Years ago, I was chopping wood for a barbeque. I wore sandals, and stupidly supported the wood with my foot.

Bang!

I chopped right into the tip of my front toe. The only thing that prevented me from cleaving the entire toe in half and limping for the rest of my life was my sandal.

Idiot.

At the emergency room, they injected directly into the quarter-inch wound before sewing it up. Ouch!

I no longer chop in the direction of my feet.

A New Respect Gained

I was preparing for a camping trip to Ponta Do Ouro in Mozambique in the summer of 1972. (Don’t go there now, unless you like the idea of landmines – you might lose more than a toe…) As I packed my VW minibus camper, I carried my snub-nosed .38 Astra Special revolver on a sleeping cushion. As I stepped up into the back door, the loaded gun slipped off the pillow, hit the bus’s floor, and went off.

Since the windows and other doors were closed and a bullet was definitely fired, it can only have passed between me and the inside of the one door – a very small space – a close miss, if ever there was one.

Stupid.

I learned an important lesson and gained a renewed respect for guns.

Limit Risk and Costs

I have met more conmen, shysters, and outright thieves in the past twelve years than I ever thought possible.

And with governments fast going the way of outright socialism and banks and the taxman collaborating to put the squeeze on business owners, we live in an increasingly  dangerous business world. It’s time to grow up and realize that we are at risk, and that we need to limit our risk.

Avoid it All Together

When I tell people to do business with no cost and no risk, I mean it.

I know a fellow with a giant ego and a small IQ who regularly sought to differ with me on this point. I have seen him lose a lot of money, since he doesn’t understand how to avoid risk and cost. If he did, he wouldn’t lose so much money in his harebrained schemes, or work with thieves.

Knowing how business works, and understanding the odds, the risks, and the fact that there are a few dishonest people around, makes it necessary, if one wishes to get rich, to avoid risk and costs.

It’s Easier Than it Seems

1. Use leverage and existing resources instead of paying for new ones. Work strategically and don’t rely on any one source of income.
2. Pay for results, not promises.
3. Be VERY careful whom you associate / do business with. Remember that people can change for the worst – easily and quickly, so be prepared for that.
4. When you smell a rat, RUN. Cut bait. Delete. Immediately.
5. Test people in many ways to make sure they are still loyal and honest. Be a detective.
6. Don’t disclose the identities of your Joint Venture partners.
7. Triangulate deals – don’t sell your own products and services.
8. Align yourself with people who share your philosophy – don’t link up with mystics, socialists, environmentalists, or reverse racists.
9. Don’t trust government or work with government or their agents.
10. Operate with no overhead – lean and mean. Expect the best and prepare for the worst. Spread your income and diversify.

Joint Ventures allow one to operate as above, and the older and wiser I get, the more I appreciate the power and sophistication offered by the Joint Venture systems I use.

If you’re carrying a gun, make sure it’s not pointed at you.

Ayn Rand wrote,

“All work is an act of philosophy.”

For innovators, produces, and creators, our work is our lives – our businesses are simply an extension off our philosophies and values.

We take our work very seriously, and we take full responsibility for being the best we can be. We don’t do it for other people – we do it for ourselves.

A writer must write, a painter has to paint, and a dancer is compelled to dance, since what they do is an expression of their minds. Entrepreneurs are also artists. Musicians create symphonies; business owners create businesses.

The PBS television show I watched described how a couple in New York City closed their coffee shop because of the recession.

In some cases, closing down a business that is running at a loss is the right thing, however in many cases, a business can be saved instead of being closed down, especially if there are leases and penalties and further losses to be incurred by the closure.

There is a little-known way to redeem a business and move it back into profitability.

How can one turn a business around without incurring additional costs and risk?

Turning It Around with Joint Ventures

We’re talking about a blood transfusion here, not a brain transplant. But then it does take a different way of thinking to rectify this frightening situation.

“You’ve gotta know when you hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run” is right.

But it’s good to know that most entrepreneurs are unaware of the most valuable, lucrative option available to them – Joint Ventures. Thousands of businesses could be saved with Joint Ventures.

Leverage Your HIDDEN Assets

Instead of focusing on what is drowning us, like insufficient sales and customers, high overhead, bank loans, and so on, let’s focus on what we DO have:

• hidden assets,
• resources,
• relationships,
• credibility,
• access,
• a database,
• inventory,
• location,
• a brain and a work ethic – these are qualities that are seldom found…

we have far more than we don’t have. We might be rowing our boat along with breaking back and blistered and bleeding hands, while we have access to a seventy horsepower outboard motor we’re not even aware of…

Create 100% Profit Without Cost or Risk

Business is not about selling more cups of overpriced coffee and muffins. It’s not about getting more customers. It’s not about increasing sales and cutting costs or feeling important – it’s about NET PROFIT.That is the true purpose of business: To make the maximum after-tax profit, as fast as possible, with the least cost, risk, time, effort, and frustration.

Joint Ventures allow one to leverage existing resources, access and leverage the resources of others, and create multiple additional income sources – fast – all at 100% profit, with no cost or risk, and little time.

Discover Your Existing Resources

How can the coffee shop owner leverage existing resources? He starts thinking about what OTHER people want – his customers, people who are not his customers, his vendors, his competition, the public, tourists… Then he starts solving problems – linking supply and demand, like a broker or middleman, and getting paid an ongoing commission on all the resulting sales. Zig Ziglar said,

“You can get anything you want out of life, if you’re prepared to help enough other people to get what they want.”

Enter Joint Ventures.

Create Income and Increase Value

The coffee shop owner can Joint Venture with the hair salon who is also in the financial doldrums. When a customer indicates an interest in buying jewelry, real estate, or finding a cab, Ka-ching! When his vendors need help with their problems, when someone is looking for a good printer or needs renovation services – all of these are income opportunities.

The coffee shop owner can use Gift Certificates to create income and increase value, work with tour guides and dentists, and set himself up as a go-to guy that gets stuff done.

He is literally surrounded by lucrative Joint Venture opportunities, and he’s right in the middle of New York City. He has the gold mine, and I have the shovel.

Reality Check on Small Business Joint Ventures

In fact, someone who really understands Joint Ventures would never open a coffee shop to begin with. But that’s why most of the owners of small and medium-sized businesses operate at about ten percent of their potential profit, and why they work too hard, too long, and risk too much, for far too little.

For more information on the power of Joint Ventures visit us at www.jvwidom.com, – we have solutions.

Hard Workers

Some people work hard pumping water in the hot sun, filling buckets with it, and carrying it to another location, where they sell it to their customers.

They work too hard, they sell their time, they have very limited potential, and they are terrified of their competition. They are, essentially, controlled by their customers.

These are: the self-employed, broke salespeople / laborers who call themselves entrepreneurs.

Real Entrepreneurs

This past week we enjoyed a wonderful Alaskan Cruise. High end, high class, high standards. Ran like clockwork, every detail attended to.

One night, a large section of the crew, including officers, chefs, and people representing every department, showed up on the stage in the theater at the end of one of the performances. They sang, and it was great. The entertainment manager stated at the end of the event,

“We represent many countries and creeds. See how we can all work together in perfect harmony, regardless of our backgrounds, cultures, religions, or education? We have a lot to teach the world.”

They then proceeded to sing, “We are the world.” Very sweet, but not very accurate.

A Principle of HarMONEY

Few people have guts to tell it the way it is. Robert Kiyosaki, in this incredible video, says things like,

“Four things make 90% of the people poor: taxes, inflation, debt, retirement plans.”

And then he provides solutions. He says,

“America will become a third world nation – rich and poor. That’s it. Tell me something money does not affect. Most guys are just wimps. Pussies. Cowards. They don’t have it. so they should get a job. It takes discipline. Most people would like to have a great body like Charles Atlas, but they’re at Burger King wolfing down a Whopper with fries. I don’t know how you can expect to get anything you want without some degree of long-term commitment. Quitting is the easiest thing to do. That’s why most people don’t make it. Everybody has doubts and fear of failing. But look at Tiger Woods or any great athlete: when the going gets tough, that’s when they turn into geniuses and most people turn into wimps. Get off your butt. If you want to be a mechanic, you go hang out with mechanics. If you want to get rich, hang out with rich people.”

3 Things You Need to Succeess

When it comes down to it, you need three things to succeed in business:

I had a friend who would always leave a dollar bill on the floor of his office and give people time in his office alone.

He told me that he was often amazed at who stuck the bill in their pockets – essentially stealing – and who would put the bill on his desk.

When he applied the same test with the same people, substituting a TEN-dollar bill, the same thieves still stole, and the same honest people still put the bills on his desk.

Being the Best You Can Be at All Times

Successful people know that details are important, and that small actions are clues to big choices.

Quite soon after I married Rika, she was in hospital for an operation, and even while she was still woozy from the anesthetic, she was fixing her hair, wiping her mouth, and arranging her bedclothes.

That tells you a lot about someone – not how they behave under normal circumstances, but how they behave under pressure and the small things they notice and do.

Every Detail Counts as Clues

Jill Brock wore gold shoes to the seminar I presented in Edmonton, because she knows I like gold.

How comfortable would you be with an accountant who arrived late, forgot his files, or didn’t return phone calls promptly?

• Body language,
• punctuality,
• personal grooming and dress,
• spelling mistakes in e-mails,
• website links that don’t work,
• foul language on Facebook

– all clues.

I sent someone an important e-mail to which I received no reply, however I noticed that he took the time to participate in infantile, mindless games and “look alike” sessions on Facebook.

The Little Matters = The Big Matters

Peoples’ choices and actions reveal their values, beliefs, and priorities, and predict how they will behave and what choices they will make when it comes to serious money and events.

Someone who can steal ten dollars from you can also steal a few thousand dollars from you: faithful in little, faithful in much.

If someone lacks the self-respect and self-discipline to honor their word and fulfill their obligations in small matters, they will definitely let you down when it comes to large matters.

Testing and Evaluations

Test in a small way before spending big.

Give people a few small tests and evaluate their performance. Don’t believe a word they say, but believe everything they do.

I once told someone,

“You might not respect time and money, but I do. We can’t work together.”

I saw a young man in the airport the other day kick a dime that was lying on the floor. Even if it was one cent, I would have picked it up. I respect money. This young man probably had his daddy paying for everything, so he had no respect for money.

He will never make money if he doesn’t respect it, and I would never work with someone like that.

Allow Others to EARN Your Trust

Like the words of that old song go,

“And there she was, kissin’ on another man – and now I know what Momma meant, when she said, ‘Son, take time to now her, it’s not an overnight thing. Take time to know her; please, please don’t rush into this thing.’”

People who are faithful in small things reveal their motives and character.

We went deep-sea fishing off Cancun, and I was impressed to see how protective and caring my friend, Doctor Kumar Ramlall was when another of my friends was seasick.

Watch how people treat:

• animals,
• waiters in restaurants,
• security guards,
• their family,
• and other peoples’ possessions.
• If they allow their kids and pets to invade other peoples’ space and break their stuff

- you know you should avoid doing business with them.

Respect and honor are demonstrated in deeds, not words. Allow people to EARN your trust over time.

Many people who overlooked the implications of Obama’s choice of his friend and associates are now kicking themselves.

Whom you consistently spend time with tells me all about you.

Entrepreneurs, more accurately termed “Solopreneurs”, often believe that they are an island, that they must accomplish everything on their own with their own resources.

These Solopreneurs think that they are maximizing their chance of survival and profitability.

They are totally WRONG.

Two Kinds of Business

Consider what Michael Gerber says in his world-famous book The E-Myth: Revisited