Well, it's Saturday and the weather is beautiful in Vegas baby! It's a great day for golf, getting a tan, or just doing something outside. But... I'm in the office to get some work done and other than Michael Bublé playing in the background appropriately singing Me and Mrs. Jones, it's quiet -- very quiet. I love it. It's been a long time since I've worked at the office on the weekend (typically I login from home). However, I must admit, it's nice to be away from all the distractions like barking dogs, crazed family members yelling at the television during the Preakness, or the battle to fight off urges for junk-food because I'm too lazy to make something healthier (don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about). Which leads me into my first topic for many of our budding entrepreneurs that subscribe to Load services.
Sacrifices must be made...
I've had the pleasure of being a guest speaker for many entrepreneurial/business classes at UNLV and the Community College of Southern Nevada. It always makes me smile when I see the students because so often you can group them into categories: sleeper, know-it-all, wanna-be, and diamond in the rough. The sleeper is easy to spot because they're sleeping. The know-it-all is nodding 'Yes' to everything you're saying and NOT taking notes. The wanna-be talks to you after the session and tells you about 100 different ideas they have and how they're going to do them all at once. And finally, the diamond in the rough is taking notes, asking questions, and actually trying to understand how your business works and why. But the one thing that nearly all of these students fail to comprehend is the sacrifices that will be asked of them to make it as an entrepreneur (excluding consultants that outsource the work). While I do realize there are entrepreneurs that have it easier than others (I can't honestly say the guy who founded Girls Gone Wild on credit cards struggled too mightily at the start), most entrepreneurs learn early on that owning a successful business means never getting to take a break, staying at the office late, eating fast-food meals, and often raising your level of stress. Sounds awesome doesn't it? And that's just a typical week.
So, what makes being a business owner worth the sacrifice?
While I'd love to say that it's helping people and feeling a huge sense of worth at the end of the day, I almost gag just thinking it. For me it's truly about doing something you love because work doesn't feel like WORK. It's about creating the environment you want to work in and doing the best you can every day knowing that some days are absolutely better than others. I get asked all the time what are the 3 most important things I've learned as a business owner and I'd like to share them with you:
- Attitude is Everything - as a business owner you have the highest highs and the lowest lows. The key is to stay even keeled, especially if everyone in the company is looking to you as the leader and inspiration. Just remember when talking to employees, coffee is for closers.
- "Experience is Expensive" - one of my favorite sayings that I like to think I made up. Learn from others at all times. As a business owner there's no time to waste if you're operating in a market niche that is time sensitive. And you know the cliché... time is money.
- Make Time for YOU - this is usually the first thing to go when you start a business. I suggest you hold onto this with all your mite, otherwise you'll end up bitter or fat, or worse... bitter AND fat.
There are so many things to be learned in business and I personally feel as a business owner you learn things you'd never encounter as an employee in a corporation. That said, as an employee your day usually ends at 5PM. :)
LoadStats integration into CompanyWebsite
There's not much to say on this other than FINALLY! We'll be making an announcement in the next couple of weeks that will allow CompanyWebsite subscribers to automatically activate LoadStats in their account.
Quote of the week from LoadStats subscriber TV4U.com: "Get this Google stats crap off my site!"
TV4u.com previously used Google Analytics, but was so disappointed with the accuracy that they searched for an alternate provider. After setting up LoadStats, you could immediately see the discrepancy in reporting. I thought this was so funny because it is rare that you hear anything negative about Google. Usually people just blindly walk towards the light. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
CompanyWebsite Customization
We've had a number of CompanyWebsite subscribers request help in customizing their franchisee sites. While the service allows all subscribers to make changes to the site in real-time and includes HTML content items, images, and plug-n-play applications, our Technical Support team has finally convinced us that we need to offer a custom design service. Load will help franchisees customize their sites within the framework of their franchisor's corporate mandate as it relates to websites. Be on the lookout for this announcement. If you're a CW subscriber, we'll be knocking on your door soon. If you want to beat all of the other franchisees to the punch, give us a call at 702.898.1234.
And Last but Not Least, Sports!
Normally I give a rundown of the major sporting events that took place during the week (minus soccer and hockey....I mean c'mon). But this week, I'm going to touch on a few topics that I've had fun arguing about with friends. Enjoy!
- This week saw the elimination of the Golden State Warriors AND the Phoenix Suns, easily the two most explosive offenses in the playoffs this year. Unfortunately for the NBA, the best teams are in their respective conference finals and nobody is going to care. No offense to the Jazz-Spurs-Pistons-Cavs fan base, but there's only going to be 5 cities watching basketball this week. Each of the four team's home town and Vegas because of betting. The NBA doesn't have compelling games and quite frankly, half the reason I'll watch at all now is because I like Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley from TNT who provide hilarious commentary on the games.
- Boston Red Sox have the best record in baseball. I must admit, they look like the best team right now. They have the best pitching, they have pretty good hitting across the board and the only team that I would take over the Sox right now is the Indians because they're hitting the crap out of the ball. So, we'll see if the Red Sox can keep it up or if they'll break the hearts of all their fans come fall. I can't say that I'm not expecting a collapse of monumental proportions, but we'll just have to wait and see.
- If I had to put money on it, I'd bet that Roger Clemens took performance enhancing drugs. If you look at his stats while he was in Boston, his numbers continued to get worse and worse, particularly from ages 30-33. But, then miraculously, at ages 34, 35, 38, 41, AND 42, he won the Cy Young and was lights out. What amazes me is that Roger Clemens got better during the years in his life he was supposed to be getting worse AND he did this all during the Steriod Era. Hmmm...well, for those of you that continue to only point at Barry Bonds and say he doesn't look look the same as when he came into the league, here's a photo of Clemens.
I love Dodgers fans because most of them live in fantasy land. I don't know if it is because of the proximity to Disneyland, but every Dodger fan I talk to (except maybe my cousins and my uncle) swears to me that the Dodgers are going to the Series. While I think they're playing great and could contend, they always seem to come out of the gate quick and then tank after the All-Star break and let an aging crappy team like the Giants back in it. While this sounds good to me because I like the Giants, the Dodgers are clearly the better squad and should contend for the NL Pennant. One can only hope because my cousins deserve a break and don't need me and my brother giving them crap for another season. Especially my cousin Luke who was nice enough to take me to a Dodger game last weekend. You da man Luke!
- The NFL does a much better job of creating an environment where fans will happily condone players taking performance enhancing drugs. IMPRESSIVE indeed! Shawn Merriman was suspended in 2006 for use of a banned substance, yet he came back and was named to the Pro Bowl. Amazingly, no matter how hard ESPN tried to make this a topic, fans wouldn't bite and the story died. I personally think steroids is all over the place in the NFL. Heck, when a former Pittsburgh Steelers player from the mid- to late-70s admitted to taking steroids when they were winning championships, it really makes you wonder who else was juiced. Not to mention, the Carolina Panthers' recent steroid scandal where even a Punter was taking steroids. That said, only 110 days till the seaon starts. YAY!
- If a puck dropped in the forest, would anyone hear it? I wonder if we'll ever see a day when ESPN simply doesn't show a hockey highlight. I don't mean to sound as if I hate the sport. Actually, I think it is a great game and some of the best athletes I knew in college were hockey players. That said, it just amazes me how little people talk about the sport. Granted, I am on the West Coast and Vegas doesn't have a team. However, I was in LA last weekend and I didn't hear anyone talking about the Anaheim Ducks, but I could still hear people talking about Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Not a good sign for the NHL in general.
Well, that's it for this week. I'm sure I'll be hearing from you during the work week! Have a great weekend and Get Loaded!