“Most people think it’s all about the idea. It’s not. Everyone has ideas. The hard part is doing the homework to know if the idea could work in an industry, then doing the preparation to be able to execute on the idea.” — Mark Cuban

Topics: Research, Share, Passion, DIY, 2 Entrepreneurs, Do whatever it takes.

Author: I had the opportunity to interview prolific inventor & multi-millionaire investor Lori Greiner. You probably know her from the wildly popular ABC show Shark Tank. But what you probably don’t know about her is that outside of being fun to watch, she packs some serious credentials – starting a business– including having over 500 inventions and 120 patents to her name. Impressive !!!

Lori’s Background. She wasn’t born a successful inventor. Nobody taught her how to be an entrepreneur. It all started 17 years ago with a simple idea for an interesting jewelry box. Now, she is fabulously successful from all of her creations, and yet she’s just getting started. I learned a few crucial lessons while interviewing her.

1. Research is in-valuable – to find out if you’re “viable” !!!

When Lori started out after the turn of the century, she had to go to the library to find a list of every Retailer in the country, because there was no Google then. Can you imagine having no Google today? What would you do to find out your Target Customer & Distribution Channels? That’s the situation Greiner was in. But she figured it out anyway. [Persistance] If you’re a true Entrepreneur, figuring it out was “better” than giving in and working for someone else. How far are you willing to go for your idea? You have to decide if it’s worth the effort. As Lori says, “a true entrepreneur does whatever it takes. That’s the bottom line.” And it’ll affect your Bottom Line by how well you do it.

2. Don’t be “selfish” with your Idea, Share it.

No matter which type of inventor you are, you must seek out constant “feedback”. Maybe your product or service isn’t quite what your customers want. Sometimes you’ll need to modify your idea to match demand. Are you going to be stubborn or savvy? Be passionate about doing great work, not about one fixed idea. You’ve got to be flexible to adopt to the needs of your customers

3. Passion is absolutely necessary, but you need to “listen” to what your Customers want.

It’s no surprise that it’s “easier” to do well with an idea that you’re passionate about. It’s not because you’ll be constantly passionate. It’s because you’ll be more likely to keep going when it gets hard. Even though you have your heart & soul in your idea, you have to be open to feedback about your idea. “Don’t fall in love with your idea to the point that you don’t listen to feedback,” Lori says. You can’t block out what other people say – what your potential customers are saying – just because you’re so “passionate” about your idea.

4. “It only takes one Idea to succeed.”

Many people have lots of great ideas that don’t work out. And that’s okay. You don’t need all of your ideas to work out. You just need one idea to take off. But, here’s the catch, in order to know what your million dollar idea is, you need to come up with a lot of ideas. That means you need to test your idea in-house and have Customers try it, to find out what does & doesn’t work. The best idea in your head might not what be what consumers are looking for. That means you can’t be wedded to just one idea. Don’t let your ego block you from seeing other possibilities. Sometimes, you even have to be comfortable with failing and moving on. Do you think someone who’s helped launch more than 400 products + holds 120 U.S. & international patents is wedded to just one idea? And of all her successes, Lori has a lot more failures & mistakes. Learn from your failures; focus on your successes. She only uncovered the winners by keeping  trying.

5. The concept of “Extreme DIY” [Do It Yourself]

You need a lot of DIY. This is obvious, but not always intuitive. Simply put, beginning inventors & entrepreneurs need to learn every facet of their craft and their business firsthand in order to make the pivotal decisions. Read Lori’s latest or other similar Books, to find out why – even after her first product was seeing success – she had to create over 20,000 pieces of jewelry by hand for her in-store displays. There are no secrets here. You have to put in the work.

6. There are two types of Entrepreneurs.

As she astutely observes, there are two types of Entrepreneurs: 1) the ones who create one “master work” only & the Serial Entrepreneurs, who relish the thrill of coming up with a new idea and breathing life into it. Obviously, she is the latter. You must decide. Which one you want to be?

7. Do whatever it Takes.

“Entrepreneurs are the only people who will work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week,” according to Lori. Being your own boss is much harder work than working for someone else. But if it’s for you, if it’s who you are, you almost don’t have a choice. You’re willing to work 80 hours on your idea because it’s actually more “challenging” than working 40 hours on someone else’s idea.

Lori’s Shark Tank Quotes

“You need to pave your own way in the world, pound the pavement.

“Great ideas don’t sell themselves. You have to keep is simple to be understood

“You need an innate instinct for knowing what’s going to work.

“be Persistent – don’t take no for an answer.

“You need to have a good idea that you can communicate very easily.

“If you succeed you’re a hero, if not a zero.

“You can achieve the American dream – Challenge & Fulfillment.

Comments: Are you a true Entrepreneur? Do you have the passion? Are you doing whatever it takes?

from Entrepreneur.com 14 Feb 17 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

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