Thanks so much to Dan Waldschmidt for his vision with sales and having “edgy” conversations! With a true heart for small business, Dan helps more than 30 companies a year grow their businesses by 300 percent. Wow. He’s not your average sales guy…

We live on the edge, so that we get noticed. If you wanna be noticed, and want your business to grow, you have to explode your business. Living the life on the outer edge of outrageous opportunity is the key. Create moments that take your breath away. YOU have the power to do it. Say to yourself, “I am all I need to change the world.”

Why be edgy in the first place??? The point is to be the thing that gets noticed. Have you ever called someone and said, “Could I have five minutes of your time?” What kind of response do you receive? Most of the time, they don’t have five min. And if they do, they don’t want to give it to you. Couldn’t our five minutes be more effectively spent elsewhere? If you’re not on the edge with your conversation and your business, you’re missing something.

E—Extreme. You can’t act extreme, you ARE extreme. It should be the criteria for how you make decisions. Customer service, creativity, deadlines, effort, passion. Make them extreme. Create your own jargon, create your own facts. If you’re a winner, you’re going to win eventually. Don’t trust other people’s opinions more than your own. Stop living like the last 24 hours is the rest of your life. So what, you lost a customer. Pick your head up and get back on track. Tomorrow, you go back to work. You win everyday.

D-Discipline. Discipline should drive us, not emotion. You need to control your mind. You fail over and over and over again in your life so that you can succeed. You don’t take rejection personally. Stephen King. Jack London. Emily Dickinson. J.K. Rowling. Van Gough. Rejected at first? I’d say so.

G—Giving. Stop taking so much and start giving. Give a new perspective. Give a new vision to your industry. Give a new customer experience that is mind-blowing. Give something that is of value to you, and don’t expect to get anything back in return.

Y—Yuman. (Yeah, it’s human, but this is how he pronounces it) You can’t ignore the people. People are what enable you to have explosive results. To be powerful, you have to understand people.

It’s hard to be extreme, it’s hard to be disciplined, and it’s hard to be selfless. You have to prepare and care more than you’ve ever wanted. If it’s hard, it must be good. Want the results? Live on the edge. It starts right now with edgy conversations, and its starts with your opportunity to change the world.

Thanks to Jake Hayes, from InSource Executives, for his eye-opening session on The Greatest Idea Ever and other beliefs that kill business. What an amazing half an hour!

The Greatest Idea Ever. We all have great ideas, but do we have the business to back up our idea? It’s dangerous to have the greatest idea ever, because if you think about it, you don’t need to do market research. It sells itself! It’s the greatest idea ever! Is this realistic?We look around us and all we see is products. iPods. It’s the business that makes these products successful, not the idea itself. Apple took the mundane product of an mp3, and innovation and commitment to their brand lead the iPod to where it is today.

When you have the greatest idea ever, the idea itself is sacred. So…if that’s the case, you can’t innovate. You can’t enhance it. There’s no room for improvement. When you have the greatest idea ever, what’s the right price for it? If you drop the price, what if the quality drops?

Follow your passions. If everyone in the world starting off by pursuing their passion, we’d have a world full of actors, astronauts, and athletes. Passion and talent aren’t necessary linked. Just because we’re passionate about something doesn’t mean we’re good at it. Think about a football game. A stadium is full of fans watching a sport that they are immensely passionate about. If they passionate about football, shouldn’t they be out on the field playing?

We don’t want to tell people to follow their passion. We’re not in a country of finishers. We start things and we don’t finish them. If what you’re doing today is a bad idea, then stop doing it! Finish what you started, absolutely, but know when to quit.

Finish what you have started. When you are starting a business, you can’t afford to throw away your trash. The biggest pieces of wastes we see in small business is our contacts and our needs. If your business can’t provide the services that the customer needs, find out who can, bring them in, and make a difference. Does your trash consist of lost contacts, lost projects, etc.? How you use this trash can make the difference between profitability and just making it.

The competition is your best chance of success. Being there will make us push to improve our business model and our product. There’s room for mutual success, and you just have to find it.

If I only had more money. Money doesn’t solve problems, it’s the universal accelerator. We’re looking at the wrong gages. Accounts receivable is not how much money you’re going to get. Sales are irrelevant if your costs are astronomical.

As we look out at launching Greenville and taking small business to the next rung, we have to sit down and look at our beliefs. We have to know when to use what we know. When is it important to be motivated, and when is it important to be realistic? We have to have a plan, and abandon these beliefs that are killing our business.

Thanks to Trey Pennington for enlightening us on how to change our perspective, and capitalize on our opportunities. And a huge thank you to Enterprise Launch for getting Launch Greenville in motion and making it the success it is today!

LAUNCH Greenville 2010 is underway, and we are so excited to be here (like, really excited!). We have three enticing keynote speakers this morning and then a marketing, sales, and business owner panel this afternoon! The Marketing Pro. The Sales Guru. The Small Business Fanatic. Key Business Connections….We have a lot of stuff to cover. Stick with us, and you’ll be quite amazed at what we’ll show you (And don’t forget to check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and ….)

2009 was tough, right? So how do we move from the struggle of the previous year to making a change in 2010? It’s about changing your perspective. The age of opportunity awaits us, and we have to be optimistic. When we learn that we are in control of our own destiny, then we can move to the next level.

In order to change our perspective, Trey offered these ideas:

1) Having a mentality of just letting things go. We have to natural tendency to build fences around and guard our assets rather than letting them go. Why not let your gurad down, take risks?

2) Maximizing Sales—Purposely giving things away. The purpose of business is to maximize shareholder wealth, not just making money.

3) Pursuing your passion—Be bold to start something, even if you don’t know the end. There’s wisdom in planning, but it restrains us from taking that first step.

4) Listen, and take the message in— What about listening, instead of getting your message out there? It’s transformative, and it could change the way you do business.

Barriers to changing your perspective: FEAR of the unknown—You have to be willing to make a choice that you’re ok with uncertainty, and that you’re ok with being totally responsible for the outcome. Pursue your passion, put yourself out there, and ignite those passions towards the goal.

Eight Be attitudes to seize these opportunities:
1. Be alert
2. Be quiet
3. Be available
4. Be responsive
5. Be visible
6. Be generous
7. Be helpful
8. Be quiet (humility).

At the end of the day, what’s that point? It’s about creating value for other people. We need to create value for our customer, and not worry about making a buck today. The joy we can obtain from creating joy for other people is endless. Choose to act.

(Yeah, we said GIVEAWAY!)

Business Black Box is giving away FOUR free tickets to this weekend’s Launch Greenville event, at the Carolina First Center!!!

If you don’t know about the event, visit www.launchgreenville.com.(But you’re also in trouble, because it means you haven’t been reading your emails!)

Here’s how you can win:
1. Send us an email at jordana@insideblackbox.com.

2. Put CONTEST in the subject line. (This is important! You don’t want to get overlooked!)

3.Then, give us one reason why you need to go to Launch Greenville. Is it because you need a better sales process? Need to know about marketing yourself? Or you’re just a start-up or small business and need to figure out what you’re doing in the first place?

4.Include your Name, Company, Title, Phone number and Email address. This info MUST be present to win!!

Listen, now, this is important: Deadline is 8 a.m. TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 14. No exceptions! We’ll take the best responses and pick four to attend.

Yes, it’s that simple. So send us an email NOW to get a free ticket ($149 value!)

See you there!

The NextStart community is looking for innovative entrepreneurs dedicated to creating a successful business but lack the experience, connections, and money necessary to start their venture. The NextStart program offers participants the advantage of seed money combined with intense entrepreneurially focused workshops and work space in a unique community rich with innovative spirit and experienced business leaders.

The NextStart program is designed to provide founders of new ventures the tools necessary to start and grow a successful business. Selected companies will be given up to $10,000 in seed capital and participate in our twelve-week program that encompasses mentoring in addition to various learning opportunities, resources, and assistance. The program will provide participants with housing and office space in the vibrantly entrepreneurial community of Greenville, SC. This community has a multitude of both small and international business enterprises, a technology oriented and entrepreneurial focused research university, and a pool of retired CEOs and young executives giving participants the opportunity to create a valuable network of experienced mentors from which they can draw knowledge. Upon graduating the program, participants are expected to use these lessons and their newly expanded network to advance their business plans.

NextStart will also provide participants the opportunity to pitch their company to an audience of qualified investors for additional funding at the end of the program. Applications are due April 15.

Candidates may apply online. Please click here for an application. For more information concerning the NextStart program, please visit www.nextstart.org or contact Jessica Blair.

Scott Whelchel, with the Clemson Small Business Center, discussed creating and/or analyzing your current business model. Here are the key principles he shared that we think you need to know.

Write/refine your business plan. Whether you’re a brand new business, or a business in search of direction, formulating a business plan will help you focus your perception of who you are, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there.

There are certain questions to ask yourself when creating a business:

•    Does it support who we are? What is your birthright; what is your reason to exist? Does the world really need another bank, magazine, marketing firm, etc.? What do you have that’s unique and that the community needs?

•    Is this business even possible? Is it going to cost you a boat-load of cash to reach your goal? It may be a great idea, but it may not fall into the realm of reality for you.

•    Is it profitable? It may be a great idea and affordable, and not ever make you a dime.

•    Does it help us achieve long-term goals? Can it build wealth for the family business, build name recognition, or move you father down the line?

Writing a business plan forces you to focus your business’s purpose, narrowing you down from all the things that you could do to the things you should do. It requires critical thought and analysis, asking yourself the tough questions and really challenging yourself. You may think you know what kind of customers you want to sell to or what kind of partners you want to work with, but upon further analysis, you may think differently. You may think you know how you want to reach your customers, but when you research it further you realize that it’s not the most effective tool. Whelchel warns, “If the success of your business hinges upon social media—be careful.” While it may aid your marketing now, it may not help to reach the long-term goals you set for yourself.

A business plan should describe the operation of your business, clarify and outline the financial needs of your business, help you effectively manage your business, and build your confidence and credibility as a business. At some point you have to communicate your vision in writing to others.

Remember, the magic isn’t in the written document itself, but the magic is in the process. Asking yourself the tough questions now will save you the trouble later down the road. Investors and lenders will be able to see that you have carefully thought out the vision of your business, and employees will be more aware of what you expect from them.

Key Tweets from @InsideBlackBox (www.twitter.com/InsideBlackBox):

•    Remember: you can’t be all things to all people. Know your position in the marketplace.

•    You get farther at the end of the day if you focus on fewer targets in a specific target market.

•    Common theme in looking at your biz plan (old or new): Research and Refine. Challenge your ideas and study your (target) market.

•    Your momma won’t tell your if your biz plan stinks. Go thru the process; challenge assumptions.

For more Twitter coverage of the speakers at this year’s Greer Community Commerce Convention, hit up search.twitter.com and search #GreerCCC

Join the convo using that same hashtag in your tweets!

I was asked to speak at a small business event about Entrepreneurship: Are You Ready? My experience in working with Small Business Development organizations and projects and doing consulting and training for Woman/Minority Owned Businesses has shown me that when people talk about becoming (or being) an entrepreneur they primarily mean they want to start a business (or have one).
With that in mind, I prepared a list of important questions for my audience to ask themselves. Below are those questions along with the supplementary questions and points. Definition of Entrepreneur (according to Wikepedia): Term applied to the type of personality who is willing to take upon herself or himself a new venture or enterprise and accepts full responsibility for the outcome.
Here are some important questions to ask yourself whether you have a business, are starting one or are thinking about starting one.

Why do I want to start this business? (Or why did I start it?)
• Needs to be more than: “I didn’t want to work for someone else anymore.”
• If X can do it, so can I, may or may not be true.
• Remember having a passion for something is not enough.
• Be careful of: “So I can be at home with my children” or “So I will have more control of my time”.

Do I know what my product or service is (will be)?
• Be sure you are clear.
• Don’t try to be too much.
• Don’t group things that are different.
• Too much and too different make you look as if you’re not good enough at something specific.
• Can you translate your product or service into a benefit.

Who are my customers, clients, prospects?
• If this is not clear you will be wasting time, effort and money marketing and selling.
• Everyone or anybody are not good answers.
• Banks say this is the number one question loan seekers cannot answer.
• It takes research to truly answer this.

Do I understand what makes my prospects spend money?
• Your product/service doesn’t make them spend money; their need or desire does.
• It takes research to know what makes them spend money.
• Not understanding this will cause you to waste a lot of time and money and possibly to fail.

Does it matter to my prospects that my business is Small or Minority/Woman Owned?
• They must have a reason.
• Typical reasons are social consciousness or money.
• If they do not care, use another marketing angle.
• Research is necessary to know this.

Am I prepared to spend the time and money necessary to market/sell my products and services?
• Because research is necessary, you must do it or have it done to be successful.
• Marketing and sales must be done whether you like it or not
• You must do it or pay someone to do it.

Where will I get money to start/run my business?
• First, do you know how much you need?
• If you plan to start part-time or on a shoestring, be sure you can be successful.
• If you go to a bank you must address the other questions in this list.
• Remember that with investors of any kind you lose some control.
• Passion and Good Ideas are not financed, potential profit is financed.
• Do not expect to receive grants to start or run your business – they do not exist.

Do I understand the difference between should and will?
• Just because prospects, banks, investors, employees, etc. should doesn’t mean they will.
• Believing that people will because they should sets you up for failure or at the least disappointment and frustration.
• Research is vital to know if prospects and banks/investors will do what you think they should.

Who are my competitors and how many of them are out there? Are they succeeding? How many have started and closed in the last 5 years?
• Don’t start a business in a field that is already crowded unless you have something very unique.
• Don’t start a business in a field where people are not succeeding unless you know why they are not succeeding and you know (not think) you can do better.
• If you do not know your competition how will you compete?
• Be sure you have enough money, time and people to compete.
• Research is necessary to understand the competition.

Do I have enough time, energy and money to run a business?
• A good question is “Do I have the stomach for it”
• Another good question is “Do I have the stamina?”
• You must do the research, understand the situation and develop the plans so that you know what it will take to start and run a business.
• The research will also help you put passion and expectations in perspective.

Do I have a clear understanding of the obstacles and pitfalls of starting and running my business? Do I have a plan to deal with them?
• This is very important, but is specific to your business type and your situation.
• The need for this understanding is why research is vital.
• The need for planning is why you hear “Do you have a Business Plan?” all the time.

How thick is my skin? (Or how sensitive am I to these words: “NO”, “You’re too small/new”, “We already have a supplier.”)
• Can you hear these words and move on to the next loan officer or prospect?
• Can you use these words to help you decide if you need to modify, redirect or fold your tent?
• Can you take these words as opportunities and not obstacles?

How prepared are you to follow direction and jump through hoops?
• If a prospect has a process can you accept the fact that you must follow it, will you allocate the time to do so?
• Do you understand that the directions or hoops are part of the “test”?
• Do you recognize that the directions or hoops do not have to make sense to you?
• Remember that the customer is always right!

Janet Christy is President of Leverage & Development, LLC, and can be reached at janet@leverageanddevelopment.com.

You’ve probably heard the saying “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” The idea is that something valuable shouldn’t be discarded in your eagerness to get rid of something useless associated with it. While in the business world this often makes sense, there are situations where you really should throw the baby out - here are 5 of them: (Note: the term “baby” is used below to represent business concepts, ideas, products, etc., not cute and cuddly little people!)

1) Your “baby” is ugly Lets face it, you may think your baby is the most beautiful thing you have ever created, but if others think it is ugly the baby is going to have a rough childhood. You will struggle to find people who want to buy it, struggle to raise the money to support its development and struggle to attract employees to nurture it. Do yourself a favor, show your “baby” to a few people who have no vested interest and solicit their honest feedback – if enough tell you it is ugly, either get some plastic surgery done quick or throw the baby out!

2) Your “baby” takes too much away from your other “children” If you have more than one “child”, are they being neglected because you have to spend too much time and money taking care of your new “baby”? You should ask yourself whether you are better to focus your energies and resources on turning your other children into superstars rather than nurturing the baby into adolescence. If the answer is “Yes”, then throw the baby out!

3) Your “baby” does not play well with others Does your “baby” play well with your other “children” i.e. does it fit well within your family or is it the little “red-headed stepchild”? If your baby is a great baby but just does not fit in, put it up for adoption or sale. If it neither fits in nor is good, then throw the baby out!

4) Your “baby” is never going to grow-up Has your “baby” been out in the world for a while and, while managing to survive, is failing to grow? If you have a “slow developer” that shows signs of never growing up, you should consider figuring out what cocktail of growth hormones it needs. If this cocktail either does not exist, is too expensive, or would take too long to take effect, then throw the baby out! (Assuming of course you will not be happy looking after a baby in perpetuity.)

5) Your “baby” is a Trustafarian Some “babies” never return more than they take to raise. These are your typical “trustafarians” that never come off the family dole. Unless you love your baby so much that you are happy having it continually drain your financial resources, you should identify the Trustifarian early, cut-off funding, then throw the baby out!

Just because you have to throw a few babies away, do not let this discourage or stop you from making more babies! THE WORLD NEEDS MORE BABIES!

Logan Metcalfe is CFO and Business Consultant for entrepreneurs through Arena Consulting. She can be reached at logan@arenaconsulting.net.

Business networking events can be intimidating for the new entrepreneur, and the “old pro” can lose sight of the basics that make attending worth their while. With that said, here are a few tips I’ll share so that you can be well prepared and make the most of every networking event:

1. BEFORE THE EVENT

Find out the dress code:
Many networking events today will be business casual. When in doubt, full business attire is better to wear rather than jeans and a t-shirt. Also, since some entrepreneurs are still working fulltime elsewhere and may come to a business after hours event directly from their day job, I’d advise against wearing your fulltime uniform, polo shirt, etc.

Print those business cards!
Never attend a networking event without those cards ready. How else do you plan for contacts to remember you? If you don’t have cards…they WON’T remember you.

Have your “Elevator Speech” ready:
This is a mini presentation of who you are, the company that you’re with or own, what you do and why you do it. It’s called an “Elevator Speech” because it should be brief, but informative, stated in the amount of time of a short elevator ride with the person you’re introducing yourself to.
Example: “Hi. I’m Tony Snipes. I’m the Director of Redemption Marketplace Academy. We are a training and development program for new and existing entrepreneurs, teaching them how to grow their businesses. We conduct two major Business Plan classes a year and several workshops you may have heard of.”

2. DURING THE EVENT

Meet People:
Reach out to other attendees and introduce yourself. If you come with a colleague, don’t spend all your time with them (you can do that anytime). Meet the people that you don’t know. Tip for the chronically shy: If you know the hosts of the event, volunteer to be a greater. This will automatically force you out of your shell to accomplish the goal of attending the event (meeting business contacts) while helping to tone down the butterflies.

Take notes:
Jot key notes on the back of the business cards you collect so you’ll remember them later on. Also, if there is a key note speaker, take brief notes on points that you find of interest. This can help as you converse with those you meet.

3. AFTER THE EVENT:

Follow up and follow through:
Follow up with those you met that were of interest within the first week after the event. You’ll still be fresh in their memory. If you promised to email an article or mail them a brochure, do so the very next day. This sets the stage for a continued good first impression and keeps you and your business top of mind with those that you met.

Organizations that struggle with culture typically find, at the root of the struggle to create a dynamic culture, this dilemma: The leadership either is firmly rooted in the belief that their organization must be one of 2 polar opposites when it comes to leading and managing people:

1) Hire and train people who want a dependent culture (I’ll do anything you tell me to do, but I’ll do very little you don’t tell me to do, don’t expect initiative because you’re not modeling or encouraging that behavior)

2) Promote an independent culture (typically found in sales environments and/or workplaces where a large portion of the workforce is 1099/contracted employees)…Drive your own success, we’ll provide you little support but if you’re a self-starter, you can make it!

Exceptional organizations with uncommon cultures (the ones where everyone wishes they worked) have figured out the delicate balance between micromanaging and pushing people off a cliff. They’ve also embraced and understand the power of an interdependent relationship, where CEO, intern and all in-between understand that success of the organization AND development & growth of the individual are both priorities and intertwined on the journey to success. When fear of losing a valuable team member takes a back seat to giving them opportunity, visibility, credit and authority, legendary cultures emerge. It starts at the top…your leadership must make a commitment to truly be committed to people first, process second. Leadership also must be willing to grow into a place of maturity where they’re not threatened by the success of others. That fear can’t coexist very long in a healthy culture. At some point you’ll have to choose which one you’re willing to lose (the fear, or the healthy culture).