Have an Idea? Have a PARTY!
I’m from the south, if there’s one thing we know how to do right, it’s to have a party. When a rival team plays at LSU and causes an earthquake (hints the name ‘Death Valley’), we have a party. We don’t just start a fast, we have what’s called Fat Tuesday and when a Hurricane comes into town, we have a Hurricane party (and another one when it’s over). So obviously when I had the idea of having a salad dressing — I had a party.
Ido Leffler: Yes To Rapid Growth (The DOcast)
Ido Leffler is always smiling, it’s his brand. [photo credit: www.ChristopherMichel.com]
I had the pleasure to talk with Ido (via Skype) from his office in San Francisco, CA to talk about strategies and solutions that he utilized in conquering many of the problems product businesses face.
Jeff Herman: Hustling the Deaux (The DOcast)
Jeff Herman in his Bootstrapped Doughnut Shop
When Jeff Herman went on a trip to Mary Lee Donuts, he realized there was a crucial gap in the doughnut market in Baton Rouge, and he asked himself how hard could it be to build a better doughnut shop? (famous last words) He was 23 years old and fresh out of college, armed with only his ambition, drive, and small amount of capital, he managed to bootstrap his startup Tiger Deaux-nuts into a thriving, yet almost secret, grassroots business.
In this episode I talk with Jeff in his first kitchen about the challenges of bootstrapping, building a devoted following, and what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Just Focus.
If you chase two $100 bills in the wind, both will escape.
In the world of multi-taskers, the ability to simply focus on just one thing is now a unique thing — it’s also a common characteristics of thought leaders like Steve Jobs, Aristotle, and Mark Twain. But, how can you focus when you have hundreds of things that need to be done, and done right now. Let me introduce you into a little procedure I like to call, the daily thought.
Checking email before you start the day will put you into a reactive state of mind. Simply focus on your list before someone else’s, put your phone/computer off or a silence treatment. Airplane mode is now work mode.
What’s the Most Important Thing you can do today?
Every morning, after I help my wife get the kids ready for school, I grab my notepad and pen, then write down the top 5 things that I must do today. Even if it’s something little or something huge, if it’s on my mind — it’s on paper, but on only 5 things.
How long will each take?
On the right side of each item in the list, I put a number in quarter increments to how long that item might take (.25, .5, 1, 3hrs).
What’s most important?
On the left side of each item in the list, I put a number (starting with 1) on the single-most important thing that I need to do. It’s not always the single-most important thing I want to do, but mostly the thing you don’t want to do is what you need to do most.
It’s amazing how focused you can be when you prioritize. When you prioritize the important, stuff gets done.
Block out the calendar
On my digital calendar, I put everything that I need to do in the calendar and how long it will take. It’s easy to see how fast you day can fill up, how you don’t have time to get distracted, how being focused is the key. Sometimes, you can finish up before noon and feel great. But, if you wouldn’t of done this, you would jump to the next goal.
Just Focus.