Key Things To Know To Be An Entrepreneur

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If this is hitting home, you're in the right place. Our mission is to open the door to the exceptional life by showing you how to play the game of life at a higher level. So you're playing at your full potential, rather than at a fraction as most people do. We'll share the one thing that once we learned it, our lives were transformed. And once you learn it, watch what happens. Welcome to think at the podcast. I'm Kelly Hatfield. Hey. And

I'm John Michell. So our topic today is how to know our key things to know, to be an entrepreneur. Let me say that again, key things to know to be an entrepreneur. What do you think about that for a topic, Kelly?

Boy, this is gonna this is fertile ground. I think it's what you mentioned earlier.

Right? Right. Well, you know, I got this idea. I was in Dallas, I don't know, three or four weeks ago, and I go to dinner with this sports psychologist, and he's 36 years old. And, you know, he asked me my story and told him I'd been an entrepreneur since I was 30. And he says, Well, what's, what's the number one piece of advice you'd give me to as to be an entrepreneur? And I thought about it. And I said, Well, you know, I think the first thing you have to be is being really hard nosed. And, and I say that, because I think you have to have the attitude as you start out, in the world of entrepreneurship, with the attitude that nobody screws me, and I don't screw anybody else. And when I turned 30, I just didn't know that you need to have that attitude, because I thought everybody, you know, more or less, treated each each other fairly. And, and that is not true. That is just not true. And authority. For people that know my story. I got, you know, screwed on a deal I put together. And by the grace of God, I was able to overcome it and do my own deal. But but it didn't change the fact that they screwed me. And it was a big wake up call. And, you know, I went through a lot of emotional distress evil to deal with that. And but I came out on the other end of it, but I really had the attitude of, okay, I see how this thing works. But by God, nobody is going to screw me. And I'm not going to screw anybody else. And God forbid, if somebody screws me, because I'm going to come at them 10 times harder than they came at me. So what's your take on that? i If you have you experienced that where? You know, somebody screws you?

Yeah, I mean, I think definitely. And two, I think I'll say something this might be controversial. But and I don't know whether again, the fact that I'm a female, but I get underestimated a lot where people mistake kindness, and for being gullible, or maybe not smart, or whatever the case may be, and that's the worst mistake somebody can make with me is to underestimate my, you know, so it's also a superpower. Because, you know, I can, you know, kind of catch people off guard like, oh, okay, she's not one to be messed with. But I will say I've been had early on in my entrepreneurial journey been taken advantage of and even before that, in my career, had seen people be unethical, you know, and, and been like, okay, and so that this is the thing that I think is important when we're talking about this is who you surround yourself with, and like who you do deals with, I had this happen just the other day on the real estate side, where somebody outright lied, right? And I and it was a deal I was doing with a friend. I didn't know this other individual. He first of all, again, this goes back to kind of being underestimated. He kept calling me honey. Oh God, and I thought, Okay, this isn't I'm gonna let me pass. I'm gonna you know what I mean? I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt. And, you know, so then he lied. I gave him the opportunity in the benefit of the doubt to to talk his way out of the live will He doubled down. And he lied. He went even further into the lie, I immediately called the deal off. I called up my friend who was part of it. Well, actually, he'd been calling. And I hadn't called him back because I needed to process and think about. And then like, you know, just basically saying the same thing. Like that was his first mistake, was mistaking my kindness for being an idiot. Yeah. to, in this conversation, saying to my friend, you know, I said, Listen, you're associating yourself with someone who isn't ethical, you know, and you need to take a close look at that. And he's like, Well, what can we do to save the steel? And I'm like, we don't if he's involved, I'm not part of it. Yeah. So I think you know, who you surround yourself with, and the standards that you set, like attracts like, right? You start to attract people in your life, that get how you do business, and that you are clear about what those boundaries are. It's when you start doing some of these, where you start compromising your integrity, that you welcome that into your life with other people who compromise their integrity, who compromise their integrity, every chance they get, does that.

Right? Absolutely. Well, you know, the, the big red flag immediately was calling you, honey. I mean, that's, that's demeaning. And, you know, I know that your red flags went up and and regard for that. But yeah, you know, I just think that the younger you are, you know, if you're around 30, you just, you don't have enough experience of this is how the world works. And, and, you know, you see it way more deeply, when you're an entrepreneur how the world works, because you're doing deals, it's you and another person and, and that's something you may not see as much when you're an employee. And so that's, that's the number one lesson is you got to be hard nosed, that, you know, watch out for, for the people you're dealing with, make sure they're of the right. Elk and and take that attitude that nobody screws me and you don't screw anybody else. And when one little caveat to that, you know, 10 years later in my life, I was involved in a owning a personalized children's book company every day this,

I think so yeah, I think I remember this.

And, and so I get involved with a guy that he was daddy's boy, he's a couple years older than I was, but he's from the old money and Dallas, he his dad made a lot of money in the oil business. And he was he was a pretty boy and but I attorney had introduced us together. And so we ended up doing this personalized children's book business together. And so about a year into it, he's a nightmare to be partners with. And so we worked it out that he was going to buy me out, and he's going to, you know, pay me like $325,000. So I'm like, good this this, you know, I'm glad to be be done with it and be apart from him. And then I start seeing him starting the very first signs of waffling, you know, and I'm like, Well, I think I learned a little lesson about 10 years ago. And so I went down to the bank, and I pulled $325,000 Out of the company checking account. And, you know, he went ballistic. And I said, Listen, we had all the we hadn't had time to pay for it. We had an oral agreement. And this is how it's going down. And but I see that was yeah, that lesson I learned when I was 30. pay dividends. So when I was 14. And so but you know, one thing we might talk about is what are you what do you think the traits required to be? Not? There are?

Gosh, I think 90% of entrepreneurship in my mind happens between your ears. It's mindset, it's managing. So I would say resilience. I mean, like entrepreneurship is is not for the faint of heart. It's a roller coaster ride. If you're used to being on the merry go round, you know, and you're with entrepreneurship, you're hopping on the roller coaster, and they're the highs are highs. The lows are lows, you know, and there's a lot there. It's a so being able to do exactly what you just mentioned, John, where you learned something happened to you. And then you were able to pull from that knowledge, but it was a negative situation. You were able then to carry that lesson with you and utilize it in the future. So your ability to take some of these kicks in the teeth that you get as an entreprenuer pick yourself up, dust yourself off, say okay, what was I supposed to learn as a rule sort of going through this? And how do I carry that with me or improve or make my company better as a result of it. So I would say resilience, I would say grit, you know, and that growth mindset, because it's easy to get in a silo, and to, to brew your world to get really small, sometimes as an entrepreneur, depending on, you know, the size of your company, and all of that, but it becomes into the four walls of your company. So unless you're going out, and you're getting inspiration from other great leaders and who, so that's one of the things top of mind for those are the things top of mind, when you asked me that question that immediately came to mind is that you gotta have, you know, a strong constitution, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, you have to be resilient, gritty, and you have to be on a quest for learning growing and getting better.

Right. You know, maybe another way to say it as well is, I think you have to be driven. I mean, driven? And if, if you're sitting there and you go, Well, you know, I don't know if I'm driven. So you're not driven. You either know that you are or not, don't you? Don't you think?

Yeah, I think that, I think it depends, you know, I think that you can be excited, you know about something and and that help you with that drive, if you're a but like, yeah, you're either like plugged in, and like striving, you know, to be a better version of yourself and driven to want to achieve your goals. Or, you know, you're not, and if you're not the type of person that's driven, then you're gonna get your bucket renewer, and you won't make it you'll be out of business within a couple of years time, if you're not a driven person.

And you know, you can accept no, I mean, I know you and I are both this way that we just don't accept now that is not an answer that successful. So if you're too quick to just accept, no, you're probably not going to be cut out for to be an entrepreneur. Don't you agree?

I agree. And I think it goes back to that mindset. And it's how you frame things. I know, for me, I'm like, All right, well, I'm one step closer, that no got me one step closer to, you know, I mean, or to the, like, expanding on my idea, like, as a result of that I was it like, this idea just got a little bit better, or whatever the case may be, again, it's how you frame it and look at it. But if you're just like, oh, you know, people keep, you know, this is just a grind. And everybody keeps saying, No, well, then guess what, it's going to be a grind. And people will keep saying no,

right, right. Yeah, I know, that. I know. That's, that's very true. You know, I think back on when I first became an entrepreneur, and was, you know, thinking about it, I remember my 20s I had bosses that I just didn't like, and, and I didn't, you know, it really hit me that my future is in the hands of these other people. I'm like, Well, this is BS. I mean, this is unacceptable. I gotta man up and be an entrepreneur, otherwise, I'm gonna live my whole life with under the control of somebody else. And you know, that sort of falls back into that human nature thing that, you know, we see that people more often than you would think, are not ethical or, and I don't know, I just think that being an entrepreneur is absolutely the way to go in life. But you do have to be driven and have the right mental constitution. And I think that only about 10 to 15% of population really has that. What do you think that's about right?

I don't know, whether that's right. Or if it maybe even is less than that. And listen, no judgment to peep some people entrepreneur is not for them. Yeah. And I think it's important that you know, yourself that because, like, the statistics aren't great, you know, as far as business startups, and you know, the number that are still in business, you know, two years, after five years, after 10 years, you know, the statistics aren't great. So like, you do need to have the right personality, to thrive as an entrepreneur because it is, if you're somebody who needs structure, who needs to be led, who, then entrepreneurship is not going to be for you, because you're responsible for creating your results. And there's nowhere to hide

it. Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah, you eat what you kill.

Exactly, you know, Google angry. And the other thing too, that I think is really important to know that was what you mentioned at the beginning of this is it doesn't shut off. Yeah, entrepreneur, you know, you are like, I'm thinking about my businesses, you know, and I work hard to be present and all of that. But like, these are your creations. And you're so like, your brain is always working on solutions, new ideas, you know, like, this isn't something where you work 8am to 5pm on Checkout, and don't think about it. Yeah, if that lifestyle appeals to you, you know, we're like, I don't want to the stress of Yeah, well, then entrepreneurship is not for you, you know, if you, though, are interested in flexibility with your schedule, you know, being able to really chart your course and not answer to anybody else. And to bring something to life, that an idea, a concept, something, like, in my case, I was really good at recruiting and worked for big bucks recruiting firm for 14 years, and then just knew I could do it better. So I wasn't taking a brand new idea, I was taking something that I knew inside and out and doing it on my terms and better. And so, you know, again, not judging yourself, if you're listening to us going, boy, I really like my, my weekends, and I like my evenings and not having to think about anything. Well, yeah, you know, entrepreneurship is not bad.

Well, you know, you, you make a great point that I'd sort of forgotten about that, if you're creating a startup that where the product is never been accepted by the market. Man, that's a tough way to go. That's, that's, you know, 95% of startups fail. And yet, the University of Texas, you know, the, the entrepreneurship is really, primarily around around new ideas and startups and alike, that's about the worst direction to go. And if you really want to be an entrepreneur, it'd be way better to go into something that already the markets already accepted. And you just do it better than they're doing it currently. Because if you really look, most of the companies in any business, are fair to average to not very good. And so the bar to do do a business better than, than most is not that high. Would you agree with that?

100%. And that's what I saw, you know, I'm like, oh, yeah, best of you know, this industry, and eliminate the worst of the industry, and the bar is so low that like we can we have an opportunity to really blow people's socks off, you know, in terms of differentiating ourselves from from our competitors. And so that was the route that I took, you know, and then have also brought new ideas to life after I became an experienced entrepreneur. But that was how I started my entrepreneurial journey, which was just taking something I knew how to do, and but just doing it better.

Right? You know, I tell you that I think along this the same lines, you know, you've heard me say this before, that most entrepreneurs do not embrace being a marketing expert themselves. Yet, marketing is clearly the number one factor in the success or failure of a business. And over the years, it's basically in the last few years, as I've coached people. I'm a big fan of Dan Kennedy, who arguably is the top marketer in the world. And he has such a great, simple, fairly inexpensive program that people the entrepreneurs can, can become a part of, but they gotta have the attitude that I'm me, personally, I'm going to be involved in the marketing, maybe you don't have to do all the technical stuff. But you got to be involved. And I see that most entrepreneurs don't really take that attitude. They're like, well, let me hire somebody to do the marketing. I want them to check in on with me as to what's going on. But that's their baby. Go with it. That is a formula for disaster, in my opinion. So and it's hard to get entrepreneurs to embrace, you know, being involved in it. But but if you have a good system and a good mentor like Dan Kennedy, I think it really changes the game.

No, I think that marketing piece is so important. And it goes back to what we talked about earlier, which is making sure that you are seeking knowledge, new ideas outside your business. You're looking to experts that you need to know enough about marketing, to understand whether the person that you have hired to partner with is effective, and also knows their stuff. I mean, there's nothing we talk about this all the time, John, we're like I've been in meetings with marketing companies, and I'm like, How come I am coming up with better ideas than you are? Yeah, right. Or how come I feel like I know more than the person who's pitching me and I think you need to you need to be extend expand didn't get your knowledge and some of those foundational pieces of the business so that you know enough to do an effective job of partnering with your partner with your marketing partner. Yeah. And I think that's you don't have to yourself be an expert and put in the 2000 hours to be an expert in, in your in yourself, but you need to become extremely proficient in it so that you can collaborate and work closely with the partner.

Exactly. And, you know, I believe you got to have a system for personal growth, where you're, you know, bringing in the wisdom of experts in, in all sorts of things that are relevant to being an entrepreneur, you know, first and foremost, marketing, but, but also things like employee empowerment, how to review employees, how to, how to hire them, how to incentivize them, you know, how to how to be organized, you know, how to be a great leader, there's so many aspects of, of entrepreneurship, but you, you alone, don't have the wisdom in your head to do it, and have the wisdom to do the right things. Therefore, you got to have a system, where every week is coming in your head consistently. And I saw the power that in my 50s, that I didn't quite get in my 30s and 40s. But I think to sum up, you know, these are the things that are critical to be an entrepreneur, and it starts by understanding are you cut out for it, make sure that whatever you're going into the markets already accepted, because the risk of failure is too high, if it isn't, and then constantly be growing and learning embrace, being involved in the marketing. And, you know, that's why our methodology, our 12 minute date, methodology is so powerful because it sort of incorporates all of this and brings it together. And so, any final thoughts?

You covered it? I think that I think we got it, we got a good little snapshot for people. We've either scared him away or we've excited I'm about

Well, I think we better quit while we're at then. Okay, until next time, we'll see you.