manifest themselves, your five-year financial projections won’t tell you
to keep going. Only a Compelling Why –a passion bigger than yourself – will keep you forward-fo-
cused and driven toward your dreams.
Action Step
Before moving on, if you are getting serious about entrepreneurship, now is a great time to examine
yourself. Take some time to ponder – then write down - your answer to the question of why you are
doing this. Everything you build will come out of this Why. It will sustain, motivate and guide each
step of your vision and action.
TheDriveofEntrepreneurship:ACompellingWhy
Even though this is a Visualize to Monetize plan, you should never think success comes easily. It’s a
major challenge. And if you are serious about entrepreneurship, you should want it that way. The
greatest rewards come in the challenges we overcome. And when those challenges inevitably hit, and
you are feeling stuck and without purpose – you will need a Compelling Why to keep you going.
Visualize to Monetize is entrepreneur-focused. When you are sitting down having the conversation with
your friend, we want to know what makes your blood boil. If you are motivated enough by your
compelling why, you can overcome anything that stands in your way. Much practical planning goes into
building a successful business, but all numbers and predictions are secondary to your passion for what
you are doing.
The Heart of All Business Endeavors:
The Value Exchange
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The Link Between Visualize and Monetize
When you visualize your future as an entrepreneur, you are living in an ocean full of endless dreams
and possibilities. Dreaming big is an essential component to success, because incredible things
happen when you make audacious goals then find a way to accomplish them.
On the other hand, the real victories are won, not in the ocean of dreams, but on the harsh ground of
reality. The challenge for most entrepreneurs is finding the ship to take them from the dreams to
reality.
Some want to jump straight to the monetization phase. Their actions are aimless, because they haven’t
spent enough time dreaming and planning about what they actually want. They work hard, but
without goals and a purpose, the hard work is wasted.
Others have plenty of great ideas, but don’t know how to make them happen in the real world. They
continually dream, are swept away by the endless possibilities, yet never take the purposeful action to
achieve their goals.
The answer to this dilemma is truly the heart of all business, and the most important thing you must
understand to turn your entrepreneurial vision into true success. The answer is the Value Exchange.
Visualizing the Value Exchange
As you are developing your vision, any hope of success hinges on determining your Value Exchange.
As explained earlier, value is giving to others in exchange for something. If you want to make money,
you have to provide something other people are willing to pay for.
Once again, it’s time to expose a common myth of entrepreneurship. The myth – and this may surprise
you – the myth is: It’s about you. The honest truth is it’s not about you at all.
Don’t get me wrong, in many ways it is. You, the entrepreneur, will be responsible for producing your
product or service, guiding the ship along the journey and making the important decisions which will
determine the fate of your business.
But as an entrepreneur, your focus in building your business must be outward not inward, because it’s
people who you will be serving. You might think you will be working for yourself, but you are really
working for your customers, your clients, and whoever you do business with.
TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange
“We achieve our victories through the victories of those we serve!”
- Kahuna Business Group
Outward Focus
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Your why – as discussed in the last chapter – will in some way be about yourself. Don’t feel bad about
this, it’s just how it is. Most entrepreneurs choose this path as a means to personal freedom, financial
freedom, to do what they love, to provide a better situation for their family or some combination of
those.
But when you visualize your business, and seek a way to use your skills to give value to others, your
purpose and mission must be focused outwardly. It doesn’t matter what you want, or think is good,
because you are not the one who will decide whether your product or service is worth paying for.
Customers will.
So when you create your vision, the only way to truly come up with a value exchange is to put yourself
in the shoes of a customer or client. Spend your time and energy finding a way to combine the talents,
gifts and passions you have with the wants and needs of others.
Where Can You Find Value?
Another myth of entrepreneurship is that you have to create something new and groundbreaking in
order to succeed. This type of thinking is an inward focus. A value exchange is much simpler than that,
and so is business. All you have to determine is how you can make life easier, simpler, happier or more
fulfilling for others. That can be done in an infinite number of ways, often by improving upon what we
already have.
A practical way to begin to think of adding value is to think of your own life. What are things which
frustrate you? Can they be removed or improved? What are products or services that keep you coming
back for more? What about them makes you come back? That is true value, and you are happy to
exchange your money for whatever it is they offer.
Remember, V2M is a mindset. Your value exchange will look completely different based on what
business you are going into. But the surefire way to identify where to add value is to put yourself in
the shoes of others – and even better – to ask people what they want.
Simplifying Business – Serve Others
It’s a shame people in business are often painted as greedy and money-hungry, eager to take
advantage of anyone they can in order to make a buck. True business, with a fair value exchange flips
this on its head. Entrepreneurship is about what you can give and how you can serve. The only money
you ever make should be in proportion to the value you provide. It’s best to keep this thought in mind
at the start of your business, and keep it at the forefront of all thinking.
When you think of business in this sense, it at once simplifies the thought process, but raises the level
of personal responsibility. It simplifies, because if you always think of others and how you can better
serve them, you can trust your efforts are focused in the right direction.
TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange
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At the same time, the value exchange raises the stakes for your expectations and responsibility. By
pursuing entrepreneurship, you are taking on a higher calling. You are no longer working just for
yourself and a paycheck. Your purpose and everyday challenge is to find a way to help others.
This is a beautiful place to be, but is not easy. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic formula. You
will learn a lot on this journey, but if you can figure out this one thing – how to provide value for others
– your success will almost be guaranteed.
The value exchange is the crux of the V2M process – stepping outside of yourself and dreaming of
ways to improve the lives of others. This is the link between visualize and monetize, between your
dreams and reality.
Or, as Zig Ziglar puts it: “You can have anything in life you want if you just help enough other people
get what they want.”
TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange
“You can have anything in life you want if you just help enough other people get
what they want.”
- Zig Ziglar
Keeping it Simple: enTREPreneurship 101
Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Once you have grasped the importance of why you are doing business and can visualize providing
value for others, you have a firm foundation to build the rest of your vision on. These two components
work like building blocks in sustaining the rest of your entrepreneurial journey and should give you
the confidence and drive to take purposeful action to achieve your goals.
Thinking Like aTREP
As you prepare for action, you will need to develop the TREP mindset to guide you throughout your
journey. At the beginning of this book, you read and agreed to the TREP Pledge. As you break down
each point in the pledge, you will see how each is motivated by the two building blocks of the
Compelling Why and the Value Exchange.
When you read the pledge, you may have simply glanced over it. You may have thought it was good
advice, or even had a change in thinking of what mattered most in entrepreneurship. But no matter
how it struck you, there is a major difference in reading the words and putting them into practice.
Putting Your New Mindset into Action
True entrepreneurship is about action. It’s not about words or talk, but getting things done. For you to
start thinking like a TREP, you will have to commit to a life of these principles. Now that we have
established our two building blocks for a vision, let’s dive into the TREP Pledge in greater depth.
I AmResponsible
Again, entrepreneurship is about action. You now understand you are taking on this challenge to add
value to others, and it’s up to you to make it happen. When you are an entrepreneur, there is no blam-
ing others or making excuses. Everything falls on you, and the most successful are able to look failure
in the eye and do something about it.
The life of an entrepreneur is – if all goes well – a life of freedom, but that freedom is not possible with-
out earning that freedom by living responsibly.
I Am Grateful
The value exchange and personal responsibility flow out of gratitude. To be willing to give of yourself
for others, you have to realize how fortunate you are to have the life you have. When you are grateful,
you have the freedom to take chances, and really serve others. If you think the world owes you some-
thing, you are probably not cut out to be an entrepreneur.
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I Am Opportunity Focused
When the business is up and running and you have moved far beyond the visualize to monetize stage,
the time for dreaming is not over. Your job will be to grow your business by always being ready and
aware to jump on any opportunity in front of you.
An entrepreneur can never stagnate. To be successful, you have to always be looking for new ways to
serve more people or the same people in better ways.
I Am Positive
Unfortunately setbacks, challenges and even (gasp!) failures will happen on your road to success.
How will you handle it? If you are defeated by these setbacks, the dream dies right when adversity hits.
But if your Compelling Why is big enough to transcend circumstances, then you can maintain your
vision and determination, even in the face of failure.
I Provide Value to Others
Once again, the ultimate test of success always comes back here. In order for you to think like a TREP
you have to be constantly evaluating yourself not by status, not by what people say about you, not by
how many Twitter followers you have. No, the only measure you need to be thinking about is how
much value you are providing to others.
I Have Integrity
Since we have determined the best way to succeed is by giving to others, we can be genuine and act
with integrity. This one is easy to say, but what about when times get tough? Or, what about when you
have great success? Will you remember your why and the people you are serving? Or will you become
jaded and attempt to take advantage of any opportunity, regardless of the value provided?
What Are You Waiting For?
This is entrepreneurship. If you learn to think this way, you are on your way to success. The only thing
left to do is take action. If you have a dream, and you have considered why you want to do it and have
a value exchange in mind, it’s time to get moving!
Here’s a hint about starting your own business: You will never find the perfect time to get going. The
stars will never align and you will not likely hear the voice in the universe speak audibly and tell you
what to do.
There comes a time where you have to step out and go for it. TREPs need to form their initial vision,
then learn by doing. Now that you are thinking like a TREP, there is no better time!
KeepingitSimple:enTREPreneurship101
Taking Meaningful Action:
The Essentials of Entrepreneurship
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
- Napoleon Hill
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Be the Person You Want to Be
The philosophy behind the V2M plan can be easily boiled down to two points.
1. Think like an enTREPreneur
2. Take action and don’t be afraid to fail
The first step is paramount to any success you may have. That’s why to this point in the book, you’ve
heard nothing but simple steps to help you develop the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. Without
this mentality and attitude, all the hard work and action in the world will not bring you to your
dreams.
You have to embody the characteristics of success, before you actually find success.
We all have that person in our life who says, “Oh as soon as I find a girlfriend, then I’ll clean up my
act,” or “If I could just get a better-paying job, then I would work really hard!”
Life doesn’t work that way. We have to live the life we want – even before we have it.
Results Require Action
But the second point in the V2M plan is equally important, and will be emphasized throughout the
rest of the book. You have to take action.
All of the dreams, good intentions and great attitudes in the world will not produce results. These
characteristics have to be put into action in order for you to get anywhere.
This sounds obvious, but if you really examine yourself, or people around you – a lot of us fear taking
action. We will take action if we are guaranteed a positive result, but when the results are uncertain –
when there is a possibility of failure or loss - action may not be as appealing.
In chapter 8, we will go into greater depth of the importance of taking bold action to achieve your
dreams, but for now we need to combine the discernment of your new entrepreneurial mindset with
the audacity of taking bold action.
Meaningful Action
Anyone can take action. It’s not hard to force yourself into doing something. Many people don’t have
a problem with getting out and doing, but the problem is, they don’t have a purpose in their action.
What the most successful entrepreneurs have – and any successful person has – is an ability to take
the right action.
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Again, this is why the entire beginning of the book deals with the entrepreneurial mindset, because
your action must have a purpose and a meaning. If you are able to engrain the principles to live
responsibly, provide value and maintain integrity into your life – you are going to have the best chance
of success.
Taking it to a practical step, you must develop the ability to create goals and take action on the ones
that matter most. This is a huge divider between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail. The
ones who succeed spend their time on results-producing tasks. The ones that fail may be just as busy
– or even work harder or longer – but their time is spent on minor tasks, which don’t produce results.
The 80-20 Rule
The Pareto Principal, also known as the 80-20 rule, basically says 80 percent of results come from 20
percent of the effort. This applies to all aspects of our lives and has major implications for our
productivity. If we find this true in ourselves, the natural question is, “What if we put more effort into
those things which currently produce 80 percent of our results?”
What if we increased the 20 percent to 40 percent? We could double our production. And the next
question is, what are we doing for 80 percent of the time that is only producing 20 percent of our
results? To maximize potential, we have to cut out the things we do that don’t matter. We have to think
like an entrepreneur and be purposeful in every action we take.
Organizing Around Priorities
Luckily, if you’ve made it this far, we have identified the foundation for entrepreneurial success. When
we move forward to Part 2 of this book, one of the first practical steps you will take on your V2M path
will be to identify your Vision and Mission Statement.
These statements will come out of your Value Exchange and your Compelling Why which drive your
business. Then everything you do should be viewed through the lens of these essential components.
As we move forward, we will also learn the importance of setting specific, clear, attainable goals and
making sure our actions align with these goals.
Everything you read from this point forward is going to encourage you to take action. You will have to
take action in the face of fear, in the face of criticism and in the face of unknown. But as you expand
your comfort zone and learn there is more risk in inaction than action, you must not act just to act.
You have to take meaningful action to get results and achieve your dreams.
TakingMeaningfulAction:TheEssentialsofEntrepreneurship
The S.T.A.C.K. Strategy for Meaningful Action
“And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life,
and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless
scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”
- Donald Miller
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The steps laid out in this book provide a new way to think about entrepreneurship – an attitude that
should pervade your entire journey. In addition, they lay out the initial steps and foundational knowl-
edge necessary to start up and grow your own business.
But the only real way from visualize to monetize is to put your head down and take bold, resilient
action toward your dreams. Any knowledge in a book – no matter how brilliant – won’t lead to
success. Success depends on you, and how well you implement the knowledge you have.
A Strategy for Success
While we can’t give you success or do it for you, we can provide an easy-to-remember framework for
meaningful action. This is a strategy behind everything we do at TREP school and lies beneath the
entire concept of this book.
The STACK Strategy is a framework for setting and achieving goals. You will have plenty to think about
and remember as you progress as an entrepreneur, and this strategy is meant to be something you can
always think about to make sure you are heading down the right path.
I guess you are probably wondering why it’s called the STACK Strategy. Good question.
A Great Lesson
Both Mom and I are very proud of your accomplishments. You have planned well, kept on an excellent
forward thrust to your objectives and handled your disappointments well. If you plan to succeed and
implement that positive plan, you will still have disappointments. You have a great supportive family
and Lisa and Frankie will help carry you through these times. Stay positive, stay focused, maintain your
great moral character and…KEEP ON STACKING THOSE LOGS!!
The thing about stacking logs is the only way to make progress is to stack one at a time. There are no
short cuts, and no immediate gratification. You have to keep stacking, and eventually you will begin
to see progress. This is the road to success. You will grow frustrated, feel ineffective and be ready to
give up, but if you keep moving forward you can achieve your greatest desires.
TheS.T.A.C.K.StrategyforMeaningfulAction
"Stack The Logs!" began as my (Frank) father's homspun encouragement phrase to me. Stack the Logs!
is a book I wrote in 2003, that was sparked by an encouraging note written to me the year before his
death. Like the character Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who goes on a journey only to find she
already had what she was looking for before she left, my father’s words were a stark reminder of
lessons learned through study and through life. He knew I was on the right course, although I could
not see it at that time. His words were absolutely the right words at the right time. He penned the
following in a birthday card:
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From the lesson of my father, I have developed the following as a guiding strategy to stay on track and
move toward my goals.
S – Set your course
T – Take action
A – Accept results as feedback
C – Correct course based on feedback
K – Keep Stacking the Logs!
Let’s take a look at each.
Set Your Course
“I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world
arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken
to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a
hut.” -Goethe (1749-1832) German Philosopher
True success happens when you understand where you are going and why.
Just like in travel, in order to achieve an outcome, you must have a destination. Aimless travel is
merely wandering and aimless ambition is success squandering. You would never think to take a trip
without having an idea of where you wanted to end up. It is so simple and yet so few people take the
time and effort to create a destination for their lives.
Choose a target destination and then figure out the best way to get there. This is certainly a dramatic
oversimplification, but no less valid. The biggest difference between those who are successful and
those who are not, is the mindset of successful people that they control their outcome – not circum-
stances. Rather than passively reacting to everything that comes to them, the best entrepreneurs set the
course for their futures.
Take Action
The most important step you can take in your entrepreneurial journey is the first one. Maybe you have
heard of the phrase “paralysis by analysis.” This rings true for many, who spend so much time trying
to get their planning just right and never get their forward motion started.
The secret of action is: Action begets action!
When you know where you want to go, have a plan to get there, the best action is just to get started
on the journey. Taking action doesn’t even have to be the perfect next step, just movement in the right
direction. Even poor or bad results from action are better than the lack of results from inaction,
because they provide a learning opportunity.
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Accept Results as Feedback
And here we have the reason why taking action can be so difficult. Rather than accepting results as
feedback and learning from them, we tend to accept results as our defining moment. So if we take
action, and don’t have the results we sought, we put our head down and consider ourselves a failure.
This is a difficult concept for some people to get over. The fear of failure is like the stinging fear of
rejection. It is embarrassing and it can cause doubts. When we don’t get the desired results we seek
or the instant gratification we crave, it is too easy to draw back and quit. We question our motives. We
question our abilities. Sometimes we even question our worthiness. It is sad, but many times we use
feedback as validation for our failure rather than see it for what it is…feedback.
Feedback by definition is only information. Feedback is neutral; it is neither positive nor negative. We
are the ones who attach meaning to it. Results should not invalidate the goal nor should it discourage
us from what we seek. Results should be accepted as feedback to help us know if we are on the right
track.
In our youth, we failed hundreds of times in our initial quest to walk. We routinely failed in almost
everything we attempt to do as we are first learning. Look at a child first learning skills and how much
they fail versus succeed when they are first starting out. Eventually they get and even master the skills.
Why then as adults have we lost our resiliency and our ability to accept our results as only feedback
for change?
As entrepreneurs, we have to quickly figure out this paradox and become open to learning – yes even
learning from failure. Each failure is a learning and growing opportunity – not an ending point.
Correct Course Based on Feedback
This is the step where your mistakes and failures can be turned into positives by learning from them.
Accept the feedback from your results. Don’t let it define you, but survey the information from your
action. Maybe part of it worked, maybe it was a complete failure. Either way, you need to understand
the results and decide how to move forward.
This is true with failure and success. When something works perfectly, you can’t sit back, give yourself
a hug and tell everybody what a genius you are. No, you need to examine why this worked. Figure
out the reason for the success – and more importantly – how to repeat the process.
Entrepreneurship is constantly evaluating what works and what doesn’t and deciding when to perse-
vere with an idea and when to move in a different direction. If you ignore the information coming
back as feedback, you will waste your time and money on ideas which have no value.
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Keep on Stacking the Logs!
With any significant goal, your results will be small at first. In fact, your results at the beginning will
be far smaller than the effort used to that point.
As you progress along your journey, you will begin to see small successes and small gains. Keep on!
Keep progressing and making gains and then add those gains to what you have done already. It takes
time and it takes persistence.
The phrase, “keep on stacking the logs” is both encouragement as well as an action step in its own
right. When you have yet to arrive at your goal but know you are taking the right action and doing the
things necessary, there is a period where your action step is just continuing to move forward.
The STACK Strategy will serve you well if you use it to keep yourself disciplined and focused on your
Compelling Why. The strategy will always work if you have the humility and courage to truly use it.
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The word entrepreneur likely brings a certain image to your mind. For many, it’s the reckless,
supremely confident, outgoing person who throws caution to the wind and sacrifices everything for
his shot at success. Others see young tech gurus who sit at their computer and come up with the next
new app or program which will take the world by storm.
Whatever pictures comes to mind, your view needs to be wider. Entrepreneurs come in all shapes,
sizes, ages and ability levels. At the beginning of this book we posed the question, “Do you see
yourself as an entrepreneur?” Hopefully by now, you realize the characteristics needed to fit into that
mysterious category are nearly boundless from an external perspective.
The beauty is, entrepreneurs are the young tech gurus. But they also are stay-at-home moms with a gift
for making crafts. They also are retirees who have found a new outlet for their passions late in life.
Entrepreneurship doesn’t fit into any boxes. And if you have a passion and a desire to work hard,
maybe you should see yourself as an entrepreneur. Maybe you have the entrepreneurial spirit.
The TREP Spirit
In the last eight chapters, you have read about a new way to think about entrepreneurship. The
intention of the content provided has been to educate and open your mind to help you think
differently. The message has not been to sell you on anything. That’s the point of the TREP Pledge from
Chapter 3. If you can’t convincingly agree to those principles, we don’t think you’re going to do well
in business. Nothing has been sugarcoated – the common myths and shortcuts won’t get you far. There
will be disappointments, setbacks, critics, doubts and unknown. Are you excited yet?
The reason we present so clearly this challenge is for your own good. We don’t want you to try this if
you are looking for an easy road. We don’t want you to try this if you are fine with mediocrity.
But the story doesn’t end there. The overall message you should take away from the first section of this
V2M guide to profitability is: Yes, entrepreneurship is a major challenge, and Yes, you can do this.
When we look past the common myths of entrepreneurship, we see what it truly is – providing value
to others. This can be done by anyone, but it takes a rare combination of planning, perseverance and
persistence to break through. The previous eight chapters laid the groundwork for a new
enTREPreneurial way of thinking which will serve you well as you begin the journey. In the next
section, you will learn the essential skills for success.
But all of the skills and preparation in the world will not replace a true enTREPreneurial Spirit – with
a determination to succeed at all costs.
StepUptotheChallenge:TheSpiritofenTREPreneurship
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
- CS Lewis
Step Up to the Challenge: The Spirit of enTREPreneurship
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Dream Big
The entrepreneurial spirit is not satisfied with average. The idea in the mind of an entrepreneur usually
starts out by saying, “This is crazy enough it just might work.”
In my (Frank) previous book, Carpe Aqualis! Seize the Wave! I coined the term terro-phoria for that
combination of terror and euphoria that happens when you’re on a thrilling ride - like surfing a mon-
strous wave, riding a roller coaster or starting a business. Your entrepreneurial journey should be filled
with terro-phoria, and you should love it. Yes, it’s scary, but that fear says you are truly living life -
rather than drifting by and letting life live you.
When you are sitting down with your good friend, dreaming about a business idea, don’t let fear get
in the way of your dreams. In the next section, we will get down to the practical numbers and putting
the dream down on paper. But too many people start small, because they are afraid to dream big. They
are afraid of what others will think, so they try to keep their dreams at a manageable level.
But here’s the bad news – that’s what everybody does, and we want to be different! As we said earlier,
you need to be driven by your CompellingWhyto sustain you when times get tough.In the same way,
you need to have a vision so captivating and big, it will keep you driven and determined when you
run into an obstacle. The entrepreneurial spirit does not settle for average
Thick Skin
When you have an audacious goal for starting your own business and reaching people, you will run
into critics and naysayers. You absolutely will. If you are easily influenced by people telling you what
to do and not to do, you will have to develop resolve to make your dreams a reality.
The challenge is developing the discernment necessary to determine who is giving helpful advice and
who is giving unnecessary negativity. You will experience a lot of cynicism and pessimism, because
people who have lived average, comfortable lives hate seeing others pursue their dreams. You will
need a thick skin to keep your head up and remain focused on your goals in the face of the objections
and criticism.
On the other hand, you must remain teachable. Don’t mistake having a thick skin for a bull-headed
refusal to learn from others. The model of TREP school is to Learn it, Live it, Share it. No entrepreneur
succeeds without a humble willingness to learn. It will take discernment and confidence to know
which comments to trust and which to toss out.
But regardless, a thick skin is a prerequisite to success, because no matter how well thought-out your
idea is, don’t expect everybody to react to it with the same enthusiasm and confidence you have. And
you will have to know how to respond when they don’t like it.
StepUptotheChallenge:TheSpiritofenTREPreneurship
Embrace the Challenge
Entrepreneurs don’t fit a certain mold. They can’t be put in a box. Their passions, ability levels and
genetic make-up are all over the map.
Yet, there is a certain something that sets the successful entrepreneurs apart from those who only
dream or those who try but can’t make it. That certain something is the entrepreneurial spirit. It can’t
fully be put into words, but you can review the six steps in our TREP Pledge for a glimpse of what it
looks like.
And above all else, the entrepreneurial spirit is a willingness to stare a challenge in the face and rise
above it. Like we’ve said, this is not an attempt to sell you anything. There is hardly anything more
challenging than stepping up to the plate and taking a chance. The vulnerability, audacity and
uncertainty required keep most people from ever considering taking the leap of starting their own
business.
When people try to sell you something, they will tell you, “It’s that easy.” But this is not.
Entrepreneurship and building a business is hard. This message is not for people who want it to be
easy.
This is for those who believe they have a calling to serve the world, and are willing to blast through
whatever obstacle or challenge stands in their way.
For those who are up for the challenge, keep reading and find out how you can turn your
entrepreneurial dreams into a money-making reality.
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Part-2
From Visualize to Monetize
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more
common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a
proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and
determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge
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TheBusinessPlan:PuttingtheDreamonPaper
The Business Plan: Putting the Dream on Paper
“The key is taking responsibility and initiative, deciding what your life is about
and prioritizing your life around the most important things.”
- Stephen Covey
The V2M plan is a different approach to entrepreneurship. The traditional approach says to start by
developing a detailed, 40-page business plan so you can pitch it to investors to get money to launch the
business.
Our approach says take less time planning and get to action. You will learn more from the feedback you
get from people than you can in planning everything out.
Having said that, the first important step once you’ve figured out you are ready to take a leap and
consider starting a business is to form a business plan and get it on paper. A business plan is extremely
important for an entrepreneur to be able to communicate the core message of the business and to
provide benchmarks and a guide for growth.
We are not against planning – in fact to jump right into action without planning would probably guaran-
tee unnecessary headache.
The Essentials
However, our approach to a business plan is to focus on what really matters. Entrepreneurs need to get
the key pieces of the puzzle in place to set the foundation for taking action on their dream. So much of
what goes into a typical business plan will eventually have nothing to do with the business. Too many
things are unknown during the planning stage to truly predict.
So we have to focus on the core elements needed to plan out and then quickly move into purposeful
action.
Core Story
The first element required in a business plan is the core story of what you want the business to be about.
Think back to your casual conversation with a friend. Your core story is what you would get if you were
to take that dream and bring it down to a clear, compelling, easy-to-communicate message.
You will also need to develop core values for your business. Creating a business is more than a product
or service, but a culture. What do you want people to feel when they work with your business? What
emotion do you want people to connect to your business? Think about the great companies in the world
that have a certain culture and feel. They didn’t get there by accident. Those cultures are the product of
a core vision with a commitment to specific values.
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Your Goals
You’ve already dreamed big about the success of your business, but now is the time to get specific.
In the next chapter, we will talk about how to systematically plan out a route to achieve these goals,
but for now you need to determine the definition of success for your business.
What are your financial goals? What is enough for you personally to make in the first year? How
many people do you want to reach?
Your Value Exchange
As we have discussed previously, the way to achieve these goals is to provide the proper amount of
value – with the appropriate payment in return for the value given. When you have your goals laid
out, you can determine how many customers or clients you need, and how much you need to
charge for your service to achieve the goals.
You’ve already developed a vision for your value exchange, now it’s time to get specific and get it
on paper. What can you offer in exchange for a price? What will that exchange look like? Who is
going to buy it?
When we get into the marketing chapter of this book, we take this more in-depth, but many create
businesses with the mentality, “If you build it, they will come.” This is not true in reality, and as you
build a business plan, you have to think about who is going to buy from you.
The best place to start is to look at competitors. Likely, your business idea is similar to another that
already exists. Think about those businesses and consider the age, interests and characteristics of
their average customer.
Then consider the fair exchange for the value you are providing. This will likely be revised over time,
as you develop rapport, confidence and maturity in business. But even though you are new in
business, don’t undervalue the service you provide. Actually, many customers will hesitate to work
with someone whose price is unusually low – as they will assume the service is not worthwhile.
Budget
Just like in personal finance, writing out a budget when you are planning a business does wonders
to keep you aware of where money is going and how much needs to come in. We will dive into the
importance of tracking finances later when we look at accounting, but just know this: It’s really
important.
Many businesses fail because they are simply unaware they are running out of cash on hand. Think
about your financial goals, then think about how much you plan to spend, and this will point you to
where your revenue goals need to be.
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Put it on Paper
Defining what your value exchange looks like, committing to specific goals and benchmarks, clearly
communicating your core story – these are essential elements to a business plan that will work. In
order to succeed, you must hammer out these details and put them on paper. Your business plan needs
to be always in front of you to guide, motivate and bring you back on track.
Most importantly, this plan will put concrete plans in front of you that should motivate you toward
action. And action is what we are truly after, not planning. Because here is the dirty little secret of
business plans: They are almost never right. Whatever you write down on your business plan will not
happen exactly as predicted. Things will almost certainly change.
But the plan is important for just that reason. Without the plan, you would have no direction. It’s OK
to shift directions when you are on a path, but if you have no path you are wandering aimlessly.
And we are not done yet with our business plan. Next, we need to map out specific steps to take us
to our first sale – from visualize to monetize!
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What’s the actual goal of a business plan? Or a better questions maybe is, who are you writing the plan
for? Most business plans are written for investors. Words, phrases and numbers are carefully crafted to
sound in such a way that success is guaranteed, and the idea is proven to be a worthy investment.
What if the goal of a business plan was to put the entrepreneurial dream on paper and motivate us to
take action to make it happen? More would get done, that much is certain. The goal of a business plan
should be to provide us with our first steps to get started, with a proven guide to know where we are
going in the future. That’s what this V2M plan is all about.
Start at the End
Go to a bookstore and grab any business book off the shelf and start reading it. Chances are,
somewhere in the book, you will read about the concept of creating a long-term vision then working
backwards to determine what your first steps should be.
This concept takes on many different names, but probably the best treatment comes from Stephen
Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where he names one of his habits, “Begin with the end in
mind.”
There are two reasons this habit is written about so often. 1. Because it absolutely works and 2.
Because we almost always fail to do it.
This is why we have spent so much time in this book on casting a vision for your business. Because
we need to identify the destination for our journey before we can start taking our steps. Our natural
human instinct is to focus on what is directly in front of us. We think about what we need to do today,
and then the next day we think about what we need to do today.
The problem with that is, eventually our day consists of a series of tasks to complete, which may or
may not be moving us toward our big-picture goals. This is a disaster for an entrepreneur, who needs
to maximize his resources the best way possible. So Covey and others suggest beginning at the end.
Before you start taking action, identify your big long-term goals.
The End
At this point, you should have a pretty good vision for what you are hoping to build. By thinking
through your Compelling Why, Your Value Exchange and developing a Core Story for your business,
you can hopefully see what it would look like to have a thriving developed business.
This is where action has to begin. It begins with a dream. And the dream must be bold, audacious and
it must be written down. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we have goals in front of us.
Don’t sell the goal short, because you will know you are selling it short. Picture the end for yourself,
your family, your partners and employees and even your valued customers.
TheBusinessPlan:APlanofAction!
The Business Plan: A Plan of Action!
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius,
power and magic in it.”
- Goethe
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Ask yourself these two questions:
1. What do you want to get out of this?
2. When will you know you have arrived?
Establish the Benchmark
The answers to these two questions will look very different for many different entrepreneurs. In fact,
the question of arriving is different, because a growing business will be constantly creating and fulfill-
ing new, bigger goals along the way.
But for now, what is the moment you can see where you will know your dreams are becoming a
reality? When you can see that, write it down on paper and never forget it. Use everything you have
to push yourself toward that goal. Success comes not from just doing things right, but from doing the
right things right. When you have your end result in mind, you can judge every decision you make by
asking the question, “Is this moving me closer to the goal I am seeking?”
Working Backward
When you have developed your big picture, the next step is to work backwards all the way to today.
If your goal of arriving is a benchmark five years down the road, now you need to ask yourself this
question: Where do I need to be in three years to be on track to achieve my goals in five years? Write
this down. Write down how many customers/clients you want to have, how much money you person-
ally want to be making, how big the business is, etc.
When you have written that three-year vision down, think about where you would have to be in the
next two years to get there. Then think about where you would have to be in the next year to be on
track for your two-year goal.
Get to Work
Then when you have a concrete goal on paper for your first year, start taking action steps to arrive.Your
goals should be attainable but bold. Set your mind to accomplish exactly what you wrote down in
your plan. Then get to work to make it happen.
The beauty of this way of planning is, even if you fall short for the year, you will still be moving in the
right direction toward your big-picture goals. Setting time deadlines is important, because they moti-
vate us, but the end result is not contained by time windows.
This is a real business plan that will work – something that puts out everything you hope to achieve,
and your route to achieve it. You can’t possibly prepare for everything business will throw at you, so
the best thing to do is to make a plan and get started on it. You will learn as you go, and your plans
will change over time. But your core vision should always stay the same, and provide a compass to
ensure your decisions are bringing you closer to your goal.
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When you get this filled out and written down, you are ready to take action. It’s time to build a
business and monetize that vision!
TheBusinessPlan:APlanofAction!
1. Your Core Story
o Create a compelling, easy-to-communicate message that shows what you’re all about
2. Specific Goals
o Write out financial and personal goals for your business
3. Value Exchange
o What will your value exchange look like based on your specific goals?
o Create a budget to decide how your goal can happen
4. Plan For Action
o Create specific, bold, attainable goals for your future
5. Work Backward
o Where do you want to be in 5 years?
o In 3 years? In 2? In 1?
o What do you need to do right now, to be on track for your goals?
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When you are able to articulate your vision and put it on paper – you are now ready to launch your
business and start making sales. Is that intimidating? Frightening? It probably is – and should be – but
at some point planning must give way to action if you ever really want to find out whether your
business can work or not.
But even if you are ready to sell your product, there is still more to learn. With the knowledge you have
now, you are equipped to create a bootstrapped business, and get it launched.
But what you are not ready for is when your business outgrows you, the entrepreneur. And this is when
many businesses fail. Most do whatever they can to start making sales, and then once sales start
happening, and their business grows too much, they don’t know how to keep up.
Most entrepreneurs work in their business, but to be truly successful you must work on your business.
As the owner, you have to be aware of all the key components that sustain the business.
We break business down into four pillars you need to be aware of. These four pillars are not the
business itself – but they are the support system which must not be neglected if you want to build and
grow a successful business.
We refer to them as the four pillars, because they all must be built properly, otherwise the structure
will collapse. If you have two strong pillars, but two weak pillars – you are in big trouble. It’s the same
with business. All four must be strong and supportive.
And this V2M book is here to help you be aware of the four pillars as you are getting started, because
it is much more difficult to start thinking about them when your business is in the midst of growth. This
is part of your preparation – to be prepared for the growth of business, and having the tools necessary
to smoothly make that growth.
This is how we break down the four pillars:
Operations/Logistics
This is the “How” in business, where things get done. Most people can envision what they want, but
fail to realize how many steps must be taken to get from point A to point B.
Operations and logistics include everything from knowing how and when to incorporate a business to
setting up technology systems, to customer service, and much more.
AnIntroductiontotheFourPillarsofBusiness
An Introduction to the Four Pillars
of Business
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.”
- Michael Jordan
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Marketing/Sales
Marketing and sales is where you spread the word about your business. This is where a business
transitions from Visualize 2 Monetize – because this is where you make sales, bring in revenue and
thus, truly have a business.
Marketing is a wide ranging category that a startup entrepreneur has to be very familiar with. In the
early stages, it will be your responsibility to find clients or customers, and hustle in a way to spread
the word on a budget.
Accounting/Finance
Accounting is the scoreboard of business. We can’t stress enough how critical it is for entrepreneurs
to have a thorough understanding of their key numbers. Many businesses fail because an entrepreneur
can’t keep up, and loses track of the money coming in to sustain operations.
We don’t want you to be a bookkeeper, but to focus on your business, and because of this you will
need to be fluent in the language of money and take the necessary steps to ensure you are keeping
track of finances.
Capital/Funding
We purposely keep this last, because many look at capital as the ultimate solution to all problems. We
see capital as a tool to be used intentionally when needed.
It’s Up to You
Most people drawn to entrepreneurship are in some way motivated by the desire for freedom. That’s a
great motivation, because life can be profoundly fulfilling when it is marked with freedom. But as an
entrepreneur, that freedom can also create loneliness.
Being on your own is great, except when you look around for help and realize…you’re on your own.
These four pillars of business are the entrepreneur’s responsibility. And that’s on top of creating the
product or service and delivering on promises made to customers and clients. Making the challenge
even greater – these four pillars are just categories filled with minor subcategories that all need to be
dealt with.
Consider marketing alone. If you were to make an outline of the components of marketing you need
to be aware of in business it could look a little like this:
AnIntroductiontotheFourPillarsofBusiness
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Branding:
Core Message
Logo
Business Cards
Letterheads
Website:
Design
Hosting
Domain
Search Engine Optimization
Blog
Content
Online Marketing:
Social Media
Copywriting
Email Capture
Email Newsletter
Paid Advertising
Public Relations
And that is just a small glance, which doesn't even scratch the surface of marketing - let alone all your
other business needs! But don’t fear. I know you are probably feeling overwhelmed at this point, but
it’s better to be thinking about these things now than down the road when you learn the hard way.
There are ways to find help in these areas, and if you stay on top of all four pillars, they will provide a
foundation for sustaining and building your business.
Over the next four chapters we will explain the importance of each of the four, and show practical
steps for staying on top of them
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The four pillars in the V2M plan is when we get into the fundamentals of what it actually takes to
create a business that works. These are not the sexy details, but they are the pillars that support the
entire structure.
Out of the four pillars, maybe the least sexy of all is operations and logistics, but like a pillar it is
essential to the stability of the building, and if neglected – could result in a collapse.
What Do You Mean By Operations and Logistics?
To go into extreme depth in the operations of business would require many books of information, and
we are only going to scratch the surface here. Our goal is to make you, the entrepreneur, aware of
what you are getting yourself into so you can seek out the tools and guidance necessary to make your
business work.
When we speak of operations and logistics, we mean in broader terms: The “How” of running your
business. Entrepreneurs don’t have much of a problem visualizing the “Why” and the “What” in their
business, but the details of actually making it happen are often overlooked.
More specifically, this is how your marketing, sales, finance and technology all connect to make a
coherent purposeful business. Operations and logistics is where a business delivers on its promises
and prepares itself to grow beyond the solo entrepreneur.
It is ensuring the right action takes place in the right order at the right time. This includes everything
from customer service to human resources and your technology infrastructure and systems.
Operations and Logistics for a Start Up
Like we have said from the beginning of this book – we want you, the entrepreneur, to take action. It’s
impossible to plan for everything, and at times you just have to learn as you go.
At the same time, it is essential for success to be well-prepared and to know exactly what awaits you
on the journey. We don’t want you to get overwhelmed in the details of operations and logistics, but
want to give a framework, so you can focus on the most important details.
So in the vast ocean of running a business right, we want to highlight some essential areas you must
be aware of right from the start.
Legal Entity
Early in the process, an entrepreneur must decide to incorporate the business. This is an important
step, because it keeps the entrepreneur from being liable in the event of failure or a lawsuit.
OperationsandLogistics
Operations and Logistics
“It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
- John Wooden
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When you incorporate, the business becomes an entity separate from you, which keeps you from
losing your house or possessions if the business fails. Not fun stuff to think about, but necessary.
There are different forms of incorporation your business can take with the most common being:
S Corp, C Corp and LLC. Each has its own pros and cons, and it’s beyond the scope of this short book
to go into great detail. You can go to http://www.kahunaworld.com/busines-services/ for good
resources for finding everything you need to know about incorporating your business.
Technology
A major part of operations and logistics is communicating and producing with maximum efficiency.
Today, technology provides an almost endless amount of options for productivity. As you develop your
business, you will need to take the time to consider how technology can work in your advantage.
Purposeful thinking and planning is paramount at this stage, because much time and money can be
wasted on unnecessary or incorrectly used technology.
For example, if you have a computer system, but can’t get the support you need to keep it going
correctly, you can lose a lot in terms of time and resources while the problem persists. Then you will
have to pay a premium to have a professional come in and fix it.
In addition, you must prepare for the success or potential growth you may have. We have worked with
a business that purchased a server expecting to grow to a maximum of 10 employees. Two years later,
they have exceeded their projection by 25 employees, and are now overloading the server.
This is another reason to have a realistic plan of what your business looks like and if you can’t afford
it, at least you can invest in easily expandable components for when growth is achieved and revenue
can handle more expense.
The scope of your business will have a lot to do with the depth in which technology plays a part. Many
businesses today can be run with a simple laptop. But regardless of what role technology plays, it will
play a role, and it’s best to have a plan in mind from the outset.
Plan
Our biggest word of advice for operations and logistics is to plan. Many entrepreneurs know exactly
what they want, but assume the details will “take care of themselves.”
Unfortunately, they don’t. And each big dream of an entrepreneur must be broken down into many
small – often boring – steps. You can’t neglect operations and logistics, and if you wait until the last
minute, you will be constantly playing catch up.
As a start-up business, you can’t afford to waste resources and effort. Planning ahead for the “how”
things will get done and preparing to have the most efficient systems possible is the only way you can
get ahead and prepare to build the business.
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Don’t fall into the trap of only seeing the big picture. Figure out how to maximize efficiency and set
up your business for a healthy future.
Execution
Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship is not about having the best ideas. It’s about execution.
Whatever your business is, there’s a very likely chance somebody is already doing the exact same
thing or something very similar.
What separates the successful businesses from the many that fail, is the ability to get things done.
Anyone can have an idea. The question is: Can you turn that idea into reality in a way that keeps cost
down and provides value to customers?
Distribution and Customer Service
In the next chapter we will talk about marketing. Marketing is essentially making promises to
customers in a way that intrigues them with your message. But operations and logistics is the place
where you deliver on those promises.
The best and cheapest marketing is to make your customers or clients happy so they come back for
more and tell their friends.
Entrepreneurs can be so focused on making sales they don’t deliver the product in a way that pleases
customers. Making the sale is only one step in the process. Operations and logistics is where you
figure out how to get the product to the customer in a way that delivers on your promises and leaves
a lasting impression.
The Details Count
As you can see from this chapter, the little things can either separate a business from the crowd, or
cause it to fail. We are past dreams now, and we are down to the nitty-gritty. These are the
fundamentals of business, and when they are carefully crafted will deliver huge results.
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We have now reached a critical juncture in our journey through this book. From the title, Visualize to
Monetize, our guess is that your concern was primarily with how to get to the monetization.
Well, we have arrived. At this stage, it’s time to talk about marketing and sales, and this is exactly
where monetization begins. It sounds simplistic, but the beginning of your business – the moment of
monetization comes with the first sale.
Sales vs Marketing
Before we get too far into this, it would be helpful to define what we mean by the words marketing
and sales.
Sales is the act of a mutually agreed upon exchange between you, the seller, and a consumer. It’s
creating a product and then giving it to someone in exchange for money.
Marketing is communicating what that value exchange is. It’s telling your potential customers about
your value, so they are ready to buy from you and give you sales.
Get The First Sale
Yes, it sounds overly simplistic, but don’t underestimate the importance of that first moment when
money comes to you from a customer. To reiterate a point made throughout this book – no amount of
planning can prepare you for what your life in entrepreneurship will look like.
That’s why the early stages of a start-up business are primarily about learning. And there is no better
way to learn than to learn by doing. When you are trying to start a business, the best thing you can
possibly do is put out your product to customers and see if they buy it.
And here’s the key point. You put it out there, even before it’s completely perfect. The goal is to learn.
If they do buy it – you find out why they did, and get their feedback. If they don’t, you learn what
needs to be adjusted without breaking the bank.
Either way you are learning. On top of that, getting the first sale is galvanizing. Ask any entrepreneur,
and they will tell you it’s hard to describe that feeling of actually seeing someone pay for their product
or service.
The first sale will motivate you to continue to grow and prepare for many more customers. On the
other side of the coin, you could spend months or even a year tweaking and perfecting a product,
pouring time and resources into it, and then when it’s time to launch you find out people aren’t buying
it. What do you do then?
MarketingandSales
Marketing and Sales
“The entrepreneurial model looks outwardly at the customer – even before
there is one. He is looking at the need to be met. Without a clear picture of
that customer, no business can succeed.”
- Michael Gerber
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The best way to find out of if people will pay for what you are selling – to find out if you can add value
– is to ask them to buy it – before you’ve spent all you have.
After The First Sale
When you get the first sale, and begin to form an identity, it’s time to be strategic about marketing who
you are to the world. There is a frightening amount of information available on marketing, and while
typing this, I can look to my right and see a bookshelf full of books on marketing and sales strategies.
Marketing at its most basic level is taking your core message and offer and communicating it to
customers. But the ways to do that are endless.
From setting up your email system, to logo and branding, to building a website and mastering search
engine optimization, your job as a marketer is to figure out the most efficient ways to spread your
message to the right people. It can be overwhelming and intimidating, but understanding the basics
of marketing is pivotal if you want to stand out in a loud, busy world.
Remember the STACK Strategy
Think back to part 1, when we talked about the STACK Strategy – Set your course, Take action, Accept
results as feedback, Correct course based on feedback, Keep on Stacking the Logs! This is a reminder
that growth and progression toward goals is a steady, day-by-day process. In marketing and sales, this
is crucial!
We live in an age of social media, instant gratification and overnight success. Everybody wants to roll
out of bed and instantly have a following of thousands of people eager to buy from them and hear
from them.
But for the most part, overnight success is a fairy tale. And when you are marketing your business, you
have to remember this. The only way to get to a thousand customers, is to first get 1, then 10, then 20.
At first, it will seem like an endless grind, but the best marketing you can do is to get some customers
and blow them away.
Once you a have few loyal satisfied customers, you are well on your way to a future of success. With
those loyal customers you have assets who will buy from you again in the future, along with the
opportunities for referrals and ability to learn from feedback.
Don’t forget the STACK Strategy of steadily building; otherwise you will take your focus off the individ-
ual customers who will be the lifeblood of your business.
MarketingandSales
Complicating things even further, the world of marketing is constantly changing with new technology
and social media platforms being introduced every day. But the goal of this short book is not to dive
into the depths of all the details, but to instead provide a framework for getting a business started, and
knowing how to stay on top of the fundamentals.
While keeping that in mind, we want to give you a few key marketing strategies for you to focus on as
you develop your vision and begin to sell your product or service.
Your Ideal Customer
As a marketer - and if you are the owner of a small business, chances are you will be required to be a
marketer – one of the first questions you must answer is, “Who is my ideal customer?”
Spreading the word doesn’t help much if those who are hearing about you aren’t going to buy from
you – or if they are going to be more of a headache than what you want to deal with. A good market-
ing strategy always involves finding a target market, and directing all efforts toward that end.
Stadium Pitch
Once you have that ideal customer in mind, you can use a strategy explained by Chet Holmes in the
book, Ultimate Sales Machine. Holmes described the “Stadium Pitch” strategy simply as creating a
picture in your mind of the absolute perfect customer who would buy your product or service.
Once you have that picture in mind, imagine being in a stadium full of that exact person. If you had
only a few minutes to sell your product to that stadium of ideal customers what would you want to
say? You can’t waste words here. You have to blow them away.
Understanding this stadium pitch is important for all selling for three reasons: 1. It keeps you focused
on your core mission, 2. It forces you to think about who you are serving and 3. It makes you think in
terms of how your product benefits those who would potentially use it.
Outward Focus
Of all the things you can learn about marketing, the most important thing you can remember is to
keep an outward focus. Remember what we said earlier in the book, it’s not about what you want,
because you are not the one paying for the product or service.
In marketing, you must focus on benefits as opposed to features. When we buy things, we don’t simply
think of the purpose involved with the product, but there is actually an emotional attachment we
make to what we buy. When you’re selling you have to remember this.
If you focus simply on the features you offer, you are only thinking about yourself and a customer can’t
make the emotional connection. On the other hand, a good business will have an outward focus
toward their ideal customer and will describe how buying from us will benefit you.
It’s impossible in this short amount of space to even put a dent in the inexhaustible well of information
about sales and marketing. But just like this entire visualize to monetize process – if you are constantly
thinking about how to add value to your customer – you will be a natural marketer.
When you are outwardly focused on adding value, and you remember the STACK Strategy of building
day-by-day, you will find yourself connecting with people, and your message spreading.
Don’t expect overnight miracles, but keep these things in mind and you will be on track to your first
sale and many more.
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Now we have progressed to the point where we can monetize our business, so the next step is to keep
track of the money that comes in and goes out so we can keep the business running.
Why Do Businesses Fail?
This is a question with many answers and multiple layers, but we can tell you right now two of the
most common reasons for failure.
1. The business owner doesn’t pay enough attention to accounting
2. The business owner pays too much attention to accounting
Welcome once again to the paradoxical world of entrepreneurship. Businesses exist to make money.
Without money, there is no business. Therefore, you have to be aware of the money coming in and
going out, as well as how much you have at all times.
Many business owners don’t think they can afford any outside help, so they decide to assume full
control of the bookkeeping. But this is a time-consuming and thorough process. When a business
owner does this, they either spend too much time here and barely keep up with their marketing and
customer service, or they end up making bookkeeping mistakes that can cripple the business.
On the other hand, many entrepreneurs get so caught up in building their product and promoting it to
the people, they barely take into consideration how much money is coming in and whether or not
they can pay the bills.
So what’s the solution? Well, a huge step is to understand the numbers. The second step is to get help.
As a business owner, you will need to have a working knowledge of financial statements so that you
can be aware of the health of the business. At the same time, you will want to have just enough of an
understanding so that you can interpret reports and leave the rest to your bookkeeper.
The Basics
Let’s start with what you need to know. Even if you are prepared to hire someone either from
outsourcing or to add staff, you will have to have an understanding of the numbers so that you can
communicate with them.
Bookkeeping contains many layers to account for, but it’s not necessary for you as a business owner
to be a bookkeeper. We recommend bringing in a bookkeeper from the outside, and having a solid
grasp of the following three financial statements.
AccountingandFinance
“Remember that the goal of business is profit. It’s not being liked, or having a
huge social media presence, or having amazing products that nobody buys.
It is not having a beautiful website, or perfectly crafted email newsletters, or
an incredibly popular blog…Business is not a popularity contest.”
- Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Start-Up
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1. Balance Sheet
The balance sheet shows your assets, liabilities and equity. The assets refer to anything you own,
liabilities are the money you owe while the equity is the difference between the two.
You can remember it by this simple equation.
Assets = Liabilities + Equity (Funds put in to start the company plus accumulated profits/losses)
2. Profit and Loss
This is a statement, normally recorded monthly – with year to date totals - that simply shows how
much money your business is making or losing. The equation here is:
Revenues – Expenses = Net Income
This is useful, but doesn’t always tell the entire story, because in some cases you will have a major
expense in a month, which could be used strategically for the business. This may be a one-time ‘blip’
in your activity and not indicative of your progress. Additionally, this major expense might not be
reflected immediately on your Profit and Loss at all since IRS rules may require that the expense be
spread over several years (depreciation); even though it required a current cash use (see Cash Flow
Statement).
In fact, all financial statements should be taken in consideration of the others to paint the full picture
of the health of the business.
3. Cash Flow Statement
This is the statement that displays where money is coming from and where it is going and highlights
the timing differences between this activity – and your other Financial Statements. For example, there
are timing differences between your Profit and Loss Statement and when the cash is actually realized
or spent.
Billing clients has a similar timing effect. The revenue will be reflected immediately on the Profit and
Loss – but the related cash flow may be realized much later (depending on credit terms with
customers). Again, the Profit and Loss statement may show a profit in earnings when in fact, a cash
deficit was realized for the month.
AccountingandFinance
The aforementioned depreciation is a great example of this. A $60,000 equipment purchase may only
be reflected as a one thousand dollar depreciation expense (cost spread over 5 years) on your Profit
and Loss in the month of acquisition. Therefore, the Profit and Loss statement may show a profit in
earnings when in fact, a cash deficit was realized for the month.
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This in turn highlights a difference between an asset on the balance sheet and the amount of cash you
are able (or planning to) to spend – again in regards to timing. You may have accounts receivable
related to the billing of customers, but if you aren’t collecting that cash and neglect to keep an eye on
your cash flow statement, you could unexpectedly run out of money. This may be obvious but is
worth emphasizing: a business needs to have a certain level of cash on hand to sustain operations.
Finding Help
When you run a business, you must be able to understand what these statements mean specifically for
your business.
But with that being said, you are not a bookkeeper or accountant. You must understand these
statements, but should not take on the responsibility of tracking receipts and counting each dollar. If
you are – then you are either spending too much time here and failing to build your business, or you
are probably neglecting something important in accounting.
This can be a difficult piece for the entrepreneur, because keeping costs down is so important. But the
value of a having a reliable bookkeeper will far outweigh the cost. We recommend finding outsourced
help in the early stages of businesses, which can be found for a reasonably affordable rate.
When you have an accountant to help you keep an eye on your business, you will have the benefit of
someone to communicate with about the health of your business. Most importantly, you will have
peace of mind that your money is being monitored carefully, and will have the freedom to spend your
energy building the business.
When to Get Help
The question of when to get help can be difficult to answer and depends on the scope of the business.
Accounting software can be purchased to help entrepreneurs keep track of it on their own. In the very
beginning this might be the best option.
But we recommend having someone to at least review the books pretty early on. It’s much better to
pay now, then to find out something went horribly wrong and have to bring in someone to fix it.
In addition to providing you with peace of mind, having professional help in a bookkeeper is also a
key component when seeking funding either from investors or banks. They will want to see a detailed
report of how the finances in your business have been working and what they project to do in the
future. If your statements are a mess, you will have very little chance of obtaining that funding.
Know Enough
Like most of entrepreneurship, the role for a business owner with accounting is a double-edged
sword. You can’t spend too little or too much time here. We recommend knowing just enough – being
fluent in the language of money – but being unafraid to call in outside help to organize the books.
The peace of mind and freedom will make it well worth the cost.
AccountingandFinance
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
V2M FINAL
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V2M FINAL

  • 2. 2 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM V2M: Visualize 2 Monetize Visit us at www.trepschool.com and www.kahunaworld.com ISBN: 0-9728300-9-X Copyright 2013 By Frank Lunn and Micky Demingc Powered by T R A N S F O R M YO U R D R E A M S I N T O D O L L A R S enTREPreneurial Profitability Planning System A Production A Fresh Approach to enTREPreneurial Success
  • 3. 3 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM TableofContents Part 1: The Vision of Entrepreneurship 1. A New Mindset of Entrepreneurship 2. 3. Take the enTREPreneur Pledge 4. The Drive of Entrepreneurship: A Compelling Why 5. The Heart of All Business Endeavors: The Value Exchange 6. Keeping it Simple: Entrepreneurship 101 7. Taking Meaningful Action: The Essentials of Entrepreneurship 8. The S.T.A.C.K. Strategy for Meaningful Action 9. Step Up to the Challenge: The Spirit of Entrepreneurship Part 2: From Visualize to Monetize 1. The Business Plan: Putting the Dream on Paper 2. The Business Plan: A Plan of Action! 3. An Introduction to the Four Pillars of Business 4. Operations and Logistics 5. Marketing and Sales 6. Accounting and Finance 7. Capital and Funding 8. Tying it All Together: Your V2M Plan 9. Time to Take Action and Enjoy the Ride The Visualize to Monetize Plan
  • 4. TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Part-1 The Vision of Entrepreneurship “Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights and depth; that there are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought.” – Robert Green Ingersoll
  • 5. 4 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM What is Entrepreneurship? Are you an entrepreneur? If not, do you think you could be one? Before you answer that, let’s back up. The word entrepreneur is long, difficult to spell and has a variety of meanings to different people. Most of the time the word conjures up this image of a bold, risk-taking business man who is on top of the world one day and at rock bottom the next. Whatever your perception of entrepreneurship is, please take a minute and set it aside. This book is presenting a new way to think about the word, and hopefully how you live your life. We don’t see an entrepreneur as a certain type of person or even a specific career path. No, entrepreneurship is a mindset. It’s a way of life that seeks to benefit others. Entrepreneurship pursues meaning, solves problems and takes ownership of a situation. Entrepreneurs can be people starting businesses, but they can also be teachers, employees, students and parents. This book will focus on the skills needed to succeed as an entrepreneur starting a business, but you will learn the requirements for success have more to do with who you are than the skills you have. And if you learn to truly think like an entrepreneur, with a willingness to overcome whatever stands in your way, you will find that the entrepreneur spirit will guide you toward satisfaction and success in any path you take. What is aTREP? We refer to entrepreneurs as TREPs as we have built our community at www.trepschool.com. You may be wondering, what the heck is a TREP? Well, it’s our way of thinking about this new mold of enTREPreneurs. Today, we are seeing a collective “stepping up” of many entrepreneurs who are unsatisfied with the way things are and are doing something about it. Every generation has had entrepreneurs, but today, with the connectedness of our world and the rapid pace of communication, entrepreneurship has a new feel. The traditional picture of the “businessman” banker-type of entrepreneur has given way to the jeans and hoodie, working in a coffee shop developing an app. The thing is, the old style of entrepreneurship hasn’t been replaced, but expanded into an endlessly diverse community of those who are seeking to use their talents and gifts to make something happen in the world. “Change your opinions, keep to your principles; change your leaves, keep intact your roots” - Victor Hugo A New Mindset of Entrepreneurship ANewMindsetofEntrepreneurship
  • 6. 5 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The TREPs are good with their hands so they start a general contracting business. They have a passion for coffee and community, so they start a coffee roasting business. They are stay-at-home moms, who find a way to monetize their knitting hobby. The TREPs are young or old, reluctant or bold, and come from all corners of the globe. That’s what this book is all about. Entrepreneurs today are having success in a multitude of ways. Technology allows individuals to start businesses at a minimal cost and often from their own laptop. This creates a desire for many to pursue entrepreneurship. When people hear about the opportunity to do what they love, work with who they want to work with, when and where they want to – this is going to appeal to many. The problem is, people want it, but don’t know where to start. That’s why we have written Visualize to Monetize. Many people don’t have much trouble coming up with a vision of success. But the challenge is to narrow down that vision into something concrete, then take the practical steps necessary to have money start coming in. This book is broken into two parts. The first will explain the mindset a successful entrepreneur must have. This comes first, because if you aren’t able to think like an entrepreneur – taking personal responsibility for actions, being accountable to the choices you make – no amount of teaching will set you on a path for success. We finish this introduction by going back to the question we started with. Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur? It’s time to think differently about that word. In some ways, it’s easier than you may have expected. Anyone can do it. Anyone can learn the skills necessary. Anyone can come up with the resources to get started. But in other ways, it’s more difficult than you expected. There is nobody to answer the questions, except you – the entrepreneur. When challenges and setbacks come, there are no excuses, nobody else to blame. In this book we will teach you the heart of entrepreneurship – providing value to others. We will teach you to keep track of the key pillars that will sustain your business, and provide a framework to grow it beyond yourself. ANewMindsetofEntrepreneurship So What Do They Have in Common Do You See Yourself as an Entrepreneur? This book will explain the characteristics common among those who succeed in entrepreneurship. The strongest indicator of success in entrepreneurship is not your skills, knowledge or competency. What will determine your success is your character is your willingness to overcome adversity, to constantly learn and adapt, and how relentlessly you are willing to pursue your goals.
  • 7. 6 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM TimetoTakeActionandEnjoytheRide But the most important thing you can learn, which will be a theme throughout the book, is that for you to succeed you have to take control of your circumstances. The TREP mindset is a mindset of personal responsibility meeting opportunity awareness. No matter what you are doing, even if you are still an employee - if you take personal responsibility of your own life, and purposefully direct your efforts toward providing something good for others – you are on track to being a TREP and beginning a journey of a meaningful life that benefits and serves those around you. There’s no better journey you can take. Let’s get started on making it happen. “The TREP mindset is a mindset of personal responsibility meeting opportunity awareness. ” We will give you the tools you need to stay on track, focusing only on what matters, instead of wasting time on things which don’t move you toward your goals.
  • 8. 7 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM If you’ve ever been lost driving, you understand the maddening frustration once you discover the correct route. This part is frustrating, because in that moment you realize how much time and mileage could have been saved had you known the correct path from the start. That’s how we want you to think of this book. We call it Visualize to Monetize (V2M for short), because we are trying to show you the shortest, most direct route from your vision of a business to the point where you are actually bringing in money. The way to do that is to provide directions, and cut out all the wasted, unnecessary steps that are doing nothing to advance you toward your goal. Why Not Just a Business Plan? Most business plans are created out of necessity for a bank or for a potential investor, but they are just not practical at this point in the process. There will definitely be a time and a place for business plans and marketing plans and financial projections—just not at this stage. Assume you have an idea for a business and you are looking to get started. Before you sit down with a banker or potential investor, think about sitting down with a good friend over a long cup of coffee. You are excited about some ideas, but don’t have everything figured out. What would you share with your friend? Would you share your passion? Your dreams? Would you talk about the thrilling potential of converting your skills and passions into a benefit to others, and to actually call that work? This imaginary conversation with your best friend is the basis of your V2M Plan—Your plan to take you from a dream (visualization) to an actual revenue producing enterprise (monetize). Attention to Detail (But not yet) Please don’t misunderstand us. Success in your business will depend largely on your ability to pay attention to detail and make things happen. In fact, we will even encourage you to prepare a business plan and create a projected budget for your first year (See part 2). However, the difference here is a V2M plan starts where all entrepreneurial success must start – with you. “Not all those who wander are lost.” - JRR Tolkien The Visualize to Monetize Plan TheVisualizetoMonetizePlan A Conversation Over Coffee First of all, to be blunt, typical business plans are like a Master’s thesis in futility. They are not really useful and are designed more as a way to weed people out than to be a helpful guiding force to a start-up entrepreneur. I mean come on… Do you really need to put together a five-year financial forecast before you have your ideas fully thought out?
  • 9. 8 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM That’s why we’re not worried at the very beginning about the minute details. The first step is to determine if you are mentally prepared for the road before you. Next, we have to think about the business you have in your mind. What’s your motivation? If it’s for status and money, we don’t expect your fire to last long. A V2M plan starts with you sharing ideas with your closest friends, throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks. It begins with an idea that should make your eyes light up. Laying the Groundwork When you build a house, you must begin with a firm foundation. Without that, thinking about the beautiful interior decorating will be pretty useless. To get started on our V2M plan, we are going to do just that. We want to build a solid foundation in your mind of what it’s going to take to succeed, so the house doesn’t collapse and have to be rebuilt from scratch. It may seem impractical to focus on wild dreams, the entrepreneur spirit and personal responsibility when we are talking about taking a business idea into monetization. We completely disagree. To think about monetization, and how the financial details will work is like thinking about the windows of the house before the walls are up. We need the foundation. And your foundation will be your vision combined with the entrepreneur mindset of success. The Value Exchange is a phrase you will see throughout this book, and in depth in chapter 5. In short, the Value Exchange is where you find a way to convert your skills into something other people want enough they are willing to pay for it. This will be the foundation of your entire business life, and in order to even find a realistic Value Exchange, your first step will require a shift in focus away from yourself and outwardly toward others. This is why we don’t want you to focus too much on details, because it really comes down to this simple exchange. If you can provide the value for others, you will have success. The rest of Part 1 will provide the guide for you to think like an entrepreneur, while Part 2 will break down each step toward monetization. Each chapter will lay another brick for the foundation of your success. This book is not a recipe for guaranteed success, but rather a road map to point you in the right direction. This is the groundwork to ensure the building you build is established on a firm foundation. TheVisualizetoMonetizePlan
  • 10. Take the enTREPreneur Pledge 9 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The determining factor of success in your journey will be the character and persistence you have, and more specifically – the person you choose to be. If you look across history at those who made a difference in the world, and those who achieved the goals they desired, you can find common threads that made these people special. These characteristics were more habits than genetic gifts. These successful people have a way of looking at the world that is different from most of the population who are willing to settle for average. And just as much as we may observe that these characteristics are present in those who achieve greatness, we can also see, maybe even more clearly, that those who lack these qualities will never rise above mediocrity and see their dreams become reality. You may think it’s a corny exercise, but before we move on, we want to present you with a TREP Pledge. The TREP Pledge is made up of six characteristics that if pursued fervently will lead to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Say them out loud and with conviction and see if you can agree to not only say this pledge, but really get it in your heart. If you agree and can say these six affirmations as the enTREPreneur Pledge, you will find it to be a phenomenal foundation from which you can build any enterprise and with it a fantastic future. TaketheenTREPreneurPledge “Conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.” - Martin Luther King Jr. Remember, this future is not just yours alone but is shared in the future of everyone your enTREPre- neurial journey affects. It includes your family, your employees, (current and future), your investors, vendors, partners, peers, collaborators and ultimately the customers and clients you serve. The TREP Pledge I am responsible – I am the person responsible for me. It is my role and my obligation to do whatever is necessary in whatever measure necessary to achieve the outcomes I seek. I have tenacity towards my goals and the determination to follow through until I achieve my desired outcome. I am grateful – Life isn’t perfect, but I am thankful for what I have and my opportunities. I am opportunity focused – I choose to see problems and obstacles as opportunities and challenges I can use to my advantage with enough creativity and determination.
  • 11. 10 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Simple, but Not Easy- Definitely Worthwhile! While all of this may seem like a no-brainer, most of our society does not follow these simple affirmations. Most would think they do, but if you examine their lives, they would be missing some key attributes. While we could write chapters and even books on each one of these, it is clear to see that an entrepreneur who believes in these with conviction and lives each concept with purpose is simply unstoppable. Obstacles and roadblocks? Sure, they will be there along with negative people, bureaucrats, tough economic conditions, governmental intervention, bad weather and a host of other things out of our control. EnTREPreneurs don’t wait for things to happen. We make them happen. We create the conditions we seek. We design and build the future to our own specifications. Certainly we have challenges and obstacles like everyone else. Instead of stopping us and shutting us down, entrepreneurs use these as opportunities to get stronger and more creative. The TREP Pledge is simple, but not easy. That said, it is definitely a worthy aspiration and ideal standard. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur. If you cannot honestly say these six affirmations with conviction, then perhaps you are not cut out for enTREPreneurship and should instead seek a time for money type situation instead (Otherwise known as a job). However, if you can learn to embody these characteristics you will have no problem improving your life and enriching the lives of all those you touch. What a great feeling and an awesome responsibility! TaketheenTREPreneurPledge I am positive – I add value to others and agree not to be a whiner, complainer or a person that in any way diminishes others. I provide value to others – I believe in positive value exchange. I can earn as much money as I want as long as it is in the direct proportion to the amount of value I can provide to others. Every relationship I am in is an opportunity for me to add value. I have integrity – I am honest with myself first and everyone I deal with.
  • 12. The Drive of Entrepreneurship: A Compelling Why 11 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Answering the Questions Let’s go back into the coffee shop. You are sitting with your buddy, having a chat about dreams, plans and somehow creating a future of personal freedom and sharing your gifts with others. Depending on who you are talking to, you are likely to get a wide spectrum of responses, but one certainty is you are going to hear a lot of questions. How is this going to work? Who is going to want this? Your goal is to make how much? At this stage in your planning, you may or may not have answers to these questions. In fact, as you progress, you will find a much longer list of questions you have never even considered! But as you encounter the questions and the doubts, and you sometimes even question yourself about whether or not this is a legitimate idea – there is one question you must answer before any others. Why? The Question You Never Answer in a Business Plan This is another reason why we encourage a V2M plan over a traditional business plan at the early stage, because until you have a compelling reason why you are starting a business, you haven’t started anything yet. People start businesses for a variety of reasons, and we are not here to preach to you on what your motivation should be. Something like this can’t be faked or produced out of thin air anyway, so there would be no use in trying. No, your Compelling Why is something that comes out of your core. And this is what entrepreneurship is all about. Entrepreneurship is for someone who can’t sleep at night because they have an idea they can’t get out of their head. It’s about seeing a real problem in the world and feeling an obligation to help solve it. It’s about being grateful for what we have, and finding a way to use our gifts to help others. TheDriveofEntrepreneurship:ACompellingWhy “Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” - - Viktor Frankl
  • 13. 12 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM In the beginning stages of entrepreneurship, a combination of imagination, adrenaline and caffeine will sustain you through the low times and long nights. But years down the road, you will need something bigger to keep you on track. What to Do with Doubts and Fears Our natural instinct is to jump right in and answer those Who, What, When and How questions. These are the ones we have to point to in order to explain the feasibility and practicality of our ideas. But the reality of entrepreneurship is, whatever your plans are at the very beginning are going to change. You can’t predict the future. The real indicator of entrepreneurial success is a willingness to overcome obstacles - a relentless desire to succeed at all costs – and the only thing that’s going to lead to that kind of dedication is a Compelling Why. People will be quick to tell you not to pursue your dreams. They will tell you about the risk involved and about how hard it is to make entrepreneurship work. They will encourage you to stick with something “steady” or “safe.” And this is the point most entrepreneurs never make it past. The doubts from others will lodge themselves somewhere in the mind, and at the first sight of trouble or a roadblock, fear kicks in and the would-be entrepreneur is suddenly frozen and timid. When those fears and doubts manifest themselves, your five-year financial projections won’t tell you to keep going. Only a Compelling Why –a passion bigger than yourself – will keep you forward-fo- cused and driven toward your dreams. Action Step Before moving on, if you are getting serious about entrepreneurship, now is a great time to examine yourself. Take some time to ponder – then write down - your answer to the question of why you are doing this. Everything you build will come out of this Why. It will sustain, motivate and guide each step of your vision and action. TheDriveofEntrepreneurship:ACompellingWhy Even though this is a Visualize to Monetize plan, you should never think success comes easily. It’s a major challenge. And if you are serious about entrepreneurship, you should want it that way. The greatest rewards come in the challenges we overcome. And when those challenges inevitably hit, and you are feeling stuck and without purpose – you will need a Compelling Why to keep you going. Visualize to Monetize is entrepreneur-focused. When you are sitting down having the conversation with your friend, we want to know what makes your blood boil. If you are motivated enough by your compelling why, you can overcome anything that stands in your way. Much practical planning goes into building a successful business, but all numbers and predictions are secondary to your passion for what you are doing.
  • 14. The Heart of All Business Endeavors: The Value Exchange 13 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The Link Between Visualize and Monetize When you visualize your future as an entrepreneur, you are living in an ocean full of endless dreams and possibilities. Dreaming big is an essential component to success, because incredible things happen when you make audacious goals then find a way to accomplish them. On the other hand, the real victories are won, not in the ocean of dreams, but on the harsh ground of reality. The challenge for most entrepreneurs is finding the ship to take them from the dreams to reality. Some want to jump straight to the monetization phase. Their actions are aimless, because they haven’t spent enough time dreaming and planning about what they actually want. They work hard, but without goals and a purpose, the hard work is wasted. Others have plenty of great ideas, but don’t know how to make them happen in the real world. They continually dream, are swept away by the endless possibilities, yet never take the purposeful action to achieve their goals. The answer to this dilemma is truly the heart of all business, and the most important thing you must understand to turn your entrepreneurial vision into true success. The answer is the Value Exchange. Visualizing the Value Exchange As you are developing your vision, any hope of success hinges on determining your Value Exchange. As explained earlier, value is giving to others in exchange for something. If you want to make money, you have to provide something other people are willing to pay for. Once again, it’s time to expose a common myth of entrepreneurship. The myth – and this may surprise you – the myth is: It’s about you. The honest truth is it’s not about you at all. Don’t get me wrong, in many ways it is. You, the entrepreneur, will be responsible for producing your product or service, guiding the ship along the journey and making the important decisions which will determine the fate of your business. But as an entrepreneur, your focus in building your business must be outward not inward, because it’s people who you will be serving. You might think you will be working for yourself, but you are really working for your customers, your clients, and whoever you do business with. TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange “We achieve our victories through the victories of those we serve!” - Kahuna Business Group Outward Focus
  • 15. 14 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Your why – as discussed in the last chapter – will in some way be about yourself. Don’t feel bad about this, it’s just how it is. Most entrepreneurs choose this path as a means to personal freedom, financial freedom, to do what they love, to provide a better situation for their family or some combination of those. But when you visualize your business, and seek a way to use your skills to give value to others, your purpose and mission must be focused outwardly. It doesn’t matter what you want, or think is good, because you are not the one who will decide whether your product or service is worth paying for. Customers will. So when you create your vision, the only way to truly come up with a value exchange is to put yourself in the shoes of a customer or client. Spend your time and energy finding a way to combine the talents, gifts and passions you have with the wants and needs of others. Where Can You Find Value? Another myth of entrepreneurship is that you have to create something new and groundbreaking in order to succeed. This type of thinking is an inward focus. A value exchange is much simpler than that, and so is business. All you have to determine is how you can make life easier, simpler, happier or more fulfilling for others. That can be done in an infinite number of ways, often by improving upon what we already have. A practical way to begin to think of adding value is to think of your own life. What are things which frustrate you? Can they be removed or improved? What are products or services that keep you coming back for more? What about them makes you come back? That is true value, and you are happy to exchange your money for whatever it is they offer. Remember, V2M is a mindset. Your value exchange will look completely different based on what business you are going into. But the surefire way to identify where to add value is to put yourself in the shoes of others – and even better – to ask people what they want. Simplifying Business – Serve Others It’s a shame people in business are often painted as greedy and money-hungry, eager to take advantage of anyone they can in order to make a buck. True business, with a fair value exchange flips this on its head. Entrepreneurship is about what you can give and how you can serve. The only money you ever make should be in proportion to the value you provide. It’s best to keep this thought in mind at the start of your business, and keep it at the forefront of all thinking. When you think of business in this sense, it at once simplifies the thought process, but raises the level of personal responsibility. It simplifies, because if you always think of others and how you can better serve them, you can trust your efforts are focused in the right direction. TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange
  • 16. 15 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM At the same time, the value exchange raises the stakes for your expectations and responsibility. By pursuing entrepreneurship, you are taking on a higher calling. You are no longer working just for yourself and a paycheck. Your purpose and everyday challenge is to find a way to help others. This is a beautiful place to be, but is not easy. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic formula. You will learn a lot on this journey, but if you can figure out this one thing – how to provide value for others – your success will almost be guaranteed. The value exchange is the crux of the V2M process – stepping outside of yourself and dreaming of ways to improve the lives of others. This is the link between visualize and monetize, between your dreams and reality. Or, as Zig Ziglar puts it: “You can have anything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.” TheHeartofAllBusinessEndeavors:TheValueExchange “You can have anything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want.” - Zig Ziglar
  • 17. Keeping it Simple: enTREPreneurship 101 Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great. - Ralph Waldo Emerson 16 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Once you have grasped the importance of why you are doing business and can visualize providing value for others, you have a firm foundation to build the rest of your vision on. These two components work like building blocks in sustaining the rest of your entrepreneurial journey and should give you the confidence and drive to take purposeful action to achieve your goals. Thinking Like aTREP As you prepare for action, you will need to develop the TREP mindset to guide you throughout your journey. At the beginning of this book, you read and agreed to the TREP Pledge. As you break down each point in the pledge, you will see how each is motivated by the two building blocks of the Compelling Why and the Value Exchange. When you read the pledge, you may have simply glanced over it. You may have thought it was good advice, or even had a change in thinking of what mattered most in entrepreneurship. But no matter how it struck you, there is a major difference in reading the words and putting them into practice. Putting Your New Mindset into Action True entrepreneurship is about action. It’s not about words or talk, but getting things done. For you to start thinking like a TREP, you will have to commit to a life of these principles. Now that we have established our two building blocks for a vision, let’s dive into the TREP Pledge in greater depth. I AmResponsible Again, entrepreneurship is about action. You now understand you are taking on this challenge to add value to others, and it’s up to you to make it happen. When you are an entrepreneur, there is no blam- ing others or making excuses. Everything falls on you, and the most successful are able to look failure in the eye and do something about it. The life of an entrepreneur is – if all goes well – a life of freedom, but that freedom is not possible with- out earning that freedom by living responsibly. I Am Grateful The value exchange and personal responsibility flow out of gratitude. To be willing to give of yourself for others, you have to realize how fortunate you are to have the life you have. When you are grateful, you have the freedom to take chances, and really serve others. If you think the world owes you some- thing, you are probably not cut out to be an entrepreneur. KeepingitSimple:enTREPreneurship101
  • 18. 17 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM I Am Opportunity Focused When the business is up and running and you have moved far beyond the visualize to monetize stage, the time for dreaming is not over. Your job will be to grow your business by always being ready and aware to jump on any opportunity in front of you. An entrepreneur can never stagnate. To be successful, you have to always be looking for new ways to serve more people or the same people in better ways. I Am Positive Unfortunately setbacks, challenges and even (gasp!) failures will happen on your road to success. How will you handle it? If you are defeated by these setbacks, the dream dies right when adversity hits. But if your Compelling Why is big enough to transcend circumstances, then you can maintain your vision and determination, even in the face of failure. I Provide Value to Others Once again, the ultimate test of success always comes back here. In order for you to think like a TREP you have to be constantly evaluating yourself not by status, not by what people say about you, not by how many Twitter followers you have. No, the only measure you need to be thinking about is how much value you are providing to others. I Have Integrity Since we have determined the best way to succeed is by giving to others, we can be genuine and act with integrity. This one is easy to say, but what about when times get tough? Or, what about when you have great success? Will you remember your why and the people you are serving? Or will you become jaded and attempt to take advantage of any opportunity, regardless of the value provided? What Are You Waiting For? This is entrepreneurship. If you learn to think this way, you are on your way to success. The only thing left to do is take action. If you have a dream, and you have considered why you want to do it and have a value exchange in mind, it’s time to get moving! Here’s a hint about starting your own business: You will never find the perfect time to get going. The stars will never align and you will not likely hear the voice in the universe speak audibly and tell you what to do. There comes a time where you have to step out and go for it. TREPs need to form their initial vision, then learn by doing. Now that you are thinking like a TREP, there is no better time! KeepingitSimple:enTREPreneurship101
  • 19. Taking Meaningful Action: The Essentials of Entrepreneurship “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” - Napoleon Hill 18 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Be the Person You Want to Be The philosophy behind the V2M plan can be easily boiled down to two points. 1. Think like an enTREPreneur 2. Take action and don’t be afraid to fail The first step is paramount to any success you may have. That’s why to this point in the book, you’ve heard nothing but simple steps to help you develop the mindset of a successful entrepreneur. Without this mentality and attitude, all the hard work and action in the world will not bring you to your dreams. You have to embody the characteristics of success, before you actually find success. We all have that person in our life who says, “Oh as soon as I find a girlfriend, then I’ll clean up my act,” or “If I could just get a better-paying job, then I would work really hard!” Life doesn’t work that way. We have to live the life we want – even before we have it. Results Require Action But the second point in the V2M plan is equally important, and will be emphasized throughout the rest of the book. You have to take action. All of the dreams, good intentions and great attitudes in the world will not produce results. These characteristics have to be put into action in order for you to get anywhere. This sounds obvious, but if you really examine yourself, or people around you – a lot of us fear taking action. We will take action if we are guaranteed a positive result, but when the results are uncertain – when there is a possibility of failure or loss - action may not be as appealing. In chapter 8, we will go into greater depth of the importance of taking bold action to achieve your dreams, but for now we need to combine the discernment of your new entrepreneurial mindset with the audacity of taking bold action. Meaningful Action Anyone can take action. It’s not hard to force yourself into doing something. Many people don’t have a problem with getting out and doing, but the problem is, they don’t have a purpose in their action. What the most successful entrepreneurs have – and any successful person has – is an ability to take the right action. TakingMeaningfulAction:TheEssentialsofEntrepreneurship
  • 20. 19 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Again, this is why the entire beginning of the book deals with the entrepreneurial mindset, because your action must have a purpose and a meaning. If you are able to engrain the principles to live responsibly, provide value and maintain integrity into your life – you are going to have the best chance of success. Taking it to a practical step, you must develop the ability to create goals and take action on the ones that matter most. This is a huge divider between the businesses that succeed and the ones that fail. The ones who succeed spend their time on results-producing tasks. The ones that fail may be just as busy – or even work harder or longer – but their time is spent on minor tasks, which don’t produce results. The 80-20 Rule The Pareto Principal, also known as the 80-20 rule, basically says 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of the effort. This applies to all aspects of our lives and has major implications for our productivity. If we find this true in ourselves, the natural question is, “What if we put more effort into those things which currently produce 80 percent of our results?” What if we increased the 20 percent to 40 percent? We could double our production. And the next question is, what are we doing for 80 percent of the time that is only producing 20 percent of our results? To maximize potential, we have to cut out the things we do that don’t matter. We have to think like an entrepreneur and be purposeful in every action we take. Organizing Around Priorities Luckily, if you’ve made it this far, we have identified the foundation for entrepreneurial success. When we move forward to Part 2 of this book, one of the first practical steps you will take on your V2M path will be to identify your Vision and Mission Statement. These statements will come out of your Value Exchange and your Compelling Why which drive your business. Then everything you do should be viewed through the lens of these essential components. As we move forward, we will also learn the importance of setting specific, clear, attainable goals and making sure our actions align with these goals. Everything you read from this point forward is going to encourage you to take action. You will have to take action in the face of fear, in the face of criticism and in the face of unknown. But as you expand your comfort zone and learn there is more risk in inaction than action, you must not act just to act. You have to take meaningful action to get results and achieve your dreams. TakingMeaningfulAction:TheEssentialsofEntrepreneurship
  • 21. The S.T.A.C.K. Strategy for Meaningful Action “And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.” - Donald Miller 20 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The steps laid out in this book provide a new way to think about entrepreneurship – an attitude that should pervade your entire journey. In addition, they lay out the initial steps and foundational knowl- edge necessary to start up and grow your own business. But the only real way from visualize to monetize is to put your head down and take bold, resilient action toward your dreams. Any knowledge in a book – no matter how brilliant – won’t lead to success. Success depends on you, and how well you implement the knowledge you have. A Strategy for Success While we can’t give you success or do it for you, we can provide an easy-to-remember framework for meaningful action. This is a strategy behind everything we do at TREP school and lies beneath the entire concept of this book. The STACK Strategy is a framework for setting and achieving goals. You will have plenty to think about and remember as you progress as an entrepreneur, and this strategy is meant to be something you can always think about to make sure you are heading down the right path. I guess you are probably wondering why it’s called the STACK Strategy. Good question. A Great Lesson Both Mom and I are very proud of your accomplishments. You have planned well, kept on an excellent forward thrust to your objectives and handled your disappointments well. If you plan to succeed and implement that positive plan, you will still have disappointments. You have a great supportive family and Lisa and Frankie will help carry you through these times. Stay positive, stay focused, maintain your great moral character and…KEEP ON STACKING THOSE LOGS!! The thing about stacking logs is the only way to make progress is to stack one at a time. There are no short cuts, and no immediate gratification. You have to keep stacking, and eventually you will begin to see progress. This is the road to success. You will grow frustrated, feel ineffective and be ready to give up, but if you keep moving forward you can achieve your greatest desires. TheS.T.A.C.K.StrategyforMeaningfulAction "Stack The Logs!" began as my (Frank) father's homspun encouragement phrase to me. Stack the Logs! is a book I wrote in 2003, that was sparked by an encouraging note written to me the year before his death. Like the character Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who goes on a journey only to find she already had what she was looking for before she left, my father’s words were a stark reminder of lessons learned through study and through life. He knew I was on the right course, although I could not see it at that time. His words were absolutely the right words at the right time. He penned the following in a birthday card:
  • 22. 21 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM From the lesson of my father, I have developed the following as a guiding strategy to stay on track and move toward my goals. S – Set your course T – Take action A – Accept results as feedback C – Correct course based on feedback K – Keep Stacking the Logs! Let’s take a look at each. Set Your Course “I respect the man who knows distinctly what he wishes. The greater part of all mischief in the world arises from the fact that men do not sufficiently understand their own aims. They have undertaken to build a tower, and spend no more labor on the foundation than would be necessary to erect a hut.” -Goethe (1749-1832) German Philosopher True success happens when you understand where you are going and why. Just like in travel, in order to achieve an outcome, you must have a destination. Aimless travel is merely wandering and aimless ambition is success squandering. You would never think to take a trip without having an idea of where you wanted to end up. It is so simple and yet so few people take the time and effort to create a destination for their lives. Choose a target destination and then figure out the best way to get there. This is certainly a dramatic oversimplification, but no less valid. The biggest difference between those who are successful and those who are not, is the mindset of successful people that they control their outcome – not circum- stances. Rather than passively reacting to everything that comes to them, the best entrepreneurs set the course for their futures. Take Action The most important step you can take in your entrepreneurial journey is the first one. Maybe you have heard of the phrase “paralysis by analysis.” This rings true for many, who spend so much time trying to get their planning just right and never get their forward motion started. The secret of action is: Action begets action! When you know where you want to go, have a plan to get there, the best action is just to get started on the journey. Taking action doesn’t even have to be the perfect next step, just movement in the right direction. Even poor or bad results from action are better than the lack of results from inaction, because they provide a learning opportunity. TheS.T.A.C.K.StrategyforMeaningfulAction
  • 23. 22 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Accept Results as Feedback And here we have the reason why taking action can be so difficult. Rather than accepting results as feedback and learning from them, we tend to accept results as our defining moment. So if we take action, and don’t have the results we sought, we put our head down and consider ourselves a failure. This is a difficult concept for some people to get over. The fear of failure is like the stinging fear of rejection. It is embarrassing and it can cause doubts. When we don’t get the desired results we seek or the instant gratification we crave, it is too easy to draw back and quit. We question our motives. We question our abilities. Sometimes we even question our worthiness. It is sad, but many times we use feedback as validation for our failure rather than see it for what it is…feedback. Feedback by definition is only information. Feedback is neutral; it is neither positive nor negative. We are the ones who attach meaning to it. Results should not invalidate the goal nor should it discourage us from what we seek. Results should be accepted as feedback to help us know if we are on the right track. In our youth, we failed hundreds of times in our initial quest to walk. We routinely failed in almost everything we attempt to do as we are first learning. Look at a child first learning skills and how much they fail versus succeed when they are first starting out. Eventually they get and even master the skills. Why then as adults have we lost our resiliency and our ability to accept our results as only feedback for change? As entrepreneurs, we have to quickly figure out this paradox and become open to learning – yes even learning from failure. Each failure is a learning and growing opportunity – not an ending point. Correct Course Based on Feedback This is the step where your mistakes and failures can be turned into positives by learning from them. Accept the feedback from your results. Don’t let it define you, but survey the information from your action. Maybe part of it worked, maybe it was a complete failure. Either way, you need to understand the results and decide how to move forward. This is true with failure and success. When something works perfectly, you can’t sit back, give yourself a hug and tell everybody what a genius you are. No, you need to examine why this worked. Figure out the reason for the success – and more importantly – how to repeat the process. Entrepreneurship is constantly evaluating what works and what doesn’t and deciding when to perse- vere with an idea and when to move in a different direction. If you ignore the information coming back as feedback, you will waste your time and money on ideas which have no value. TheS.T.A.C.K.StrategyforMeaningfulAction
  • 24. 23 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Keep on Stacking the Logs! With any significant goal, your results will be small at first. In fact, your results at the beginning will be far smaller than the effort used to that point. As you progress along your journey, you will begin to see small successes and small gains. Keep on! Keep progressing and making gains and then add those gains to what you have done already. It takes time and it takes persistence. The phrase, “keep on stacking the logs” is both encouragement as well as an action step in its own right. When you have yet to arrive at your goal but know you are taking the right action and doing the things necessary, there is a period where your action step is just continuing to move forward. The STACK Strategy will serve you well if you use it to keep yourself disciplined and focused on your Compelling Why. The strategy will always work if you have the humility and courage to truly use it. TheS.T.A.C.K.StrategyforMeaningfulAction
  • 25. 24 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The word entrepreneur likely brings a certain image to your mind. For many, it’s the reckless, supremely confident, outgoing person who throws caution to the wind and sacrifices everything for his shot at success. Others see young tech gurus who sit at their computer and come up with the next new app or program which will take the world by storm. Whatever pictures comes to mind, your view needs to be wider. Entrepreneurs come in all shapes, sizes, ages and ability levels. At the beginning of this book we posed the question, “Do you see yourself as an entrepreneur?” Hopefully by now, you realize the characteristics needed to fit into that mysterious category are nearly boundless from an external perspective. The beauty is, entrepreneurs are the young tech gurus. But they also are stay-at-home moms with a gift for making crafts. They also are retirees who have found a new outlet for their passions late in life. Entrepreneurship doesn’t fit into any boxes. And if you have a passion and a desire to work hard, maybe you should see yourself as an entrepreneur. Maybe you have the entrepreneurial spirit. The TREP Spirit In the last eight chapters, you have read about a new way to think about entrepreneurship. The intention of the content provided has been to educate and open your mind to help you think differently. The message has not been to sell you on anything. That’s the point of the TREP Pledge from Chapter 3. If you can’t convincingly agree to those principles, we don’t think you’re going to do well in business. Nothing has been sugarcoated – the common myths and shortcuts won’t get you far. There will be disappointments, setbacks, critics, doubts and unknown. Are you excited yet? The reason we present so clearly this challenge is for your own good. We don’t want you to try this if you are looking for an easy road. We don’t want you to try this if you are fine with mediocrity. But the story doesn’t end there. The overall message you should take away from the first section of this V2M guide to profitability is: Yes, entrepreneurship is a major challenge, and Yes, you can do this. When we look past the common myths of entrepreneurship, we see what it truly is – providing value to others. This can be done by anyone, but it takes a rare combination of planning, perseverance and persistence to break through. The previous eight chapters laid the groundwork for a new enTREPreneurial way of thinking which will serve you well as you begin the journey. In the next section, you will learn the essential skills for success. But all of the skills and preparation in the world will not replace a true enTREPreneurial Spirit – with a determination to succeed at all costs. StepUptotheChallenge:TheSpiritofenTREPreneurship “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” - CS Lewis Step Up to the Challenge: The Spirit of enTREPreneurship
  • 26. 25 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Dream Big The entrepreneurial spirit is not satisfied with average. The idea in the mind of an entrepreneur usually starts out by saying, “This is crazy enough it just might work.” In my (Frank) previous book, Carpe Aqualis! Seize the Wave! I coined the term terro-phoria for that combination of terror and euphoria that happens when you’re on a thrilling ride - like surfing a mon- strous wave, riding a roller coaster or starting a business. Your entrepreneurial journey should be filled with terro-phoria, and you should love it. Yes, it’s scary, but that fear says you are truly living life - rather than drifting by and letting life live you. When you are sitting down with your good friend, dreaming about a business idea, don’t let fear get in the way of your dreams. In the next section, we will get down to the practical numbers and putting the dream down on paper. But too many people start small, because they are afraid to dream big. They are afraid of what others will think, so they try to keep their dreams at a manageable level. But here’s the bad news – that’s what everybody does, and we want to be different! As we said earlier, you need to be driven by your CompellingWhyto sustain you when times get tough.In the same way, you need to have a vision so captivating and big, it will keep you driven and determined when you run into an obstacle. The entrepreneurial spirit does not settle for average Thick Skin When you have an audacious goal for starting your own business and reaching people, you will run into critics and naysayers. You absolutely will. If you are easily influenced by people telling you what to do and not to do, you will have to develop resolve to make your dreams a reality. The challenge is developing the discernment necessary to determine who is giving helpful advice and who is giving unnecessary negativity. You will experience a lot of cynicism and pessimism, because people who have lived average, comfortable lives hate seeing others pursue their dreams. You will need a thick skin to keep your head up and remain focused on your goals in the face of the objections and criticism. On the other hand, you must remain teachable. Don’t mistake having a thick skin for a bull-headed refusal to learn from others. The model of TREP school is to Learn it, Live it, Share it. No entrepreneur succeeds without a humble willingness to learn. It will take discernment and confidence to know which comments to trust and which to toss out. But regardless, a thick skin is a prerequisite to success, because no matter how well thought-out your idea is, don’t expect everybody to react to it with the same enthusiasm and confidence you have. And you will have to know how to respond when they don’t like it. StepUptotheChallenge:TheSpiritofenTREPreneurship
  • 27. Embrace the Challenge Entrepreneurs don’t fit a certain mold. They can’t be put in a box. Their passions, ability levels and genetic make-up are all over the map. Yet, there is a certain something that sets the successful entrepreneurs apart from those who only dream or those who try but can’t make it. That certain something is the entrepreneurial spirit. It can’t fully be put into words, but you can review the six steps in our TREP Pledge for a glimpse of what it looks like. And above all else, the entrepreneurial spirit is a willingness to stare a challenge in the face and rise above it. Like we’ve said, this is not an attempt to sell you anything. There is hardly anything more challenging than stepping up to the plate and taking a chance. The vulnerability, audacity and uncertainty required keep most people from ever considering taking the leap of starting their own business. When people try to sell you something, they will tell you, “It’s that easy.” But this is not. Entrepreneurship and building a business is hard. This message is not for people who want it to be easy. This is for those who believe they have a calling to serve the world, and are willing to blast through whatever obstacle or challenge stands in their way. For those who are up for the challenge, keep reading and find out how you can turn your entrepreneurial dreams into a money-making reality. 26 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM StepUptotheChallenge:TheSpiritofenTREPreneurship
  • 28. TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Part-2 From Visualize to Monetize “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge
  • 29. 27 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM TheBusinessPlan:PuttingtheDreamonPaper The Business Plan: Putting the Dream on Paper “The key is taking responsibility and initiative, deciding what your life is about and prioritizing your life around the most important things.” - Stephen Covey The V2M plan is a different approach to entrepreneurship. The traditional approach says to start by developing a detailed, 40-page business plan so you can pitch it to investors to get money to launch the business. Our approach says take less time planning and get to action. You will learn more from the feedback you get from people than you can in planning everything out. Having said that, the first important step once you’ve figured out you are ready to take a leap and consider starting a business is to form a business plan and get it on paper. A business plan is extremely important for an entrepreneur to be able to communicate the core message of the business and to provide benchmarks and a guide for growth. We are not against planning – in fact to jump right into action without planning would probably guaran- tee unnecessary headache. The Essentials However, our approach to a business plan is to focus on what really matters. Entrepreneurs need to get the key pieces of the puzzle in place to set the foundation for taking action on their dream. So much of what goes into a typical business plan will eventually have nothing to do with the business. Too many things are unknown during the planning stage to truly predict. So we have to focus on the core elements needed to plan out and then quickly move into purposeful action. Core Story The first element required in a business plan is the core story of what you want the business to be about. Think back to your casual conversation with a friend. Your core story is what you would get if you were to take that dream and bring it down to a clear, compelling, easy-to-communicate message. You will also need to develop core values for your business. Creating a business is more than a product or service, but a culture. What do you want people to feel when they work with your business? What emotion do you want people to connect to your business? Think about the great companies in the world that have a certain culture and feel. They didn’t get there by accident. Those cultures are the product of a core vision with a commitment to specific values.
  • 30. 26 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM TheBusinessPlan:PuttingtheDreamonPaper 28 Your Goals You’ve already dreamed big about the success of your business, but now is the time to get specific. In the next chapter, we will talk about how to systematically plan out a route to achieve these goals, but for now you need to determine the definition of success for your business. What are your financial goals? What is enough for you personally to make in the first year? How many people do you want to reach? Your Value Exchange As we have discussed previously, the way to achieve these goals is to provide the proper amount of value – with the appropriate payment in return for the value given. When you have your goals laid out, you can determine how many customers or clients you need, and how much you need to charge for your service to achieve the goals. You’ve already developed a vision for your value exchange, now it’s time to get specific and get it on paper. What can you offer in exchange for a price? What will that exchange look like? Who is going to buy it? When we get into the marketing chapter of this book, we take this more in-depth, but many create businesses with the mentality, “If you build it, they will come.” This is not true in reality, and as you build a business plan, you have to think about who is going to buy from you. The best place to start is to look at competitors. Likely, your business idea is similar to another that already exists. Think about those businesses and consider the age, interests and characteristics of their average customer. Then consider the fair exchange for the value you are providing. This will likely be revised over time, as you develop rapport, confidence and maturity in business. But even though you are new in business, don’t undervalue the service you provide. Actually, many customers will hesitate to work with someone whose price is unusually low – as they will assume the service is not worthwhile. Budget Just like in personal finance, writing out a budget when you are planning a business does wonders to keep you aware of where money is going and how much needs to come in. We will dive into the importance of tracking finances later when we look at accounting, but just know this: It’s really important. Many businesses fail because they are simply unaware they are running out of cash on hand. Think about your financial goals, then think about how much you plan to spend, and this will point you to where your revenue goals need to be.
  • 31. 29 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Put it on Paper Defining what your value exchange looks like, committing to specific goals and benchmarks, clearly communicating your core story – these are essential elements to a business plan that will work. In order to succeed, you must hammer out these details and put them on paper. Your business plan needs to be always in front of you to guide, motivate and bring you back on track. Most importantly, this plan will put concrete plans in front of you that should motivate you toward action. And action is what we are truly after, not planning. Because here is the dirty little secret of business plans: They are almost never right. Whatever you write down on your business plan will not happen exactly as predicted. Things will almost certainly change. But the plan is important for just that reason. Without the plan, you would have no direction. It’s OK to shift directions when you are on a path, but if you have no path you are wandering aimlessly. And we are not done yet with our business plan. Next, we need to map out specific steps to take us to our first sale – from visualize to monetize! TheBusinessPlan:PuttingtheDreamonPaper
  • 32. 30 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM What’s the actual goal of a business plan? Or a better questions maybe is, who are you writing the plan for? Most business plans are written for investors. Words, phrases and numbers are carefully crafted to sound in such a way that success is guaranteed, and the idea is proven to be a worthy investment. What if the goal of a business plan was to put the entrepreneurial dream on paper and motivate us to take action to make it happen? More would get done, that much is certain. The goal of a business plan should be to provide us with our first steps to get started, with a proven guide to know where we are going in the future. That’s what this V2M plan is all about. Start at the End Go to a bookstore and grab any business book off the shelf and start reading it. Chances are, somewhere in the book, you will read about the concept of creating a long-term vision then working backwards to determine what your first steps should be. This concept takes on many different names, but probably the best treatment comes from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, where he names one of his habits, “Begin with the end in mind.” There are two reasons this habit is written about so often. 1. Because it absolutely works and 2. Because we almost always fail to do it. This is why we have spent so much time in this book on casting a vision for your business. Because we need to identify the destination for our journey before we can start taking our steps. Our natural human instinct is to focus on what is directly in front of us. We think about what we need to do today, and then the next day we think about what we need to do today. The problem with that is, eventually our day consists of a series of tasks to complete, which may or may not be moving us toward our big-picture goals. This is a disaster for an entrepreneur, who needs to maximize his resources the best way possible. So Covey and others suggest beginning at the end. Before you start taking action, identify your big long-term goals. The End At this point, you should have a pretty good vision for what you are hoping to build. By thinking through your Compelling Why, Your Value Exchange and developing a Core Story for your business, you can hopefully see what it would look like to have a thriving developed business. This is where action has to begin. It begins with a dream. And the dream must be bold, audacious and it must be written down. It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we have goals in front of us. Don’t sell the goal short, because you will know you are selling it short. Picture the end for yourself, your family, your partners and employees and even your valued customers. TheBusinessPlan:APlanofAction! The Business Plan: A Plan of Action! “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” - Goethe
  • 33. 31 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Ask yourself these two questions: 1. What do you want to get out of this? 2. When will you know you have arrived? Establish the Benchmark The answers to these two questions will look very different for many different entrepreneurs. In fact, the question of arriving is different, because a growing business will be constantly creating and fulfill- ing new, bigger goals along the way. But for now, what is the moment you can see where you will know your dreams are becoming a reality? When you can see that, write it down on paper and never forget it. Use everything you have to push yourself toward that goal. Success comes not from just doing things right, but from doing the right things right. When you have your end result in mind, you can judge every decision you make by asking the question, “Is this moving me closer to the goal I am seeking?” Working Backward When you have developed your big picture, the next step is to work backwards all the way to today. If your goal of arriving is a benchmark five years down the road, now you need to ask yourself this question: Where do I need to be in three years to be on track to achieve my goals in five years? Write this down. Write down how many customers/clients you want to have, how much money you person- ally want to be making, how big the business is, etc. When you have written that three-year vision down, think about where you would have to be in the next two years to get there. Then think about where you would have to be in the next year to be on track for your two-year goal. Get to Work Then when you have a concrete goal on paper for your first year, start taking action steps to arrive.Your goals should be attainable but bold. Set your mind to accomplish exactly what you wrote down in your plan. Then get to work to make it happen. The beauty of this way of planning is, even if you fall short for the year, you will still be moving in the right direction toward your big-picture goals. Setting time deadlines is important, because they moti- vate us, but the end result is not contained by time windows. This is a real business plan that will work – something that puts out everything you hope to achieve, and your route to achieve it. You can’t possibly prepare for everything business will throw at you, so the best thing to do is to make a plan and get started on it. You will learn as you go, and your plans will change over time. But your core vision should always stay the same, and provide a compass to ensure your decisions are bringing you closer to your goal. TheBusinessPlan:APlanofAction!
  • 34. 32 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM When you get this filled out and written down, you are ready to take action. It’s time to build a business and monetize that vision! TheBusinessPlan:APlanofAction! 1. Your Core Story o Create a compelling, easy-to-communicate message that shows what you’re all about 2. Specific Goals o Write out financial and personal goals for your business 3. Value Exchange o What will your value exchange look like based on your specific goals? o Create a budget to decide how your goal can happen 4. Plan For Action o Create specific, bold, attainable goals for your future 5. Work Backward o Where do you want to be in 5 years? o In 3 years? In 2? In 1? o What do you need to do right now, to be on track for your goals? An Outline for Your Plan of Action
  • 35. 33 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM When you are able to articulate your vision and put it on paper – you are now ready to launch your business and start making sales. Is that intimidating? Frightening? It probably is – and should be – but at some point planning must give way to action if you ever really want to find out whether your business can work or not. But even if you are ready to sell your product, there is still more to learn. With the knowledge you have now, you are equipped to create a bootstrapped business, and get it launched. But what you are not ready for is when your business outgrows you, the entrepreneur. And this is when many businesses fail. Most do whatever they can to start making sales, and then once sales start happening, and their business grows too much, they don’t know how to keep up. Most entrepreneurs work in their business, but to be truly successful you must work on your business. As the owner, you have to be aware of all the key components that sustain the business. We break business down into four pillars you need to be aware of. These four pillars are not the business itself – but they are the support system which must not be neglected if you want to build and grow a successful business. We refer to them as the four pillars, because they all must be built properly, otherwise the structure will collapse. If you have two strong pillars, but two weak pillars – you are in big trouble. It’s the same with business. All four must be strong and supportive. And this V2M book is here to help you be aware of the four pillars as you are getting started, because it is much more difficult to start thinking about them when your business is in the midst of growth. This is part of your preparation – to be prepared for the growth of business, and having the tools necessary to smoothly make that growth. This is how we break down the four pillars: Operations/Logistics This is the “How” in business, where things get done. Most people can envision what they want, but fail to realize how many steps must be taken to get from point A to point B. Operations and logistics include everything from knowing how and when to incorporate a business to setting up technology systems, to customer service, and much more. AnIntroductiontotheFourPillarsofBusiness An Introduction to the Four Pillars of Business “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” - Michael Jordan
  • 36. 34 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Marketing/Sales Marketing and sales is where you spread the word about your business. This is where a business transitions from Visualize 2 Monetize – because this is where you make sales, bring in revenue and thus, truly have a business. Marketing is a wide ranging category that a startup entrepreneur has to be very familiar with. In the early stages, it will be your responsibility to find clients or customers, and hustle in a way to spread the word on a budget. Accounting/Finance Accounting is the scoreboard of business. We can’t stress enough how critical it is for entrepreneurs to have a thorough understanding of their key numbers. Many businesses fail because an entrepreneur can’t keep up, and loses track of the money coming in to sustain operations. We don’t want you to be a bookkeeper, but to focus on your business, and because of this you will need to be fluent in the language of money and take the necessary steps to ensure you are keeping track of finances. Capital/Funding We purposely keep this last, because many look at capital as the ultimate solution to all problems. We see capital as a tool to be used intentionally when needed. It’s Up to You Most people drawn to entrepreneurship are in some way motivated by the desire for freedom. That’s a great motivation, because life can be profoundly fulfilling when it is marked with freedom. But as an entrepreneur, that freedom can also create loneliness. Being on your own is great, except when you look around for help and realize…you’re on your own. These four pillars of business are the entrepreneur’s responsibility. And that’s on top of creating the product or service and delivering on promises made to customers and clients. Making the challenge even greater – these four pillars are just categories filled with minor subcategories that all need to be dealt with. Consider marketing alone. If you were to make an outline of the components of marketing you need to be aware of in business it could look a little like this: AnIntroductiontotheFourPillarsofBusiness
  • 37. 35 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Branding: Core Message Logo Business Cards Letterheads Website: Design Hosting Domain Search Engine Optimization Blog Content Online Marketing: Social Media Copywriting Email Capture Email Newsletter Paid Advertising Public Relations And that is just a small glance, which doesn't even scratch the surface of marketing - let alone all your other business needs! But don’t fear. I know you are probably feeling overwhelmed at this point, but it’s better to be thinking about these things now than down the road when you learn the hard way. There are ways to find help in these areas, and if you stay on top of all four pillars, they will provide a foundation for sustaining and building your business. Over the next four chapters we will explain the importance of each of the four, and show practical steps for staying on top of them AnIntroductiontotheFourPillarsofBusiness
  • 38. 36 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The four pillars in the V2M plan is when we get into the fundamentals of what it actually takes to create a business that works. These are not the sexy details, but they are the pillars that support the entire structure. Out of the four pillars, maybe the least sexy of all is operations and logistics, but like a pillar it is essential to the stability of the building, and if neglected – could result in a collapse. What Do You Mean By Operations and Logistics? To go into extreme depth in the operations of business would require many books of information, and we are only going to scratch the surface here. Our goal is to make you, the entrepreneur, aware of what you are getting yourself into so you can seek out the tools and guidance necessary to make your business work. When we speak of operations and logistics, we mean in broader terms: The “How” of running your business. Entrepreneurs don’t have much of a problem visualizing the “Why” and the “What” in their business, but the details of actually making it happen are often overlooked. More specifically, this is how your marketing, sales, finance and technology all connect to make a coherent purposeful business. Operations and logistics is where a business delivers on its promises and prepares itself to grow beyond the solo entrepreneur. It is ensuring the right action takes place in the right order at the right time. This includes everything from customer service to human resources and your technology infrastructure and systems. Operations and Logistics for a Start Up Like we have said from the beginning of this book – we want you, the entrepreneur, to take action. It’s impossible to plan for everything, and at times you just have to learn as you go. At the same time, it is essential for success to be well-prepared and to know exactly what awaits you on the journey. We don’t want you to get overwhelmed in the details of operations and logistics, but want to give a framework, so you can focus on the most important details. So in the vast ocean of running a business right, we want to highlight some essential areas you must be aware of right from the start. Legal Entity Early in the process, an entrepreneur must decide to incorporate the business. This is an important step, because it keeps the entrepreneur from being liable in the event of failure or a lawsuit. OperationsandLogistics Operations and Logistics “It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” - John Wooden
  • 39. 37 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM When you incorporate, the business becomes an entity separate from you, which keeps you from losing your house or possessions if the business fails. Not fun stuff to think about, but necessary. There are different forms of incorporation your business can take with the most common being: S Corp, C Corp and LLC. Each has its own pros and cons, and it’s beyond the scope of this short book to go into great detail. You can go to http://www.kahunaworld.com/busines-services/ for good resources for finding everything you need to know about incorporating your business. Technology A major part of operations and logistics is communicating and producing with maximum efficiency. Today, technology provides an almost endless amount of options for productivity. As you develop your business, you will need to take the time to consider how technology can work in your advantage. Purposeful thinking and planning is paramount at this stage, because much time and money can be wasted on unnecessary or incorrectly used technology. For example, if you have a computer system, but can’t get the support you need to keep it going correctly, you can lose a lot in terms of time and resources while the problem persists. Then you will have to pay a premium to have a professional come in and fix it. In addition, you must prepare for the success or potential growth you may have. We have worked with a business that purchased a server expecting to grow to a maximum of 10 employees. Two years later, they have exceeded their projection by 25 employees, and are now overloading the server. This is another reason to have a realistic plan of what your business looks like and if you can’t afford it, at least you can invest in easily expandable components for when growth is achieved and revenue can handle more expense. The scope of your business will have a lot to do with the depth in which technology plays a part. Many businesses today can be run with a simple laptop. But regardless of what role technology plays, it will play a role, and it’s best to have a plan in mind from the outset. Plan Our biggest word of advice for operations and logistics is to plan. Many entrepreneurs know exactly what they want, but assume the details will “take care of themselves.” Unfortunately, they don’t. And each big dream of an entrepreneur must be broken down into many small – often boring – steps. You can’t neglect operations and logistics, and if you wait until the last minute, you will be constantly playing catch up. As a start-up business, you can’t afford to waste resources and effort. Planning ahead for the “how” things will get done and preparing to have the most efficient systems possible is the only way you can get ahead and prepare to build the business. OperationsandLogistics
  • 40. 38 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Don’t fall into the trap of only seeing the big picture. Figure out how to maximize efficiency and set up your business for a healthy future. Execution Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship is not about having the best ideas. It’s about execution. Whatever your business is, there’s a very likely chance somebody is already doing the exact same thing or something very similar. What separates the successful businesses from the many that fail, is the ability to get things done. Anyone can have an idea. The question is: Can you turn that idea into reality in a way that keeps cost down and provides value to customers? Distribution and Customer Service In the next chapter we will talk about marketing. Marketing is essentially making promises to customers in a way that intrigues them with your message. But operations and logistics is the place where you deliver on those promises. The best and cheapest marketing is to make your customers or clients happy so they come back for more and tell their friends. Entrepreneurs can be so focused on making sales they don’t deliver the product in a way that pleases customers. Making the sale is only one step in the process. Operations and logistics is where you figure out how to get the product to the customer in a way that delivers on your promises and leaves a lasting impression. The Details Count As you can see from this chapter, the little things can either separate a business from the crowd, or cause it to fail. We are past dreams now, and we are down to the nitty-gritty. These are the fundamentals of business, and when they are carefully crafted will deliver huge results. OperationsandLogistics
  • 41. 39 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM We have now reached a critical juncture in our journey through this book. From the title, Visualize to Monetize, our guess is that your concern was primarily with how to get to the monetization. Well, we have arrived. At this stage, it’s time to talk about marketing and sales, and this is exactly where monetization begins. It sounds simplistic, but the beginning of your business – the moment of monetization comes with the first sale. Sales vs Marketing Before we get too far into this, it would be helpful to define what we mean by the words marketing and sales. Sales is the act of a mutually agreed upon exchange between you, the seller, and a consumer. It’s creating a product and then giving it to someone in exchange for money. Marketing is communicating what that value exchange is. It’s telling your potential customers about your value, so they are ready to buy from you and give you sales. Get The First Sale Yes, it sounds overly simplistic, but don’t underestimate the importance of that first moment when money comes to you from a customer. To reiterate a point made throughout this book – no amount of planning can prepare you for what your life in entrepreneurship will look like. That’s why the early stages of a start-up business are primarily about learning. And there is no better way to learn than to learn by doing. When you are trying to start a business, the best thing you can possibly do is put out your product to customers and see if they buy it. And here’s the key point. You put it out there, even before it’s completely perfect. The goal is to learn. If they do buy it – you find out why they did, and get their feedback. If they don’t, you learn what needs to be adjusted without breaking the bank. Either way you are learning. On top of that, getting the first sale is galvanizing. Ask any entrepreneur, and they will tell you it’s hard to describe that feeling of actually seeing someone pay for their product or service. The first sale will motivate you to continue to grow and prepare for many more customers. On the other side of the coin, you could spend months or even a year tweaking and perfecting a product, pouring time and resources into it, and then when it’s time to launch you find out people aren’t buying it. What do you do then? MarketingandSales Marketing and Sales “The entrepreneurial model looks outwardly at the customer – even before there is one. He is looking at the need to be met. Without a clear picture of that customer, no business can succeed.” - Michael Gerber
  • 42. 40 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM The best way to find out of if people will pay for what you are selling – to find out if you can add value – is to ask them to buy it – before you’ve spent all you have. After The First Sale When you get the first sale, and begin to form an identity, it’s time to be strategic about marketing who you are to the world. There is a frightening amount of information available on marketing, and while typing this, I can look to my right and see a bookshelf full of books on marketing and sales strategies. Marketing at its most basic level is taking your core message and offer and communicating it to customers. But the ways to do that are endless. From setting up your email system, to logo and branding, to building a website and mastering search engine optimization, your job as a marketer is to figure out the most efficient ways to spread your message to the right people. It can be overwhelming and intimidating, but understanding the basics of marketing is pivotal if you want to stand out in a loud, busy world. Remember the STACK Strategy Think back to part 1, when we talked about the STACK Strategy – Set your course, Take action, Accept results as feedback, Correct course based on feedback, Keep on Stacking the Logs! This is a reminder that growth and progression toward goals is a steady, day-by-day process. In marketing and sales, this is crucial! We live in an age of social media, instant gratification and overnight success. Everybody wants to roll out of bed and instantly have a following of thousands of people eager to buy from them and hear from them. But for the most part, overnight success is a fairy tale. And when you are marketing your business, you have to remember this. The only way to get to a thousand customers, is to first get 1, then 10, then 20. At first, it will seem like an endless grind, but the best marketing you can do is to get some customers and blow them away. Once you a have few loyal satisfied customers, you are well on your way to a future of success. With those loyal customers you have assets who will buy from you again in the future, along with the opportunities for referrals and ability to learn from feedback. Don’t forget the STACK Strategy of steadily building; otherwise you will take your focus off the individ- ual customers who will be the lifeblood of your business. MarketingandSales Complicating things even further, the world of marketing is constantly changing with new technology and social media platforms being introduced every day. But the goal of this short book is not to dive into the depths of all the details, but to instead provide a framework for getting a business started, and knowing how to stay on top of the fundamentals.
  • 43. While keeping that in mind, we want to give you a few key marketing strategies for you to focus on as you develop your vision and begin to sell your product or service. Your Ideal Customer As a marketer - and if you are the owner of a small business, chances are you will be required to be a marketer – one of the first questions you must answer is, “Who is my ideal customer?” Spreading the word doesn’t help much if those who are hearing about you aren’t going to buy from you – or if they are going to be more of a headache than what you want to deal with. A good market- ing strategy always involves finding a target market, and directing all efforts toward that end. Stadium Pitch Once you have that ideal customer in mind, you can use a strategy explained by Chet Holmes in the book, Ultimate Sales Machine. Holmes described the “Stadium Pitch” strategy simply as creating a picture in your mind of the absolute perfect customer who would buy your product or service. Once you have that picture in mind, imagine being in a stadium full of that exact person. If you had only a few minutes to sell your product to that stadium of ideal customers what would you want to say? You can’t waste words here. You have to blow them away. Understanding this stadium pitch is important for all selling for three reasons: 1. It keeps you focused on your core mission, 2. It forces you to think about who you are serving and 3. It makes you think in terms of how your product benefits those who would potentially use it. Outward Focus Of all the things you can learn about marketing, the most important thing you can remember is to keep an outward focus. Remember what we said earlier in the book, it’s not about what you want, because you are not the one paying for the product or service. In marketing, you must focus on benefits as opposed to features. When we buy things, we don’t simply think of the purpose involved with the product, but there is actually an emotional attachment we make to what we buy. When you’re selling you have to remember this. If you focus simply on the features you offer, you are only thinking about yourself and a customer can’t make the emotional connection. On the other hand, a good business will have an outward focus toward their ideal customer and will describe how buying from us will benefit you. It’s impossible in this short amount of space to even put a dent in the inexhaustible well of information about sales and marketing. But just like this entire visualize to monetize process – if you are constantly thinking about how to add value to your customer – you will be a natural marketer. When you are outwardly focused on adding value, and you remember the STACK Strategy of building day-by-day, you will find yourself connecting with people, and your message spreading. Don’t expect overnight miracles, but keep these things in mind and you will be on track to your first sale and many more. 41 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM MarketingandSales
  • 44. 42 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM Now we have progressed to the point where we can monetize our business, so the next step is to keep track of the money that comes in and goes out so we can keep the business running. Why Do Businesses Fail? This is a question with many answers and multiple layers, but we can tell you right now two of the most common reasons for failure. 1. The business owner doesn’t pay enough attention to accounting 2. The business owner pays too much attention to accounting Welcome once again to the paradoxical world of entrepreneurship. Businesses exist to make money. Without money, there is no business. Therefore, you have to be aware of the money coming in and going out, as well as how much you have at all times. Many business owners don’t think they can afford any outside help, so they decide to assume full control of the bookkeeping. But this is a time-consuming and thorough process. When a business owner does this, they either spend too much time here and barely keep up with their marketing and customer service, or they end up making bookkeeping mistakes that can cripple the business. On the other hand, many entrepreneurs get so caught up in building their product and promoting it to the people, they barely take into consideration how much money is coming in and whether or not they can pay the bills. So what’s the solution? Well, a huge step is to understand the numbers. The second step is to get help. As a business owner, you will need to have a working knowledge of financial statements so that you can be aware of the health of the business. At the same time, you will want to have just enough of an understanding so that you can interpret reports and leave the rest to your bookkeeper. The Basics Let’s start with what you need to know. Even if you are prepared to hire someone either from outsourcing or to add staff, you will have to have an understanding of the numbers so that you can communicate with them. Bookkeeping contains many layers to account for, but it’s not necessary for you as a business owner to be a bookkeeper. We recommend bringing in a bookkeeper from the outside, and having a solid grasp of the following three financial statements. AccountingandFinance “Remember that the goal of business is profit. It’s not being liked, or having a huge social media presence, or having amazing products that nobody buys. It is not having a beautiful website, or perfectly crafted email newsletters, or an incredibly popular blog…Business is not a popularity contest.” - Chris Guillebeau, The $100 Start-Up Accounting and Finance
  • 45. 43 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM 1. Balance Sheet The balance sheet shows your assets, liabilities and equity. The assets refer to anything you own, liabilities are the money you owe while the equity is the difference between the two. You can remember it by this simple equation. Assets = Liabilities + Equity (Funds put in to start the company plus accumulated profits/losses) 2. Profit and Loss This is a statement, normally recorded monthly – with year to date totals - that simply shows how much money your business is making or losing. The equation here is: Revenues – Expenses = Net Income This is useful, but doesn’t always tell the entire story, because in some cases you will have a major expense in a month, which could be used strategically for the business. This may be a one-time ‘blip’ in your activity and not indicative of your progress. Additionally, this major expense might not be reflected immediately on your Profit and Loss at all since IRS rules may require that the expense be spread over several years (depreciation); even though it required a current cash use (see Cash Flow Statement). In fact, all financial statements should be taken in consideration of the others to paint the full picture of the health of the business. 3. Cash Flow Statement This is the statement that displays where money is coming from and where it is going and highlights the timing differences between this activity – and your other Financial Statements. For example, there are timing differences between your Profit and Loss Statement and when the cash is actually realized or spent. Billing clients has a similar timing effect. The revenue will be reflected immediately on the Profit and Loss – but the related cash flow may be realized much later (depending on credit terms with customers). Again, the Profit and Loss statement may show a profit in earnings when in fact, a cash deficit was realized for the month. AccountingandFinance The aforementioned depreciation is a great example of this. A $60,000 equipment purchase may only be reflected as a one thousand dollar depreciation expense (cost spread over 5 years) on your Profit and Loss in the month of acquisition. Therefore, the Profit and Loss statement may show a profit in earnings when in fact, a cash deficit was realized for the month.
  • 46. 44 TransformYourDreamsintoDollars V2M: VISUALIZE 2 MONETIZE WWW.TREPSCHOOL.COM This in turn highlights a difference between an asset on the balance sheet and the amount of cash you are able (or planning to) to spend – again in regards to timing. You may have accounts receivable related to the billing of customers, but if you aren’t collecting that cash and neglect to keep an eye on your cash flow statement, you could unexpectedly run out of money. This may be obvious but is worth emphasizing: a business needs to have a certain level of cash on hand to sustain operations. Finding Help When you run a business, you must be able to understand what these statements mean specifically for your business. But with that being said, you are not a bookkeeper or accountant. You must understand these statements, but should not take on the responsibility of tracking receipts and counting each dollar. If you are – then you are either spending too much time here and failing to build your business, or you are probably neglecting something important in accounting. This can be a difficult piece for the entrepreneur, because keeping costs down is so important. But the value of a having a reliable bookkeeper will far outweigh the cost. We recommend finding outsourced help in the early stages of businesses, which can be found for a reasonably affordable rate. When you have an accountant to help you keep an eye on your business, you will have the benefit of someone to communicate with about the health of your business. Most importantly, you will have peace of mind that your money is being monitored carefully, and will have the freedom to spend your energy building the business. When to Get Help The question of when to get help can be difficult to answer and depends on the scope of the business. Accounting software can be purchased to help entrepreneurs keep track of it on their own. In the very beginning this might be the best option. But we recommend having someone to at least review the books pretty early on. It’s much better to pay now, then to find out something went horribly wrong and have to bring in someone to fix it. In addition to providing you with peace of mind, having professional help in a bookkeeper is also a key component when seeking funding either from investors or banks. They will want to see a detailed report of how the finances in your business have been working and what they project to do in the future. If your statements are a mess, you will have very little chance of obtaining that funding. Know Enough Like most of entrepreneurship, the role for a business owner with accounting is a double-edged sword. You can’t spend too little or too much time here. We recommend knowing just enough – being fluent in the language of money – but being unafraid to call in outside help to organize the books. The peace of mind and freedom will make it well worth the cost. AccountingandFinance