#NerdsUnite: Confessions of an accidental entrepreneur (I have to spell check entrepreneur every. single. time!)
I started this site out of passion. I didn't mean to launch a business out of it, but I'm a sales and marketing chica at my core (dudes, when I was 13 and in an elevator with Ray Charles, I rannnnnn inside my parent's hotel room screaming, we just met the Pepsi guy!! yah, you're born this way, man.)- so how could I NOT see the opportunities.
That being said, I'm an incredibly quirky individual when it comes to my now accidental business and wanted to share some tips and tricks that have helped me along the way. Here are some things that I have done this week that have really kept me going ...
1. Believe in yourself.
I can't begin to tell you how many people on a daily basis think I am absolutely bat shit. Like seriously. I get told I am insane every day. ::Insert XXXXX mission I am trying to accomplish:: When I'm reaching out to people I get hung up on, emails go unanswered, people miss meetings - it's lame, and it would be easy for me to react to them in an angry fashion throwing my arms up in the air going - YEAAHHH!! Well I. WIll. Show. YOU!!! .... but guess what?
I don't.
Instead, I thank people for their time and move on. I KNOW what I am doing is different, but that difference is what makes what I'm doing a commodity. If I wasn't so UNBELIEVABLY persistent, and so UNBELIEVABLY confident in what I am doing - two years later we would not be here. For reals, the fact that your eye balls are even reading this right now is a result of blood. sweat. tears. and belief that THROUGH AND THROUGH I could do this.
I believe in myself. I own my motherfucking awesome, and share that with people every day. To be in business for yourself you HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVEEEEEEE TO believe in yourself. Life is reflective - if you don't believe in you, no one else ever will.
Business 101.
2. Start small - grow big.
Anytime I take on a new project I start it off as small as possible. I will attempt to execute something that will VERY LITERALLY cost nothing - and then I look for ways to expand it and include sponsorships only where they make sense. You HAAAVVEEEE to start small when it comes to your ideas. It's super easy to want to go big and go home - and that attitude is GREAT!!!!! but when it comes to general execution, you have to start small so you have a smaller margin for error. Mistakes happen all the time; a mistake that cost you some time is certainly a pain in the ass but a mistake that cost someone else money is a horse of a different color.
Start small, execute as much as possible as you can through passion and through listening to your gut. You will intuitively know what the next step is to grow and what is right. Don't be ruled by the dollar, focus first on what makes sense. The dollars will come, but not until you have built the foundation for it, and to build that foundation you have to have a LOT of trial and error.
3. "No is a starting off point"
That used to be my favorite expression when I was in sales because it's so gosh darn true!! Anytime someone ever tells you no, just consider it a starting off point! It can't go any lower than this!! You've already gotten an answer!!
Persistence will ALWWAAAYYSSS pay off. If someone tells you no in a sale or in an investment, thank them for their time and ask if you can follow up in another 30 days. Most people will say yes - and then go in and mark your calendar for a call or email back to them in 30 days. They will be impressed with your persistence, and flattered you're still thinking of them.
Works. Like. A. Freaking. Charm.
Can't begin to tell you how many sales I used to close off of that. Of course too, it has to make sense to follow up with the person. (Have it be a qualified sale, and someone that you are genuinely looking to close. But then again, why would you be reaching out to them in the first place if they weren't qualified?? Quiet Friel ... shhhh)
No one will ever hand you anything in life. You HAAAVVEEEE to show up for it. By being persistent and not accepting no for an answer, you're already winning half of the battle.
Hope this helps, nerderinos!!! xoxoxoxxoxox
#SOMUCHFREAKINGLOVE
