Josiah Mackenzie

The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump is an interesting look into the way he conducts business. Here are some of the ideas I took away from the book.

• Make a statement by your work
• The “Power of Negative Thinking” - plan for the worst case scenario
• Protect yourself with options and flexibility
• Have what the other guy wants
• Location can be enhanced through promotion
• Deliver the goods - your dreams are only good if you can back them up with results
• Control your costs carefully - failing to do so often results in failure
• Going big isn’t that much harder - it takes nearly the same amount of energy to manage 50 units as 1,500
• Project confidence and others will believe you
• Listen to your customers for business direction - not consultants or “experts”
• Never be in too much of a hurry
• Live in the area you work
• Develop lifetime friendships with key suppliers and business partners
• If you’re young, hire an industry veteran to lend credibility and pitch your ideas
• Aim for the top of the market

The Art of the Deal is a book I would recommend to anyone interested in improving their negotiating skills. I believe it’s far better to read books like this from a person who has reached the top of their field than to read conceptual ideas from a business theorist.

In 2006, I fully read over 70 business and personal development books; scanning dozens more. Some were exceptional, others worthless. Here is my list of the 5 must influential books I read and outlined.

(As you’ll notice, not all of them were published in 2006. This is simply a list of books I read this past year.)

#5 E-myth Mastery by Michael Gerber

Showed me that systems are what make an effective business.

#4 Purple Cow & Permission Marketing (Tie) by Seth Godin

These two books have been completely transformed the way I now approach marketing.

#3 Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (It’s All Small Stuff) by Richard Carlson

Richard really helped me put things into perspective and reduce stress in my life.

#2 Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Keith’s superior approach to relationship building has changed the way I do business.

#1 A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

Want to avoid failure in the future? Then reading - and applying - this book is absolutely essential. Daniel Pink has a very thorough understanding of current economic trends, and knows what you must do to succeed in the future marketplace.

This past Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Extreme Entrepreneurship seminar in Lexington, Kentucky. It was one of 10 stops for the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour hosted by Michael Simmons and Sheena Lindahl.

Needless to say, the content was excellent. In addition to hearing Michael and Sheena speak, Ryan Allis and Doug Fath also gave interesting presentations on how they built their companies. It was very inspiring to hear their stories, and ask some questions on how they achieved success.

If you live or go to school in the eastern US, I would highly encourage you look at the Extreme Entrepreneur tour schedule for the rest of this fall. I can guarantee you’ll love attending an event, and come away fired up to take action in your own life.

A couple months ago, I was introduced to Basecamp through a company I was working with. Their workers are all over the globe, so a central headquarters was needed to ensure adequate communication and progress on their projects.

Basecamp met the need perfectly. Through any web browser, you can create projects, timelines, to-do lists, and exchange files. I was impressed.

So impressed that I created an account for my company. Even though I’ve only used it for a couple days, I already feel more organized! And since I’m in the process of hiring several people as staff, it should make work even more productive.

If you have not done so already, I would encourage you to create a Basecamp account now. They offer a free plan that is excellent — fully functional, no time limit, and no credit card needed to sign up. Check it out!

Book: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
Author: Michael Gerber
My Rating: 5/5

Michael Gerber believes that the reason most businesses fail is because they are started by people that have skill in creating a product, not in running a business. This lack of business savvy is what causes the majority of startups to fail.

To avoid this, Gerber tells his readers to work on their business, not in it. He recommends developing a business model that is systems-dependent, rather than people-dependent. This way, you can ensure consistent excellence from your company without overseeing day-to-day operations.

The E-myth by Michael Gerber is full of practical advice for operating your small business successfully. I would highly recommend it to every entrepreneur.

Since I recently incorporated, I was looking for a way to keep all my documents organized. Several companies offer corporate kits, which include a binder with sections for articles of incorporation, bylaws, meeting minutes, stock certificates, and a corporate seal.

After shopping around a bit I ordered Fastkit’s Standard Corporate Kit.

It turned out to be a very good deal for the $45 it cost. The binder is solidly constructed, and Fastkit even threw in extra forms for small business owners, such as the form for obtaining an Employer Tax ID number.

The nice thing about a corporate kit is that it helps you to maintain all the corporate formalities associated with a corporation. And if I had to recommend a corporate kit to you, I would have to go with Fastkit.

While reading Fortune magazine, I noticed an Vistaprint ad for 250 business cards for just $4.99! After you include shipping, the total is still under $10. You can use their templates, or upload your own design.

Here is what I ordered:

Here’s your link for the discount:
http://www.vistaprint.com/fortune

Enjoy!

I recently had the chance to read a book with an interesting title: 100 Simple Secrets of Successful People. The book is very easy to browse — each page contains a “secret” and an anecdote to back it up.

Here is are some of the ones I found helpful. Some of them have been modified to include my comments!

• Write down your plans, goals, and ideas — define them
• Resist the urge to be average
• Seek input from people opposite to your way of thinking
• Do things in the order they need to be done
• Get experience any way you can (even if it doesn’t pay well!)
• Speak slowly — smart people speak slower and choose their words carefully (this helps the listener understand)
• Don’t second-guess your decisions
• The past is not always indicative of the future
• Be efficient — never tolerate waste in any form
• Learn from your losses
• Make change count
• Don’t make material possessions your goal
• Avoid roller-coaster emotions
• It might get worse before it gets better
• Think about what’s next — plan for the future
• Money isn’t everthing
• Know what you are looking for (in your job, life, etc)
• Take action
• Failure is not trying

Recently, I purchased Dell’s new budget laser printer.

I’ve been very pleased with the performance of the 1100. Previously, I used an inkjet printer — laser ones are so much faster. Also, they are more frugal on ink. The cartridge costs more up front (around $60), but can print 2,000 pages.

The downside is that the 1100 works only with Windows, and does not support networking. But for under $100, you can’t beat the value!