The Principles Of Mark Cuban
My First Business Rules
Lesson #1: Always ask yourself how someone could preempt your products or service. How can they put you out of business? Is it price? Is it service? Is it ease of use? No product is perfect and if there are good competitors in your market, they will figure out how to abuse you. It’s always better if you are honest with yourself and anticipate where the problems will come from.
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Lesson #2: Always run your business like you are going to be competing with biggest technology companies in your industry—Google, Facebook, Oracle, Microsoft, whomever. They may not be your direct competitors. They may be a vendor. They may be a direct competitor and a vendor.
Whatever they may be to your business, if you are in the technology business in any way shape or form, you have to anticipate that you will have to compete with one of them at some point. I ask myself every week what I would do if they entered any of my businesses.
If you are ready to compete with the big guys, you are ready to compete with anyone else. Watching the best taught me how to run my businesses. Along the way I taught myself a few things.
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The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It’s 7 × 24 × 365 × forever.
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That’s what success is all about. It’s about the edge.
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The One Thing in
Life You Can Control: Effort
That’s the worst way to measure effort. Effort is measured by setting goals and getting results. The one requirement for success in our business lives is effort. Either you make the commitment to get results or you don’t.
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Once you have learned how to learn, then you can try as many different things as you can, recognizing that you don’t have to find your destiny at any given age—you just have to be prepared to run with it when you do.
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The greatest obstacle to destiny is debt, both personal and financial. The more people you are obligated to, the harder it is to focus on yourself and figure things out.
I’m a big believer that getting married is about finding yourself first, which makes it a lot easier to find the right person. If you can’t stand on your own, it’s impossible to successfully be part of a couple.
I’m also a big believer that financial debt is the ultimate dream killer.
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Never settle. There is no reason to rush.
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Going to college should be about experiencing as much academically as you possibly can, but more importantly, it should be about learning how to learn and recognizing that learning is a lifelong endeavor.
School isn’t the end of the learning process; it’s purely a training ground and beginning.
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With every effort, I learned a lot. With every mistake and failure (not only mine, but also of those around me), I learned what not to do. I also got to study the success of those with whom I did business. I had more than a healthy dose of fear, an unlimited amount of hope and, more importantly, no limit on time or effort.
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The point of all this is that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and from those around you because …
All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.
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“Everyone has got the will to win; it’s only those with the will to prepare that do win.”
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That’s the worst way to measure effort. Effort is measured by setting goals and getting results. The one requirement for success in our business lives is effort. Either you make the commitment to get results or you don’t.
-------------------
Once you have learned how to learn, then you can try as many different things as you can, recognizing that you don’t have to find your destiny at any given age—you just have to be prepared to run with it when you do.
-------------------
The greatest obstacle to destiny is debt, both personal and financial. The more people you are obligated to, the harder it is to focus on yourself and figure things out.
I’m a big believer that getting married is about finding yourself first, which makes it a lot easier to find the right person. If you can’t stand on your own, it’s impossible to successfully be part of a couple.
I’m also a big believer that financial debt is the ultimate dream killer.
-------------------
Never settle. There is no reason to rush.
-------------------
Going to college should be about experiencing as much academically as you possibly can, but more importantly, it should be about learning how to learn and recognizing that learning is a lifelong endeavor.
School isn’t the end of the learning process; it’s purely a training ground and beginning.
-------------------
With every effort, I learned a lot. With every mistake and failure (not only mine, but also of those around me), I learned what not to do. I also got to study the success of those with whom I did business. I had more than a healthy dose of fear, an unlimited amount of hope and, more importantly, no limit on time or effort.
-------------------
The point of all this is that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and from those around you because …
All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.
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“Everyone has got the will to win; it’s only those with the will to prepare that do win.”
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In A Lifetime Of Running Businesses I Have Developed A Lot Of Rules That Have Been Almost Infallible. Here Are A Few Of Them That I Use Religiously To This Day:
1. Everyone is a genius in a bull market
Entrepreneurs have to be brutally honest with themselves and recognize where they have added value and where they have gone along for the ride. There is nothing wrong with going along for the ride and making money at it, but it will catch up with you if you lie to yourself and give yourself credit for the ride.
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2. Win the battles you are in before you take on new battles
Pretty much every other strategic element of my businesses I have learned to delegate. I’ve learned to hire people in whom I can build trust, and let them take the ball and run with it. Win the battles you are in first then worry about expansion internationally or into new businesses.
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3. You can drown in opportunity
As an entrepreneur you have to know what the core competencies of your business are and make sure that your company focuses on being the absolute best it can be at executing them.
Bottom line is this: If you are adding new things when your core businesses are struggling rather than facing the challenge, you are either running away or giving up. Rarely is either good for a business. In fact, by chasing these opportunities, you may be assuring that you drown in them.
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Don't Lie to Yourself
Every entrepreneur faces comparable choices. Each of us has to face the reality of who we are and what we are. What choice will you make?
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1. Everyone is a genius in a bull market
Entrepreneurs have to be brutally honest with themselves and recognize where they have added value and where they have gone along for the ride. There is nothing wrong with going along for the ride and making money at it, but it will catch up with you if you lie to yourself and give yourself credit for the ride.
--------
2. Win the battles you are in before you take on new battles
Pretty much every other strategic element of my businesses I have learned to delegate. I’ve learned to hire people in whom I can build trust, and let them take the ball and run with it. Win the battles you are in first then worry about expansion internationally or into new businesses.
--------
3. You can drown in opportunity
As an entrepreneur you have to know what the core competencies of your business are and make sure that your company focuses on being the absolute best it can be at executing them.
Bottom line is this: If you are adding new things when your core businesses are struggling rather than facing the challenge, you are either running away or giving up. Rarely is either good for a business. In fact, by chasing these opportunities, you may be assuring that you drown in them.
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Don't Lie to Yourself
Every entrepreneur faces comparable choices. Each of us has to face the reality of who we are and what we are. What choice will you make?
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The Best Equity Is Sweat Equity “Rules of Success”
The Rules are not infallible. They have their limits.
Rule #1: Sweat equity is the best startup capital
Once I could put the idea on paper, I gave the company a name. From there, I took the most important step: I tried to find people to shoot holes in the name.
Far more often than not, raising cash is the biggest mistake you can make. There are only two reasonable sources of capital for startup entrepreneurs: your own pocket and your customers’ pockets. I personally would never even take money from a family member.
It’s okay to start slow. It’s okay to grow slow. The reality is that for most businesses, they don’t need more cash, they need more brains.
Success is about making your life a special version of unique that fits who you are —not what other people want you to be.
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Connecting To Your Customers
“Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.” “You have to re-earn your customers business every day.”
I personally think that the only way you can connect to your customers is to put yourself in their shoes. For me personally, if I can’t be a customer of my own product, then I probably am not going to do a good job running the company.
In this day and age, it’s a lot easier to proactively communicate than to react.
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It's OK to Be a Whiner
Whining is the first step toward change. It’s the moment when you realize something is very wrong and that you have to take the initiative to do something about it. Sure, criticism usually comes along with the territory. Who cares?
People who don’t whine are punching bags. They just go about their days, their jobs, their lives, knowing there is nothing they can do to change a darn thing, so why say a word? They see no reason to whine because they know they are incapable of effecting change.
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The Rules are not infallible. They have their limits.
Rule #1: Sweat equity is the best startup capital
Once I could put the idea on paper, I gave the company a name. From there, I took the most important step: I tried to find people to shoot holes in the name.
Far more often than not, raising cash is the biggest mistake you can make. There are only two reasonable sources of capital for startup entrepreneurs: your own pocket and your customers’ pockets. I personally would never even take money from a family member.
It’s okay to start slow. It’s okay to grow slow. The reality is that for most businesses, they don’t need more cash, they need more brains.
Success is about making your life a special version of unique that fits who you are —not what other people want you to be.
-------------------
Connecting To Your Customers
“Treat your customers like they own you. Because they do.” “You have to re-earn your customers business every day.”
I personally think that the only way you can connect to your customers is to put yourself in their shoes. For me personally, if I can’t be a customer of my own product, then I probably am not going to do a good job running the company.
In this day and age, it’s a lot easier to proactively communicate than to react.
-------------------
It's OK to Be a Whiner
Whining is the first step toward change. It’s the moment when you realize something is very wrong and that you have to take the initiative to do something about it. Sure, criticism usually comes along with the territory. Who cares?
People who don’t whine are punching bags. They just go about their days, their jobs, their lives, knowing there is nothing they can do to change a darn thing, so why say a word? They see no reason to whine because they know they are incapable of effecting change.
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The Path of Least Resistance
There are certain things in life we all have to do. There are certain things in life we choose to do. Then there is everything else. The things we do to kill time.
In every case, all things being equal, we choose the path of least resistance.
Understanding this concept is key to making good business decisions. Offering content for which the path of least resistance was watching or listening online was a key to our building an audience.
Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you. Put another way, it’s way too hard to shop for shows in a store where the aisles are endless.
It’s also why websites do anything they can to game the system on search engines to get top ranking. They know that no one is going to page through the thousands of results the search returned. Users will pick from the first page or they will pick one of the sponsored ads long before they choose to browse through even a couple pages.
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There are certain things in life we all have to do. There are certain things in life we choose to do. Then there is everything else. The things we do to kill time.
In every case, all things being equal, we choose the path of least resistance.
Understanding this concept is key to making good business decisions. Offering content for which the path of least resistance was watching or listening online was a key to our building an audience.
Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them, not you. Put another way, it’s way too hard to shop for shows in a store where the aisles are endless.
It’s also why websites do anything they can to game the system on search engines to get top ranking. They know that no one is going to page through the thousands of results the search returned. Users will pick from the first page or they will pick one of the sponsored ads long before they choose to browse through even a couple pages.
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Need a Job?
1. Get as broad based a business education as you possibly can. Finance, accounting, sales, more sales, even more sales, management, etc. The better the understanding you have of our customers and how they work, the better value you will be able to provide to the sports organization.
To repeat, it’s more important to know how our customers’ businesses operate than how the sports business operates.
2. If you can sell, you can get a job—anywhere, anytime.
What makes a good salesperson?
Let me be clear that it’s not the person who can talk someone into anything. It’s not the hustler who is a smooth talker.
The best salespeople are the ones who put themselves in their customer’s shoes and provide a solution that makes the customer happy.
The best salesperson is the one the customer trusts and never has to question.
The best salesperson is the one who knows that with every cold call made, he is closer to helping someone.
The best salesperson is the one who takes immense satisfaction from the satisfaction her customer gets.
The best salesperson is the one who wakes up early every morning excited to come to the office, get on the phone and let people know exactly why he loves his product, job and clients.
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1. Get as broad based a business education as you possibly can. Finance, accounting, sales, more sales, even more sales, management, etc. The better the understanding you have of our customers and how they work, the better value you will be able to provide to the sports organization.
To repeat, it’s more important to know how our customers’ businesses operate than how the sports business operates.
2. If you can sell, you can get a job—anywhere, anytime.
What makes a good salesperson?
Let me be clear that it’s not the person who can talk someone into anything. It’s not the hustler who is a smooth talker.
The best salespeople are the ones who put themselves in their customer’s shoes and provide a solution that makes the customer happy.
The best salesperson is the one the customer trusts and never has to question.
The best salesperson is the one who knows that with every cold call made, he is closer to helping someone.
The best salesperson is the one who takes immense satisfaction from the satisfaction her customer gets.
The best salesperson is the one who wakes up early every morning excited to come to the office, get on the phone and let people know exactly why he loves his product, job and clients.
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Taking No
for an Answer and Other Business Mistakes
I take no for an answer. I try to sell good products and services and have ideas that I hope will be successful. If I am selling any of these to someone and they say no, I will always ask for their objections with something like, “Thank you for taking the time to listen/read. Would you mind sharing with me what you didn’t like about the product or why you like the product you chose?” And if I have a good counter to their objection(s), I will let it fly and see what happens. If they still respond negatively to my efforts, so be it. At some point, and that point should come quickly, you have to move on. If you have a good product/service/idea, there will be someone who will understand the value and will want the product. If you keep on pushing with someone who obviously does not want the product for whatever reason, you are making multiple mistakes: 1. You are wasting your and the prospect’s time. Wasting your time means you are not selling to the next prospect. Always remember what I tell myself: “Every no gets me closer to a yes.” You have to move on and start communicating with someone you know might buy your product rather than wasting more time with someone you already know won’t buy your product/service/idea. 2. The more you push someone who has said no, the more likely you are to appear desperate, and that desperation impacts your brand as a salesperson and the brand of the product. Just because it worked for Bud Fox doesn’t mean it will work for you. That was a movie. 3. It’s a sign of fear and laziness. It takes work to find qualified prospects. It also takes courage to overcome the fear of not knowing what will happen next. It is very, very easy to send someone an email every day or even hour. That is what a lazy person is going to do: spend all of two seconds hitting the resend button. A smart, focused and successful salesperson will gear up and do the homework necessary to find their next customer. That is a sign of confidence. If you believe deeply in what you do, it is going to be fun and exciting to find your next customer and show off how amazing your products/service/idea is. If the last person didn’t get it, that’s his or her problem. Not yours. That is what successful businesspeople do. What do you do? ------------------- |
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Living in a Tense Economy, aka Sometimes You Have to Say "WTF!"
I’m here to give you your WTF To-Do List.
1. Recognize that it’s okay to live like a student
It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. It doesn’t matter. Your biggest enemies are your bills. The more you owe, the more you stress. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals. More importantly, if you set your monthly income requirements too high, you eliminate a significant number of opportunities. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that.
2. Take lots of chances
If you are living cheaply and ready to find out where your future lies, now is the time to try anything. WTF-time means fighting through your fears to take a job in a new industry. It means trying different things to find out what it is you love to do. There will be no such thing as too many jobs. In this type of economy getting a job is tough if not often impossible, so you are going to have bust ass to create opportunities for yourself.
Creating opportunities means looking where others are not. Look outside of where all your friends are looking. Make a list of jobs and businesses that are beyond the norm. I know you want to follow your passions and get a job in sports, movies, TV, shooting video for Girls Gone Wild, and other things your friends would love.
But why fight the crowds? Go where people are not. Just like you never thought you would fall in love again after your first heartbreak, you will find another industry or job that you love as much. Move down your list to other things. Then get ready to work. Hard.
In this kind of economy, it really is a numbers game. You are going to have to keep on applying for anything and everything that opens a door you want to walk through. You can never slow down. It’s hard work finding a job!
If you have bills you have to pay, and it means taking a night job in order to keep looking for the day job or to keep a job you want, do it. Be a waiter, a night janitor, wash clothes, sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door—whatever you need to do, all the while reminding yourself that it opens the door to your future.
Then, when you do find a job, remind yourself that you are winging it. Everyone always sees the bright side of the job they just took. You have to. The new job you just scored that you thought would be amazing, will be amazing. Most likely it will be amazing for about three months.
Then you will realize it’s not so amazing and you will need to find something else that’s amazing. That’s okay. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RIGHT EVERY TIME. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE RIGHT ONE TIME. Finding the right job is a lot like dating. It’s hard until you start, then when you start, it’s great until it’s not. Then it’s frustrating as hell until you get it right. But when you do, it all comes together
3. Figure out if you are in the right job
It’s really easy to know if you are in the right job. If it matters how much you get paid, you are not in a job you really love. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t want to make more money. That’s not the issue. The issue is whether or not you truly love your job. If you love what you do so much that you are willing to continue to live like a student in order to be able to stay in the job, you have found your calling.
1. Figure out how to be the best
Once you have found out what you love to do, there is only one goal: to be the best in the world at it. It doesn’t matter if you are a filing clerk, an athlete, an accountant or a bartender. All that matters is that you do whatever you can to be the best. Of course, “the best” is a relative term.
The one person whom you should never believe when it comes to evaluating your abilities? You. The very worst judge of your abilities is you. Self-evaluation is never successful.
When you are the best at something, the demand for your services will grow. People want to hire the best. They want to be associated with the best. In 2012, in this economy, so many people switch jobs and industries, and it’s much easier to stay connected via social networks and other digital means, which means that people who need you can and will find you.
So rather than trying to convince people you are the best, let the quality of your work do the talking
5. Start the day motivated with a positive attitude
You are going to screw up. We all do. No matter what happens, every morning, the minute after you wipe away the crust from your eyes, remind yourself that you are going to enjoy every minute of the day. Each and every experience will serve as motivation and provide great memories when you finally make it all happen. It’s your choice. What are you going to do?
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I’m here to give you your WTF To-Do List.
1. Recognize that it’s okay to live like a student
It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. It doesn’t matter. Your biggest enemies are your bills. The more you owe, the more you stress. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals. More importantly, if you set your monthly income requirements too high, you eliminate a significant number of opportunities. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that.
2. Take lots of chances
If you are living cheaply and ready to find out where your future lies, now is the time to try anything. WTF-time means fighting through your fears to take a job in a new industry. It means trying different things to find out what it is you love to do. There will be no such thing as too many jobs. In this type of economy getting a job is tough if not often impossible, so you are going to have bust ass to create opportunities for yourself.
Creating opportunities means looking where others are not. Look outside of where all your friends are looking. Make a list of jobs and businesses that are beyond the norm. I know you want to follow your passions and get a job in sports, movies, TV, shooting video for Girls Gone Wild, and other things your friends would love.
But why fight the crowds? Go where people are not. Just like you never thought you would fall in love again after your first heartbreak, you will find another industry or job that you love as much. Move down your list to other things. Then get ready to work. Hard.
In this kind of economy, it really is a numbers game. You are going to have to keep on applying for anything and everything that opens a door you want to walk through. You can never slow down. It’s hard work finding a job!
If you have bills you have to pay, and it means taking a night job in order to keep looking for the day job or to keep a job you want, do it. Be a waiter, a night janitor, wash clothes, sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door—whatever you need to do, all the while reminding yourself that it opens the door to your future.
Then, when you do find a job, remind yourself that you are winging it. Everyone always sees the bright side of the job they just took. You have to. The new job you just scored that you thought would be amazing, will be amazing. Most likely it will be amazing for about three months.
Then you will realize it’s not so amazing and you will need to find something else that’s amazing. That’s okay. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RIGHT EVERY TIME. YOU JUST HAVE TO BE RIGHT ONE TIME. Finding the right job is a lot like dating. It’s hard until you start, then when you start, it’s great until it’s not. Then it’s frustrating as hell until you get it right. But when you do, it all comes together
3. Figure out if you are in the right job
It’s really easy to know if you are in the right job. If it matters how much you get paid, you are not in a job you really love. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t want to make more money. That’s not the issue. The issue is whether or not you truly love your job. If you love what you do so much that you are willing to continue to live like a student in order to be able to stay in the job, you have found your calling.
1. Figure out how to be the best
Once you have found out what you love to do, there is only one goal: to be the best in the world at it. It doesn’t matter if you are a filing clerk, an athlete, an accountant or a bartender. All that matters is that you do whatever you can to be the best. Of course, “the best” is a relative term.
The one person whom you should never believe when it comes to evaluating your abilities? You. The very worst judge of your abilities is you. Self-evaluation is never successful.
When you are the best at something, the demand for your services will grow. People want to hire the best. They want to be associated with the best. In 2012, in this economy, so many people switch jobs and industries, and it’s much easier to stay connected via social networks and other digital means, which means that people who need you can and will find you.
So rather than trying to convince people you are the best, let the quality of your work do the talking
5. Start the day motivated with a positive attitude
You are going to screw up. We all do. No matter what happens, every morning, the minute after you wipe away the crust from your eyes, remind yourself that you are going to enjoy every minute of the day. Each and every experience will serve as motivation and provide great memories when you finally make it all happen. It’s your choice. What are you going to do?
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Twelve Cuban Rules for Startups
1. Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love.
2. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.
3. Hire people who you think will love working there.
4. Sales Cure All.
Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales.
5. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them.
Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but are cheap.
6. An espresso machine?
Are you kidding me? Shoot yourself before you spend money on an espresso machine Coffee is for closers. Sodas are free. Lunch is a chance to get out of the office and talk. There are 24 hours in a day, and if people like their jobs, they will find ways to use as much of it as possible to do their jobs.
7. No offices.
Open offices keep everyone in tune with what is going on and keep the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show them how to use the lock on the john. There is nothing private in a startup.
This is also a good way to keep from hiring execs who cannot operate successfully in a startup. My biggest fear was always hiring someone who wanted to build an empire.
8. As far as technology
Go with what you know. That is always the cheapest way. If you know Apple, use it. If you know Vista … ask yourself why, then use it. It’s a startup, there are just a few employees. Let people use what they know.
9. Keep the organization flat.
If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.
10. NEVER EVER EVER buy swag.
A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it’s okay to buy for your own folks, but if you really think someone is going to wear your YoBaby.com polo when they’re out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.
11. NEVER EVER EVER hire a PR firm.
Whenever you consume any information related to your field, get the email of the person publishing it and send them a message introducing yourself and the company. Their job is to find new stuff. They will welcome hearing from the founder instead of some PR flack. Once you establish communication with that person, make yourself available to answer their questions about the industry and be a source for them. If you are smart, they will use you.
12. Make the job fun for employees.
Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them.
Examples -- My first company, MicroSolutions, when we had a record sales month, or someone did something special, I would walk around handing out $100 bills to salespeople. At Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions, we had a company shot. The Kamikaze. We would take people to a bar every now and then and buy one or ten for everyone. At MicroSolutions, more often than not we had vendors cover the tab. Vendors always love a good party.
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1. Don’t start a company unless it’s an obsession and something you love.
2. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession.
3. Hire people who you think will love working there.
4. Sales Cure All.
Know how your company will make money and how you will actually make sales.
5. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them.
Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but are cheap.
6. An espresso machine?
Are you kidding me? Shoot yourself before you spend money on an espresso machine Coffee is for closers. Sodas are free. Lunch is a chance to get out of the office and talk. There are 24 hours in a day, and if people like their jobs, they will find ways to use as much of it as possible to do their jobs.
7. No offices.
Open offices keep everyone in tune with what is going on and keep the energy up. If an employee is about privacy, show them how to use the lock on the john. There is nothing private in a startup.
This is also a good way to keep from hiring execs who cannot operate successfully in a startup. My biggest fear was always hiring someone who wanted to build an empire.
8. As far as technology
Go with what you know. That is always the cheapest way. If you know Apple, use it. If you know Vista … ask yourself why, then use it. It’s a startup, there are just a few employees. Let people use what they know.
9. Keep the organization flat.
If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.
10. NEVER EVER EVER buy swag.
A sure sign of failure for a startup is when someone sends me logo-embroidered polo shirts. If your people are at shows and in public, it’s okay to buy for your own folks, but if you really think someone is going to wear your YoBaby.com polo when they’re out and about, you are mistaken and have no idea how to spend your money.
11. NEVER EVER EVER hire a PR firm.
Whenever you consume any information related to your field, get the email of the person publishing it and send them a message introducing yourself and the company. Their job is to find new stuff. They will welcome hearing from the founder instead of some PR flack. Once you establish communication with that person, make yourself available to answer their questions about the industry and be a source for them. If you are smart, they will use you.
12. Make the job fun for employees.
Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them.
Examples -- My first company, MicroSolutions, when we had a record sales month, or someone did something special, I would walk around handing out $100 bills to salespeople. At Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions, we had a company shot. The Kamikaze. We would take people to a bar every now and then and buy one or ten for everyone. At MicroSolutions, more often than not we had vendors cover the tab. Vendors always love a good party.
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Twelve Cuban Mantras for Success
1. Time is more valuable than money
You have to learn how to use time wisely and be productive. How wisely you use your time will have far more impact on
your life and success than any amount of money.
2. Commit random acts of kindness
Being successful entails being able to not only get along with people, but also to give something back. No one gets to the top on their own, and I believe we all should be able to make those around us smile.
3. No balls, no babies
This is something a blackjack dealer once told me when I asked him if I should hit or stick. It is also my favorite line and probably the thing I tell myself the most. Once you are prepared and you think you have every angle of preparation covered, you have to go for it. No balls, no babies.
4. Work hard, play hard
I went seven years without a vacation, but I sure managed to have fun. You have to find ways to blow off steam so you don’t blow a gasket.
5. Don’t let fear be a roadblock
You can use fear as a roadblock or as motivation. There is always going to be someone who is competing with you, and sometimes they are going to win. Rather than not doing something for fear of losing, take on the challenge.
If you fail, get back up and go for it again. I have been fired from more jobs than most people have had! In the search for success, you can fail any number of times, but you only have to get it right one time.
6. Expect the unexpected, and always be ready
You don’t wake up in the morning with someone telling you that everyone is going to be selling lemonade so whoever sells the most wins. It’s the exact opposite. Life is unpredictable. You never know when a window of opportunity will open or close.
You have to realize this and always know that the game is on. Whatever you are striving to achieve isn’t waiting in one static place for you to find it. It’s the opposite. Everyone has inside of them what it takes to be successful. You just have to be ready
Always ask for bad news first
7. It’s okay to yell and be yelled at
One of the rules I have is that I don’t mind if people raise their voice or even yell a little bit. So I told people that if they thought it was the only way to get through to me, go for it! This may not work for you in corporate America, but anyone in a family business or in a private business of any size with a partner or two knows exactly what I am talking about!
8. Everyone gets down; the key is how soon you get back up
EVERYONE goes through those setback moments. The key is how you fight through them. The people who will be truly successful are those that fight through the quickest and come back stronger and smarter.
9. It’s not whether the glass is half empty or half full, it’s who is pouring the water
The key in business and success at any endeavor is doing your best to control your destiny. You can’t always do it, but you have to take every opportunity you can to be as prepared as—and ahead of—the competition as you possibly can be. Take the lead, and you can control your own destiny.
10. It’s not in the dreaming, it’s in the doing
When I catch myself daydreaming about how I’m going to do this or that, I always try to wake up and ask myself just how I’m going to get from where I am to where I want to be. What EXACTLY is it going to take to DO it, rather than dream about it.
11. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered
Business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.
12. You only have to be right once
The beauty of success, whether it’s finding the girl of your dreams, the right job or financial success, is that it doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once.
No one keeps score. There are so many ways that each of us can find happiness and success in our endeavors, that it never really matters how many times you fail. You only have to be right once. These are some of the things I use to guide myself in different situations.
Maybe they apply to your situation maybe they don’t. That’s up to you to decide.
1. Time is more valuable than money
You have to learn how to use time wisely and be productive. How wisely you use your time will have far more impact on
your life and success than any amount of money.
2. Commit random acts of kindness
Being successful entails being able to not only get along with people, but also to give something back. No one gets to the top on their own, and I believe we all should be able to make those around us smile.
3. No balls, no babies
This is something a blackjack dealer once told me when I asked him if I should hit or stick. It is also my favorite line and probably the thing I tell myself the most. Once you are prepared and you think you have every angle of preparation covered, you have to go for it. No balls, no babies.
4. Work hard, play hard
I went seven years without a vacation, but I sure managed to have fun. You have to find ways to blow off steam so you don’t blow a gasket.
5. Don’t let fear be a roadblock
You can use fear as a roadblock or as motivation. There is always going to be someone who is competing with you, and sometimes they are going to win. Rather than not doing something for fear of losing, take on the challenge.
If you fail, get back up and go for it again. I have been fired from more jobs than most people have had! In the search for success, you can fail any number of times, but you only have to get it right one time.
6. Expect the unexpected, and always be ready
You don’t wake up in the morning with someone telling you that everyone is going to be selling lemonade so whoever sells the most wins. It’s the exact opposite. Life is unpredictable. You never know when a window of opportunity will open or close.
You have to realize this and always know that the game is on. Whatever you are striving to achieve isn’t waiting in one static place for you to find it. It’s the opposite. Everyone has inside of them what it takes to be successful. You just have to be ready
Always ask for bad news first
7. It’s okay to yell and be yelled at
One of the rules I have is that I don’t mind if people raise their voice or even yell a little bit. So I told people that if they thought it was the only way to get through to me, go for it! This may not work for you in corporate America, but anyone in a family business or in a private business of any size with a partner or two knows exactly what I am talking about!
8. Everyone gets down; the key is how soon you get back up
EVERYONE goes through those setback moments. The key is how you fight through them. The people who will be truly successful are those that fight through the quickest and come back stronger and smarter.
9. It’s not whether the glass is half empty or half full, it’s who is pouring the water
The key in business and success at any endeavor is doing your best to control your destiny. You can’t always do it, but you have to take every opportunity you can to be as prepared as—and ahead of—the competition as you possibly can be. Take the lead, and you can control your own destiny.
10. It’s not in the dreaming, it’s in the doing
When I catch myself daydreaming about how I’m going to do this or that, I always try to wake up and ask myself just how I’m going to get from where I am to where I want to be. What EXACTLY is it going to take to DO it, rather than dream about it.
11. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered
Business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.
12. You only have to be right once
The beauty of success, whether it’s finding the girl of your dreams, the right job or financial success, is that it doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once.
No one keeps score. There are so many ways that each of us can find happiness and success in our endeavors, that it never really matters how many times you fail. You only have to be right once. These are some of the things I use to guide myself in different situations.
Maybe they apply to your situation maybe they don’t. That’s up to you to decide.