Before college, Alex Fletcher’s only work experience was as a maintenance technician at an apartment complex for his father’s company. Alex kept busy carrying refrigerators upstairs and getting apartments ready for their next tenants. He moved out to Colorado to attend CU Boulder, starting a degree in Architecture only to find out he was more passionate about Business.

Alex is a problem-solver, and while in college, he noticed a ton of problems people were ignoring, especially in the outdoor travel industry. As a passionate mountain biker and snowboarder, he saw how limited the sector was and he asked himself, “What is holding this industry back?”

The outdoor industry wasn’t helping itself, so he did what all entrepreneurs do: start a business to solve the problem.

It’s difficult to be an entrepreneur — whether you’re a recent college graduate or have managed multiple companies. One year into his first business, this is what Alex wishes he knew before starting his own company right after graduating college.

1. Don’t start a company right out of college

When you’re a freshly graduated student, there is a lot you don’t know, especially about running a business. It’s why the average age of an entrepreneur is 42 years old. When we graduate, we don’t really know what a “good customer” is. We also usually don’t know all the ins and outs of the market we want to get into.

What happens for a lot of young entrepreneurs is they start too early. They neglect the time it takes to gain proper real-life experience and eventually fizzle out from so much rejection and loss.

Especially right out of college, it’s easy to fall into decision paralysis. When you’re in college, you analyze reports and focus immense time and energy on the tiny details. If you take as much time doing that in the real world, it’s going to be too late. Your startup becomes irrelevant.

Instead, focus on the problem you want to solve. Talk to the people who are experiencing the problem, and then build your solution. Quickly. Solve the rest later.

Become comfortable with rejection

Entrepreneurs have to get really comfortable with rejection, especially as a first-time founder. One way to do this before starting your own business is by working for a startup or small fast-paced company in your field. In fact, 58% of entrepreneurs worked at corporations before starting their own company. This is how you learn to handle rejection because fundraising is difficult. You’ll be told 100 times “no” before you get your first “yes.”

For Alex at Origin, a scheduling and booking platform for outdoor guiding companies, he soon realized that for the company to grow exponentially, they’d need thousands of customers because of how fragmented the market is. Other SaaS platforms in other industries may only need a few hundred customers. But he has passion.

Alex gets to talk to people who love the outdoors. Even though it’s going to take more work to hit the critical mass needed for a successful platform, it’s all worth it because he loves the industry and market.

You need to be passionate about your business. It can’t just be about the money. You must have a passion for the problem and a love for building great products.

Choose what you want to be in for.

2. Work at a startup before building your own

If you want to be an entrepreneur or want to build a startup but don’t have an idea just yet, find a job at a startup first. This is what most founders do. It’s why entrepreneurs are 125% more successful when they’ve worked at a previous job in the same industry they want to get into.

It can be a small and nimble startup like Origin, or a company with 50 employees and hiring more every quarter. The important thing is to gain experience with how fast-paced companies operate, the relationships you need to be successful, and all the different hats you’ll have to wear. You won’t get this experience in college. In fact, if you build a startup without much experience right out of college, it’s like getting “drop-kicked into the real world,” says Alex.

To recruit and fundraise, it helps to have this experience and helps to have it shown on LinkedIn. Angel investors, venture capital firms, accelerators, and (maybe) the newer equity crowdfunding will look to see if you have previous experience in startups. Without it, it could be a hard sell to prove that you have the chops to make them money in the future.

The same goes for recruiting employees. Having previous work experience proves that you know what it takes to provide security and reliability for someone looking at your job descriptions.

Go lean with your planning

Finally, in startup culture, few care about your 40-page business plan they made you create in business school. Chances are that by the time it’s done printing, it could be outdated with a new idea or new information you have about your business. A startup is about execution and speed, so you need to start lean.

You need your minimum viable product (MVP), you need to show how you’re better than competitors, you need good leadership skills, and you need traction. You learn this a lot faster by working at other startups first.

3. Don’t start your company alone

It’s nearly impossible to establish a startup alone. In business school, everyone wants to start a company. They think it’s just going to be them, they’re going to make all the money, and they won’t need anyone’s help. 

More often than not, whatever it is you are building will require a complementary skill set, whether that’s business/finance, sales/marketing, or design/engineering. 

When you’re working at a startup before building your own, you’re actually more likely to meet someone who also wants to found a start-up. Not just that, but working for a startup grows your personal and professional network. You could also find people with complementary skills you might lack. It took Alex a long time to find an engineer to partner with without the network gained from working at a startup first.

That’s the tricky part. As a founder, you have to be good at everything or at least understand every part of the business. If you can’t jump in to help with a task, then you’re falling behind by not being able to move forward fast enough. Alex understood he knew next to nothing about software development and engineering, so he searched for an engineer. He also wasn’t a pro at marketing, so he looked for marketers. 

You don’t have to be good at everything

It’s normal to not be good at everything. Part of assembling a team is finding people who bring value. It doesn’t help your business grow by hiring someone who doesn’t have the necessary skills. 

For instance, if you delegate tasks too early and don’t choose the right person, you may spend too much money and do a lot of hand-holding to make sure your employee knows how to do certain tasks. This slows you down.

Not only is it important to find people who are skilled, but you want to find like-minded individuals who are also passionate about the problems you’re solving. There’s nothing like the camaraderie that comes with a team. You get to experience all the significant milestones your company accomplishes. At the same time, there are people who will commiserate with you when things don’t go according to plan.

Build a team and find people who are passionate about the same issues as you.

4. Your team is your biggest asset

People are the most important part of starting a company. It’s key to attract and maintain the best people. One of the top reasons startups fail is due to their team. In fact, 23% of startups that don’t succeed didn’t have the right team.

It’s not just startups. You’ll find that with any company. Your biggest challenges and biggest wins will be around people. In order to succeed, you need a great team. 

Find like-minded people who get excited about what you’re doing. When Alex interviewed Jessica, their Digital Marketing Specialist, they spent most of the interview talking about mountain bikes and how they wanted to make them more accessible to others. It’s important to Alex to find people who can relate to the problems he wants Origin to solve. He also wanted to make sure he was working with people who wanted to help the company move forward.

Having a team of people who support each other and push the company forward is the number one way that will help you succeed. Make sure you have a great product that solves a problem. Find people you can rely on so you don’t have to do it all alone. Learn from other businesses. And don’t forget to keep making strides forward, no matter how small and insignificant they might feel at the time. 

As I write this, during the worst pandemic in 100 years, in the grips of a severe economic slowdown — let’s all hope it’s just recession, not depression — people still want to start new businesses. 

We still come up with new business ideas. Some ideas come from the new problems we are experiencing, some are long-standing good ideas, some would work now, and some would work only after the economy reopens and recovers. These ideas still deserve a process to help sift and sort through, as you weed out the bad ones, and pull up the best ones. 

This post reviews the fundamentals related to dealing with new business ideas, crisis, or not.

The goal is good guessing, not certainty.

Before we get into the specifics, we need to remember one essential truth related to new business ideas: you have to guess. You don’t get to be sure, ever. Starting a new business is risky, and no matter how much data you get, no matter how well you plan, you still have risk. And, furthermore, you’re looking at the future, so you are still guessing. 

No amount of research or data eliminates uncertainty. You can create prototypes, do surveys, even take initial orders, but you can’t fully anticipate what’s going to happen if and when you actually launch and start selling. Uncertainty is part of the realities of startups. Entrepreneurs live with it.

Therefore, from the outset, don’t aim for being sure or certain. Aim for as strong an educated guess as you can make. Aim to reduce uncertainty, not eliminate it. Educate those guesses as much as you can, but don’t expect to eliminate them.

Step one: Define success

Start with thinking through what you want from your business. Maybe it’s financial success, maybe freedom and independence, maybe just a way to make a living on your own terms, or maybe you want to change the world. Some want fame and fortune like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. 

And in these times of crisis, some want to get through the financial crisis caused by the pandemic and make a decent living to replace the jobs or business they may have lost. It makes a big difference to what you look for and what you want to test.

It’s not like the questions and the process are different for each variation on what’s considered a success. You should just keep this in mind as you go through the other steps.

Step two: A step back and a critical look

In the real world, you don’t go straight to prototype, surveys, market testing, or whatever. You take a step back from your idea and give it a good hard critical look. You realize that good ideas are like fly traps, they catch you and draw you in. So, you fight the urge to fall in love from a distance. You pull away and review it critically.

The first big question is whether or not people really want what your new business will sell. You’re probably in love with it. You’d buy it. But can you separate your own view from inside the idea from what it looks like to everyone else? You have to start by trying to see it objectively.

Take the leap, by force of your own will, to look at the product or service like an adversary, or devil’s advocate. Accept that there’s a fatal flaw that you’re not seeing, and look harder for it. If you have access to some people you can truly trust, who have some insight into the area you’re considering, then ask them. But be careful. People will tend to tell you what you want to hear. That’s human. 

So pose your questions in a way that frames the problem in the negative. Ask them to please tell you what’s wrong with it? What are you forgetting? What are you not thinking about, or not seeing, that they see?

The goal here is the “aha!” factor. Finding out what you’re missing, that others see. Counterexamples, competition, all the possible reasons why not. And this is the first big abandonment point. If your idea doesn’t survive this test, then it’s a no-go. Consider it tested and failed.

Learn more about testing your business idea.

Step three: List what has to happen

Make a list of concrete specific things that would have to happen, with an estimate for each of what it would take in time, resources, and skills/expertise. Don’t list everything; just a few major items, the essentials. We call these milestones.

For example, in a retail store, the list might include writing an initial business plan, choosing a location, fix-up and fixtures, signage, initial stock, staffing, and marketing your launch. For a software-driven online business, the milestones might include an initial business plan, getting the right people on board, website specs, design, first website launch, marketing launch, and so forth. Whatever business you’re considering would involve some major milestones.

Learn more about setting milestones for your business idea.

If you can’t make that list

If, however, you can’t make such a list, then that’s an important input. You were testing a business idea. If you don’t know enough about it to make this list, you have a dream but not a real business idea. You have to find out a lot more. 

You either partner with somebody, or take a job in that industry, or let it go. We all have dreams. A business idea is something different. Here too, consider it tested and failed.

Or, once you have the list

Once you have that list, then stop, breathe, and think. Can you do it? Is it reasonable? Ask yourself the following critical questions:

Regarding you and other people

Do you have the knowledge, experience, and skills you’ll need? Can you do it yourself or do you need some other people? If you do need others, can you identify the skills and experience those others need to have? And if so, can you find them? Can you get them to join?

Regarding financial resources

Just a broad-brush at first, but try to think through what financial resources you have and what level of financial resources you might need. You should know what you have. But you’ll have to guess what you might be able to access. Make it an educated guess. 

Start with whether you’ll need tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands, or millions. If you have no idea, you’re not ready yet. In idea testing and startups in general, we don’t get the luxury of not having any idea. Some idea of the general scale is required. For a simple quick view, you might learn more about startup funding. And look as well for articles on business loans, angel investors, and friends and family funding. 

Regarding any other doubts and contingencies

Be honest with yourself, and skeptical too. If you can’t see these milestones being accomplished or don’t know how then be careful. Maybe this means that your idea just failed the test.

Still there? Passing so far? Do a lean business plan

If you can, then you’ve now broken your uncertainty into more manageable pieces, and you’re over your block. Get going. Develop a lean business plan. It’s not a full formal business plan, not even close. It’s just a page, bullet-point lists, and tables, for yourself. Write down for yourself and your early team the key bullet points of strategy (about the problem you solve, why you solve it, why you, strategic focus) and execution and tactics, and essential projections including sales forecasts, expense budgets, unit economics, and cash flow.

Use the lean business plan to test whether you know enough to go further. As with your list of major milestones, if you can’t do this, then you aren’t ready. It may be a good business idea, but you need more help to be able to decide. Turn to people you trust to help you flesh out your plan.

Don’t just hire a consultant; you need to do this first basic lean business plan by yourself. But if you aren’t sure where to start, you can download our free lean plan template or get step-by-step guidance with a tool like LivePlan.

Conclusion: a good decision based on educated guessing

Don’t aim for certainty. Understand that in doing a new business, you don’t get to certainty. What you want instead is a truly educated guess.

Don’t be afraid to say no and not go forward. If this method saves you from starting a bad business, hooray.

If you do go forward, understand the risk. Plan well, revise the plan often, and execute.

This article is part of our Business Startup Guide—a curated list of our articles that will get you up and running in no time! It’s also part of our Bplans guide to coming up with a great idea.

For some people, coming up with ideas is as easy as spotting chewing gum on the sidewalk. For others, it’s nearly impossible.

For me, new idea generation isn’t just easy, it’s something I’m doing all the time and often without trying. I do not believe this is an innate ability, but rather a “skill” that I’ve learned and practiced over the entire course of my life.

While this “learning” has primarily been subconscious, as I’ve run into more and more people who struggle to come up with new ideas, I’ve made an effort to become conscious of how I do it and where I do it best. The fact that research on the subjects of creativity and innovation has become so popular certainly helps too.

I fully believe that anyone who puts in enough practice and who makes a conscious effort to notice problems and identify needs can improve their ability to come up with new ideas.

A brief bit of science before we dive into how to come up with ideas:

Good ideas are networks

The brain is largely composed of neurons—about 100 billion of them. Connected together, they form a nervous system that is capable of making decisions, sensing surroundings, and issuing commands to our body.

How we think, what we think, and what we’re capable of, are largely a consequence of the connections these neurons have made with one another.

Every feeling, every thought, every memory, and every sensation you have is a direct result of the signals that pass between the neurons in your brain.

In fact, something particularly interesting about the human brain is its ability to rewire these connections and to make new connections, regardless of age. Neuroscientists refer to this property as “plasticity.” And, the more experiences we have and the more changes in behavior or environment that we experience, the more plastic the brain becomes, or, the more capable of making new connections and rewiring old connections.

This is why, in our older years when most of us do less and use our brains less, we have a harder time remembering information and controlling bodily actions. Our brain has not stopped being plastic, but has simply fallen out of the habit of making new connections.

A similar difference exists for those in the habit of generating new ideas and those who aren’t. The more practice you get doing it, the better your brain will become at creating new connections. Simply put, the more active you keep your brain, the easier you will find it to come up with new, good ideas!

The perfect state of mind for idea creation

Steve Johnson, the author of “Where Good Ideas Come From,” has spent years researching and writing about this subject.

He believes that you are more likely to develop great ideas when:

• You explore and experiment in different areas
• You allow your idea to develop slowly, over time
• You are exploring and open to the idea of serendipitous connections
• You make mistakes
• You look for new uses for old inventions
• You build on platforms that have come before

If you read his book, it will become obvious fairly quickly that the environments you spend time in contribute to or detract from your ability to ideate.

“In order to create new connections, you need to place yourself in environments that actually mimic the neural networks of a mind exploring the boundaries of the adjacent possible.”

– Steve Johnson

When humans first organized themselves into dense settlements, innovation soared.

With the invention of agriculture, for the first time, humans began forming settled groups that numbered in the thousands. This meant that more connections with more people were possible and that a good idea could quickly spill over and take root in others’ minds.

If you keep this in mind as you work, live, and experiment, you’ll quickly realize that it’s a lot easier to come up with new ideas when you’ve got an influx of ideas coming your way in the first place. This doesn’t have to happen in a city, a university, or an environment full of people; it can just as easily happen if you’re interacting with ideas from many people online, in books, and across other modes of communication. The key is “connectedness.”

With this in mind, let’s move on to how you can actually go about coming up with business ideas.

1. Business ideas that solve problems

The easiest way to come up with business ideas is to solve the problems you have. The second easiest is to solve problems others have. These don’t have to be big solutions like Google search or Amazon—they could be much smaller.

One company that solves a big problem I have, thanks to owning cats that use the litter box a lot, is Fresh Step. Fresh Step has created a line of “scoopable” cat litter, which means that when the cat does its business, the litter clumps together and I can scoop it out no problem. Ultimately, it means I have to change the sand less often and that cleaning up is a lot easier.

Another of my favorite products that solves a problem for me are my Bose headphones (mind you, I don’t have this fancy version). That’s because they’re fitted with noise-canceling technology. This means a lot when you’re working in a busy office, or when you’re taking public transport. Hello world, goodbye world. You literally have to be tapped on the shoulder to hear people coming. When I first tried these headphones on, I felt like I was underwater. Today, they’re a necessity.

Many of the products you have become used to using were actually invented to solve a problem, including Thermoflasks to keep drinks and food warm, sunglasses to protect from the glare, security alarms to alert you that someone has broken in, fire hydrants to put out a fire before the whole place goes up, toothbrushes to keep your teeth clean, and dental floss to fish out unwanted food. The list is literally endless.

All you have to do is get good at identifying problems

Once you’ve realized that each of your own frustrations is actually an idea in the making, you’re actually going to start having fun!

One of the frustrations that I wish there was a product for is something you probably think is too obvious—a jewelry stand. Because I have so much jewelry, I have to stick thumbtacks in the wall to hold it all up. There is no stand that I have seen on the market to solve my problem—only small stands for a time long past when people bought fewer but more expensive items.

Today, I’d almost describe fashion as “disposable.” You buy something, you wear it a few times and set it aside, partly because things like costume jewelry have become so cheap. Because this is true, people that enjoy jewelry accrue a lot of it and, as you can see in the picture below, don’t have a place to put it.

My problem? Too much jewelry and no stand to fit it all.

Another good example of a company that has come with a business idea by solving a problem is U.K. car insurance company ingenie.

For many young drivers, the cost of insurance just isn’t affordable. Ingenie has taken a rather clever approach to solve this problem. They’ve created a small black box that you fit into your car. As you drive, the box monitors your driving style, including things like braking, speed, acceleration, turns, and so on. Every 10 days, the box assigns you a score out of 100. The higher your score, the bigger the discount you’ll receive on your insurance policy come the three month review period.

Ingenie claims to help customers (often students) save up to 50 percent of what they would otherwise be paying. And, there’s the added bonus of encouraging people to drive better. Very clever.

I’ll leave you with one last example: consider GoPro, the camera company that got started in 2002. Founder Nick Woodman had recently been on a surfing trip to Indonesia, and was unable to find amateur photographers who could get close enough to get good action-shot pictures of him surfing, or who could obtain quality equipment at an affordable price.

The solution to the problem? The GoPro camera—a wide-angle lens HD camera capable of taking excellent video and good action shots, and which could go where other affordable cameras couldn’t. Snap one into a case and you can literally do anything with it, from scuba diving and extreme mountain biking to flying (and crashing) a model airplane.

Footage shot by a GoPro camera attached to a model airplane in Derbyshire, England.

As you go about your daily tasks, be they at home or work, try to get in the mindset of noticing the things that frustrate you.

If you’ve been in a particular industry for a while, you may have good insight into this, as there may be things that have been a problem for a long time. This is why venture capitalists like Boris Wertz see value in investing in those that have a lot of experience in the market they’re pitching their idea for. He calls it “the secret of the market.” It’s this secret, or those problems, that you have to identify.

For me, sitting at work, it’s having to stay at my desk—because that’s the only place I have two monitors—that irks me. A lot of the time, I need to leave my desk to do writing in a quieter area. But, without a second screen, writing and research don’t go hand in hand. I like to have my research up on the one screen and do my writing on the other. Moving away from my desk is always a sacrifice. The solution to this problem would, of course, be a laptop with two screens—now, who is willing to help me start the company?

Even if you work for someone else, try to get into the habit of finding the pain points. It baffles me when companies have products that their own employees don’t use. Palo Alto Software, for example, uses their own product, LivePlan, to manage and keep track of key business metrics. If they didn’t do this, they wouldn’t fully understand a user’s pain points, or know if problems needed fixing. 

Once you get into the habit of finding problems, you’ll probably start to enjoy it. Remember, every problem is an opportunity for a new product, service, or company, especially if it’s a problem many others have too.

2. Solve things that may become problems

Solving problems that you currently have is not the only way to come up with new ideas. Why not think of solving problems that will exist, but don’t yet?

In this very futuristic sense, no one stands out quite so well here as Elon Musk. The ventures he undertakes, including Solar City and Tesla Motors, may make some scoff, but lack of fossil fuels will become a problem in the near future, and Elon is taking steps to fix that before it happens. This gives him the time to innovate, as he’s first in and it gives him market share. Good luck to others catching up!

If you think there’s not yet a market for your idea, you may just be able to create one by appealing to those that, like you, believe it will be a problem in the future.

At present, there are numerous potential problems with obvious solutions, including desalination plants for California, a state that is quickly drying up and running out of water, preventative medication for diseases that could become problems (like ebola), makeup and accessories to protect privacy when face recognition software really takes off, and breeding programs or nature reserves for animals that will become extinct without help.

3. Adapt to evolving needs

Physiological needs stay the same—the need for food, shelter, and water. Emotional needs tend to stand the same—often based on envy, greed, pride, and so on. What doesn’t stay the same are the products and services it takes to fulfill these needs.

The easiest products to market are also products that fulfill a real or contemporary need.

An example of a service that is everywhere now is cloud storage. You don’t hear as much these days about the growing CD or SD card market. You can still get them, but it’s increasingly easy to store everything online.

It’s a result of our very contemporary need to have access to our data, information, photos, music, and so on, no matter what device we’re on. Google sells cloud storage, as does Dropbox, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and a host of private companies that do as well.

4. Save people money

Yet another great way to come up with ideas is to think about saving people money. I buy 23-watt, energy-saving light bulbs because they’re affordable, not because they last for years and are actually the equivalent of a 100-watt lightbulb, though that’s an obvious bonus too.

I also continue filling my car with ARCO gas because it’s cheaper than Chevron and Shell, even though they’re owned by BP who was responsible for the horrible Gulf spill.

And, even though I am desperate for real-life bookstores not to vanish as a consequence of sites like Amazon, I still prefer to buy my books on Amazon because it saves me a lot of money. Were it up to me, I’d own a Tesla, I’d only buy books from independent bookstores, and I’d buy all my food at local farmers markets.

The truth is, unless you’re earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, pounds, or euros, it’s still a luxury to be able to make more “moral decisions” to buy from and support better companies and people. 

This is why, if you can figure out how to save people money, you’ll have a good business idea, new or not. Have a look at some of our money saving tips for further information on this topic.

5. Make people’s lives easier

A coffee machine with a timer that ensures there’s hot coffee when you wake; a central vacuum cleaning system that means only carrying a hose and brush around the house rather than the full unit; a smart thermostat like Nest that can figure out how to save you energy; shopping baskets placed at convenient intervals in the store in case you decide you want to purchase more than what your arms can hold—the list goes on and on.

Remember, coming up with business ideas doesn’t mean you have to focus on inventing new products or services. In fact, you could just as easily adapt an existing service or introduce a new benefit that makes peoples’ lives easier.

Kohls is one company that I return to time and time again because they’ve got a lifetime return policy. Even if you’ve lost your box and your receipt, they will take back a product and replace or refund it—your choice. Not only does this make me feel good about the company, but it keeps me coming back, despite the fact that their prices have obviously been marked up to account for this benefit. In short, it makes my life easy.

When I moved to Eugene, Oregon, I bought my microwave, kettle, toaster, and vacuum cleaner from Kohls, knowing that when they packed in, as electronics always do, I can take them back even if that’s in four years time when I’m guaranteed to have lost or thrown out my receipt.

There are always small ways you could be making things easier for yourself or for others. In fact, if you think about doing this on an ongoing basis, you may find you’re also able to release new products that are simply a version of the old product that makes someone’s life easier in some small way. The Garmin Nuvi is a step up on GPS predecessors that did not include live traffic updates. This small addition makes the product so much more useful and helpful. The Waze app takes it a step further—you only need your phone to get those real, drive-time traffic updates and reroutes. No separate GPS required.

Can you think of something—an action, product, service, or chore that could be adapted to make your life easier?

My Salomon trail running shoes do exactly this. Instead of normal laces, they have pull laces, which means they don’t come undone when I’m running. They don’t fit as well as my Asics, do but they mean I stop a lot less because for some reason tying laces has never been my strong point.

Start looking at the things around you and asking, how could this be easier? How could it be more intuitive, less stressful, and in general more pleasant to use? You may find that even the tiniest change will create something incredibly popular. The book, “The Design of Everyday Things,” can be a great starting point—check it out.

6. Make chores or things that feel like tasks less unpleasant

In the online world, marketers and developers often look to “gamifying” software in order to make using it feel less onerous. That is, they come up with small ways to reward you for taking an action.

When I go running, I use the Strava app on my phone to track my distance and my average speed. Each time I beat a previous record, Strava gives me a trophy or some other small acknowledgment that makes me feel I’ve achieved something. Occasionally, this will push me to go a little bit farther, as once I’ve got into the habit of receiving trophy icons, it’s very difficult to do a run and not get one! The point is, it makes my run a little more fun.

What do you hate doing? How could you make it more enjoyable? Personally, I need someone to make hanging my clothes less of a pain, to make drinking water feel less like a “to do,” and to take all my bills and pay them for me. Know of any solutions?

7. Turn a hobby or something you’re passionate about into a business

For those of you already actively making or doing something, this may be an obvious next step. Or, if you’ve been doing something on a regular basis and find yourself good at it but don’t think of it as a hobby, perhaps you should think about how it could be a business.

Things that I do on a regular basis that could potentially be turned into business ideas include glass painting, writing, researching, jewelry making, fixing jewelry, illuminated lettering, social media training, and so on. Everyone has things they do on a regular or semi-regular basis. If you’re good at any of these things and are looking for business ideas, you just might want to think about turning your hobby into a business.

My sister’s boyfriend, Alex Alotte, is doing just this. When he worked as a bartender in the San Francisco bay area, he wanted to be able to use the best tools possible, not just because a craftsman’s tools are his pride, but also because they’re an important part of your image.

Alex catered for a number of reputable clients and companies, so this last part was especially important. Unfortunately, there weren’t a whole lot of quality muddlers on the market that he could choose from. Most were plastic, or they were made using boring wood, or they were poorly shaped, poorly finished—you name it. So, when a relative who was enrolled in a high school wood­ shop course heard about Alex’s hunt for the “perfect muddler,” he suggested Alex make one himself.

Given that he enjoyed using his hands and already felt he needed a hobby, Alex decided to make his own muddlers or to make, in his words, “high quality, beautiful, wooden muddlers that verge on art!”

He purchased a lathe and all manner of other tools and set to work. The result is a product that resembles a small bat or large pestle, which, when used by a bartender, serves a similar purpose to a pestle, grinding, mashing, or crushing herbs, sugars, fruits, and ice. Mojitos are made using muddlers, but hardly ever using ones like Alex has created, out of beautifully-figured wood.

While Alex is still refining his product, he’s already sold one of his “art” muddlers for 50 dollars. The next step will be setting up an online store and figuring out how to make this a full-time business.

Alex Alotte’s handmade muddlers.

If you find the idea of starting a business intimidating, start with something you know. This way, it might not feel like a business and you’ll enjoy the process as you go.

Be sure to think carefully about how you’ll feel if things do work out, however. You may find things suddenly become less enjoyable as you’ve got to start doing your hobby to meet customer demands or to pay the bills. Or, you might just need a new hobby!

8. Fulfill a need

Take any of the human needs on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and think of the products and services created to meet these needs. Then, build on those.

Consider: As humans, we have a constant need to hydrate ourselves. If we did not drink water, we’d die. As such, we’ve had plumbing built into our houses and into all of the buildings we work in and visit.

But, despite being able to pop in almost anywhere to drink water for free, companies have come up with additional ways to meet this need. They’ve provided solutions for water on the go. They’ve provided solutions for flavored water on the go, for “vitamin” water, even CBD-infused water in some areas.

Move up to the love/belonging level on Maslow’s pyramid, and you get companies like Facebook that allow a user to feel a sense of connection with friends and family.

Move up another level to esteem and you get the likes of Tony Robbins with books and tapes on how to achieve your dreams, improve your self-confidence, and become the best.

It might feel a little manipulative looking at things this way, but many of the products you use already bear reference to these needs, including the toilet paper you buy (physiological), the locks you have on your door and the pepper spray you carry (safety), the birthday card you buy for your friend (love/belonging), the feedback you seek via recommendations on LinkedIn (esteem) and the tools and situations (like the Peace Corps) that allow you to practice your creativity, morality, or problem-solving skills (self-actualization).

9. Appeal to a base emotion

What makes you angry? What makes you happy? What makes you jealous?

Author and renowned copywriter Andy Maslen phrases appealing to base emotions a little differently; he says, exploit a base emotion. 

Think of it as you will (positive or negative), but fundamentally, Andy is right. According to him, humans often make decisions based on one of seven emotions.

These emotions are more popularly known as the seven deadly sins:

• Pride
• Envy
• Lust
• Greed
• Gluttony
• Sloth
• Anger (wrath)

When you consider some of the services and products available to us today, you’ll quickly realize how many of them were invented to appeal to or take advantage of these emotions. Take beauty salons as an obvious example; how many people really need their nails buffed or their legs waxed to survive?

The fact is, that as a society, we have taken evolutionary reactions a step further. Where cleaning hair may previously have been an action we took in order to attract a mate and look better than the competition, today we’ve taken it to the extreme.

Now, rather than simply having products that get the job done, we have products that build on and create new needs, like salt spray to add volume to hair, hairspray to hold a style, dry shampoo for when you don’t have time to shower. Companies are able to sell these products because they’re still able to exploit our base needs.

I have very fine hair, so salt spray and volumizing shampoo is an easy sell. Oil, not so much—however, for my friends with really thick, bushy hair, oils are the easy sell. All of this is exploiting our pride. After all, none of these products are really necessary.

Take a look at those seven deadly sins and see if you can think of how products and services you use on a regular basis are exploiting those needs. Perhaps you’ll even start picking up on how advertisers do the same!

10. Experience more

It’s true that the more you do and the more you experience, the more material you will have at your disposal to be able to create new ideas or stitch together seemingly disparate ideas.

In fact, Bill Gates believes so strongly in the power of serendipity in order to come up with new ideas, that he frequently allots time to read books on a number of different subjects in a short amount of time.

Nirmalya Kumar, professor of marketing at the London Business School, knows how important it is to be curious and to look outside of your own business or industry in order to come up with new ideas.

In this video interview below, he says that if he did not read broadly and try to find connections, he would always feel he was going to write or say the same thing as everyone else. Primarily reading outside of business helps him come up with new ideas and draw new correlations between topics.

According to Nirmalya, “Intelligence and raw knowledge are overrated. It’s more important to have diverse interests.”

His discussion with interviewer Matt Symonds is so interesting; I encourage you to watch it if you have the time.

The other simple things you can do to make coming up with ideas easier is to simply do more. This is how I come up with new topics to write about, new case studies or people to mention, and new things to say. If I didn’t do this, I’d be limited to those things I know. Doing things and reading things that differ from my “usual” activities hopefully gives me more interesting stories to share!

11. Steal others’ ideas

There is no shame in this. In fact, most good ideas are built upon someone else’s idea.

The dissertation that I ended up submitting for my MA program actually grew out of the seed of a story that my sister had written while in high school. I liked her idea so much that during my undergraduate degree I built on the idea.

Take J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter. Don’t tell me the Death Eaters weren’t modeled off the Ku Klux Klan, and that the spiders in the Forbidden Forest didn’t bear reference to Lord of the Rings, or that J. K. Rowling didn’t use myths as a basis from which to create the strange and fascinating creatures in her books. In fact, even the entirely fictional game of Quidditch has origins in the idea that witches ride broomsticks. She simply built on this idea.

I’ll leave you with this final thought from Albert Einstein: “Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”

How do you come up with ideas?

There are so many different ways to do this; I’ve only mentioned a few. However, I hope that through these examples, you’ll be able to come up with your own ideas or to improve on others’ ideas.

Still looking for more business ideas? Check out the Bplans guide to coming up a great idea. Once you think you’ve found a solid idea to start with, check out this article on how to know if you have a good idea. And, this free downloadable idea checklist will help you think through every aspect of your potential business idea, including how to test it out.

Starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be one of life’s greatest experiences, but it is filled with obstacles and potential failure.  

Do you have the right mix of leadership, experience, support, planning, and the ability to handle difficult obstacles? Take our entrepreneur quiz to find out.

Do your best to answer as honestly as possible, and we’ll analyze your results. Based on your outcome, we’ll provide steps you can take to follow your dream of becoming your own boss. We’ll also recommend resources to help you each step of the way.

Skip the entrepreneur quiz and guess your outcome

If you already have a good sense of where you fit on the entrepreneurship scale, then maybe you just need help taking the next step.

Skip the quiz and check out our tips and recommended resources for each step of the way:

1. Show me the money!

No doubt about it—you’re entrepreneur material!

You know how to lead a team, have a solid business idea, and know how to handle failure. You understand the value of planning ahead and have a supportive network of friends and family.

Not only that, but you’re in a good financial position, and you have the necessary experience to get your business up and running.

What’s next?

Now is a great time to put together a business plan, and start taking steps to launch your very own business!

We’d recommend you start by writing a business plan. A business plan will help you think through important aspects of your business strategy, so you can increase your odds of success.

Check out our Free Business Plan Template.

2. Partner up

You’re nearly there!

You have a lot of the building blocks in place to be successful, especially with regard to leadership, dealing with failure, and planning ahead.

Your finances might need some work, and your business idea could use some refining. Your experience has given you a great foundation, but you could benefit from someone to push you to the next level.

What’s next?

It’s time to start looking for a partner. Look for someone who has strengths that will balance out your weaknesses, and can add real value to your business. This might be a good friend, a spouse, or a trusted mentor. You might not need an official business partner, but find someone who will be a good-sounding board and is willing to join you on your path to starting a business.

Check out our guide: How to Find a Business Partner.

3. Find a mentor

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

While you’re excited to become self-employed, you could really use a bit more hands-on learning before you’re ready to jump out on your own. You have a lot of the pieces necessary to be a successful entrepreneur, but you will benefit from a mentor who can share his or her experiences to help you grow.

What’s next?

Take some time to identify a mentor you can trust. A mentor is a teacher—a strategic advisor—that a budding entrepreneur can turn to with questions and get valuable advice, tailored directly to their industry and specific business situation.

Check out our guide: How to Find a Mentor.

4. Hit the books

You’ve got a great spirit, and maybe even a solid business idea. The only problem is that you’re just not quite ready to start your own business.

You’re the essence of untapped potential, and we have no doubt that you’re going to be successful someday. Before that can happen, however, we need an 80’s movie montage that shows you working hard, bulking up, and hitting key milestones (all while a top 40 hit rocks on in the background).

In all seriousness, you need some more education and experience. That could be in the form of an MBA course, but it doesn’t have to be. The Bplans blog is full of free resources and articles to get you started. You could also take some free online business courses, or simply try starting a much smaller version of your business idea in order to learn what works and what doesn’t.

The point is, you wouldn’t take a long road trip without first looking at a map and planning your route. Think of this as your chance to roll out the map, make a plan, and plot your course.

What’s next?

It’s time to hit the books. Lucky for you, you’re already in the right place. We have a ton of free resources to help you validate your business idea and learn about what it takes to start and successfully grow a business.

Check out our guide: How to Start a Business

5. Don’t quit your day job!

This isn’t easy to say, but you shouldn’t start your own business just yet.

Let’s be clear: we’re not saying to abandon your dream! Your heart is in the right place. It’s just going to take a bit more time before you should step out on your own.

Does that mean you should sit around and feel bad? Not at all!

There are some clear steps you can take to make progress and get yourself ready to start a business. You can work to improve your financial situation. You can actively develop skills as a leader. You can start building a supportive network of friends and mentors who have the experience you lack. You can do more research to validate your business idea.

What’s next?

First of all, keep your day job. You’re going to need that to provide a financial safety net while you start taking steps to build your own business. Many experts recommend running your own business on the side for at least two years before you should consider quitting a full-time job. Next, identify areas where you need to improve, and start setting some personal goals that you’d like to achieve.

Check out our guide: How to Come Up with a Good Business Idea.

Conclusion

No matter where you are on the entrepreneurship scale, there’s always room to improve your knowledge and skills. It’ll make you more likely to succeed over the long term.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are almost always working, whether they’re in the office or not. But is it possible that occasionally taking time off and resting is better for your business?

Here are 15 quotes from famous authors, poets, and speakers on why time away from work could be just as important to your bottom line.

Do you have a quote you’d like us to feature? Tweet @Bplans, and we’ll add your quote to our list of submissions. 

10 quotes on taking breaks, relaxing, and playing:

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I don’t have children yet, but when I do, I know I’m going to want to make sure they’re intelligent, creative, compassionate, and self-confident—probably what every non-parent hopes for, right?

Wishful thinking aside, I do still want to raise children who feel the world is their oyster. I don’t want to bring up ruthless little businessmen that hike drug prices 5,000 percent, but people more like Blake Mycoskie and Sanjit “Bunker” Roy who temper business smarts with a whole lot of compassion.

Beyond a good education and brilliant parenting skills, how do I raise little entrepreneurs? Better yet, what does it even take to become a great entrepreneur?

Luckily I didn’t have to get out there and do the research myself. According to a recent Gallup survey of over 2,500 entrepreneurs, there are 10 talents you’ll find common among them.

And, given it’s the holiday season, I decided to go about presenting the data in a slightly more entertaining manner.

4 toys to encourage business focus:

If you’re going to raise a little entrepreneur (do-gooder activities aside), you’re going to need to make your child aware that being in business means turning a profit, and that means making decisions that impact the bottom line.

Here are some games that make this pretty clear. 

Money management games 

Toy company Hasbro knows cash is “oh so yesterday.” With Monopoly Electronic Banking, Monopoly just got a mega update and a whole lot cooler. Collect rent, pay fines, and buy property using bank cards and a clever electronic unit that mimics a real card reader device.

If you already own Monopoly and don’t want to buy yet another version of the game, give PayDay a try.

Monopoly Electronic Banking board game

ATM and cash register toys

According to the Hammacher Schlemmer Institute, this ATM toy is the best one out there to teach children money management skills. It allows them to deposit real coins and bills and displays the data on a screen. It even comes with an ATM card and a pin so they can check their account balance, make deposits, and withdraw funds.

If you’re looking for presents for younger children, you may want to try something a little simpler. This cash register is a bestseller on Amazon.

The Best Children’s ATM

Learning Resources Pretend and Play Calculator Cash Register

10 toys to build confidence:

This talent is pretty much a given for success in any format, be that business, athletics, or arts.

Confidence gives you the ability to get out there and change the world, to do the things you dream in spite of what the world thinks is possible. A great way to select toys that build confidence is to pick ones that offer up a challenge to begin with, but that aren’t inherently possible to do, play, or solve.

For me, toys like the Rubik’s Cube were disheartening, but puzzles and games that required creative thinking and reasoning? Bring it on.

IQ and puzzle toys

These aren’t your traditional “puzzle toys” but brain teasers that are going to keep your children thinking and captivated. A couple of quick, cool facts: The Mefferts Gearball Brainteaser Puzzle was developed by one of the world’s leading puzzle inventors, Uwe Mèffert (it’ll pack a punch), and IQ Fit has 120 challenges, so think again about getting bored. 

When they’ve mastered these puzzles you can move them onto slightly more challenging toys to keep their confidence growing.

When the time is right, try the Megaminx Puzzle Cube (the Rubik’s Cube should definitely come first), the ThinkFun Gordians Knot, Brainstring Advanced, Educational Insights Kanoodle Genius, and the IcoSoKu Brainteaser Puzzle.

The Mefferts Gearball Brainteaser Puzzle

IQ Fit

Origami games 

A “decathlon of mind-bending folding puzzles,” Fold will keep your kids endlessly entertained, especially if they love origami.

It’s not impossible by any means, but it’s a tough challenge of twists and turns, with a whole lot of satisfaction as the reward. It’s as much a test of will, patience, and logic as it is a great way to build confidence in problem-solving abilities.

And if you think there’s no future application for this skill, think again—check out Robert Lang’s incredible origami art.

Fold

STEM toys

There’s a new trend in toy design and it’s probably one of the most important in decades: STEM toys are designed to encourage children’s interest in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Given that these fields have historically been dominated by men, there are an increasingly creative number of unisex STEM toys. Here are a few of my favorites:

Guidecraft Power Clix is a magnetic building toy system that comprises colorful plastic shapes that fit together with the easy click of a magnet. This is a great kit to help both boys and girls develop spatial thinking skills and fine motor skills. It’s also a toy commonly used to help children with special needs and will be a good confidence booster for anyone interested in the sciences.

Picking just one of the Guidecraft packages was tough. In the end, I opted for this one because it’s inspired by shapes found in nature. It does still work with the other PowerClix systems, so can be mix and matched.

Guidecraft PowerClix Organics

For the outdoor explorers and nature lovers, I’d go with the Dr. Cool Explorer Geode Science Kit, the BugWatch Boxed Set, Roominate, the Thames & Cosmos Crystal Growing Kit, and the Educational Insights GeoSafari Microscope. These are all toys for slightly younger children.

If you’re looking for toys in this category more appropriate to slightly older children, check out littleBits (this one’s supposed to be “age-agnostic”), Snap Circuits Lights Electronics Discovery Kit, Science Wiz: Chemistry Plus Experiment Kit, the Educational Insights Micropro Microscope Set, and the Science Wiz: Inventions Kit (don’t forget to also check out the Science Wiz chemistry, magnetism, light, and electricity kits—they’re all awesome!). 

Dr. Cool Explorer Geode Science Kit

The littleBits Base Kit

3 toys to encourage creative thinking:

I may go as far as to say that creativity and creative thinking are of paramount importance to any entrepreneurial venture.

Even if you’re not in product design, you exhibit creativity in taking an existing idea or product and turning it into something better.

Story-based games

No household is complete without this game, and I don’t just say it as a writer.

Rory’s Story Cubes is a fun dice game with limitless storytelling opportunities. It’s also affordable and has plenty of expansion packs so you can keep the fun coming over time.

If your kid is a fan of Marvel comics, try the Batman Action Game version! There’s even a great page on the company’s site that gives you ideas on how to play. Watch a few of the videos and then get involved in the creative gameplay with your son or daughter—you’re bound to have as much fun as them!

Rory’s Story Cubes

Architecture toys

The best thing about this 3D Young Architect Building kit is that it’s reusable. It includes room templates, tracing paper, an acrylic base, acrylic walls, acrylic blocks, 40 stick-and-peel decals, furniture guides, and colored pencils. It’s a whole lot of fun in just one box.

Scientific Explorer Young Architect Building Set

If they like this toy, check out the Structures 200 Plank Set. Also, the Home Quick Planner: Reusable, Peel and Stick Furniture and Architectural Symbols book (I loved peel and stick books as a kid, and I’m a self-professed creative disaster) and the Doodle, Design, and Draw Dream Rooms book.

If architecture isn’t your kid’s “thing,” Scientific Explorer has a number of other similar creative toys and games.

Structures 200 Plank Set

2 toys to teach delegation:

If you’ve got this skill, you’re able to recognize that you can’t do everything yourself.

Even if you can, in order to grow, accomplish more, or do something else better, you need to be willing and able to contemplate a shift in style and control.

Emotional intelligence toys

The Empathy Toy is so new you’re not going to find it on most lists or possibly even in most shops. That said, it has had fantastic press on TEDx and elsewhere with FastCompany naming it the best kids’ toy of 2014.

What is it? Simply put, it’s a puzzle game that can only be solved when players learn to understand each other. The only drawback is the price tag which comes in at $96.80 for the home kit.

The Empathy Toy

If you’re looking for a healthy way to teach your kids about failure, look out for this toymaker’s upcoming “Failure Toy.”

2 toys to foster determination:

To help children become determined, they will need to persevere through difficult—even seemingly insurmountable—obstacles.

In my opinion, there’s nothing quite like sports to teach this skill so, if you’re looking for toys in this realm, there are a number you could choose between.

Archery toys 

There’s nothing quite like picking a target and going for it time and time again.

The Zing Air Hunterz Z-Curve Bow is designed with safety in mind and includes arrows made of soft foam. With over 1,000 reviews on Amazon and an average review rating of 4.5, you’re making a good choice.

For children over the age of 14, you can probably start venturing into the realm of a “real archery set” like the Barnett Outdoors Lil Banshee Jr. Compound Youth Archery Set.

Zing Air Hunterz Z-Curve Bow

Maze toys 

A non-sporty toy, the Perplexus Epic will keep your son or daughter entertained for hours.

If this one doesn’t foster determination, I truly don’t know what will.

Perplexus Epic Maze Game

1 toy to teach independent thinking:

Independent thinking is an invaluable asset in the business world, as it helps you do whatever it is that needs doing in order to build a successful venture.

It also increases the likelihood that you’ll do something new, something out-of-the-box that no one has yet heard of. 

Invention toys

When I was young, I was an inventor. I re-envisioned laptops, I built paper cameras, and I crafted clocks made from old coffee cans.

Here’s a toy I wish I’d had as a kid. The Disruptus encourages players to look at objects and ideas and to innovate. It brands itself as “the game designed to open every mind” and is truly an allusion to the “disruptive thinking” model.

Don’t know much about disruptive strategies? Watch this video. 

The Disruptus

5 toys to help you raise a knowledge-seeker:

Anyone that plans to go into business is going to need to be naturally curious and hungry for knowledge. Encouraging this talent simply requires instilling a love for learning.

Given the number of incredible toys available today, picking just a few for this section was hard. If you want to browse a broader list, do a Google search for STEM toys, or check out a museum shop. 

1 toy to grow a little promoter:

Ultimately, you are the best spokesperson for your own business.

Encouraging your children to promote their own skills and talents can go a long way to not only building their confidence but to teaching them something that will become invaluable later on—the ability to market yourself or your business.

According to researchers, children are wired to love entrepreneurship, mainly because running a business requires creativity, autonomy, and making steady progress toward a goal, something that comes more naturally when you’re younger.

Here’s the traditional way to learn business skills like self-promotion, the one we all know well—the lemonade stand! This lemonade stand kit includes lemonade mix, sugar cookie mix, a cookie cutter, a wooden spoon, a paper hat, a price sheet, a paper banner, recipe, and instructions. It’s all business from here.

4 toys to teach risk-taking:

If you can’t take risks, you probably haven’t got what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

Naturally, this doesn’t mean rushing headlong into doing the untried and untested, but rather, making careful, informed decisions that are likely to result in success but that could also mean failure. When you look at it this way, raising a risk-taker might not be the worst thing imaginable.

So, before you scold your child for doing something that you know is probably going to result in an accident, think about whether or not the thing they’re doing—accidents aside—will help them to develop a beneficial skill. 

Balance toys 

While a unicycle isn’t classically considered a toy (or a stocking stuffer), it’s still a gift worth considering.

I’ve been deeply embedded in the world of unicycling for the last few years and can attest to the fact that anyone can learn to do it, but that it’s a whole lot easier when you’re young. Not only will a unicycle encourage your child to take risks, but it will teach balance, diligence, and patience.

When they’ve mastered the unicycle, you can move them onto the Ultimate Wheel.

Look through the unicycles on unicycle.com for more!

And, even if it doesn’t say it on the box, Jenga is the classic game of risk.

Every move you make brings you closer to the possibility of failure, and knowing that is surprisingly thrilling! Take this game to the next level with giant Jenga, though be warned—it’s loud.

Classic Jenga (this is not the giant version!)

Card games

If you’re thinking along the lines of simple stocking stuffers, you truly can’t go wrong with a pack of playing cards and instructions on how to play risk-taking games like Speed or BS. 

Personally, I love the Giant Jumbo playing cards, the Jane Austen playing cards, and the Alice in Wonderland playing cards on Amazon.   

Jane Austen playing cards

1 toy to teach relationship building:

Help your child become a skilled relationship-builder by getting them invested in learning communication skills.

When I was growing up, walkie talkies didn’t have the two mile range that this walkie talkie does, and they certainly weren’t as small as this one. It’s a great beginner’s toy that feels serious.

For the older child, try something real like the Motorola MH230TPR, which has an incredible 23 mile range in good conditions, including hands-free communication as well—and this three-pack could be fun for the whole family.

Durable Walkie Talkie for Kids

Let’s not forget good old books:

Toys might be the new textbooks for some, but real books will hopefully never die.

Beyond teaching literacy, teaching your children to love reading from an early age is also a great way to teach them to love learning, to teach them to put themselves in others’ shoes, and to teach them to be curious individuals.

You might not think of the American Federal Reserve as the place to go for comic books, but they’ve been teaching money management for years via their own series of comics, which you can access for free on the Internet Archive.

And, if you’re raising a little lawyer, try The Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments. For encouraging curiosity and a love of learning, try Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words.

The Little Prince is one book you’ll find on most reading lists for children, but it’s also a book most adults enjoy. Here’s a beautiful new pop-up version of a story designed to encourage children (and adults) to follow their heart in order to find true fulfillment.

Love Dr Seuss? Give One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent a try. It’s not written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, the original writer and illustrator of beloved books in this series, but it’s still a Cat in the Hat book and is packed full of great life lessons. If you’re looking for something for readers ages 7 and below, try The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble With Money.

Note: I thought about including a section on apps and software gifts for children when I came across the very cool Bite Club game (think vampires and financial management), but after much deliberation, decided not to.

Ultimately, kids are going to spend a whole lot of time in front of the screen later on, so why rush it? Build those other skills, especially people skills, and they can get to screen time later.

What is your favorite toy that helps build a useful skill? Do you plan on buying any of these toys for the budding entrepreneur in your life? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!

Under the weight of deadlines, sales goals, and one too many lattes, even the most mild-mannered person can do or say something they regret.

Usually, a quick apology will cover a misstep.

However, there are five “people” you should never work with.

I mean it. Under no circumstances should you put yourself in a work environment with these…MONSTERS.

The 5 Scariest People to Work With

The Vampire

The Vampire sucks the life out of everyone around them. In meetings, they’re the first to tell you why your ideas won’t work, without offering productive solutions. They drain the energy from a room, and are irritated by sunny dispositions. We also think they’re the ones who complained to HR about your “garlic breath.”

The Ghost

The Ghost may have seemed like a promising coworker or employee, but their potential never materialized. They’re always around, and insist on being involved in every project, but somehow never contribute anything of substance. It wouldn’t surprise us if they’re reading over your shoulder right now, in fact.

The Zombie

If allowed, the Zombie would spend all of its time brainstorming. Obsessed with feeding on new ideas, the Zombie gets distracted easily, and is slow to implement anything with measurable success. It may seem harmless, but be careful—once you’ve been bitten, you may find yourself chasing ideas with the zombie hoard.

The Frankenstein

The Frankenstein is a modern marvel, looking very much like an upstanding coworker or employee. Upon closer look however, you’ll realize there’s not an original bone in their body. Regurgitating well-worn business platitudes, the Frankenstein can’t utter a single thought without a reference to Steve Jobs, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Guy Kawasaki, or even Tim Berry.

The Werewolf

Most of the time, the Werewolf is an excellent employee. Yet far too often, their mood swings dramatically into terrifying outbursts. They’ll blame these outbursts on anything but themselves (sorry, full moons don’t happen that often). Keep the Werewolf at arms length, or you might end up a victim of the howling madness.

BONUS: The 3 Best People to Work With

The Superhero

The Superhero is one of the best people to work with. They work hard in dire situations, deflect praise, and want to make the world around them a better place. If there’s more than one Superhero on your team, get them to collaborate and the dynamic duo will be nearly unstoppable. The Superhero has great power—give them great responsibility.

The Wizard

Are you stuck on a project? Do you need a fresh perspective? The Wizard is always prepared with just what you need, precisely when you need it. The Wizard is good at many things, but they are best at communicating. The Wizard speaks with great wisdom, and by taking time to listen to them, you’ll be inspired to accomplish great things.

The Unicorn

Some say the Unicorn is a myth, but that’s just because they’re rare and hard to find. Those lucky enough to work with a Unicorn will see just how magical they are. The Unicorn innovates effortlessly, is highly productive, and always goes above and beyond what’s expected of them.

Hear more about human resources and conflict resolution with Peter and Jonathan on the thirteenth episode of The Bcast, Bplan’s official podcast (at 22:32):
Click here to subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes »

I’ve called it a myth before, but half-truth is better because there are some real positives with being your own boss.

But naturally, there are a number of negatives, too.

I’ve spent a lot of years theoretically “being my own boss,” including more than 10 years as sole proprietor business planning consultant, working on my own with clients; and more than 10 years building a company, as founder and owner, working with employees.

In my case, working to “be my own boss” was never really why I did what I did.

I left a good job to start consulting on my own because I wanted to do the work, not supervise others. And I built a software company because I believed the product was needed.

The “own boss factor” was something that simply came along with it.

Hear more about being your own boss with Peter and Jonathan on the fourteenth episode of The Bcast, Bplan’s official podcast:
Click here to subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes »

Before I get started, a quick note on one of my favorite start-your-business books, Melinda Emerson’s “Become Your Own Boss,” recently updated with a new version.

I’ve known Melinda for years and watched her earn her excellent reputation through hard work, common sense, and telling the truth.

Honestly though, I’ve never been a fan of the title of her book, because of the underlying ambiguity of being one’s own boss (and I’ve told her that).

But, this is one of the top books on going out on your own, and I highly recommend it. Along with Pamela Slim’s “Escape From Cubicle Nation,” it’s one of the two best books on the subject out there.

I also taught a piece of a longer presentation, embedded here, about being your own boss. It’s a theme that’s bugged me for a while. It’s an excerpt from my video Startups and Entrepreneurship: Beyond the Clichés. I’ve left that one at the bottom of this article, in case you’re interested.

Pros of being your own boss

1. You’re at the wheel. You make the decisions yourself.

There’s great satisfaction in being able to act on hunches, make guesses, and just do it. Take the risk, spend the money.

We often talk about owning the job as a key to job satisfaction; and when you’re the boss, you own it. Not having to ask anybody can mean a great deal.

This is a big deal to me. I’m one of those people (are you also?) who feels safer when I’m driving than when I’m a passenger. Especially in business.

2. You set your own hours.

Maybe you’re an early riser, or you don’t want to work certain afternoon hours to do kids’ activities instead, or your own activities. Maybe you like to work in spurts.

When you are your own boss, you eliminate the old-fashioned need to warm a chair for specific hours.

You become responsible for your output, not your hours (unless, of course, you are a service business with clients—that’s in the cons, below).

3. You set your own work style, workplace environment, and (to the extent that you can afford it) workplace equipment.

Some bosses are better than others at upgrading the technology, choosing the location, arranging for parking, and so on.

How fast is your internet? When you’re the boss, that’s up to you.

Do you like a stand-up desk, or any desk? Up to you. A good view? Good coffee in the kitchen? That’s all up to you.

4. You set your own location.

Don’t stay in Cleveland if you prefer Klamath Falls.

Don’t take that frustrating subway commute to Manhattan, stay in Brooklyn. Meet people in Starbucks, or spend every day in Starbucks—why not? You’re the boss. You decide.

Cons of being your own boss

1. Your customers are your boss. Your clients are your boss.

Over and over, during the decade and a half that I was a sole proprietor consulting on business planning with clients, I ended up late at night, tired, stuck with finishing up a presentation due the next day.

I was never able to go the normal worker’s route, in which you either get it done or have a reason for not having done it. I needed the business, I needed the money, so I wasn’t in charge. My clients were in charge.

Even later in my career, after I’d built a business selling to thousands of customers every month, the customers were in charge.

We need to get the software finished, tested, and published. We needed to keep our website up to date. We needed to meet marketing deadlines, product development, finances, the whole thing.

In a business, the health of the business is your boss.

2. Your commitments—to vendors, to allies, to business activities—are your boss.

You can’t miss commitments very often and still be successful. Your word is your most powerful asset.

Meetings, deadlines, and promises are commitments. You can’t really run a business without them.

3. If you have employees, there are some ways in which your employees are your boss.

You lead, and—whether you like it or not—leadership is as leadership does. Meaning that your employees are watching you.

You can’t do less than you ask of them. You as boss is probably the most important factor in so-called corporate (or company) culture.

If you leave early, everybody leaves early.

4. You spend your own money.

Do you see point three in the pros, about you making decisions on equipment, technology, bandwidth, and so on?

Great—but then you have to pay for everything you decide you need. It comes out of your budget, not your employer’s budget.

When times are tough you may need that upgrade; but can you pay for it?

5. You earn what you earn.

You have no assurance of salary and compensation. It all depends on you, your business, your clients, your market, and your business offering.

The sole proprietor, startup founder, or small business owner doesn’t have an employer setting a stable compensation plan. There is no real assurance of how much you’ll have next month.

Reality vs “Be Your Own Boss” from Tim Berry on Vimeo.

Author Paul Downs

Paul Downs wrote for the New York Times’ “You’re The Boss” blog for five years, and has owned and run his own small business for nearly thirty years. Now, he’s written a book about his experiences and is eager to pass on his hard-earned wisdom.

If you’re considering diving into entrepreneurship, enter the giveaway at the end of this article. If you’re one of our five winners we’ll send you a copy of Paul’s book.

Paul shared his insights with me on running a long-standing, successful small business and writing a book about the experience. If you enjoy this article, be sure to enter the book giveaway. 

How did you get where you are today?

If by “where you are today” you mean with a semi-successful business, I’ve had some luck, been very persistent, and been able to take advantage of the hard work and talents of my employees. The thing I wonder, though, is whether someone else, in my circumstances, would have built a more profitable business, or would they have failed?  I’m not operating the kind of business with a lot of peers to compare to. So I always have that doubt.

Why did you start your own business? What inspired you?

I was fresh out of college, working as helper to a carpenter who wished that he was a furniture maker. He described the joys of that trade so vividly that I decided to give it a try. I even invited him to be my partner. He was recently divorced, with a mortgage and alimony payments, and politely declined to take the risk. So I, being young, confident, and without responsibility, decided to give it a go.

What do you hope your readers will get from this book?

When I read, I want the author to guide me on a trip through a world that I don’t know. My life as a boss is extremely complex, and has a lot of unpredictable elements. Most business books are just advice, purportedly from successful people, and don’t convey the difficulty of dealing with multiple challenges at once. So I’m hoping that by talking about the issues I face, simultaneously, every day—sales, cash flow, employees, and family—I can show people what running a small business is really like. 

[pullquote]”When I read, I want the author to guide me on a trip through a world that I don’t know.”[/pullquote]

Maybe some readers will be inspired to start their own business, and maybe some readers will realize that being the boss is not for them.

But everyone should be able to relate to the narrative of how we survived a very tough year.

What was the biggest challenge you’ve had running a business?

Overcoming my own weaknesses. I’ve never had any training in the financial aspects of business, and my ignorance has been a real impediment to the growth of the firm. The recession in 2008 was tough, too.

What does your typical day look like?

Picture a to-do list with five to 10 items on it. They could be anything that, in a larger firm, would be performed by a specialist or a department: sales, IT, accounting, finance, HR, marketing, engineering, design—I do a little bit of all of that. Of those five to 10 items, I’ll probably complete three before being interrupted by something that comes out of the blue. While I’m fighting my way through those tangles, I have to try to keep the company moving on longer term goals. So my days can be quite chaotic. But never boring.

Is there something you feel that you could not have created your business without?

Day in and day out, it’s paying customers that keep us going. 

How does business planning factor into what you do? Do you track business metrics or KPIs?

I opened my doors before it was common for small businesses to own a computer, and long before the internet. So my record keeping has developed from very primitive to reasonably good. My first records were written on the wall of my first shop. Now I have a bunch of different databases and spreadsheets. But never having received any formal business training, I could probably be doing a much better job with metrics and planning.

What advice can you give aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start and run a business?

It won’t be like you think it’s going to be. Money can solve a lot of problems, so make sure you have a way of getting some. And find people to talk to, don’t keep your problems bottled up inside. 

You’ve seen the small business landscape change dramatically as technology becomes ever more present. What do you envision the future [will be] like for small businesses?

It really depends on the business, but I would say that every boss now has access to far more information about how to run a business than ever before. What that will most likely mean is that existing businesses, unless they are destroyed by shifts in the economy, will be better run, making it harder for a new business to find a space in the market. I’m not sure whether this is a good thing or bad thing. 

Retweet this message below to enter to win a copy of “Boss Life” by Paul Downs:

Want to win a copy of Boss Life by Paul Downs? Retweet this message for your chance to win! Giveaway ends 10/21

— Bplans.com (@Bplans) October 6, 2015

Hear more about being your own boss with Peter and Jonathan on the fourteenth episode of The Bcast, Bplan’s official podcast:
Click here to subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes »

Last week, I had the privilege of hosting a one-hour Q&A session with Ann Rea, a successful artist and entrepreneur who is devoted to destroying the myth of the “starving artist.”

Our audience members submitted so many great questions that had to do with how to turn a creative passion into a profitable business. Other questions from our session included:

• What’s the best way to decide what to work on first if you have multiple interests?
• How do you price your products?
• Who should I market to first?
• I’m a songwriter but have not recorded, where do I even begin?

There were plenty more questions during the webinar, and you can watch the recorded video above or read the transcript below. To learn more about Ann, visit her website: ArtistsWhoThrive.com

Read the transcript:

Jonathan: Thank you for joining us today at this Bplan’s webinar. My name is Jonathan Michael. I’m the Community Manager for Bplans.com. We’re so excited to have you here today with us for our question-and-answer session with Ann Rea. Ann Rea is on a personal mission to destroy the myths of the starving artist. She and her inspired business approach had been featured on HDTV, the Good Life Project with Jonathan Fields, in Fortune, and the Wine Enthusiast magazines, and profiled in the book Career Renegade. She is a popular instructor on Creative Live. Her artistic talent is commended by American art icon Wayne Thiebaud. She has a growing list of collectors across North America and Europe. Thank you for being here, and welcome.

Ann: Oh, thank you very much, Jonathan. I appreciate the opportunity. This is going to be fun. We surveyed a number of you and gathered wonderful questions, and a lot of them are commonly asked questions. That’s what we’re going to focus on today. Jonathan is going to feed me a question, and I’m going to do my very best to answer it for you. I’m a painter. Let me just tell you this is really applicable to any creator, who is building a business.

I’ve worked with other painters. I’ve also worked with illustrators. I’ve worked with musicians, jewelry designers. It’s interesting enough when I do speak engagements like massage therapist show up. I think if you think identity as a creator, and feeling a little bit of disconnect with the business side, I am here to translate between the two worlds.

Jonathan: Awesome. Thank you so much for being here. Just for everybody who is in attendance today, we do have some questions that people have already submitted when they registered for the webinar. If you’d like to ask a question, all of our attendees are currently muted. The way you’re going to ask questions is you will notice a questions tab with the webinar application. You can write in your questions and click “Submit.” What I’ll do is I’ll moderate those questions, and find great ones to pass forward to Ann. Keep your questions coming all throughout today. I’ll do my best to get them all in. All right, we’re ready to start?

Ann: I’m ready.

Jonathan: Okay, let’s kick it off. Ann, the first question that I wanted to ask you today is how do you further your art career?

Ann: Great question. First thing I do is question the question.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: Okay, because I don’t believe artists have a career. They don’t have a career. They have a business. Why do I say that? This is an important thing to understand. It’s a matter of perspective and mindset. The practical manner is this, if you had a career, you’d have a job, which means you get a W-2, you have a retirement plan, [inaudible 00:03:09] parking space. You don’t get a job as a fine artist or as most creators are writing…Even if you were a creator, and you have a job, it’s usually a short-term gain.

If you run things like a job, like if you have a career, you are not going to do what you need to do to build the business and to make yourself marketable. That’s the first thing. It’s really understanding the difference between the two. We’ve been told that we have careers. We present resumes and exhibition list. It’s really not relevant to a business. Really the best place to start is to write a business plan. Honestly, that’s what I did. That’s how I did it.

Jonathan: Okay. When you’re writing that business plans, lot of questions that came through today how to do with, how do I define my market, my niche, who do I market to? Bill Hunt brought that question.

Ann: Great. Great question. Yeah, a lot of artists will start with the question with how do I define my niche, my market niche, or how do I find collectors, how do I find caterings or customer? You really can’t answer that question until you’ve answered other questions. I’m going to break this down for you. The first question you really have to have a solid answer for is, what is your creative purpose? What’s your “Why?” Simon Sinek wrote this book, Knowing your why or something. The problem is we don’t often know how to get it our why. You really do have to know why do you paint, why are you a photographer?

Why are…It’s like…You go back, and that’s the answer. That’s the questions you usually answer like why I do this thing making music, this thing making painting, this thing making jewelry? You got to step back further from that.

Artists are thought leaders. First and foremost, you have to know who you are and what you stand for. Who you are and what you stand for? That’s the first thing you really have to know. Why is that relevant therapy find your niche? Because depending on who you are and who you stand for, and also what you stand against, that will determine who is going to be your target market. Who is going to vibe after you? Who is going to resonate with you? In answer to that question, you really have to know your “Why.” You have to know who you are and what you stand for. Then secondly, you have to know what problem is there in the world that you believe is really wroth solving.

Now, that is the essence of every business. Every business solves the problem or alleviates the pain, and make no mistake, artists do the same thing, if they’re effective, if they’re actually sustainable. Then once you know your why, once you know your what, then you’ve got to answer your how. Your how is what’s referred to as your unique value proposition. How are you going to solve that problem? Then that’s how you’re going to eat. That’s where you’re going to determine how you’re going to use your art to solve that problem. Last but not least, who has that problem? Who are you going to serve? That’s your target market. There’s a process to this, but most people, most artists will start with the question, the third question, which is what is my unique value proposition, or they’ll start with the last question, which is who is my target market?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: Really you have to follow this process. This is why planning is so important. It’s essential.

Jonathan: Okay. From your experience as a successful artist, can you talk about how you answered those questions for yourself as an example so that we can see what that looks like?

Ann: Yeah, I mean it’s a long-winded story. I’ll try to keep it really short and sweet. My back story is that I went to art school, and I graduated. I worked in design for a little while. Then I quit making art for over a decade. I didn’t draw anything. I didn’t paint anything. During that time, I developed some pretty severe anxiety, and depression, and insomnia. I went back to art as a means to quell my own anxiety. I had no intension of selling anything. Never mind. I wasn’t even going to show anybody anything.

For me, what I realized it’s just a universal lesson that came from those painful times in my life is that most of the joy that we experience is by being in the moment, by savoring the moment. What did happen was that as I started…I’d actually engage in what’s an act of meditation while I was painting. What was interesting is when I did eventually start to show my work and sell my work, my collectors would say the same thing over and over again. What they would say is when I look at your paintings, I feel like happy and I feel very calm; happy and calm. Now, there’s a whole lot of people out there who need happy and calm. It’s a big problem if they don’t have it. You’d see how these things are start to winding together we know…We know who I am. You know who I am now, right. You’d probably know what I stand for. Happy and calm is really important to me, because I didn’t experience it for a good chunk of my life.

Jonathan: Yeah. That’s excellent. Thank you for that example. Absolutely that’s a great story too. It’s great to hear from where you’re coming from. Tabitha cook brought up a question. You’ve got these talents you have and you’re trying to get it to be a profitable business and even just become a business. What’s the best way to decide what to work on first, especially if you have multiple interests?

Ann: Well, again I may go back to what I said before. You have to first understand…First of all, Tabitha you won’t have this question. You don’t have this confusion of where to start with, if you understand your why. You understand who you are and what you stand for. If you understand you’re what. If you understand what mission you’re on because if you understand what problem you’re trying to solve, then you will reach for the talents and the resources that are going to more likely help you solve that problem.

That’s how you did…That’s how you will focus. That’s how you will absolutely gain focus. When you gain focus you will gain confidence. I know that a lot of creative people listen, who I speak to not certainly not everyone struggles with focus and confidence. The two are linked. You’re not going to start with confidence. Confidence is going to come by focusing and taking action. Then you’re going to earn confidence. I didn’t start of confidence. Remember I had anxiety attacks for good chuck of my life, probably a mess. It is possible. It is possible. That’s my answer to that question. Go back to that time to time again. You’ll notice pattern here.

Jonathan: Okay, great thank you. We have a question from Samantha. She wanted to know how do you know how to price a piece of art or the work that you’re producing?

Ann: Well, that’s a great question. It’s really hard to give any specific answers to you because I don’t know what it is. I don’t know who your market is. I don’t know if your market’s over saturated. I don’t know how you reach your market. I don’t know what your sales goes are like. You could have something priced fairly and you could have great marketing but you’re…You can’t close the sale. The guidance I give in a general way around this is when people sell a house, before they sell the house they’re getting an appraisal.

They look at similar houses in the same neighborhood with the same number of bedrooms. Maybe [inaudible 00:11:44] house has a pool and the other house that sold recently also have a pool. That’s a good…Really just doing an analysis of the competitive landscape. That’s the best place to start. That’s where you’d start. Then what you do is you invent ways to add more and more value, and then you can add more and more [inaudible 00:12:07]. Well, you can make the sale is easier or you can actually charge more.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: I hope that helps. Hard to give a real specific answer to general, I’d say it’s like an appraisal when you go to sell your house. Just go look around for similar work, quality and…That’s the best way.

Jonathan: Yeah. You mentioned that the need to plan and create a business plan to do that strategic thinking ahead of time. There’s been a couple of questions that I wanted to ask you regarding that, which is how do you create a business plan or how do you build the plan especially, when your sales for your art are either commissioned or they happens sporadically. It’s not anything that happens on a consistent weekly basis. How do you build the plan around that?

Ann: You absolutely can build the plan around that. Just because you sell something via commission versus ready-made, it doesn’t matter. If it’s happening sporadically, that’s a really good indication that you need a plan because you can have…You can build…You can write a plan and take focused action so that it’s happening consistently in your [technical error]. You need a plan…You absolutely need a plan and a goal too. Let me just back up with…My business plan was completely half-baked, I’m going to tell you right now. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t. Perfectly happy to tell you I didn’t know what I was doing. Here’s what I did, no I wanted; I knew that I wanted to make a $100,000 within the first year. Then I backed in right from there. I was like, “Okay. Well, how the hell can I do that?” I’m just swore on LivePlan, sorry about that.

Jonathan: We could add later.

Ann: That was like…Then truly was my first requirement because I just moved to San Francisco. It’s hell of expensive here. It’s more expensive now. Then I…That was the goal…Everything had to work towards this end goal. That’s how I did it. I think that’s a good place to do it. Like to determine how much money do you want to make at a minimum and work backwards.

Jonathan: All right. Thanks for that answer. Yeah, let me pull up another question here. Doug Belding had an interesting question. He asked what tactics in today’s market place can get a new artist entrepreneur to be a stand out aside from their body of work.

Ann: I’m not sure you really understand that question which says stand out?

Jonathan: Is there something that you need to do, because maybe your art or you want your art to speak for itself, but I’m wondering …

Ann: Okay. Hold on. Hold on. Okay. I want to start right there. Art speaking for themselves, what the hell does that mean? I am so tired of using meaninglessly…Meaningless and foggy terms that we through around and assume everyone knows what the hell you are talking about. Speak for itself, what does that mean? Nothing…What does that mean, speak for itself? Look here is the thing, selling art sucks, let me tell you all right now, it sucks. It does, you don’t want to sell art because you are not talented enough and I am not talented enough, really I am dead serious. What you want to do is you want to create value of above and beyond your art itself, and that’s what you want to sell, what’s what you want to lead with.

If you want to sell art for art sake, you need to find yourself a gallery, and good luck doing that by the way, people are getting paid by the way. If you don’t want to bother with any of this, then it just want to make, what you want to make, when you want to make it, how you want to make it with no thought or consideration to what value it provides for a target market, then you got to find yourself representative and I…God bless you, I hope you do, I don’t think you will.

Jonathan: Okay. Those are some tough words, now…

Ann: The reason I am so passionate and tough about this, Jonathan, is because artist are injured by living under an illusion that somehow magically discovered one day, that’s a lie. That’s a big, big lie, it looks like, I mean think people think I got discovered, trust me no one discovered me. I worked my ass off, and it was very deliberate and I was very strategic and I was very clear that it wasn’t about me and it wasn’t about my career process or my artist statement. It was about how I serve the target market and that’s how I got paid and that’s the only way you will get paid in this life. I can make this argument by looking at artist throughout history but truly I am being, these are like…It’s like tough love, it’s so if you are living under the illusion that somehow you get discovered, please don’t believe it, it’s not true, even if…I actually have the art…Actually have the contract for American Idol.

Jonathan: Really.

Ann: Oh, yeah I do. I’m supposed to have it, it’s illegal for me to have it, but I have got it. It’s intend…It’s basically you have to sign away everything and it’s a denture servitude. Actually, a friend is a very talented vocalist and he showed it to me and I am like…He said, “They called me back for the audition.” I am like, “You can’t go. This is verbal.” Like all his modeling money, you could have to give it to them you can’t…It didn’t work, it was ridiculous. That’s what discover…That’s what getting discovered looks like signing over your life. These are not scenario.

Jonathan: Okay. If it’s not this illusion that your art has to speak for itself and things like that, correct me if I am wrong but I don’t think that you are saying that as an artist you can get away without having a unique voice and a unique style is that right?

Ann: Absolutely must…Absolutely, yes but that is not enough. Let me give you an analogy. Jonathan just pretend you are interviewing me for a job, okay.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: Just pretend. I am not wearing this on t-shirt, I am actually all dressed for the job right, I have a very nice briefcase, I look like a great candidate, just pretend right. I still have to got to answer your questions.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: If I said you are mute…if I said you are mute, that would be speaking for myself, would you hire me just based on me sitting here, looking like I am ready for the job without ever, without me ever speaking.

Jonathan: No I would definitely want to see what you know and what you have done.

Ann: Right, if I could indeed add value to your organization.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: If I would be able to solve the problem that you have on your team or alleviate…Problem or alleviate a pain that you have been coping with in your organization right…You have to be able to speak to that very directly and convincingly…Apart.

Jonathan: We are clear you need a style, you need a unique voice, you’ve got…That has to be displayed in the work that you produce but then beyond the work that you produce you as a person communicating. What it is? The problem that you are solving and things like that especially with the new medium out there, being able to get your voice out and present them more to people. How much does that play into it of putting yourself in the forefront?

Ann: It’s huge, it’s like every business, it’s not…Selling art is a business, it’s a big, big business and it’s not…It doesn’t…It has a same requirement for success like any other business whether you are…If you are plumber, if you are a tree trimmer, it’s all you still have to…Here is a…You still have to master, you have to master your craft or master your trade or master your expertise. No matter what business you are in, that is the minimum price of admission. Of course you do. Of course you need to understand your craft, your trade, your expertise or product line; absolutely. After that, the engines that are going to drive the business are going to be sales and marketing and there is no business on earth that doesn’t have to master sales and marketing. You want to sell, you have to understand sales and marketing.

Jonathan: Okay, I am going to come back to Doug’s question on this because perhaps maybe this is what he was trying to get at is okay I have got the work that I have created and I want to take that next step of going out into the market place but I know that there is some things that I need to do to put myself front and center, do you have a couple of tactics that you would suggest of where an artist can go to put themselves out there.

Ann: Well when you say put yourself out there. That itself is another one of those foggy terms that confuse people, put myself out there, get exposure, art speak for itself like those are all like creepy, hard to understand phrases. I am going to bring it back, I am going to bring it back and say what’s this gentleman name, who have bravely asked the question?

Jonathan: Doug, although I am probably butchering the question.

Ann: Doug. Doug, I would say what’s your “Why,” who are you and what…Who are you and what you stand for right, look let me give you a real life example, it’s called LivePlan right.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: Do you think that art establishment a group of gallery organization is going to wind here for me? Do you think they would ever put me on a damn webinar, I mean ever in a million years? No. They wouldn’t because I stand against the scarcity and permission based art establishment. I know who I am and I know who I stand for and I know what I stand against. I am going to repel those folks. That’s fine. See, you got to know who you are and what you stand for Doug that’s the first thing and that’s the really important thing. It’s more important in the case of a creative and that means graphic designers, illustrators, jewelry designers, they really have to know who they are and what they stand for because their product, their art is a reflection of themselves, okay.

It’s much more important, Jonathan, I don’t feel like the CEO of your company. They really need to know as much I mean they do have to understand their values, but they don’t really have to know as much, they can still sell the software without having a really strong sense of self right. That’s the first thing, Doug. Then secondly, okay, then now that you know who you are and what you stand for what problem is there in the world that is worth solving, what mission are you on? Let me give you an example, I will give you an example of one of my artist’s clients, because I think I am…We’ll be explaining this in a way that’s too abstract. I am going to give you a very practical and relatable example.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: It’s a young woman in Memphis, Tennessee, who is a children’s portrait painter. When she first came to me she was called herself a portrait painter. I said, “Well, what kind of portraits do you paint?” She said, “Well, I paint portraits of adults and children,” I said, “Hold on. Okay, let’s niche this down. Do you like painting portraits of children?” Yes.

Now why did I asked her that, I asked her that because what I was thinking is, if little Johnny gets a portrait, little James going to need a portrait right, so that’s going to immediately pour opportunity for another for more work right. Well, if you just keep Jonathan now, he is probably not going to get another portrait done, he is probably going to be done. That was my thinking there. It’s more strategic. When we delve into case in a world and found out who she really was and what she stood for, she realized that.

She looked at the most painful times in her life and the most joyful times in her life, and she realized through examining those points of view that when she was a child, when she felt really loved and really cared for was when her parents were just delivering unconditional love, when she felt, really, really disfranchised and a lot of pain. She wasn’t part of the click. She wasn’t one of the inn girls. We daunted on her…It was really important…It was really important to her a mission she decided to go on was to come up with a way to value children for who they are, to value, just value their individual worth for who they are just who they are.

What does that portrait do? It values you for who you are. Her mission…She doesn’t just paint the portrait, she actually gets down on her knees. She plays with these kids. She really understands who they are, their personalities, their interest. They have their little…These are little beings who actually have distinct personalities. She reflects that in the portrait. When she talks about her…She never has to sell her portraits because I told, selling art sucks remember? I told you that.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: What she does, she just talks about her mission, which is true. Yeah, she just says I am really…She talks about a mission, she the one really just on her children for who they are and celebrate their worth. She talks about, how she arrived at that and by the time she is done talking about that, people are freaking…She has got eating all of her hands because they are so inspiring by this mission. It’s authentic. There is nothing about it that is copy written in advance or somehow strategy this is truly who she is. That’s the example of how you sell art without selling art.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: She sold a lot of it.

Jonathan: That’s great, from your experience and maybe you want to answer the question in general to…The question that I am having from all of this is okay so I have got my art, I got it ready to go, what’s my next step, who am I talking to next.

Ann: You got the cart before the horse, Jonathan. You got your art and you are thinking that’s your starting place. You have a body of work and what’s my next step. What I am saying is you…You have the carpet for the horse, you are in the middle. You need to backup two steps. Let’s go back to Kate as an example. She knows who her ideal customer’s avatar is, if you are not familiar with that term, that’s like the persona of her favorite buyer, a collector. She knows that her values match her customer’s values. She talks about her values. She got like family values. In that value of family, a value of family is very important to her particular target market.

She talks about that. If you are starting with your art, you are like you…You just your choice is tied together. You have to backup and know who you are, what you stand for and who you, who…What problem you can solve and whose got that problem, we look at Kate, right. Those mothers who commission these portraits, their biggest worry is that they are going to somehow screw their kids up. Truly she circumvent them, and their most concern that they are not going to love their children well enough, and they are not being patient, they are not being loving enough mothers because they are so hairy at doing things. Having a portrait of their child is a way to really honor and celebrate that child and express love and appreciation for that child, that’s how Kate solves the problem…That’s their inner angst that they are very, very concerned about that.

Jonathan: Okay, let’s talk about reach though. She had her target market defined. How did she reach them, was it online sales or she gong to…Fairs and events, and setting up her boots. What does that look like?

Ann: Great question. Number one source of business is referrals, which is usually the case, but we all got to start somewhere, right, so you start with…I’m not going to tell you where to start because my suggestion is you start…You start with the fastest path of cash. A lot of artists that I’ve talked to, say that people have expressed interest in a commission but they didn’t want to do it, because they didn’t know how to handle it. Go do it. Do it and mess it up. Just go do it and so that’s the first thing Jonathan it’s like if there’s someone that’s already expressed interest in your art and you hadn’t followed it up and I’m not kidding when I say that. Then make a list of those people who have expressed interest and start with them.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: Or maybe if someone said to you…I love what you’re doing and I know so and so would love what you’re doing. I’d like to introduce you at some point. Well, follow up with that person and make that introduction happen. That’s like the easiest quickest way to start.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: With your existing network and opportunities that you are having back in your head commit them to writing. Make yourself a list and prioritize them like who is the hottest lead here on this list, who is it and…Who is warm and who is cold. That’s number one. Just start with where you are today…That’s only that…That’s a really important and powerful concept to remember. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be just start with where you are today and don’t measure yourself against someone else don’t…You’re just going to be a massive case of anxiety and angst and everyone starts somewhere. I started somewhere. I started nowhere. I was nowhere, so please remember that, okay?

Jonathan: Yes.

Ann: Then look at your existing network obviously online we got so much potential to connect to people but the problem that happens is you’ve got all this wonderful social media channels and ways to engage. You need to have something to say that’s compelling.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: Right? It’s like going to a cocktail party and not having anything to say. You don’t know how to engage in a conversation. You don’t really know how to introduce yourself. You don’t know how to ask questions or take turns in conversation. Obviously social media is a really great way…Having an online presence, but people…I don’t know…People buy art mostly in person, especially if it’s expensive, if they’re going to buy off your websites usually going to be a second purchase. It cannot be a…Depending on…This depends very much on price point and the product. Don’t get all upset…If you’re selling on online, good for you…It depends like…I’m talking about expensive stuff it’s going to require some hand holding. The more expensive it is its going to require hand holding and sharing the same air.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: That means going to events or hosting events yourself…Talk shows or open studio events. I’d invite people to my place here at the beach when I started out. Served them cocktails and [inaudible 00:33:25] and most people didn’t buy a damn thing, but a few did and it was worth it.

Jonathan: Okay. Lynn had a question and it dovetails into a question that Jaden has as well. Lynn wanted to know how do you handle the businessy stuff like building a sales funnel, selling, managing clients? Then Jaden’s question is, do you recommend getting the manager to kind of handle some of that stuff for you, make those connections? What are your thoughts on that?

Ann: Well, let’s keep it real. You’re never going to afford a manager until you get a certain point of success.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: Let’s just keep this real. There’s no like long line a manager is waiting for a jobs to work for artists who aren’t making enough money to pay them. You got to…You got to be become success on your own first, then you can hire a manager. Yes, so you can’t really…You can’t start with a manager. There’s no manager. I don’t know where they are, but I’d love one. I don’t know…That’s a false…It’s one of those false notions, right, like get a manager. You’ve got…The first thing that’s…The first thing a manager may let’s say work on a percentage or a gallery is going to ask you is, “How much have you sold?” How much is…Or they’re not going to take you on. Sorry, you’re going to have to master this and guess what it’s actually fun and interesting. Now the other question was about how I managed the business side?

Jonathan: Yeah, like did you have to do it all from the scratch on your own? Did you get help from people? What did it look like?

Ann: Well, so wherever I could get help I got help and especially yeah definitely, so one of the ways that you can get help is through like Elance and oDesk. Right? It’s pretty cheap. Another way is you can get help like trading for services, bartering, I’m not going to get into the tax implications of that, but I did a lot. I did trades a lot when I first started. I traded for hair salon services, I traded for acupuncture, I traded for massage, I traded for so…I traded anything I damn well could trade for. I traded for graphic design, website design…People who would like really loved my art but wouldn’t normally buy it were…Because they didn’t usually buy art they were great…They were great prospects for giving a trade.

I did it dollar for dollar trade, and I kept it all in writing because I didn’t want to lose my friendships in a relationships with these people. I wanted the boundaries to be very clear. That’s another way that you can do it. Here’s a thing you don’t have to do everything at once. All right, just take it one step at a time. The one thing that’s a big hazard is feeling overwhelmed. If you got plan however, especially a living plan you can take things you can chunk things out and do things in a logical sequence. It’s very difficult to do that if you don’t have it written down and you don’t have…You’re not keeping up with it, very, very difficult. I don’t think you can do it actually.

Jonathan: Okay. When you …

Ann: Timing is important.

Jonathan: When you were building your business plan…Now, this ties into a question from Sarah, is there a business plan outline that you think fits well for artists…Where did you land on your search?

Ann: Well, I have a plan and I’ve a one-page plan. It’s not as anywhere as in-depth as life plans. I don’t know if I can mention that or not, but I feel if it’s proper then you can send out the link, but you’re all welcome to that. That is a good place to…It’s actually artists who strive to launch the plan, but you can’t stop there. That’s just to get things out. You have to go to the next level and that’s where you have to keep iterating that plan, and that’s just the bare bones of it. That’s why a product like live plans keeps you engaged in planning. It’s not the plan, okay, it’s actually not the plan, it’s the planning. Does that make sense?

Jonathan: Yeah, I think it does.

Ann: Do you think it matters? Of course you do.

Jonathan: I think it does, but let’s explain that to all.

Ann: [Crosstalk 00:38:07]. You got to start every week by looking at your plan. It’s like a…You say a plan is not a road map it’s a compass. Let’s just look at this analogy, right?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: Lets say I want to go from San Francisco to New York City and I have never taken this journey before in my life right and that’s like wanting to go from 0 to a $100,000 in one year. How the hell am I going to do that, right?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: Well, what’s going to happen is I’m going to make progress…Let’s say, I get across Nevada or I will…Now I may have to look at my map again to see if I’m pointing the right direction and I still point to east towards New York or am I going towards Alaska now right so you have to look at your plan and see where you’re positioned in the map. You also have to take this…One thing about planning is you look at your situation as it is today…What are those six things I need to do today, right.

Then you also want to be able to take a step back and look at your plan and your position on that plan or on that map from like a 30,000 mile view to see where you’re tracking. We got to zoom in and out. That’s my best analogy I can give you, but it’s really important. Bottom line is this…When you think about the act of writing something or trying to articulate something…When we write we find out what we know and what we don’t know. That’s important too, but not being able to answer questions is…It’s great news. Right, I don’t know what my target market is. Great, so then you can ask the question, “Well, then how do I find out?”

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: You’re not going to have all the answers at once, but planning will help you provide those answers over time and those answers will also change over time.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: It’s really important.

Jonathan: Yeah, that’s great. Thank you.

Ann: If anyone off here isn’t …

Jonathan: That is okay. We have a question from Marilyn John, she wanted to know how do you stay motivated when you’re art is good and maybe you’ve had people compliment that its good, but it’s not selling. What keeps you motivated in that situation?

Ann: Yeah, you take some compliment and deposit them in a bank, Marilyn, I know that. I know that feeling. I’m going to address this. Okay because this gives artistes a lot of consternation. They get gushing compliments from people and then those people don’t buy and then the artist feels like…Their family thinks somehow okay. Let me give an analogy…A lot of people here at San Francisco drive those Tesla cars and I think they’re really beautiful and I think that they’re…I like that they’re so well-engineered, but no matter how much money I had I am never going to…I am never going to spend a $100,000 on a car, because if you live in San Francisco you’re bumpers going to get dented. I just wouldn’t do it. Right, so I admire that car.

I think it’s a beautiful car. I respect the engineering, but I’m not going to buy it. I’m never going to buy it…Those are those people who give you the compliments but don’t buy your stuff. Just take the compliments as an assurance that you’re doing something right.

Jonathan: Right.

Ann: You just never found your target market and you probably haven’t found your…If you have found your target market you’re not addressing their pinpoint. Let me just say, Keith Bradley the portrait painter who I referred to earlier, a lot of those people didn’t know that they needed their children’s portrait painted. They never felt it and it never occurred to them, but when she presented it as hey, this is a way to actually celebrate your child’s individuality. Take pride in it and acknowledge them, like…It’s a junior portrait.

Jonathan: Yeah, that brings to a question from Sabrina Booth, I’m glad she brought this up because it kind of ties into what you were saying earlier with thinking through that people that you’ve already talked to, who have shown some interest in your work. How do you take an enquiry and then convert it to an actual sale?

Ann: Well, that’s a big question. I wish I could talk to her directly, like what really delve into the question so I can ask questions about the questions to make sure I understand it.

Jonathan: Sure.

Ann: Because I apologize everyone and maybe answering the question and it’s not affectively answering what you typed in, but…That’s such a big question because how do I sell something. It really…The question is how do I sell something and that’s as big of a question as how do I market something. Right, I can’t really answer without knowing the specifics, but I will tell you this…As in the general world people buy, generate most of your business. Because they already trust you, right, so you already got number one…You’ve already got that box checked if you got a referral.

Really, anything I would say about selling and this is as a general notion is this just really having a conversation…A guided conversation. You want to find out if you could help them or not and this is why understanding what you’re solving is so critical. If you can’t help them then you let them know you can’t help them and then you end that conversation before you waste time…Your time and their time.

Its just really that’s a very, very different philosophical approach than using test closes and closing the deal, so its about having guided conversations and then I also will add you got to ask. Just come right on say, is this something you’re…Can you picture this on your wall? Do you like wearing this…Do you like the way that bracelet feels? Do you want to take it home with you? Would you…I offer free delivery…Would you…If you’re interested in buying this today, I can offer free delivery and installation. You sense it there’s not interest which you almost have to make them mental note, when you’re just starting to sell to remember to ask for the sale.

Jonathan: Yeah, I think that’s a good point. Can I tie into something that I want to ask you about to is maybe what’s holding back somebody back from doing that is the fear of either rejection or the fear that they don’t know how if they can represent themselves well. How do you handle fear? How do you get past it? What’s worked for you?

Ann: Fear …

Jonathan: What was that? What do you say?

Ann: Fear is always going to be there. It’s always going to be there and you can’t ever get rid of it, so don’t fight it, just say hello to it. Say, “Hey, [inaudible 00:45:52] fear. I feel like I’m sweating, I can feel it. I feel the hair is raising on the back of my neck.” Feel it. You’re going to feel fear. It’s okay. It doesn’t prevent you from saying, “Are you interested in buying this?” You can just…I think spear of fear just causes more damn fear. It’s actually anxiety. That’s actually would cause…I’m very familiar with it.

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: You have to just feel the fear and do it anyway, and it’s very…It is more fearful for an artist to ask for the sale because it’s personal. I’m telling you, if you will take, if you will start selling art, I mean it, start selling your art and look for ways to solve the problem, you’re not going to have a problem to find, you’re not going to have a problem asking whether or not you can solve the problem. You’re not going have a problem with that. You’re going to want to do that because you’re actually going yourselves someone’s problem.

Jonathan: I think what might be helpful to is to recognize that you’re going to make mistakes that does happen. You might mess it up. [Crosstalk 00:46:57]. You might feel like you lost that sale, but that shouldn’t stop you from asking and you’ll find that as you continue to ask you’ll get better. Is that right?

Ann: Yes, there’s a phrase…I don’t know who came up with this phrase, but when it comes to like sales and losing sales, you’re going to lose more sales and you’re going to have it closed by a huge percentage, and the phrase goes, “Some will, some won’t, so what next?” There’s really a provision to take. It’s okay. There it’s okay. It’s a number’s gain, and it’s not personal. I mean, when the last time you went to a shoe store and you didn’t buy those shoes, wasn’t a personal rejection as the sales person know it all. You just didn’t want the shoes. They didn’t fit you.

They weren’t you’re style; you didn’t feel like shopping that day. It really is that you don’t lose sight of this. We have this illusion that the art is an extension of ourselves. Our relationship to our art that’s true. When the buyer comes around, it’s just a product that they do want to buy or they don’t want to buy. It’s not personal if they reject it, if they don’t want to buy it.

Jonathan: That’s interesting. I haven’t thought of that before, but that makes a lot of sense. It helps from an owner’s point of view to recognize that, and stop seeing it is a personal rejection which might take a little bit of time to realize that. It sounds like it’s worth it.

Ann: If you get into this place for you really understand what problem you’re solving because just they wanted to happen…You’ll be selling…Remember when I said you don’t want to sell art, selling art sucks. You want to create value above and beyond the art and sell that. If you’re focused on that, you’re not actually selling your art anymore. The example with Kate Bradway, she’s not actually selling portraits of children, but she’s actually selling it’s an opportunity to a parent, usually it’s a mother to celebrate and to knowledge their child’s individuality, and they’re worth of their individuality. It’s an opportunity to love that child for who they’re, just as they are. That’s a powerful promise. Product promise isn’t it?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: A lot more probable and engaging they’re trying to sell portrait.

Jonathan: Got it.

Ann: It is in fact that’s what actually happens and it’s…These portraits get unveiled of these children and the parents often like tears, well, she loves it when the dad’s cry in particular, really …

Jonathan: That’s great.

Ann: I want to emphasize, you have to be authentic because people will smell it. This system really be authentic. If it is it, it will work.

Jonathan: Tony asks a question that I think ties well into this. He said, “Is art is abstract?”

Ann: Okay.

Jonathan: He’s having trouble knowing how to communicate? How that solves a problem? Maybe you can speak to that.

Ann: Glad you asked, Tony. Love it. Okay, so let me give you another example of someone who’s selling art, but not selling art, okay? This artist I worked with, her name is Jenny Nikki, let me explain who she is and what she stands for first of all. Her why? When Jenny Nikki was in her early thirties, she was married, had two children and she was given a diagnosis of cancer and given 50-50 chance to live. Okay. As you can well imagine she was very scared, and her heart was bursting because she didn’t know if she was going to be around for her children, so on the way that she responded to this stress by the way she’s an abstract painter. That’s why I’m talking about Jenny Nikki.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: She went into her studio and she started painting, abstract paintings to her children. Basically, she’s “I wanted to make stuff, so I can leave something behind because I really know I was going to be around.” I thought, “I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to act, so this is what I’ll do,” and that’s what…I said, “Oh that’s interesting. It sounds like you were basically reading a legacy of love to your children.” She said, “Oh my God, that’s exactly what I was doing. I said, “Well, what will be interesting Jenny?” She said, “Why are you doing that?” She said, “Because I realized that I needed to tell them that I love them and show them that I love them. I need to show them that I love them in case I didn’t make it.” By the way, she’s like five years cleaned. She’s very healthy.

Jonathan: That’s nice to hear.

Ann: Yeah, she’s doing great, so I just thought, “Ooh, this is awesome. I got idea.” Then what happened next was I said, “Oh, my Gosh, Jenny, so many people have this problem. The problem is they don’t people and realize that they love them, and why they love them.” Talk about pain, that’s a fake big pain as humans have, right?

Jonathan: Yeah.

Ann: What if you actually sat with someone, and you ask them like she did this. She did this with the groom and is his bride-to-be. She sat with him and said, “Tell me the reasons you love her.” He wrote a list with Jenny. He started crying which is great because it’s I have this phrase, “Watch him cry, make a buy” which means touch their heart. They will just…That’s what art does. It touches your heart. He went through this process with her and then she took those words and she was all blubbery too. It’s fantastic. Then, she created this painting. It was an abstract painting that was inspired by this love list. Then what happened was the wedding party actually paid the commission, and Jenny came to the wedding reception unveiled the painting. The bride starts crying. The groom starts crying. Everybody in the reception starts crying. Jenny gets much referrals.

Jonathan: Yeah, okay.

Ann: Jenny gets you where this is. This is really is…This is made of…This is Jenny’s real circumstance. She knows who she is. Jennie knows what’s important in her life. That’s what’s important. You find out what’s important when you face death. She knows who she is and what she stands for. Does she resonate with everyone? No. Does her abstract style and abstract painting resonate with everyone? No. Doesn’t matter. She knows how to connect with retarded market though. She knows how to help them. She can solve a problem. She can alleviate pain. She doesn’t have to sell any more damn abstract paintings, which is no fun. There’s too many abstract paintings. You’re not talented enough. I’m not talented enough.

Jonathan: When we talk about this, it’s like so far we’ve used painting an artist sells the example which makes a whole lot of sense because you’re …

Ann: I know.

Jonathan: You know a lot of artists, but…[Crosstalk 00:54:26]. Exactly. Do you have examples for how musicians who’ve done this? How photographers have done this?

Ann: Yes. I only know example of a musician, okay? Musician who is…He was in Whitney Houston’s first music video. He grew up in the Baptist church in a thoughtful tradition just like Whitney did. He tried for many, many years to make it, to get signed by a label and blah, blah, blah, things you do, right? Hold on. You’re a Gospel…I’ll explain to you what you’re doing. I said, “You are Gospel singer.” He’s like, “Oh, I can’t use the word Gospel, it’s not marketable.” I’m like, “Well, first of all Mister, you don’t really you haven’t been a master of marketing yet. Let’s just go back and believe where they’re and where we stand for,” because that’s why your strength lies, your authentic self.

What happened was fast forward. I was just trying what he is doing now. He went back to the Gospel tradition, and we created this concept of something that’s called “Voice Church.” It’s a reflection of a term called “House Church” and in the Christian community in the South; they gather and have church in people’s houses. What he does is he goes to people’s houses and he actually conducts a gospel sing along. In that tradition, you actually sit or stand in a circle and it’s called a response. Everyone can sing. You don’t have to know the words.

He calls, and then people say in response and people have a flipping blast, it’s like karaoke, where you don’t have to get drunk. It’s like karaoke. You don’t have to believe in Jesus or God. Everyone’s welcome. Everybody comes from every whether they have religious orientation or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s a way to gather people and they feel so joyful, and they feel so distressed after doing one of these same circles. You see what probably solving, he also give you a damn excuse to have a very compelling and memorable party.

Jonathan: yeah.

Ann: At the minimum, that’s a minimum value proposition. People are so happy and they’re lit up at the end of this. He is going back to who he is and what he stands for. He knows that people are very afraid of singing. There’s an African proverb winch he has on his website, “If you could speak, you could sing.” Most people when you ask that if they could sing, most go “Oh, I can’t sing. I sound like hell.” He gets over all that in the singing circles. There’s also a huge barrier for a lot of people. That’s an example of musicians.

I can’t give you like…If you type into the chat box I’m a musician how can I make a good living? It’s a hell. I can answer you without digging in deeper. You can ask some of these questions to yourself. Look for what characteristics, what experience, what skills, what resources do you have above and beyond your art. That’s where I encourage you all to look, but for real I would less than an hour from my country. That’s like people are bunch of very affluent tourists, so write down the road there, so that’s why so they’re all panting veneers.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: That’s a great information.

Jonathan: That helps, that definitely helps.

Ann: That’s fantastic for sales, not every circumstance, but many.

Jonathan: Yeah, I guess that you’ve taken one thing away from today’s webinar. It’s that alcohol helps sales. No, I’m just kidding.

Ann: Auctions at art gallery receptions. They’re serving and it’s like always serve it.

Jonathan: Take down, okay.

Ann: People connect with their emotions and their impulses when their…I’m not suggesting you all become…You create a bunch of losers. I’m just saying, it is an actual strategy that is used for. Let’s not pretend that is used.

Jonathan: Well, that’s about the time that we have for questions. Thank you everyone for submitting your questions and

Ann: Yeah, thank you.

Jonathan: Thank you for your time. I wanted to follow up just real quick you’re a course instructor, you do have this course about making money and making art.

Ann: Eight courses.

Jonathan: You have eight courses, so I’m going to do, I’m going to paste the link in here into the chat window for everybody. I mean, just do that real quick. Okay, so that’s the link and you wanted to offer 10% off for the course if people include this with LivePlan. [Crosstalk 00:59:34].

Ann: If you copy Jonathan’s T-shirt…Let me just back up. I actually teach something called, “The MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester.” Enrollment is not open right now, but there is I’m accepting applications the next “MAKING Art Making MONEY Semester” and you can go to this link, and apply.

Jonathan: Okay.

Ann: Yeah, there’s an apply link, but if you can navigate towards that I think. Well, actually you can anyway. If you put in, there’s a place at the very bottom of the applications as, “Where did you hear of us the very first time?” If it was “LivePlan” just type in Jonathan’s T-shirt “LivePlan,” and you will receive a promo code that will extend a 10% off, and that’s in neighborhood of $200.

Jonathan: Awesome.

Ann: Get your take. It’s actually valuable, and that’s just because you all showed up. See what happens when you show up.

Jonathan: Yeah, thank you. Just as a note because a few people have asked in about seven days or so, I mean, I sent a follow-up email to everybody who attended, everybody who registered for the webinar, is going to include a recording of this conversation that we had, and I’ll definitely include the link to Ann’s course with the discount, so you can get that there as well. Yeah, once again, Ann, thank you for joining us today. Thank you for all of your great answers. Thank you everyone for coming and submitting such great questions.