Valuetainment - 20 Rules for Entrepreneurs

00:00:00.160 Most entrepreneurs like to break rules, but today I'm going to share with you 20 rules

00:00:04.000 for entrepreneurship.

00:00:06.120 By the way, stick around to the very end.

00:00:11.200 I'm not going to give you the 20th rule, but I'm going to give you a PDF that has the 20th

00:00:15.000 rule in it.

00:00:16.000 So let's get right into it.

00:00:17.000 Number one rule, don't let depressions and recessions scare you.

00:00:20.360 That is automatic.

00:00:21.360 Some of the biggest entrepreneurs ever started at the worst time.

00:00:24.640 I started my own insurance company in 2009, which right after 2008, AIG is about to go

00:00:29.120 out of business.

00:00:30.120 Everyone's scared.

00:00:31.120 No one's given contracts.

00:00:32.120 Insurance companies are worried about maybe they're going to go out of business.

00:00:35.620 Bear Stearns went out of business.

00:00:36.620 It was such a terrible time to start a business, but we did not let that scare us.

00:00:41.560 We let it inspire us because every single paper I was reading at that time was telling us,

00:00:47.120 the end of the world is coming.

00:00:48.620 But typically, the biggest entrepreneurs get started during depressions and recessions,

00:00:53.060 so do not let it scare you.

00:00:54.280 Number two, only 1% of PR firms earn every penny that you pay them.

00:00:59.620 And here's what I mean by it.

00:01:00.660 Every PR firm is going to tell you, we're going to share with you how to become viral.

00:01:04.460 We're going to share with you how to get out there and gain customers.

00:01:07.280 And for only $10,000 a month and a six-month contract of $60,000 commitment, we're going

00:01:12.680 to help you XYZ money.

00:01:13.880 And then you do that, and the first month, nothing happens.

00:01:16.280 The second month, they get you one article that's a newswire or whatever.

00:01:19.280 And then third month, maybe they get you on a podcast, and it's like, well, it's because

00:01:25.780 we're trying to get it, but I think what we need to re-strategize, and the whole point

00:01:29.820 is they haven't done a lot.

00:01:30.820 They haven't earned that money.

00:01:31.820 That $30,000 that you paid them for three months, it's been profit.

00:01:34.240 So instead of trying to hire PR firms that act like they can solve every problem for you,

00:01:39.080 be the PR firm.

00:01:40.580 Today, you need to learn how to be the PR firm with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok.

00:01:45.040 There's so many different ways to do it.

00:01:46.780 Start your own podcast, start your own blog, start your own blog.

00:01:49.960 There's so many ways to do it.

00:01:50.960 So rather than hiring a PR firm, you be the PR firm.

00:01:53.700 Number three, distribution is everything.

00:01:56.000 Either find distribution or create distribution.

00:01:59.260 But whatever you're doing, if you have a great product and you don't have distribution, nobody

00:02:03.120 cares.

00:02:04.120 You have to have a great product, but you need to have a distribution.

00:02:06.700 Without a strong distribution channel, there are many great products that are never found.

00:02:10.540 You've got to figure out whether you're going to create that distribution for yourself,

00:02:13.680 or you're going to leverage somebody else's.

00:02:14.940 Number four, you know this whole thing about, don't sweat the small stuff.

00:02:18.800 Don't worry about it.

00:02:19.800 Life is so good.

00:02:20.800 Don't sweat the small stuff.

00:02:22.000 You cannot do that as an entrepreneur.

00:02:23.660 Maybe an artist can do that. 0.99

00:02:25.800 Maybe a person in a completely different world can do that as a business person.

00:02:30.140 If you don't sweat the small stuff.

00:02:31.860 You know what the finance is?

00:02:32.860 Ah, who cares?

00:02:33.860 I don't need to see the statement.

00:02:34.860 It's totally fine.

00:02:35.860 Oh, really?

00:02:36.860 Oh, really?

00:02:37.860 You're going to call your employees, and then they're going to come back and say, hey, my

00:02:41.720 check bounced.

00:02:43.500 And seven of your employees come to you and tell you, my $680 check bounced.

00:02:48.220 How?

00:02:49.220 I don't know.

00:02:50.220 And they say, well, I was telling you.

00:02:51.220 We've got to tell you.

00:02:52.220 Oh my gosh.

00:02:53.220 Well, you weren't sweating the small stuff.

00:02:54.720 Sweat everything.

00:02:55.720 Sweat everything when you first get started.

00:02:58.720 Number five, constantly stay in creation mode.

00:03:01.860 What got you excited about starting a business is you were wanting to create something better.

00:03:06.300 A better way of doing something, a better way of serving the client, a better way of going

00:03:10.300 out there and delivering the product, right?

00:03:12.420 And then that got you to survive the first year, two years.

00:03:15.860 But then sometimes the entrepreneur goes away from creation mode, and they become too logical

00:03:20.060 and boring, and then nothing keeps recreating.

00:03:23.060 There's no new things that are being created constantly stay in creation mode.

00:03:27.420 What if we do this?

00:03:28.420 And what if we do that?

00:03:29.420 Hey, grab a marker.

00:03:30.420 Hey, come on, guys.

00:03:31.420 Let's get in the room.

00:03:32.420 Three, four of us.

00:03:33.420 Hey, what if we did this?

00:03:34.420 What do you think about this?

00:03:35.420 We did this.

00:03:36.420 Constantly, creation mode, creation mode, creation mode, because when you're staying

00:03:40.180 in that, you're looking at new ways of doing things better, right?

00:03:42.980 Number six, manage anxiety.

00:03:44.420 You're going to have a lot of anxiety.

00:03:45.420 It's just going to happen.

00:03:46.420 It's part of the game because you're worried about you're going to run out of money.

00:03:50.580 You're worried about your personal life, your marriage, your relationship, your friendship,

00:03:54.580 your mom, your dad, your brother, your sister, missing birthday parties, missing anniversaries,

00:03:59.860 missing weddings.

00:04:00.860 They're like, oh my gosh, I feel like I'm letting everybody down.

00:04:04.620 What the hell is going on?

00:04:05.620 Is this what I really signed up for?

00:04:08.300 Try to figure out a formula on anxiety.

00:04:11.260 One of the basic things that I always tell people, I had to learn this thing years ago.

00:04:14.360 I made a video about anxiety, I think seven, six years ago when I was going through anxiety

00:04:18.360 attacks myself.

00:04:19.360 It's the following.

00:04:20.360 This is a basic formula.

00:04:22.060 Anytime you get depressed, you're spending too much time thinking about the past.

00:04:25.860 Anytime you get too anxious, you're spending way too much time thinking about the future.

00:04:29.620 Anytime you're peaceful, you're here.

00:04:31.780 So as an entrepreneur, we're typically living here, right?

00:04:34.880 One day, one day, one day.

00:04:37.040 That's fine because you're casting a vision while we're going, but it's not like, well,

00:04:40.320 what if this doesn't work out?

00:04:41.320 There's a big difference between vision and anxiety because vision is like one day we're

00:04:44.180 going to be the biggest, one day we're going to be da-da-da-da versus, oh my gosh, what

00:04:47.620 if this thing doesn't happen next week?

00:04:49.120 What if that thing doesn't happen?

00:04:50.120 What if this, what if, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety, anxiety.

00:04:52.800 So have that pendulum in your head.

00:04:54.860 Why am I getting depressed?

00:04:55.860 I'm spending too much time thinking about the decision I made six months ago.

00:04:58.560 That was the wrong one.

00:04:59.560 Get over it.

00:05:00.560 Learn from it.

00:05:01.560 Let's move on.

00:05:02.560 Oh my gosh.

00:05:03.560 I can't even breathe.

00:05:04.560 Can't control that.

00:05:05.560 Stay right here.

00:05:06.560 Okay?

00:05:07.560 Next, number seven, focus on vision when you want to quit.

00:05:08.560 There's going to be times you don't feel like doing this thing anymore.

00:05:10.560 It just doesn't make any sense to you.

00:05:11.560 Say, why did I get started in the first place?

00:05:13.800 What's the vision?

00:05:14.800 Resell it to yourself over and over and over again because you will need it and there will

00:05:19.900 be times when you want to quit.

00:05:22.220 Number eight, listen to your critics.

00:05:24.060 Here's what I mean by listen to your critics.

00:05:25.560 He said, don't listen to critics, they're haters, they're this, they're that.

00:05:29.120 You have no idea how much I would want to hear what the critics were saying, but let

00:05:35.360 me explain to you why.

00:05:37.240 Because critics, they don't know how to do this and let me explain.

00:05:41.560 And they know what you're doing wrong that you haven't learned yet.

00:05:47.120 Because somebody who's ahead of you, they have experience.

00:05:49.960 And they probably shouldn't tell you your weakness.

00:05:54.360 Because if they tell you and improve that, now you can compete against them, right?

00:05:57.920 So critics don't know how to do that.

00:05:59.120 They emotionally are so much about making sure everybody knows that they're bigger than you,

00:06:05.240 that they forget to do that.

00:06:06.240 And they'll say, oh yeah, that company, well let me tell you what that company does.

00:06:08.800 And they'll tweet it.

00:06:09.800 And they'll Facebook it.

00:06:10.800 Or they'll comment.

00:06:11.800 Or they'll say something like, you know what, he's right.

00:06:15.960 We do need somebody in this area, huh?

00:06:19.120 Thank you for the feedback, hater, appreciate you.

00:06:22.060 And I didn't even need to pay your consulting fee.

00:06:24.420 You're fantastic.

00:06:25.420 I'll send you a thank you letter 10 years from now.

00:06:27.760 You're the best, right?

00:06:28.760 So think about it from that mindset.

00:06:30.260 I cannot believe he said this to me.

00:06:32.260 Relax.

00:06:33.260 I'll be making you a lot of money by giving you that criticism.

00:06:36.260 Number nine, find your blue ocean.

00:06:37.880 Figure out a way to do something that's different than everybody else's.

00:06:41.260 And if you've never read the book Blue Ocean Strategy, the whole idea is do something that

00:06:44.440 differentiates yourself from the entire marketplace.

00:06:47.580 Don't be like a me too company.

00:06:49.720 Figure out a way to be different than all your peers.

00:06:51.920 If you haven't read Blue Ocean, it's probably my top three business books that I recommend

00:06:55.680 to every entrepreneur.

00:06:57.420 I highly recommend you go buy that book.

00:06:58.880 I don't make money off of it.

00:06:59.880 I didn't write it.

00:07:00.880 A guy named W.C.

00:07:01.880 Chen wrote it.

00:07:02.880 We'll put the link below.

00:07:03.880 Number 10, win the right people over.

00:07:07.480 Sometimes people are going to be like, well, I don't care if I'm done.

00:07:10.060 I don't care what people are thinking.

00:07:11.640 I don't care this, this, this, that.

00:07:13.720 It may be good posts for Instagram.

00:07:15.880 It may be good posts for Facebook or Twitter, but it ain't good for business.

00:07:19.420 You do need to win the right people over.

00:07:21.600 Like for me, I had to win the right people over.

00:07:24.820 When I first started the insurance company and I went to a state and I met with the CEO

00:07:28.660 and I got the contract.

00:07:30.500 Two months later, I lose that contract.

00:07:32.760 I couldn't have said, the hell with this guy.

00:07:35.100 I'm never going to do business with this guy. 0.73

00:07:37.100 No, no, no.

00:07:38.100 I sat there and I said, okay, I got to figure out a way to win this guy over.

00:07:40.100 You know how long it took me to win that guy over?

00:07:42.280 Five years.

00:07:43.480 But I had to win him over because I wanted that product.

00:07:46.160 I wanted that business.

00:07:47.160 So you have to be sitting there saying, who is it that I want to win over, then put a

00:07:51.340 strategy to go out and win this person over.

00:07:53.700 Maybe it's through execution results.

00:07:55.640 Maybe it's through winning over the five people that they respect the most and they go and

00:08:00.080 tell that person, did you know what this guy's doing?

00:08:01.960 But you got to figure out a way to win the right people over.

00:08:04.660 So make a list of the right people and put a strategy to go win those people over.

00:08:07.960 Number 11, celebrate fast.

00:08:10.020 You know, a lot of people celebrate way too long.

00:08:12.580 When you're small, you don't have time to celebrate for a week and get away.

00:08:15.760 No.

00:08:16.760 Oh my gosh, we just got our 200 customer.

00:08:18.940 This is sick.

00:08:19.940 It's so awesome.

00:08:20.940 Boom.

00:08:21.940 Awesome.

00:08:22.940 Da-da-da-da-da-da.

00:08:23.940 Next.

00:08:24.940 Write it in.

00:08:25.940 Oh my gosh, we just got our 200 customer.

00:08:26.940 Babe, let's go to Vegas for a week.

00:08:27.940 Okay, now you're about to go out of business.

00:08:30.100 So don't celebrate too long.

00:08:32.380 Figure out a way to celebrate fast.

00:08:34.380 Number 12, your award matters more when you're small.

00:08:37.260 When I was small and nobody respected me because I was just getting started, if I told you I'm

00:08:42.060 going to be there at three, I'm there at 245.

00:08:45.300 If I told you I'm going to pay back on the 25th, I paid you back on the 20th.

00:08:49.620 If I told you I'm going to send an email with the nine points, I'm going to send that email

00:08:53.680 to you with nine points.

00:08:55.060 Your word matters, your word's going to matter forever, but your word matters a million times

00:09:00.920 more when you're small, a million times more.

00:09:04.540 Anything you ask, anything people ask of you, do it because, so eventually the repetition

00:09:10.620 got out there and said, who's this Patrick David guy?

00:09:12.620 Oh, if he says he's going to do this, they're going to do it.

00:09:15.420 They're going to do it.

00:09:16.420 Oh really?

00:09:17.420 He said this, oh, did he ask those two questions for me at the end where he says, so when can

00:09:21.940 I expect to get back on this and if I do this and when can we expect to get this?

00:09:25.220 Yes.

00:09:26.220 He asked it from everybody.

00:09:27.220 Oh, okay, great.

00:09:28.220 So yeah, that's kind of how he is, but he's going to deliver.

00:09:30.060 I wanted that reputation when I was small, so it's going to matter to you a lot.

00:09:33.560 Number 13, sometimes entrepreneurs become entrepreneurs because they don't want to ask anybody for help,

00:09:39.380 but there's no way in the world you're going to do anything big without being able to ask

00:09:42.080 people for help.

00:09:43.080 This is advice of yours.

00:09:44.720 Get used to asking people for help.

00:09:47.920 If you don't, you will be out of business in no time because you need a lot of help to

00:09:52.960 run a business.

00:09:53.880 Next, number 14, be aggressively patient.

00:09:57.580 Be aggressive.

00:09:58.580 You're playing offense.

00:09:59.580 You're doing all that other stuff, but at the same time, you're patient.

00:10:01.700 Some stuff is just going to take a long time, right?

00:10:04.660 My dad would always say, no matter what you do, no matter how much money you got, no matter

00:10:08.500 how much you can lift, no matter how many books you read, no matter what you do, 40 weeks

00:10:13.340 is baby.

00:10:14.340 God tells you.

00:10:15.340 It's 40 weeks.

00:10:16.340 Do whatever you want to do.

00:10:17.340 You can have all the money in the world.

00:10:18.340 40 weeks.

00:10:19.340 Some things require patience.

00:10:20.500 Some things you can't force for it to come quickly, right?

00:10:23.180 You got to wait for that.

00:10:24.300 Certain things.

00:10:25.300 You do your part.

00:10:26.300 You work your tail off.

00:10:27.300 You do your thing, but at the same time, be patient about it.

00:10:29.620 Not just patient, but aggressively patient.

00:10:31.820 Number 15, it's okay to be lucky.

00:10:33.620 A lot of people are like, well, I don't like it when he told me you're lucky.

00:10:37.340 You know, lucky is when preparation meets, that's what luck is.

00:10:41.780 I didn't get lucky.

00:10:42.900 I worked.

00:10:43.900 Listen.

00:10:44.900 Call me lucky.

00:10:45.900 I could care less.

00:10:46.900 You can call me lucky all you want.

00:10:47.900 You're right.

00:10:48.900 Because I welcome getting lucky.

00:10:50.940 My son says, the other day, because we had a conversation about it, he says, what's your

00:10:55.520 middle name?

00:10:56.520 James.

00:10:57.520 What's Tico's middle name?

00:10:58.520 Gabriel.

00:10:59.520 What's Senna's middle name?

00:11:00.520 Rose.

00:11:01.520 What's Brooklyn's middle name?

00:11:02.520 Ivy.

00:11:03.520 What's Daddy's middle name?

00:11:04.520 The other kids say, Daddy doesn't have a middle name.

00:11:06.520 He says, yes, he does.

00:11:07.520 He told me.

00:11:08.520 If they let him make a middle name, his middle name's going to be lucky.

00:11:11.960 I said, yes, because your daddy's so lucky.

00:11:13.960 I don't mind being lucky.

00:11:15.960 Okay?

00:11:16.960 So, welcome luck.

00:11:17.960 Like, don't have the pride to not welcome luck, because luck wants to be attracted to

00:11:21.900 a person that's okay getting lucky.

00:11:22.960 I don't mind getting lucky.

00:11:24.960 Okay?

00:11:25.960 It's okay when you're getting lucky as well.

00:11:26.960 Don't complain about it.

00:11:27.960 Join a local advisory group, like whatever you can find.

00:11:31.960 We do our own thing.

00:11:32.960 We have our masterminds.

00:11:33.960 I have a general mastermind.

00:11:34.960 I have an elite mastermind.

00:11:35.960 And there are certain qualifications to be a part of it.

00:11:37.960 I run quite a few per month with CEOs around the world.

00:11:40.880 If you want to apply for it, we'll put the link below.

00:11:42.560 But I recommend, go find one of them.

00:11:44.360 Go to Vistage.

00:11:45.360 Go to YPO.

00:11:46.360 Whatever you can find that there is a local advisory group, go find it.

00:11:51.200 They are so effective.

00:11:52.480 They're so proven, because you're learning about challenges other people are also going

00:11:56.880 through where you're not alone.

00:11:58.000 Many times, you'll come in and share your problem, and you may get the answer to the

00:12:01.280 problem you had.

00:12:02.520 But the other six people shared their problems, and you needed to learn from their problems

00:12:06.560 more than the problem that you actually had.

00:12:08.480 I don't know if this makes sense.

00:12:09.360 So, there's an element to being part of the right advisory group.

00:12:12.160 Number 17, keep networking.

00:12:14.240 Keep shaking hands.

00:12:15.240 It's COVID time, so they say, don't shake hands.

00:12:16.760 I always ask the question when I put my hand out there.

00:12:18.640 John, do you shake hands?

00:12:19.760 I do.

00:12:20.760 Here we go.

00:12:21.760 Do you do this?

00:12:22.760 You tell me.

00:12:23.760 I'm good either way.

00:12:24.760 But constantly be shaking hands.

00:12:25.760 Constantly be sitting there networking, meeting with people, talking to them.

00:12:28.040 What about this?

00:12:29.040 What about that?

00:12:30.040 What about this?

00:12:31.040 Constantly be doing that, because you never know what that one relationship is going

00:12:34.480 to lead you to, technology, partnership, investment.

00:12:38.080 So keep networking.

00:12:39.080 And by the way, I have a video I did on networking.

00:12:40.880 Remind me, Kai, at the end that I'm going to put that as one of them.

00:12:42.840 Number 18, don't worry about being embarrassed by the

00:12:45.160 MVP.

00:12:46.160 Too often we want the perfect product.

00:12:47.560 Do you know what our first website had?

00:12:48.560 Let me tell you what our first website had.

00:12:50.480 Our first website, I had this idea, because I was playing so much Sudoku.

00:12:54.920 I don't know if you know the game Sudoku.

00:12:56.880 Our first website had, an insurance company's website, had daily horoscope on there.

00:13:02.480 Who the hell in the insurance industry would think about putting a daily horoscope?

00:13:06.940 This guy did, because he thought it was a great idea.

00:13:09.480 Think about that idea right there.

00:13:10.940 I had Sudoku on my site, because I said, people are going to come here, they're going to play

00:13:14.860 Sudoku, and they're going to see the interest on other products that we offer.

00:13:18.500 Maybe they're going to buy a product from us, but they're going to play Sudoku.

00:13:21.060 That was my website.

00:13:22.220 Can you imagine how crazy that is?

00:13:23.220 Right?

00:13:24.220 And people are like, what is this guy thinking about?

00:13:26.340 They were making fun of it.

00:13:27.620 I don't care. 0.94

00:13:29.100 You have to be a bit shameless.

00:13:30.940 Do not worry about being embarrassed about your first MVP, your first product that you

00:13:36.720 have.

00:13:37.720 Do not try to be the perfect product right off the bat.

00:13:39.940 Just be okay with the fact that you're launching, because by the feedback you get from people,

00:13:42.720 you're going to get better at it.

00:13:43.720 Number 19, constantly read biographies.

00:13:46.340 Now, let me tell you what I mean by biographies.

00:13:48.640 Go read Teddy Roosevelt's biography.

00:13:50.880 Go read Jobs' biography.

00:13:53.560 Go read other people that were building a business that did something and they won.

00:13:58.400 The other day I watched a Schumacher documentary, watched a Senna documentary, watched documentaries

00:14:02.600 of people that went through a lot of hardship and they won.

00:14:06.760 Here's why.

00:14:08.040 Because what happens is you're sitting and you're going through hardship and you feel

00:14:10.720 sorry for yourself.

00:14:12.440 And you hear, read a hardship about Teddy Roosevelt that lost his kid or lost his wife and you're

00:14:16.560 like, what are you bitching about? 1.00

00:14:19.500 Would you exchange your problem of working this many hours versus this guy?

00:14:23.180 Yeah, I'm sorry, Teddy.

00:14:24.180 You keep your problems.

00:14:25.180 I'm good.

00:14:26.180 Stop whining and get back to work, right?

00:14:28.740 So reading the right biographies or watching the right documentaries can actually give you

00:14:33.840 more hope and more confidence to go out there and do your work.

00:14:36.620 So I highly recommend reading the right biographies.

00:14:39.320 If you want to get a list on it, maybe send me a tweet at Patrick David.

00:14:41.940 I may give you a few biographies for you to consider reading.

00:14:44.180 Having said that, 20th rule, if you want to text the word BUSINESS to 310-340-1132.

00:14:49.860 One more time, text the word BUSINESS to 310-340-1132.

00:14:55.240 Or if you're international, click on the link below, subscribe to our newsletter and we'll

00:14:58.700 send them a PDF with point number 20 on it.

00:15:00.860 I've got two other videos I want you to watch.

00:15:02.940 One of them is 10 things to do before you become an entrepreneur.

00:15:05.580 Some of you guys may be employees, you're thinking about it.

00:15:07.940 Maybe I want to do it, maybe I don't want to do it.

00:15:09.860 10 things to do before you become an entrepreneur, and the other one is 14 tips on networking.

00:15:15.420 How Casanova ... I did some network like Casanova.

00:15:17.740 If you've never watched it, I explained how I network.

00:15:20.840 So either one of these, click on and watch them.

00:15:23.200 And if you've got a lot of value from the video, give us a thumbs up.

00:15:25.740 Subscribe to the channel.

00:15:26.740 Take care everybody.

00:15:27.740 Bye-bye.

Valuetainment - October 05, 2021

20 Rules for Entrepreneurs

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