Wisdom from Wizard Academy

Saying no gives you focus, so your energies aren’t divided.

There are lots of ways this could apply, but let’s look at it through the lens of your marketing.

Most ads say too much, which leads to a weak message people can’t remember. Say no to making multiple points in an ad.

By focusing on one point people will better remember your message.

Multi-channel messaging (TV, radio, billboards, digital, etc.) introduces the problem of too much reach without enough repetition. Most small businesses simply can’t afford to do all the media channels well enough to see results. (This isn’t a failing it’s just a fact.)

Say no to all but one media channel. By focusing on one outlet, you’ll have enough repetition to soon become a household name.

And now I’m going to say no to saying any more on this today so I can focus on keeping this short.

– Zac Smith, VC 

The real superpower of success is the ability to say, “No.”

There. Cat’s out of the bag. (No need to read further unless you’re looking for some examples.)

Expended effort often gets the limelight.

What’s expended effort?

You know, when people say, “They’re so successful because they put in the hours. They were out there practicing, learning, training. They really put in the time and that’s why they’re ahead.”

While it’s true you do usually have to expend some effort to be the best, that’s not where the seed of success is planted. No no. It starts much earlier.

Do not look to the noisy rainstorms of expended effort to sprout your seed of greatness. But rather it’s the slow silent snowmelt of saying no that encourages it to take root.

To say “yes” to your piece of success means to say “no” to all the others.

To the all-star college athlete, it’s first saying no to hanging out with friends or weekend parties that gives them the time for training. But it’s also saying no to all the other sports they could be playing.

To the science fair winner, it’s first saying no to movies and games that lets them study hard. But it’s also saying no to the other avenues of academics.

And yet often, once we’re out of school and entering “normal” life, we start saying yes to this, and yes to that. We treat ourselves with a yes here and there.

And before we know it, we’re busier than ever adults expending enormous effort with a poor pittance to show for it all.

Has the yes monster gobbled up the tender green shoots of your success?

Do you have the hardy character needed to say no?

I assure you if saying no were easy everyone would do it.

But something tells me you’re not known for doing things the “easy” way.

I see the roots of your success and my friend, they’re ready to sprout.

– Zac Smith, VC 

P.S. Next week we’ll talk about specific examples of how saying “no” in business can get you ahead.

Last week we talked about how to start training your employees to handle problems effectively.

Ask, “What would you do?”

And then if their idea wouldn’t cause any harm or create unnecessary risk, even if it’s not what you would do or how you would fix the problem, you should let them implement their idea.

The two most common objections to this method are:

• I can’t do that because I’d be giving them too much power and things will get out of hand.
• It’s faster and or easier to either give them the answer or just fix it myself.

Let’s address each one of these in turn.

One misconception about asking your underling, “What would you do?” is that by asking them you are implicitly giving them free rein to handle the problem as they see fit. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

You’re still the boss. Which means you retain the right to say no to their idea. Remember, you’re only agreeing to hear their idea. Then, if it has merit, you can either amend it or green light it.

Now, if the issue is you don’t want to ask because you’re afraid of the confrontation of saying no to their idea…(AKA it was a bad idea)…then maybe you shouldn’t be managing people.

Second objection. It’s faster and or easier to either give them the answer or just fix it yourself.

Well, you’re right. Giving them the answer is faster. In the short term. But long term you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

By not making the investment of time to train your staff to be problem solvers, you end up with a team of Golden Retrievers. They drop their problems at your feet, then happily bound off in search of new problems to bring you.

It might be fun for a while. But it’s not a business model that allows growth.

So, what happens when you take the time to hear your employees’ ideas and then empower them to implement their solutions?

You end up with competent employees who can make good decisions, handle things on their own, and only ask for your help on the really big problems.

And with that, there’s no cap to how big you can build your business.

– Zac Smith, VC

What’s every team leader, boss, or manager’s dream?

To have competent employees or team members who can make good decisions, handle things on their own, and only ask for your help on the really big problems.

I’m here to tell you that it’s not a pipe dream. You really can have employees like that.

The pipe dream part would be to think that you can magically have that without effort. You can’t.

So where do you start?

With one simple question.

“What would you do?”

When someone under your oversight come to you with a problem or needs help figuring out what to do, you can help them learn what to do by first asking them, “What would you do?”

And then listen.

If their idea wouldn’t cause any harm or create unnecessary risk, even if it’s not what you would do or how you would fix the problem, I submit that you should let them implement their idea.

Now, there are some objections to handling things this way, but there are also a lot of benefits.

We’ll talk about those next week.

– Zac Smith, VC

Five questions to consider for a happy weekend.

1. Do you love what you do for work?
2. Does it excite you?
3. Are you energized by solving problems?
4. Does overcoming the next big hurdle get you going?

If you answered yes to the above four questions, then you’re blessed as an entrepreneur. You’ll never want for opportunities.

But here’s the fifth question.

5. Can you turn off your “work brain” when you’re with family?

If your answer is yes, then I stand in awe of you. You are a rare and fine specimen of humanity.

However, what if your answer to question 5 is sometimes or no?

Is your beautiful problem-solving mind getting in the way of being present, body and brain, when it’s time to be with your loved ones?

Then consider this a nudge from a fellow work obsessor.

Don’t let your gift as an entrepreneur also become your silent curse. Because your knife cuts both ways.

So, here’s to the happy weekend I know you’ll have.

– Zac Smith, VC

Look, nobody believes you.

I know, I know. I’m not saying it’s fair. But as a friend, I’m telling you the truth.

It’s not good enough to tell people your product or service works.

You have to show them. Because everyone is always silently asking themselves, “But does it actually work?”

So, how do you do that? How do you show them that it actually works?

Create a demonstrative test that displays the effectiveness of what you’re selling.

Now, that’s easier said than done. I realize that, and I’d like to help you where I can.

Here are the three things your demonstrative test should include.

1. It should be clear. It doesn’t matter if your test demo is simple or elaborate. Just as long as it’s clear. What one quality or benefit will you demonstrate with this test? (Bonus points if you create a test clear enough that others can do it for themselves.)

2. It should be verifiable. You don’t get to make up your own facts. If you’re making a claim, what proof will you offer to support that claim? What confirmable result will you offer?

3. It should be repeatable. Even an amateur golfer can get lucky and hit a hole-in-one. But a single hole-in-one does not a pro golfer make you. Professionals can repeat their successes. And you’re a professional, right? So whatever test you come up with, it has to work every time the test is done.

Creating an effective demonstrative test takes time and trial and error. But once you make a clear, verifiable, and repeatable test, your customers will instantly know that what you’re offering them actually works.

Now you’ve got a product that’ll sell itself.

– Zac Smith, VC 

If you’re going to break the rules, do it with style.

Rule: BAD advertising is about you, your company, or your product. GOOD advertising is about the customer; the kind of person who would buy what you sell or need your service.

How do you break this rule of advertising and get away with it?

By telling your own story, your origin story, while making me (your customer) the center of the story arc.

If that seems contradictory, allow me to explain.

It’s not enough to tell me what happened to you. Make me feel why it’s important. Connect the dots for me. Show me why your past experiences are significant to my current experience with you.

Why do your past sacrifices make you better at helping me? How will you use your lessons learned on my behalf? How does what happened to you change the way you do things, and why is that in my best interests?

Those are the kind of questions you have to answer if you’re going to break the rules and tell your own story.

Because bad advertising is about you.

Good advertising is about you, but with style.

 – Zac Smith, VC

Last week we talked about stable things on which to build your business. (Click here to read it.)
The kind of things you can count on working even though 2020 and 2021 have brought a lot of changes.

But that’s not where you stop.

It’s where you start, and if needed, hold while you get your feet under you.

However, once you have a solid foundation and you’re ready to run, how do you use technology and innovation to grow?

Well, here’s what not to do. Profitable innovation is not about using technology to figure out how to make the next great thing nobody’s ever seen before but won’t be able to live without. It’s not about trying to get ahead of the next big craze.

“A company shouldn’t get addicted to being shiny, because shiny doesn’t last.” ― Jeff Bezos

Profitable innovation is about using technology to deliver the same things people have always wanted in new and better ways.

“It is difficult for us to imagine that ten years from now, customers will want higher prices, less selection, or slower delivery. Our belief in the durability of these pillars gives us the confidence required to invest in strengthening them.” ― Jeff Bezos

If you’re building a house, the walls can only go on top of the foundation. Likewise, you can only profitably innovate on the things your business is built around.

That’s why you have to start with the question, “For the business that I’m in, what will people always want?”

You then take the answer to that question and ask, “How can I deliver those things in new and better ways?”

And the answer to that question will change your world.

 – Zac Smith, VC

A hungry person wants food.

A naked person wants clothes.

A homeless person wants shelter.

2020 brought a lot of changes. And despite our best hopes, it looks like 2021 will keep rolling with the topsy-turvy trend.

So as a small business owner, which basket do you put your eggs in? How do you plan for the future in this environment? When the sands are all shifting where do you walk?

“I very frequently get the question: ‘What’s going to change in the next 10 years?’ And that is a very interesting question; it’s a very common one. I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’ And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two — because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time.” ― Jeff Bezos

A naked person wants clothes.

You can take that to the bank.

You can build a whole business around that fact.

So, if you’re looking down the 2021 road with uncertainty, take a moment and look back. For the business that you’re in, what have people always wanted?

There. That’s where you start. That’s the basket that’ll carry your eggs.

Now cast your gaze ahead. Once you see what you need from the past don’t linger.

Your future lies ahead of you.

Next week we’ll talk about how to take the constants of your category and profitably innovate.

 – Zac Smith, VC

Let’s talk about marketing blunders and how they leave your competitor vulnerable and how you’re going to use it to your advantage.

We’ll start with the first one on our list of ten.

Telling people how to get in touch with you instead of why to get in touch with you.

You’ll learn to love it when your competitor does this. The business owner doesn’t see the customer until he or she walks into the business. When the customer walks in the door the business owner believes this is the beginning of the transaction.

It’s not, of course, but he thinks it is because this is where he comes in.

If there’s nobody calling, nobody emailing, nobody walking through the door he thinks the problem is that they don’t know how to contact him. He invests a significant portion of his ad budget telling people how to do business with him and it looks like this.

 “…Residue all over your pants so visit Mick’s Discount Dynamite located at 447 Elm Street just North of Rocket Road just across from the Pizza Express. Open weekdays till 9:00. Call 416-456-78910, that’s 416-456-78910 and tell them Carl sent you.”

If this is a 30-second commercial he’s just spent 14 seconds telling me how to do business with him which leaves only 16 seconds to tell me why to do business with him.

Here’s the truth. If someone really wants to buy something from Mick’s Discount Dynamite, he’s going to find a way to do that.

Now is the greatest time in advertising because, now, you can say something like “visit micksdiscountdynamite.com.” Takes about three to four seconds and it provides a lot of information.

It tells people where you are, when you’re open, what you sell, what you don’t sell, what you look like, what your phone number is and literally anything else you want consumers to know.

While your competitor’s living in the past and wasting half his advertising dollars telling the customer how to get in touch with him, you’re going to concentrate 90% of your budget on telling people why to get in touch with you. Then you’re going to give out your website and that’s it.

Once they have that they automatically have everything else.
There’s mistake number one and how we’re going to gain the most from it.

– This article transcribed from an excerpt of an American Small Business Institute video by Mick Torbay and edited by Zac Smith.

We’re using Timothy Arends’ Top 10 Rules for Magicians as an overlay for some crucial entrepreneurial lessons. Last week was part one of this article and we covered rules one through five.

This week we’ll consider rules six through ten.

Rules for Magicians

6. Have something to say when you perform a trick.

Never assume your customer will see the value of what you’re doing for them. You might have the best products or services, but if you’re not connecting the dots for your customer as to why it benefits them, you’re losing out. After you name a feature say, “Which means…” and draw a line directly to the real-life benefit.

7. Don’t force your magic on people.

Don’t try and sell people who don’t want to be sold. It’s a waste of your time and resources. Instead pour that energy into being the best you can for the people who already want to be your customers. It’s a lot more profitable.

8. Always leave the audience wanting more.

When it comes to your advertising messages, tickle your audience with visions of how wonderful their life could be if they went with you. And leave it at that. Let their curiosity and desire grow until it moves them to contact you. (Visit your website, call you, or enter your store.)

9. Don’t try to learn too much at once.

There are exactly one and a half million ways to grow your business. They’ll all work but they won’t all work together. Less is more. Better to focus on one or two cohesive strategies and do them well than to do five or six poorly.

10. Practice!

You might be good, but you can always be better. Never stop practicing what you do. Systematic small improvements over time wins.

Now get out there and put on your best show. I’m eager to see it and ready to applaud.

– Zac Smith, VC

I fell down a rabbit hole the other day and ended up reading a short article by Timothy Arends entitled the Top 10 Rules for Magicians.

Everything in the universe is connected, of course. And so, it’s no surprise that being a good magician overlaps with being a thriving entrepreneur.

This week we’ll look at the first five rules.

Rules for Magicians

1. Never be a showoff.

If you challenge your customers and clients don’t be surprised when they accept said challenge and try to prove you wrong. Instead of saying, “I have the best fill-in-the-blank.” Say, “I found this really cool fill-in-the-blank, and thought you might like it.”

2. Always respect your fellow magicians.

You’re by no means obligated to praise or promote your competitors. But neither should you put them down or say negative things about them. It’s not a good look and it won’t win you goodwill from your clientele.

3. Never tell the secret.
4. Never repeat a trick for the same audience.

Rules three and four encompass the same principle. Don’t ruin the magic. If your customers proclaim delighted wonder at your prices, speed, or quality no need to explain your operations manual and the mechanics that make it all possible. Just smile, thank them, and let the magic live. 

5. Only perform magic under the right circumstances.

Know your limitations and never promise something you can’t deliver. In fact, only say yes when you know you can over-deliver. Better to turn business away than to disappoint your customer.

Next week we’ll talk about rules six through ten.

– Zac Smith, VC