Earvin made the transition from great athlete to greater entrepreneur through hard work and by avidly pursuing opportunities. He recognized that densely populated urban communities were ripe for commercial and residential development. He partnered with major brands like Starbucks, 24 Hour Fitness, and T.G.I. Friday’s to lead a major economic push in these communities. The success of his businesses proved that ethnically diverse urban residents would welcome and support major brands if given the opportunity. Earvin continues to be a leader of urban economic development that provides jobs, goods, and a new spirit of community.

32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business will inspire and enlighten readers who wish to make a similar impact with their careers and business endeavors.

Donald Trump

Interview conducted by Kristi Frank, JW Dicks & Nick Nanton fromCelebrityBrandingAgency.com

Thanks for your time today, Mr. Trump – congratulations on the continued success of The Apprentice – how has the series changed in your opinion, and will we see another non-celebrity series again?

The Celebrity Apprentice raises a lot of money for charities, as well as enhancing public awareness of the charities that are featured. It’s been a wonderful vehicle in the philanthropic arena, and has had terrific ratings. Since this format is working so well and on so many levels, we will keep it that way, but that’s not to say there won’t be another non-celebrity series again. Time will tell.

In Think Like a Champion – in the opening pages you talked about multi-level focusing and how intersecting ideas creates innovation. Entrepreneurs rely on innovation, so can you elaborate on that?

An example of that is the Trump International Hotel & Tower at 1 Central Park West in New York City. I had decided to do a mixed-use concept, which was the first time it had been done. To me it was common sense, although it was labeled ‘innovative’ by others and has been copied worldwide. One thing to consider is that very often, common sense can be innovative and sometimes people are so concerned about being original or creative that they overlook something simple that can still be groundbreaking. I intersected the hotel concept with the condominium concept and put them together – with great results. Thinking on several levels can only increase your capacity for originality – without losing sight of the common sense aspect that keeps usefulness exactly that – useful.

You reference the importance of momentum in terms of both gaining it and sustaining it in your life. Right now because of the economy, there are a lot of people who have lost or are losing their momentum and frankly don’t know how to get going again. What steps would you recommend to jump-start themselves and find new direction?

The most important thing is to remain positive. There are always opportunities. When I started out in real estate in Manhattan, the market was terrible. Everyone was negative. I decided to move forward anyway because it’s what I wanted to do. I had to be more creative and look for ways around the situation, but if I’d listened to what everyone was saying, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s imperative that you continue moving forward to keep that momentum going – even if you seemingly run into brick walls. Nothing of consequence is easy, so you just have to keep at it – every single day.

In Think Like a Champion you describe the book as an example of your approach to life and business. To quote, “I take a topic, dissect it and put it back into a formula that becomes what I believe is solid advice.” What advice would you give to President Obama to direct the country out of its financial crises?

He has to pay more attention to OPEC and what they are doing. They have been allowed to do whatever they want to do, and they have had serious impact on our country and our economy. President Obama walked into a mess and he’s been doing what he can, but this is one area that should not be overlooked.

You acknowledge your father for the role he played as your mentor and champion. Who do you see today as someone who emulates the life of a champion that kids can look up to and follow? And what are the key attributes this person displays?

One reason I wrote Think Like a Champion is due to the positive influence my father had on my life and my resolve to succeed. His integrity of purpose was without equal, and I can’t think of anyone else who comes close. But the key attributes of a champion are a significant sense of purpose combined with the keen conscience of quality on all levels, whether personally or professionally and preferably both. Being rock solid is necessary, and in the long run that approach will always win out. Highs and lows are always a part of life, and riding them out while maintaining integrity, equilibrium and momentum will ultimately be what creates a champion.

You encourage your readers to tell people about their own success as a method of networking to find out if you might have common interests with people. You also use your own name in your business when some people suggest that isn’t a good idea. Would you advise others to brand themselves and their own personality in their business?

Creating a brand takes constant focus. It also requires self confidence. One of the good motivators for branding is if your name is on something, you are immediately more alert to every single detail. The Trump brand is known worldwide for being the gold standard, and that’s not by accident. If you have a product that is worth putting your name on, then I would advise you to do so – provided you have the stamina to keep it at the highest level and to keep at it day in and day out. To me, the Trump brand is personal – it represents my family heritage as well as myself and my children. Do people take their families lightly? Not usually, and the same goes for your own brand. You will never take it lightly and, therefore, your margin for success will be greater. Putting yourself on the line can be a tremendous motivator.

I love your writing on “fear” – a debilitating emotion for so many. How can people overcome the fear, as you put it, “to attempt something”?

It’s important to replace the word ‘fear’ with ‘concern’ – we all have concerns but they shouldn’t be categorized as fears because that will immediately constrict your sense of power. Conquering ‘fear’ can be as simple as analyzing what the so-called fear is, breaking it down, and dealing with each aspect of it. Visualization also helps – don’t think so much about the problem that the solution can’t surface. Focus on the solution. Attempting something means the idea, the visual, is already somewhere in your subconscious and simply needs to be brought to conscious action. Not everyone succeeds at everything, but unless you try, your margin for success will be nonexistent. Go for it – it’s sometimes as simple as that. Being afraid to fail can also be seen as being afraid to succeed. If you look at it that way, you are more likely to get yourself going.

How tough are you on the people in your organization? There seems to be incredible loyalty, but that loyalty is only matched by your high standards. Any advice for small business owners on setting such standards?

I expect people to do their best, and anyone who works for me has to have a strong work ethic. I work quickly and they have to keep up with that tempo or it won’t work. I’ve noticed that people learn by watching, so it’s important to set the standard. I work long hours and love what I do, and everyone who works for me can readily see that. It can be contagious in the best way possible. They can also see that while I may be demanding, I am fair. We get things done and the standard is high, which is good for everyone. People should be proud to have the opportunity to work hard and to do their very best – and I give them that opportunity.

You talk about passion and efficiency being a combination that has helped you be successful. Can something as wild as passion be controlled by efficiency? How do you combine those sensibilities?

It’s passion with constraints. Without passion, there will be something missing, but technique is necessary. Business isn’t much different from the arts. In The Art of the Deal, my first book which is considered a business classic, I mention that deals are my art form. I have the passion but I also have the technique to get things done. If you have the know-how without the passion, a fizzle will result. Passion is a great motivator. It can conquer against great odds because of the energy that it generates.

Your style of negotiation is one of the things you are best known for and is one of the key skills to survive today. In closing, could you talk about the balance you refer to as key to any negotiation.

Negotiation involves consideration – you have to consider what the other side wants. Negotiation can’t be one-sided, and I’ve noticed many people fail to do their due diligence in this area. What do they want? What do you want? You can’t go in expecting to appease everyone, and you can’t go in expecting to get everything you want. That’s where the balance comes in. Be realistic while knowing exactly what you want. (under30ceo.com)

Three of Robert’s books, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant, and Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing, have simultaneously been on the top 10 best-seller lists of The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the New York Times.

In this Q&A interview with Alex Pirouz, Robert Kiyosaki discusses what it takes to be successful in business, the No 1 skill every entrepreneur should learn and the five qualities required by every entrepreneur in order to become successful.

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

It takes ambition and the desire to truly master the art and science of becoming a successful entrepreneur. And in my opinion ambition is far more important than brains, because if you have ambition you can always hire good brains.

What is your number one rule of thumb in business?

The more people we serve, the more money we make. It’s as simple as that

Do you think it is easier now than when you first started?

Well, first of all, it’s never easy; but in this day and age technology and the internet have made access to global markets a lot more accessible.

What is the number one skill an entrepreneur should learn?

I think it’s raising capital for their business. In today’s world you have to be so damn good for people to give you money, you need to be proven because there are simply too many unethical people out there. Most entrepreneurs do not know how to do this and are therefore limited in how much they can grow.

Do you think there are generic qualities required to be a successful entrepreneur?

Me and Donald (Donald Trump) have put together, based on our experiences, five qualities that all successful entrepreneurs require which combined gives them the Midas Touch. The first quality every entrepreneur needs to possess is strength of character. In business, many times an entrepreneur is tested, and as you become more and more successful the more you are tested, so how you show up as a person is a good indication of the type of entrepreneur you are.

The next quality is the ability to stay focused. F.O.C.U.S means Follow One Course Until Successful – the emphasis here being on Until Successful. Most entrepreneurs fail because they lack the strength of character and the ability to stay on course until successful.

The third quality is relationships. Whenever you find a struggling business, a bad marriage, or an investment gone bad, you will find a bad partner. This does not mean the person is a bad person. It just means they are a bad partner, the wrong person for the task. Working with the right partners is essential to becoming a successful entrepreneur because at the end of the day you can’t do a good deal with a bad partner.

The fourth quality is an entrepreneur’s ability to build a brand. Many entrepreneurs work hard building a business, but only a few build a brand. Building your business into a brand is essential in developing the Midas Touch. For example, the Coca-Cola brand is worth much more than all the building plants, equipment, and capital goods making up the business.

The fifth and final quality comes down to getting the little things done. Too many entrepreneurs think small and fail to focus on the little things that count.

What should an entrepreneur look for when bringing on board a new business partner?

In a partner you are looking for someone with synergy, a person who shares the same values and mission, and can bring something to the table that you do not have.

What is the number one skill you possess that has allowed you to succeed in business?

I would have to say personal development. It has taught me to be truthful to myself and other people. I always seek professional help from my list of advisors and occasionally I see a therapist because to be an entrepreneur you have to be nuts.

Why did you decide to be an entrepreneur?

I decided to be an entrepreneur because I didn’t want to be limited by how much I could earn and essentially I didn’t want to be poor. Every year my wife and I set goals on how much money we want and over time we have realised that to earn more you have to give more.

Robert’s latest book co-authored with Donald Trump Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich – And Why Most Don’t by Donald J. Trump and Robert T.Kiysosaki, Plata Publishing, is available at all good book stores. Alex Pirouz is the founder of RIDC Advisory Pty Ltd. A Business and Sales Advisory firm partnering with Australia’s largest and fastest growing companies to further increase their revenue. Visitwww.ridcadvisory.com.au for more details.

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.

Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.

2. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses – Eric Ries

Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable.  The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned professionals in a Fortune 500 boardroom. What they have in common is a mission to penetrate that fog of uncertainty to discover a successful path to a sustainable business.

The Lean Startup approach fosters companies that are both more capital efficient and that leverage human creativity more effectively.  Inspired by lessons from lean manufacturing, it relies on “validated learning,” rapid scientific experimentation, as well as a number of counter-intuitive practices that shorten product development cycles, measure actual progress without resorting to vanity metrics, and learn what customers really want. It enables a company to shift directions with agility, altering plans inch by inch, minute by minute.

Rather than wasting time creating elaborate business plans, The Lean Startup offers entrepreneurs – in companies of all sizes – a way to test their vision continuously, to adapt and adjust before it’s too late. Ries provides a scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

3. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior.

The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.

Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.

4. Start Something that Matters – Blake Mycoskie

Love your work, work for what you love, and change the world—all at the same time. What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the causes that inspire you? The surprising truth is that you don’t have to choose—and that you’ll find more success if you don’t. That’s the breakthrough message of TOMS’ One for One movement. You don’t have to be rich to give back and you don’t have to retire to spend every day doing what you love. You can find profit, passion, and meaning all at once—right now.

In Start Something That Matters, Blake Mycoskie tells the story of TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, and combines it with lessons learned from such other innovative organizations as method, charity: water, FEED Projects, and TerraCycle. Blake presents the six simple keys for creating or transforming your own life and business, from discovering your core story to being resourceful without resources; from overcoming fear and doubt to incorporating giving into every aspect of your life. No matter what kind of change you’re considering, Start Something That Matters gives you the stories, ideas, and practical tips that can help you get started.

5. Startup Weekend: How to Take a Company From Concept to Creation in 54 Hours

“Startup Weekend is a global phenomenon that has attracted and encouraged a new generation of entrepreneurs. Startup Weekend has changed the world, and this book will change the way you think about startups.”—David Cohen, founder and CEO of Tech Stars. “Startup Weekend is the most current account of how the modern tech entrepreneur will operate and succeed. Sure, the person, the hustle, the persistence, and the environment all account toward success—but to hit your key fundamentals, this book will be the best.”—Brian Wong, founder and CEO of Kiip

“There are lots of people who want to be entrepreneurs but they don’t know how to get started. How do you move from passion and an idea to a team, a product, and a launch? Startup Weekend has empowered thousands of entrepreneurs around the world to kick-start their startup dreams. If you want to start a business, stop dreaming about it and just do it—this book can teach you how!”—Neil Patel, founder of Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics

“Startup Weekend is the modern-day equivalent of Woodstock for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.?It’s 54 hours of no-holds-barred company building that leaves pretty much everyone who participates saying ‘I can’t believe what we just built over a weekend!’ ?This book captures many of the insights and wisdom from those weekends and gives you a window into what is the mostintense entrepreneurial experience out there today.” —Greg Gottesman, Managing Director of Madrona Venture Group

6. The Thank You Economy – Gary Vaynerchuk

If this were 1923, this book would have been called “Why Radio Is Going to Change the Game” . . If it were 1995, it would be “Why Amazon Is Going to Take Over the Retailing World” . The Thank You Economy is about something big, something greater than any single revolutionary platform. It isn’t some abstract concept or wacky business strategy—it’s real, and every one of us is doing business in it every day, whether we choose to recognize it or not. It’s the way we communicate, the way we buy and sell, the way businesses and consumers interact online and offline. The Internet, where the Thank You Economy was born, has given consumers back their voice, and the tremendous power of their opinions via social media means that companies and brands have to compete on a whole different level than they used to.

Here renowned entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk reveals how companies big and small can scale that kind of personal, one-on-one attention to their entire customer base, no matter how large, using the same social media platforms that carry consumer word of mouth. The Thank You Economy offers compelling, data-driven evidence that we have entered into an entirely new business era, one in which the companies that see the biggest returns won’t be the ones that can throw the most money at an advertising campaign, but will be those that can prove they care about their customers more than anyone else. The businesses and brands that harness the word-of-mouth power from social media, those that can shift their culture to be more customer-aware and fan-friendly, will pull away from the pack and profit in today’s markets.

7. Enchantment – Guy Kawasaki

Enchantment, as defined by bestselling business guru Guy Kawasaki, is not about manipulating people. It transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. It changes the skeptics and cynics into the believers and the undecided into the loyal. Enchantment can happen during a retail transaction, a high-level corporate negotiation, or a Facebook update. And when done right, it’s more powerful than traditional persuasion, influence, or marketing techniques.

Kawasaki argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people. By enlisting their own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions.

This book explains all the tactics you need to prepare and launch an enchantment campaign; to get the most from both push and pull technologies; and to enchant your customers, your employees, and even your boss. It shows how enchantment can turn difficult decisions your way, at times when intangibles mean more than hard facts. It will help you overcome other people’s entrenched habits and defy the not-always-wise “wisdom of the crowd.”

Kawasaki’s lessons are drawn from his tenure at one of the most enchanting organizations of all time, Apple, as well as his decades of experience as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. There are few people in the world more qualified to teach you how to enchant people. As Kawasaki writes, “Want to change the world? Change caterpillars into butterflies? This takes more than run-of-the-mill relationships. You need to convince people to dream the same dream that you do.” That’s a big goal, but one that’s possible for all of us.

8. The Big Enough Company: Creating a Business That Works for You – Adelaide Lancaster & Amy Abrams

Despite the freedom that striking out on your own promises, most of the accepted wisdom on how to build a small business advocates a one- size-fits-all approach. So-called experts-and sometimes just well-meaning friends-urge business owners to grow fast, be more profitable, and imitate other successful start-ups. And while these tips may work for some, they fail to consider the astounding variety of values and motivations that individuals have for starting a business. Too often, owners sacrifice their personal satisfaction in order to conform to unnecessary (and often unworkable) standards.

Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams have seen this problem for years when working with women entrepreneurs like themselves. They set out to explore how successful female business owners have grown their enterprises in a way that sustains their own personal goals and needs, not someone else’s standards. Drawing on the true stories of nearly 100 entrepreneurs, as well as their own experiences, Abrams and Lancaster guide readers through the best principles that really matter when you work for yourself. For instance:

• Figure out what’s in it for you: Clarify why you started your business and what you want to get out of it over the long haul.
• Find a role that suits your strengths: Identify where you add the most value and can have the most impact.
• Embrace experimentation: Trying new things gives you the opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t and opens up unseen possibilities.

This book empowers entrepreneurs to ignore popular “wisdom” and peer pressure to take charge of their businesses in a way that will help them succeed on their own terms.

9. Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance- Jonathan Fields

Properly understood and harnessed, fear and uncertainty can become fuel for creative genius rather than sources of pain, anxiety, and suffering. In business, art, and life, creating on a world-class level demands bold action and leaps of faith in the face of great uncertainty. But that uncertainty can lead to fear, anxiety, paralysis, and destruction. It can gut creativity and stifle innovation. It can keep you from taking the risks necessary to do great work and craft a deeply-rewarding life. And it can bring companies that rely on innovation grinding to a halt.

That is, unless you know how to use it to your advantage. Fields draws on leading-edge technology, cognitive-science and ancient awareness-focusing techniques in a fresh, practical, non-dogmatic way. His approach enables creativity and productivity on an entirely different level and can turn the once-tortuous journey into a more enjoyable quest. Fields will reveal how to:

• Make changes to your workflow that unlock buried creative potential.
• Build “creation hives” — supportive groups that can supercharge and humanize the process.
• Tap social technology and user co-creation to add clarity, certainty, and sanity, even if you’re an artist or solo-creator.
• Develop a set of personal practices and mindset shifts that let you not just tolerate, but invite and even amplify, uncertainty as a catalyst for genius.

10. Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur – Ryan Blair

Ryan Blair knows about building a business from the ground up. Like many entrepreneurs he had no formal business education. But he had great survival instincts, tenacity, and above all, a “nothing to lose” mindset. Blair’s middle-class childhood came to an abrupt end when his abusive father succumbed to drug addiction and abandoned the family. Blair and his mother moved to a dangerous neighborhood, and soon he was in and out of juvenile detention, joining a gang just to survive.

Then his mother fell in love with a successful entrepreneur who took Ryan under his wing. With his mentor’s help, Blair turned himself into a wildly successful businessman. He started his first company, 24/7 Tech, at the age of 21, and since then has started and sold several companies for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now Blair shows readers how to start and grow their own profitable businesses by following his often contrarian philosophies:

• In juvenile detention, if you let someone take your milk the first day, they’ll start taking it every day. The same is true in business.

• When you’re dealing with an investor’s money, you have to act as if God himself wrote you the check.

• Most business plans aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.

• Efforts don’t pay the rent. Have no sympathy for employees who talk about how hard they’re trying.

• Entrepreneurship is great because you can set your own hours — any 17 hours of the day, 7 days a week. But if you’re doing what you love, it doesn’t drain you as much as the 9 to 5 death cycle.

This book is an inspirational guide for people who are willing to put in the hard work, time, and dedication needed to see their vision through to the end. Blair shares lessons from his mentors and advice from his own life- changing experiences, and provides readers with a road map for entrepreneurial success.

Book descriptions and reviews via Barnes & Nobles

I also knew that I was going to have to bootstrap a service-based business because I didn’t have a lot of money to invest in creating a product. This is how I went from being laid off to a 29 year old CEO of a marketing firm.

Identify a skill that adds value

After I was laid off, I realized that I needed to perfect a skill that adds value to the business community.  I figured businesses would be able to pay more than consumers, so I spent 4 months learning how to be a copywriter.  Chances are, you already have the skills to contribute to an organization or consumer.  Are you an accountant?  An HR expert?  A software developer?  Write down on a sheet of paper a list of tangible skills that you have.  Which of these skills are people willing to pay for?

The one caveat that I would add is make sure that you absolutely love the skill that you bring to the table.  You’re business is going to take over your entire life.  Even when you aren’t working, chances are you will be thinking of work.

Learn how to sell…  and copywrite

Once you’ve identified or mastered your skill, you must learn how to sell it.  If you don’t know how to sell, there are numerous books that will teach you how to sell, but I would start at Jeffery Gitomer’sLittle Red Book of Selling. Don’t worry about putting together a huge marketing plan at this time.  Go to networking events, meet your ideal customers, and set appointments.  This will allow you to learn more about your prospects so you can constantly tweak your sales message.

Once you know your customers inside and out, then you can begin to scale your marketing efforts with ads, landing pages, and webinars.  I might be a bit biased, but if you plan to sell your services online, then you must become a proficient copywriter.  Learning how to write a headline, creating a strong Unique Sales Proposition, and crafting a compelling call to action is the difference between an empty and full bank account.

Think Big, Start Small

When I first started my company, I had visions of a million dollar business in my head.  And I’m sure you do too. However, in order to get there, I needed to make my first sale.  My first revenue goal was to make $500 per month.  I know this isn’t exciting; but you don’t know how hard this is until you actually do it. Those first few sales can often be elusive, so persistence is the key. Once you are consistently make $500 per month (or whatever your initial goal is), it won’t take long to make $5,000 or $10,000 per month.

Systemize Everything

Every small business needs three key systems to thrive:

1. A customer acquisition system
2. A product or services delivery system
3. A collections system

As your business grows, you will add other systems such as human resources and new product development. Even if you are a single person operating out of your bedroom, make sure that you document all processes and procedures. Strong systems will allow you to scale your business. A customer acquisition system will allow you to hire a marketing team and sales force so that you can acquire more customers.  I have a sales script that I can hand over to any new sales person who joins the company and know with reasonable certainty that he will be able to close a good percentage of sales.

A product or services delivery system will ensure that each customer receives the same quality work.  Can you hire someone to replace you and still deliver the high quality work that your customers have come to expect? And a strong collections system ensures that you get paid.  When you have one or two customers, you might not think a system to collect money is necessary.  However, when you have 20 or 30 customers at the same time, it becomes difficult to keep track of accounts receivable.

Take your time when hiring

After you’ve built your systems, you will want to hire people to manage them.  This will free your time so that you can work on growing your business. I would highly recommend that you take your time hiring your first few employees. First, you have to find someone who wants to be the first employee in a company. Second, you want to find someone who loves what your business does as much as you do.

When I hired my first employee, I didn’t hire the most highly qualified candidate.  I hired the person I had the most chemistry with.  When your company is only two or three people, chemistry is more important than talent.  It’s easier for a smart employee to learn a skill, than it is for you to learn to like an employee.

Find a mentor

Finally, growing a business is an emotional rollercoaster.  It can be extremely lonely when things are going wrong.  Always surround yourself with people who have been there before.  This could be a family member who is also an entrepreneur, or you could set up a board of advisors, or you could hire a business coach. You won’t need this person at the very beginning, but once your business gets to around $100,000 in annual revenue, a mentor will become a priceless asset to you and your emotional well-being.

Greg Digneo is the CEO of Cloud Marketing Labs and author of the new blog Sales Leads in Thirty Days, where you can Learn How to Generate an Immediate Flood of Online Sales Leads.

Customer loyalty is the key to profitability. The reason is simple. It costs more–geometrically more–to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one. Without customer loyalty, customers leave. Then you can end up sacrificing as much as a third of your sales year just to get your numbers back to where they were the previous year. Ouch.

With that in mind, did you ever wonder how top salespeople keep their customers so loyal? It’s not because they have great products or they’re good at schmoozing. The secret to customer loyalty lies in putting the interests of the customer ahead of your own. It’s really that simple.

Here are eight rules for making this happen:

1. Have a sales philosophy that emphasizes relationship building.

2. Define a unique niche and become the customer’s expert on it.

3. Help the customer build the customer’s own business.

4. Translate what you offer into the customer’s business results.

5. Value the relationship more than making your quota.

6. Think end-of-time friendships, not end-of-month totals.

7. Achieve a perfect job of delivering what you’ve promised.

8. Provide absolutely impeccable service after the sale.

The above is based on a conversation I had with amazing sales mega-guru Jeff Gitomer. I love his stuff and I featured some of his ideas in my recently published book.

The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an entrepreneur can possess. Two years ago, I realized I didn’t have this skill. So I hired a CEO who did.

Josh had 12 years in the corporate world, which included running a major department at Comcast. I knew he was seasoned, but I was still skeptical at first. We were going through some tough growing pains, and I thought that a lack of cash would make it extremely difficult to improve the company morale.

I was wrong.

With his help and the help of the great team leaders he put in place, Josh not only rebuilt the culture, but also created a passionate, hard-working team that is as committed to growing and improving the company as I am.

Here are nine things I learned from him:

1. Be generous with praise. Everyone wants it and it’s one of the easiest things to give. Plus, praise from the CEO goes a lot farther than you might think. Praise every improvement that you see your team members make. Once you’re comfortable delivering praise one-on-one to an employee, try praising them in front of others.  
2. Get rid of the managers. Projects without project managers? That doesn’t seem right! Try it. Removing the project lead or supervisor and empowering your staff to work together as a team rather then everyone reporting to one individual can do wonders. Think about it. What’s worse than letting your supervisor down? Letting your team down! Allowing people to work together as a team, on an equal level with their co-workers, will often produce better projects faster. People will come in early, stay late, and devote more of their energy to solving problems.  
3. Make your ideas theirs. People hate being told what to do. Instead of telling people what you want done; ask them in a way that will make them feel like they came up with the idea. “I’d like you to do it this way” turns into “Do you think it’s a good idea if we do it this way?”  
4. Never criticize or correct. No one, and I mean no one, wants to hear that they did something wrong. If you’re looking for a de-motivator, this is it. Try an indirect approach to get people to improve, learn from their mistakes, and fix them. Ask, “Was that the best way to approach the problem? Why not? Have any ideas on what you could have done differently?” Then you’re having a conversation and talking through solutions, not pointing a finger.  
5. Make everyone a leader. Highlight your top performers’ strengths and let them know that because of their excellence, you want them to be the example for others. You’ll set the bar high and they’ll be motivated to live up to their reputation as a leader.  
6. Take an employee to lunch once a week. Surprise them. Don’t make an announcement that you’re establishing a new policy. Literally walk up to one of your employees, and invite them to lunch with you. It’s an easy way to remind them that you notice and appreciate their work.  
7. Give recognition and small rewards. These two things come in many forms: Give a shout out to someone in a company meeting for what she has accomplished. Run contests or internal games and keep track of the results on a whiteboard that everyone can see. Tangible awards that don’t break the bank can work too. Try things like dinner, trophies, spa services, and plaques. 
8. Throw company parties. Doing things as a group can go a long way. Have a company picnic. Organize birthday parties. Hold a happy hour. Don’t just wait until the holidays to do a company activity; organize events throughout the year to remind your staff that you’re all in it together. 
9. Share the rewards—and the pain. When your company does well, celebrate. This is the best time to let everyone know that you’re thankful for their hard work. Go out of your way to show how far you will go when people help your company succeed. If there are disappointments, share those too. If you expect high performance, your team deserves to know where the company stands. Be honest and transparent.  (under30ceo.com)

Sir Richard Branson

Q: How do you deal with the hundreds of emails you receive from readers? I know you are very busy. Do you have any secret? – Harvey Chen, China

A: Reading through recent emails, I was struck by the number of questions from readers about how entrepreneurs can better manage their own time as they manage their complex businesses.

As a successful business matures and expands, bureaucracy usually starts to take hold and members of the senior management team find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer number of meetings and volume of correspondence. At this stage, an entrepreneur faces the challenge of how to effectively manage this new structure — a transition that has been the undoing of many enterprises.

First, let’s look at how to manage your own time. I receive 300 to 400 messages a day, so time management is an issue for me. I’m aware some senior executives simply delete all emails from people they don’t know personally, arguing that most of the messages just create distraction. To them, it is not worth the effort of weeding through the emails to find those that contain useful information. But I find this approach impolite and bad for business.

Recalling a time when I was just starting out and needed advice, I try to respond to as many reader emails as I can. I read through the list every morning and dictate quick answers to my assistants, pass some to colleagues, and usually write a couple of longer, more detailed responses myself. This is the most effective way of dealing with my inbox, and while doing so, I learn about trends that may affect Virgin businesses or about problems that need my attention.

You must manage your Blackberry; do not let it manage you. Many executives check their smartphones throughout meetings and during off-hours. This is not good for concentration, and has a negative impact on decision making. Use it only in bursts: check emails for an hour or so and then put it away so you can focus on the task at hand.

When you’re thinking about how to manage not just your own time, but all your employees’, the key is to enable everyone to stay focused. I have become more aware of this in recent years, as I have invited groups of entrepreneurs to meetings at my home and resort on Necker Island, where expert speakers discuss issues such as climate change, poverty and peace. I often spend some time talking about my experiences, hoping to share lessons that will help my guests.

The advice that entrepreneurs seem to find most helpful: give the rest of your team space to work — in many cases, by moving your office out of the building. Remove yourself from the business’s day-to-day functions and find someone to replace you as head of operations so you have enough uninterrupted time to look at the big picture and make decisions about the company’s future direction. If you don’t break up the workload, you and your team are more likely to find yourselves struggling to manage the complex and competing responsibilities of running the business, determining strategy and evaluating ways to expand.

Be sure to hire great people who you can trust to run your business. Your replacements may not do everything exactly as you would and might make mistakes, but resist the urge to take back control. This is the only way to instill a true sense of responsibility; it will prompt your senior management team to run the business as though they own it themselves.

Related: Richard Branson on the Art of Delegation

You can build good communications into your company’s DNA by ensuring that discussions are built on openness, clear language, and a willingness to listen to everyone who has something to say, from the person at reception to your top manager. Make sure that people’s curiosity is encouraged. If they have made a good suggestion and have seen results in the past, your employees will ask questions and be persistent, which will help them to solve problems they encounter.

This will free you up to focus on the larger picture: to dive in when you see an issue that needs your attention, to help senior management sort out a crisis, to lend your expertise when executives are swinging a deal and, importantly, to deal with the emails you will receive every week, from people needing advice on how to launch a successful business.

This isn’t a how-to on the accumulation of wealth from a lifetime of saving and pinching pennies. This is about generating multimillion-dollar wealth and enjoying it during the creation process. To get started, consider these seven secrets of multimillionaires.

No. 1: Decide to Be a Multimillionaire – You first have to decide you want to be a self-made millionaire. I went from nothing—no money, just ideas and a lot of hard work—to create a net worth that probably cannot be destroyed in my lifetime. The first step was making a decision and setting a target. Every day for years, I wrote down this statement: “I am worth over $100,000,000!”

Related: Seven Rules for Coping with Sales Rejection

No. 2: Get Rid of Poverty Thinking - There’s no shortage of money on planet Earth, only a shortage of people who think correctly about it. To become a millionaire from scratch, you must end the poverty thinking. I know because I had to. I was raised by a single mother who did everything possible to put three boys through school and make ends meets. Many of the lessons she taught me encouraged a sense of scarcity and fear: “Eat all your food; there are people starving,” “Don’t waste anything,” “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Real wealth and abundance aren’t created from such thinking.

No. 3: Treat it Like a Duty - Self-made multimillionaires are motivated not just by money, but by a need for the marketplace to validate their contributions. While I have always wanted wealth, I was driven more by my need to contribute consistent with my potential. Multimillionaires don’t lower their targets when things get tough. Rather, they raise expectations for themselves because they see the difference they can make with their families, company, community and charities.

Related Video: Grant Cardone on Closing the Sale

No. 4: Surround Yourself with Multimillionaires - I have been studying wealthy people since I was 10 years old. I read their stories and see what they went through. These are my mentors and teachers who inspire me. You can’t learn how to make money from someone who doesn’t have much. Who says, “Money won’t make you happy”? People without money. Who says, “All rich people are greedy”? People who aren’t rich. Wealthy people don’t talk like that. You need to know what people are doing to create wealth and follow their example: What do they read? How do they invest? What drives them? How do they stay motivated and excited?

No. 5: Work Like a Millionaire - Rich people treat time differently. They buy it, while poor people sell it. The wealthy know time is more valuable than money itself, so they hire people for things they’re not good at or aren’t a productive use of their time, such as household chores. But don’t kid yourself that those who hit it big don’t work hard. Financially successful people are consumed by their hunt for success and work to the point that they feel they are winning and not just working.

Related: How to Conquer Your Sales Fears

No. 6: Shift Focus from Spending to Investing - The rich don’t spend money; they invest. They know the U.S. tax laws favor investing over spending. You buy a house and can’t write it off. The rich, in contrast, buy an apartment building that produces cash flow, appreciates and offers write-offs year after year. You buy cars for comfort and style. The rich buy cars for their company that are deductible because they are used to produce revenue.

No. 7: Create Multiple Flows of Income - The really rich never depend on one flow of income but instead create a number of revenue streams. My first business had been generating a seven-figure income for years when I started investing cash in multifamily real estate. Once my real estate and my consulting business were churning, I went into a third business developing software to help retailers improve the customer experience.
Lastly, you may be surprised to learn that wealthy people wish you were wealthy, too. It’s a mystery to them why others don’t get rich. They know they aren’t special and that wealth is available to anyone who wants to focus and persist. Rich people want others to be rich for two reasons: first, so you can buy their products and services, and second, because they want to hang out with other rich people. Get rich — it’s American.

Grant Cardone is the author of The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure (2011), published by John Wiley & Sons Inc. culled from Entrepreneur.com

1. Stay hungry. Every good salesperson I’ve ever encountered is driven. They have a strong work ethic and a high energy level. They work harder and longer than their peers. When the economy is poor, they are still out there pounding the pavement, making calls.

2. Never compromise your integrity. I’ve always believed that telling the truth is the best policy. In business, especially today, it’s a must. A few years back, the Forum Corporation in Boston studied 341 salespeople from 11 different companies in five different industries. Their purpose was to determine what separated the top producers from the average producers. When the study was finished, the results were startling. It was not skill, knowledge or charisma that divided the pack. The difference came down to one trait: honesty. When customers trust salespeople, they buy from them.

3. Stay positive. Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. Success is 90 percent mental. You can alter your life by altering your mind. In tough economies, it may not be your fault for being down, but it is certainly your fault for not getting up. You have to be a believer to be an achiever.

4. Be authoritative. Sales superstars know their products backward and forward. They also know their competitors’ products and are prepared to point out the differences.

5. Get prepared. I still remember the old Boy Scout motto, “Be prepared.” Well, it’s true. It takes a lot of unspectacular preparation to produce spectacular results.

Related: Four Signs a Sales Pro Will Be a Good Hire

6. Mind your reputation. You can’t buy a good reputation — you must earn it. If you don’t have a positive reputation, it will be difficult to be successful in whatever you do.

7. Be genuine. I have never known anyone to buy from someone they don’t like. Likability matters. Are you genuine? Pleasant? Easy to talk with?

8. Put your best foot forward. You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Are you neat and well groomed? Underdressed or overdressed?

9. Set goals. Winners set goals; losers make excuses. Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day. They must be measurable, identifiable, obtainable, specific — and put them in writing.

Related Video: How to Find Customers on Social Media

10. Become a customer-service fanatic. I’ve often said the sale begins when the customer says yes. Good salespeople make sure the job gets done on time— and done right. There’s one thing no business has enough of: customers. Take care of the customers you’ve got, and they’ll take care of you. You must have a fanatical attention to detail.

11. Remember to listen. You can’t learn anything with your mouth open. For too many people, good listening means, “I talk, you listen.” Listening is a two- way process. Yes, you need to be heard, but you also need to hear others’ ideas, questions and objections. If you talk at people instead of with them, they’re not buying in — they’re caving in.

12. Keep it all in perspective. It is impossible to underrate the importance of a sense of humor. When there are inevitable setbacks along the way, learn to laugh about them.

13. Develop a thirst for self-improvement. You don’t go to school once for a lifetime. You are in school all your life. Sales superstars are constantly working to become better. They take courses, read books, listen to audiotapes and inhale everything they can to improve.

Bottom Line: A salesperson tells, a good salesperson explains… and a sales superstar demonstrates.

Adapted excerpt from The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World by Harvey Mackay (Portfolio Penguin, Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2011).Harvey Mackay is a business and sales expert, whose latest book is The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World. He is also the author of the New York Times #1 bestsellers Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt.