Do you believe?

We never claimed to be perfect,
That means we’ve learned to be humble.
We say excuse me and I’m sorry…as well as please and thanks,
Even when its not our fault we apologize.
Sure one arm of the torch didn’t rise,
But when the earthquake struck Haiti, Canadians raised their hands to
say…”We’ll help.”
And yah, there is a fence around the torch,
But you can walk right up and shake hands with our prime minister and most
famous Canadians.
We put Gretzky in the back of a pick up, in the rain, not surrounded by
police…and he was okay,
And by the way… the great one is Canadian…and HE wasn’t complaining!
We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don’t even have
a gun they have to leave at home.
The medals ARE under lock and key, but our doors and our hearts are open to
the world.
It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week…but let’s not
overlook the fact that our banking system didn’t.
We didn’t get the “green ice maker” right this time…but we will,
eventually,
Just like we did when we invented the zamboni.
Citius altius fortius
If you don’t reach higher how do you get faster and stronger?
Was the first quad jump perfect?
Should we not have given snowboarding to the world “in case” it didn’t take
off?
So big deal…one out of four torch arms didn’t rise. Good thing we had
three more! It’s called contingency planning!
But remember…the Canadarm works every time…in outerspace…and insulin
turned out to be okay.
We couldn’t change the weather, but maybe we can help to stop global
warming.
We don’t have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but, per
capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-ass venues in the worst global
recession ever.
Sure, some folks couldn’t afford tickets, but our health care is universal.
We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration and
song, but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic
event…together…

South Beach, Florida is somewhere that feels right for me. I’ve written two books there and as soon as I get of the plane at MIA, it seems that I breath deeper, clarity increases, and I’m ready to create something. When I first started Think Tank Communications, I used to work seven days a week. After a year of that, I was running on empty. We took a week off and it was the best thing I could have done. I had time to clear my head, put things in perspective, and have a breather.

I normally take 1-3 months off each year for mini-vacations/time away to think. Last year, I didn’t really take time out and by the end of 2009, I was really needing some time off. With the Olympics coming, there is no better time to escape Vancouver. Long story short, I’m going to take 4-6 weeks off to hit Florida for some quick business meetings, and then on to Barbados. There is nothing like getting out of your regular environment and getting perspective. It’s likely I’m going to sneak back a bit early to do some work in Seattle with a new colleague, but still, time in a hammock does the body good.

I’m curious. Where do you go to take some time off?

C/

Okay. I’m up at 1AM watching Dragon’s Den on PVR. I am dying here. I wasn’t going to blog about this, but it is driving me nuts. Sister’s Secret. The king of restaurants offers them $50,000 for 50% and he will likely put it in every one of his 100+ stores. Every dragon tells them to take the deal. They counter him…at 40%. He pulls the deal. It isn’t all about money folks. They should have given him 50% of the company just for the fucking contacts and distribution he has. Greedy, greedy little piggies.

Next up: Gocky

Like these guys a lot. Cool guy and you can see that the dragon’s are eating this idea up. Valuation is way too high. They have modest orders. Things like this are too hard to get market penetration with. Jim is the hottest Dragon on the panel because of how big his reach is (restaurants), hockey leagues, etc. The ROI is difficult hence them getting the bum rush. Plus, ministers don’t know how to make money.

Next up: The Maggie Dress

Valuation for this company is really good. Excellent idea, especially for women travelling. $130 price point is quite good. She’s done $80K worth of business in a month. I would be ALL OVER THIS deal. She did $43K in one day on the shopping channel. She could see if there is a patent opportunity here for her to license out the design. They could sell multiples (color) to each woman. When Jim offers her 75K for 25%, she says, “I don’t know what to say.” Goes to show that because you are good at doing something doesn’t mean that she is a good business woman. The dragons’ are eating each others lunches on the deal. Arlene tried to scoup it, but the guys are offering more money in hand which has something to say about it. This gal makes the right decision with the guys. Arlene got schooled because she wasn’t vicious enough.

Next up: Himac

Guy’s a retard. $10M valuation. Snake oil salesman. He’s already selling it for $18/bottle. He thinks his company will be worth $100M. Kevin is hilarious. The guy is crazy. Hands them a photocopy (a book) to support his claims. Robert: “I don’t think you are crazy, but you disgust me.” Love it. I was hoping Jim would pull out the cop ass whop and bring it.

Next up: Buy it now button

Dumb.

Next up: CanLets Time Bank

Sucks, but quotation of the night: Kevin: “I’ll give you a hundred grand if you burst into flames.”

Next up: MacKenzie & Marr Guitars

Fair evaluation. Pretty good presentation. Give Kevin a chance to play it. Blindfold is good. People need to play guitars to know why they want to buy it. If they did some type of Zappos.com service guarantee where people could return it if they didn’t like it. It’s a good idea to watch what Arlene (the marketer) does. She is in the business of selling things. Where the magic is, is if Brett (who was dating Sarah McLaughlin) gets her or someone in show business to endorse it. The dragons offer a very good deal. They two guys get  greedy and nearly talk themselves out of a deal over a 3% royalty spead. Everyone is worried about royalties, not realizing that nothing from nothing is nothing and it will take a lot of effort to build that business out.

This show kills me because there are a lot of stupid people out there who blow deals because what they think they have and what they really have are very far away.

I’m looking at scaling up a lot of the projects I have been involved with in the last quarter of 2009. The upcoming launch of Campus CEO – Vancouver, Glass Ceiling Solutions, and the continued building of Simple Bookkeeping, and Lullaby League, To ramp up my interests this year, I’m looking at bringing on a couple of part-time assistants in Seattle. They will handle some of my PR, admin, business development support, et al. I put a post up on Craig’s List and was inundated with resumes. I would guess I got 400+ but was surprised at how many didn’t follow the directions (i.e. Cover letter and salary expectations). Those that didn’t do that were immediately allocated to the “G” file.

Having the right people is the foundation of any big business push. We had an amazing year at the Ghost CEO in 2009 and now with the other companies, I see how everything is nicely gelling together and it’s time to build up. It’s my belief that there are two types of people in a business: those that cost a company money (researchers, administrators, accountants) and those that make a company money (sales people, marketing professionals, publicists, etc.) I like keeping salaries modest and ’stars’ get bonused out (i.e. and assistant that refers some business to the company gets some ‘love’ in return).

From the resumes I received in the Seattle market, I saw my first glimpse of the difference on either side of the border. In Canada, I have young interns wanting $36-$45K to start as an assistant. I have ex-VP’s of marketing for known companies asking for $12-$15/hour and willing to start at $12 to show their value. For Canadian companies doing business in the US and with technology at the level it is at (Skype, Blackberry, cloud computing, etc), you can have employees/contractors anywhere and everywhere. I’ll be hosting interviews the week of January 11th when I’m in Seattle and hope to find one or two, or even three stars to try out for three months and see who can make money, rather than being an expense. Have a read through my listing on Craig’s List so you can see what I am asking for.

NOTE: I’m going to shift this blog a bit in 2010. What was once my ‘rant’ spot will now also house my building of these new companies (plus more I’m sure) and talking about how I’m doing it. People who want to grow business don’t know where to go to see how people do it; those that do it hide how they do it (thinking that it offers them protection.) This will be my professional journal outlining what I’m working on, how I’m doing it, what I’m hitting and what I’m shitting. In any business, there is a hockey stick moment. Think of the shape in your head. It is a flat blade that then takes a serious jet upwards and continues up. That’s where I am with these companies. I have foundation all laid out and now it’s time to ‘hockey stick’ up revenues for 2010. My goal is to take an already impressive cashflow and quadruple revenues in the next 12 months. Easy to do for the new companies (nothing from nothing is…nothing), but a little more difficult for the companies like 2020 Communications, Ghost CEO, and others already on a serious revenue path. Hell, I’m even considering getting into the ‘internship”, “fashion”, and “tea” businesses. It will prove to be a bumpy, but entertaining year. Oh, did I mention I’m working on a new book and spending over half the year outside the country?

If you have questions, please post them on this blog rather than by email. If we are going to do this together, we are going to learn together.

To you and yours…a profitable and sustainable 2010.

C/

I had breakfast with a colleague yesterday and she shared a saying her dad had. “You don’t just have to have a head for business. You have to have a stomach for business too.”

Isn’t this true? It’s one thing to keep your head in the game when you get thrown a curve ball, but it’s another to have the constitution to do what it takes to manage it when it happens. Too often, owners stick their heads in the sand and pretend that the problem is going to go away. It rarely does. It’s like wishing away cancer. You need to dig down deep and find the personal fortitude to march forward, through the shit, and make magic happen. When clients need to make a tough call, I hear them say, “Oh…this makes me feel sick.” That’s an emotional response, not a physical one. You feel sick because you are psyching yourself up, worrying about the outcome. People, business isn’t personal. It is a a simple transaction that gets screwed up by people creating personal relationships out of professional connections.

In a soon to be published rant about tardiness, I will talk about setting rules and boundaries for those you work with. When people feel sick about a decision, it’s because they have allowed someone to overstep a boundary that likely wasn’t identified. When rules and boundaries are in place, if someone oversteps your boundary, to take the agreed upon course of action. If you are late for me, I leave. I don’t feel bad about it because I’ve likely told you that I will leave if you are late. It is cause and effect. Here are some of the more common reasons why clients/colleagues feel ’sick’ and my advice to them:

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“I don’t have any prospects in my funnel and I’m sick to the stomach” ME: “Go get some prospects you dough-hole!”

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“I have to fire that employee because they are stealing from me”. ME: “You should call the police and throw them in jail. Just firing is letting them off easy.”

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“I’m really worrying about the upcoming presentation.” ME: “Worst case scenario, you won’t get the work which is what you have right now. Don’t freak yourself out.”

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If you don’t want to make the tough decisions, then put clear boundaries in place. When people overstep their boundaries, you simply follow the course of action. We have 12 rules clients agree to when they work with a Ghost CEO. If they break any one of the rules, they are fired. Not a hard decision as it is cause and effect. Look at the rules you have for others and determine if your feeling sick is really from you not taking the time to ensure everyone understands how to engage with you.

There are two shows that every business owner and would-be investor needs to watch. Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank. Watch them, record them, and study them. In the meantime, here’s the highlights.

Pitch #1: Balmshell

Burn rate: the rate at which a company goes through money. This is different from cash flow. Burn rate adds up all the cost of doing business and in this case, they are at $30,000 per month. That means with the $250,000 they are asking for, if no new sales came in, they would survive for 8 months.

Non-diluted preference share: means that no matter who else comes into the deal, the ownership percentage doesn’t change. This is a power move for a capitalist because it is a ‘fuck or walk’ deal. You either perform or you lose the company to your investor(s).

Best quote by Kevin: “Poo-poo happens, but it doesn’t happen to me.”

Flett Commentary: Their counter offer was really crazy to ask for. Too many big players already in this space. Tough business to get into. Plus, identical twins spook me.

—–

Pitch #2: Land of Anne

Nothing to be learned other than gimmicks are tough to build sustainable models around.

Best quote by Kevin: “Let’s get together in 20 years when this land is worth something.”

Flett Commentary: 50% equity for $85,000; this guy is like every maritimer I’ve ever met. The deed thing is interesting. The $9.95 is a good price point. He needs to partner with tour companies, the local economic development agencies, have hotels. motels, B&Bs and other groups either sell or include in their packages. Other than that, too tough.

—–

Pitch #2: Soccer Tactics World

How the hell does a guy with duct tape over his eyes design games? He’s in the dark.

Best quotes by Kevin: “Your worst investments are in your family.” TRUE “Go home and get a bottle of wine, look at the game, set the game on fire, drink the bottle of wine.”

Flett Commentary: He’s invested $150,000, he has made $200,000 over three years. Basically $16,000 per year. Arlene schooled him. Me likey. Dude calls Kevin a liar. Then the dragons turn on him. The guy was a sore loser, with a special focus on loser.

—-

Pitch #3: Freeze & Snip

The dad was too nervous. He developed a tool that opens freezies. That’s because there is nothing else to open them with (except every frigging sharp thing in your kitchen). He quit his job for a one-product company. Bad, bad idea. $4,000 in sales (barf). He’s into it for $250,000.00 They think the company is worth $500,000.00 The guy leveraged his house, line of credit, and savings to get the company going without orders. BAD IDEA. His poor wife knows she’s in the shit. You can see it on her face.

Flett Commentary: Arlene had a great idea. License the mold to a freezie company. That makes sense. The guy is going out wondering how to sell it. The wife is wondering how easy it is to get a divorce.

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Pitch #4: The doubler

He brought a stuffed animal to demo his bike seat. Very weird. Not much to say other than it amused Arlene.

Flett Commentary: Strange how there aren’t a lot of big ideas coming out of the Pas, Manitoba? Eh?

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Pitch #5: Permanent Canadian Flag

A tin flag that lasts forever.

Best quotes by Kevin: “How many have you sold?” Woman: “Can I finish first?” Kevin: “No…”

Flett Commentary: She had a nice customized pitch, but the idea sucks.

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Pitch #6: Hot Sauce

Hot sauces are big market that people underestimate. Could be a good business, but again, high entry point and lots of marketing dollars required.

Flett Commentary: Didn’t see enough to comment.

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Pitch #7: Modrobes (Vancouver company)

Best quotes by Kevin: “How did you take ten million to zero?You’re starting at zero, you are worth nothing right now. Zero revenue is zero revenue.”

Flett Commentary: Bad presenter. If you have to start over, just walk out. As soon as the guy brings up that he went bankrupt, he falters. If you go bankrupt, own it. It happens in business. The guy is saying the right things (“I want to spend your money like it is my money…tight.) He was a bit flippant about turning Jim down. He is passionate, but I don’t think I would put money his way. One good thing that Robert said that capitalists look at is “if the company goes on the rocks, I couldn’t step in and take the reigns.” Bret gives him $100K cash, $100K operating loan for 25%

Here’s the catch. By him offering an operating line, the company is guaranteeing repayment. If the owner doesn’t meet the repayment schedule, Bret can step in and take the whole company. Dangerous move for the existing owner. He better do his thing or Bret will eat his lunch.

Now, more than ever, people are starting to look at starting a business as a viable option. Being employed by someone gives them control over your time, money, and blood/sweat/tears. Being self employed removes the shackles, but if you don’t approach it with the right mindset, you’ll end up working 80 hours a week for yourself so that you don’t have to work 40 hours for someone else.

The trick here is to know what you are doing and if you don’t know, find someone who does. I spent sometime with ‘curious entrepreneurs’ over the last couple of weeks that dip their toe in the water, but are unsure if they can swim. When I assess their skill sets, the only thing they lack is ‘experience building business’. They don’t lack the experience of being able to do the work, they are just unsure of how to build it. It makes me smile because I remember that hesitation and how hard I made it for myself. Then I found people who had cut the path before any my work got very easy and very profitable. I’m starting two new companies this week, and doing the work in between meetings, having coffee and writing this blog. It seems very easy to me now, because I’ve done the process well over 20 times before. If someone asks how, I tell them. I can give the cliff notes over coffee.

If you have been thinking about building a business and not sure where to start, drop me a note. I’m at chris (at) ghostceo.com I’ll do my best to give you some simple tips to get your started. When you are up and running, you can always think about the Ghost CEO when you are ready. That’s like putting the old business model on steroids. Don’t stay in a job you don’t love because you don’t know how to do your own thing. Step up and stand out. Be master of your own domain. Check out one of my latest models we are working on. Lullaby League is a speed dating service for parents and babysitters. Unbelievable value and you’ll never miss another business meeting, presentation, or ‘date night’.

Cheers,

C/

Is the recession really a bad thing? I get that there are a lot of people that are now having to take stock in what they have, but isn’t this a good thing on some level? There are a couple of things I really like about the recession. Here they are in quick point:

• I’m heading to the UK soon. It used to be $7,800 for a trip. Now it is $4,099. I’m going to save $3,700 on this trip.
• There is less competition on what we do because the people who were coaching for something fun to do, have now retreated into the shadows.
• Everyone needs to explore new business ideas. There are business models that look for new angles all the time (this is the Ghost CEO where we have new ideas all the time, sometimes to our frustration) and those that are forced to explore new things.
• Great business leaders are coming out of the woodwork and joining our team.
• It is the time to be exceptional. Those that step into it will get rich now, and richer later when things correct. War makes generals. Now is the time to get your experience and eat it up. Step up and stand out!

Fiona Walsh and I were talking a few weeks back. She is speaking to a group of professionals and wanted to offer them a tool. Something they could use after her presentation to build business. Many in the audience wouldn’t likely be a client fit for us, but they should have access to a resource to continue on after hearing Fiona’s keynote. Born were the ePACKS. These ePACKS are business development resources that are industry specific and are filled with business building tools that we use with our clients. Clients on a budget can now access the power of the Ghost CEO from the comfort of their homes. We have put two of these packs up (one for Photographers and one general service business tool.) Without promotion, we have had 22 downloads from people all over the world, who happened upon the tools. This is with no direct marketing  at all and all since last Tuesday.

I’m a bit shocked at how quickly it is taking off. We are less than 30 days into this model and we have 30+ affiliates promoting the ePACKS, and meetings set up with organizations we have relationships with, to partner on these tools. An unbelievable opportunity.We will provide the tools, the organization will share them with their members. Their members will get access to the most powerful tools in business development today.

What about you? What do you have in your business life that needs a slight shift of angle. A different way of looking at things. What opportunities can you find in adversity? By the end of July, we’ll have between 15-20 ePACKS available to the market, with more added each day. Full of worksheets, strategies, and tactics, we will now be able to reach even a greater market, without having to kill ourselves physically. Now I have every company I’m involved in, following suite. How can we service a larger market, with authentic tools, that deliver on our promise? That’s the question of the day and the challenge we are up to. My trip to the UK is to work with our existing coaching team there as well as to meet with other business coaches who might fit into our model. Rather than paying for the trip out of company resources, it is likely this new digital strategy model will bankroll the trip.

It isn’t about abandoning your old model in favour of a new one. It is about believing you can have it all and then going out and making it happen. It all takes time however. The first ePACK took me a solid week to produce, and I already had the tools at hand. Luckily, with the sheer volume of clients we’ve worked with, future ePACKS won’t require as much of an investment.

Live big and be big. Now is your time to shine!

C/

There was a time in my career when I was drowning. I had got a company I was involved in into serious trouble. I had chosen a bad path, with the wrong people, and with a product that was 2 years ahead of the market. The company hemmoraged money month after month and it was all I could do to keep my head above water. My pride got in the way of my asking for help to the point that I almost lost everything. One morning I got up and realized that I needed to do something different. I needed to find a way to get back on track, stop the bleeding, and get the business profitable. I dug down deep and started calling in help. I found help in a stranger who agreed to work with me, mentor me, and point me in the right direction.  Not only did I survive, but I thrived in the market after I had someone there to keep me out of trouble and show me where the opportunities were.

Years later, I’m overseeing our GhostCEO model and I’m seeing individuals in the market that were in the same position that I was in 7 years ago. They think they are going to get out of the mess by doing the same things that got them into the mess. I spent some time with a woman today who comes from an academic background. She asked me what I was seeing in the market and I told her that the markets are on fire and those that were once risk adverse are now taking risks and those that used to enjoy risk are now seeking safe shelter.

In this market, what we  all need is a swim instructor rather than a life guard. If you have to be pulled out of the deep water, you are likely already on your way down. The trick is to know that you might go down and sign up for some swimming lessons before you get into dangerous territory. The people I see struggling in the market are the same ones that think they are above help. They are too pride to ask someone to work with them to get them on firm land. Their pride will end up being the cause of their imminent failure. I know because I got close myself. The day I started working with a mentor was the day that I started to recover. I’m not saying to start working with one of our coaches. Rather I’m saying for you to find someone who can support you in finding a way out of any mess you might get into. Maybe its a mentor, a friend, or someone else that knows the way out and can show you. You can’t do it alone. I’m proof of that. When you are digging a hole for yourself, the first thing to do is stop digging. Then look at who can give you a hand and get you out of the hole. Once you are out of the hole, have a look at what got you in the hole and take steps not to replicate that situation.

“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” -  Joanne Kathleen Rowling