How far can the market fall? Yale University economist, Robert Shiller, uses a “cyclically adjusted” P/E ratio (price to earnings) to smooth out the market peaks and valleys by averaging the last ten years of earnings and adjusting for inflation.   His adjusted P/E ratio closed this Friday, August 5th at 20.2.  The average over the last half century is 19.5.  At the market bottom in March, 2009 it was 13.3.  It bottomed at 6.6 in August, 1982, 8.3 in December, 1974 and 5.6 in June, 1932.

How far can the stock market potentially fall? It has the potential to fall another 50%. Any fall of this magnitude would adversely impact the continuing down-trend in real estate prices.  Our banks would have even more problems and would seize-up in making new loans.

Now here we are, nine (9) years later. On 9/11/2010 it will be business as usual, we are in the heat of Major League Baseball as we are every year, the Pro and College football season has kicked off, and we are preparing for the holiday season. Not the same holiday season as it once was.  President Obama was in Milwaukee on Labor Day and kicked off the fall political season by introducing his fire-breathing stem-winder stump speech for the fall campaign. As happens occasionally when a politician gets on a roll in front of a friendly crowd, the President took a short detour off  his message as he quoted Jimi Hendrix to take a shot at his critics, saying “They talk about me like a dog.”

In August The President weighing his words carefully on a fiery political issue, President Barack Obama showed his support for the mosque across the street from Ground Zero. The President said the muslims have the right to build a mosque near New York’s Ground Zero, but he did not say whether he believes it is a good idea to do so. Obama commented during a trip to Florida, where he expanded on a Friday night White House speech asserting that muslims have the same right to freedom of religion as everyone else in America. Maybe they have a right to build a mosque and have a place to worship, but there? Right across the street from were over 3000 people were murdered by muslims who do pray to the profit muhammad, who married a 9 year old little girl by the way.

 I have to sit back and laugh at the debates on this mosque. America is already a divided Nation and now we have “The President of the United States of America” who says he supports a mosque across the street from ground zero? I am in all, what are we supposed to think? After all in 2008 we were promised to be a season of change in America. Well to the Presidents credit he did keep his promise. We got change all right, and it was not going into our pocket. We as a country watched before our very eyes, every industry fall to its demise. The President made announcing the benefits of the $787 Billion no scratch that, the $862 Billion somewhere north of $1 trillion fully loaded stimulus legislation passed in February 2009. Apparently that bill was about $50 billion dollars short. It was an easy mistake. It was a big bill, but nobody really read it. I believe it was like 3500 pages long. It would be easy to forget an additional $50 billion dollars or so. I guess it could happen to anyone. Fortunately the administration is correcting that oversight now. For some insight into what this extra $50 billion dollars of not-a-stimulus infrastructure spending will get us now.

On Labor Day, The President was in Milwaukie and he said this “I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads and rails and runways for the long term. I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world. We used to have the best infrastructure in the world. We can have it again. We are going to make it happen. Over the next six years, over the next six years, we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads that’s enough to circle the world six times. That’s a lot of road. We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways enough to stretch coast to coast. We’re going to restore 150 miles of runways. And we’re going to advance a next-generation air-traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers. We’re going to continue our strategy to build a national high-speed rail network that reduces congestion and travel times and reduces harmful emissions. This will not only create jobs immediately, it’s also going to make our economy hum over the long haul.  Well if you say so Mr. President, I hope you are right.

If Government spending could make us rich, the 1930s would have been the Roaring 30s instead of the Great Depression. Japan’s “lost decade” of the 1990s would have been a golden age. And our own economy wouldn’t be mired in an extremely weak recovery with elevated unemployment. So the demand-side approach has failed. I think that maybe President Obama may actually be starting to get it.  This week, for the first time, he rolled out meaningful supply-side proposals that would boost the incentive to save and invest and put capital to work again. The key proposals are a permanent extension of the tax credit for research  and experimentation, and the full and immediate expensing of capital investment  for businesses. Expensing would alleviate one of the worst features of our income tax system the multiple-taxation of savings and investment. President Obama has proposed it for only two years. It should be permanent, but that’s still a big nod in a supply side direction from a Democratic President. Supply side tax cuts are the stuff economic booms are made of, as we should have learned from the Kennedy rate cuts of the 1960s, the Reagan rate cuts of the 1980s, and the Clinton capital gains tax cut of 1997. All triggered robust economic expansions.

The Presidents overarching rhetoric is anything but supply side. In fact, he took more potshots at the idea that boosting the after-tax return on work, saving, and investment will get us more of those desirable things, saying of tax cuts, free trade, and cutting back red tape: For a time, this idea gave us the illusion of prosperity. The Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton supply-side tax cuts created millions of very real, very productive jobs. Still, it seems that Obama is finally ready, just a little, just maybe, to put his class warfare politics aside and consider genuine supply-side measures that can unleash capital investment and productivity. Maybe it’s because everything else has failed.  Whatever the reason, there’s a simple way to put him to the test if he really wants to make the R&D credit permanent and allow full expensing of capital investment, he should ask his friends Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to introduce those proposals as standalone legislation, not shackled to tax hikes or even more spending.

Then he could go further, stand down from his insistence on massive tax hikes next year and embrace a true Kennedy-Reagan style supply and make a big boom of major tax cuts and spending discipline. Bottom line, to fix this broken system, the first thing we need is Jobs, the economy has to be put back together. American’s will continue to argue over politics and religion. Really who cares, what we care about is getting back to as close to normal as we can. President Obama has a lot on his shoulders, but he must restore the industries that have failed. The last two years have been a disaster. I hope we can all come together as one nation under God and put our country back together. It seems that the government has tried to take everything away from America that we hold dear to our hearts. I am just wondering what is next, Christmas? ~ Donnie Bolena

You are also sending a strong message that you value your time, that you have priorities, and that you also respect the person or people to whom you are saying no. We don’t want to commit to something we don’t want to do. In this talk to companys, churches and young people, I do my best to teach and explain that it’s OK to say no if you’re feeling pressured, and give you helpful hints on dealing with pressure and saying no.

All great leaders must know when and how to say “no.”

As a business leader, it’s your job to protect the focus of your organization. As a husband and a father it’s your job to protect your home. You have to ensure that your limited resources are put to bear in the most effective way. 

That often means refusing requests from family, customers, suppliers, employees and even from your boss.

Regardless of the reason, sometimes we must “just say no.”

1.  It’s always best to understand the request (and that the other party feels you understand them). Pay great attention to the full request without interrupting, and then ask questions to clarify.  Seek to understand not just the specific request, but the underlying need the request is designed to satisfy. Try not to make an emotional desision, use your reasons and your logic and stick with your decision. This is leadership.

2. If the request must be refused, say “no” clearly and immediately.  Don’t delay the “no” if you know it must be made.  And don’t confuse the “no” with a meaningless mass of words.  Just say “no.”

3. Explain why you are refusing the request.  Always tell the truth, never deviate away from your principals!  As a business leader, do your best to have a clear business reason for your refusal, as a parent you dont need a reason.

4. Great leaders will look to see if there is a way to develop alternatives that will meet the need of their client or their family that everyone will be able to approve.  Always try to offer some alternative.

The entire conversation needs to be on respectful and on good terms.  Don’t let it a business “no” get personal, and stay firm.  Family issues will get personal real fast.. Be careful here and stick to your guns.

Note: Remember you have a reason for saying no, when placed in a manipulative situation, resort beck to your original reason for saying “no”.

Always Look the other party in the eye and calmly state your response.  Own the “no”, don’t blame someone else for the refusal, and don’t apologize.

Sometimes you may have to repeat your “no” several times before the other party clearly hears it.  It’s okay to sound like a broken record here – that’s often what it takes to break through.

Turning down a friendly request can take nerve, but it’s often necessary. When you can’t or don’t want to help out, get yourself together and kindly but firmly turn them down. But if you’re not ready, you’re simply not ready.

Phrase your “no” as simply as possible. Don’t raise your voice or become upset, simply say that you cannot help this time. When you say no, say it in a confident, well modulated voice to sound more straightforward.

Note:  Do not interrupt the speaker

Always remember two very important things about you and your life in leadership;

1. Sometimes it is lonely at the top, you did not get placed in a position of authority because your superiors think you can not make an informed decision, with out having to pick up the phone and call someone else to give you instruction on what to say.

2. Leaders prove great leadership skills with their good decision making responsibilities, this is why you are who you are and the people who is asking you for permission are who they are. You are where you are at because you do have the ability and the guts to say ”no”.

All my best , Donnie Bolena

One of the questions is whether they feel accounting is complicated and/or difficult to learn. Most allow that it is complicated as in their minds it ivolves lots of complicated mathmetical theories and formulae. This is not to be believed. Nothing is further from the truth about accounting. I tell attendees that accounting is as easy to understand as their own checking account and then I set out to prove this in the presentation.

All businesses engage in many types of transactions of a financial nature. These transactions must go through an accounting process that classifies, records & summarizes them to determine what the business “owns” “owes” and it’s net worth which is the difference. This statement is called the Balance Sheet.

The other component is to determine what the business earned in Revenue and Incurred in expenses. This diffrerence is either profit or loss. This statement is called the Income Statement or Profit and Loss Statement.

These two statements along with the Cash Flow Statement, which shows sources and uses of funds are produced from the transactions a business engages in. We use these statements to make informed business decisions to move the company forward to greater profits.

Now! That is real simple! Don’t you agree? My entire presentation is based on this simple premise and is designed especially for non-financia professionals who must cope with financial statements in the management of their areas of responsibility.

I have branded myself Mr. Simplicity. This is what I do with guaranteed success. Check out my seminar. I guarantee all attendees with walk away with a knowledge of the basic fumdamentals and foundation of accounting presented to them in easy to understand and apply tools and techniques.

Finance and Accounting are Simple if Made Simple! This is not a myth it is a meaning. I guarantee to make them simple!

I have over 25 years of experience in finance and accounting positons and training. I guarantee to make it simple to understand and apply to non financial personnel.

I use basic concepts and principles to provide the foundation and fundamentals. I relate the training to the individual company to add more meaning to the training. This has been a winning formula.

I would love to discuss your training needs for finance and accounting to non financial professionals. I guarantee to make it simple to understand and apply. Presentations are engaging, energetic and specificaly tailored to the audience.

I guarantee to meet and exceed your expectations.

Carl L Young
Mr. Simplicity

In most parts of Canada, on the other hand, the market continues to stay hot and agents are looking for the best way to grow their business. They are looking to expand the reach of their marketing and maximize income opportunities. Whether it be in the U.S. or Canada, a number of agents we are talking to believe that now is the time to make the transition into the ultra high-end market.

Traditionally, luxury real estate is one of the hardest market segments to try and break into. Why? There are a few common reasons. It might be the presence of a dominant agent already ensconced in the community or the fact that everyone already has a peer in the real estate business. It may be because the agents themselves don’t have the patience to work in a generally slower-paced market (less transactions to go around, tougher competition and slower sales process). It could be that they are simply not prepared for the unique challenges a high-end market poses.

In our experience, it’s usually a combination of these reasons that prevents most agents from becoming successful in luxury real estate. There are many things you need to know before you make the quantum leap into the next price range. We’ve put together a list of five factors that will help you decide if a move to luxury real estate is right for you.

#1. Know What You Are Getting Into
Agents often make a blind leap into luxury real estate because they think that’s “where the money is.” Of course, it’s simple math. If you get the same split, it pays to list homes with higher selling prices. In theory, you can make more money by doing fewer transactions. On one hand, that’s true, but if you go into luxury real estate with this mentality, you are probably destined to fail.

Yes, your income per transaction goes up significantly. That’s great, but there is often a new set of challenges introduced when working a high-end market: the competitive stakes are much higher, social circles are much more closed, politics are different, and there are many other factors which we will detail throughout this article. In addition, marketing and servicing costs are generally more when dealing with luxury homes and clients. Both buyers and sellers expect more and demand more and the properties themselves need even more attention (marketing, staging, photography, etc.) to appeal to a more sophisticated crowd.

Carol Barkin of Toronto, Ontario has been a successful Sales Representative for 20 years, but it took her some time to build her business in her high-end markets (both in the city and in a lakefront recreational market about an hour outside Toronto). “For me, the biggest challenge was making that first connection,” she says. “They already have tight social connections and know how to get what they want, so building relationships is a matter of trust. It’s important to relate to clients as a friend and a helpful peer, not just present yourself as a service provider.”

“It’s simply a different culture,” adds Robin Milonakis of Orange County, California. “You have to adjust to it.”

#2. Patience, Patience, Patience
It’s clear that high-end real estate is a different animal than traditional residential markets. It tends to move much slower. Generally, there are fewer homes on the market at any given time and there are fewer buyers out there with the means to purchase such expensive properties. The stakes are higher for everyone involved. So on average, it takes significantly longer to sell one of these homes. In addition, there is a lot of competition out there for a limited number of properties, so it often requires more patience to break into the market and build a strong client base.

This is truly a case where the end usually justifies the means if you have the right understanding and commitment going in. Though listings are harder to come by and it takes longer for them to sell, the large check at the end of the transaction is worthwhile. But not all agents have the stomach to wait longer in between commission checks. Oftentimes, this is the hurdle that stops them in their tracks.

“In my experience in high-end real estate, six months on the market is nothing. On average, it’s more like nine for a listing to sell,” says Robin. “Also, if they are not truly motivated to sell, you will waste a lot of time and money on marketing. In some cases, I will adjust my commission rate so that the marketing costs are covered by the seller. It helps to offset the time it takes to sell. You also shouldn’t go into luxury real estate without money in the bank. It’s a long-term process to build your business and if you are not prepared, it can break you quickly.”

#3. Know It. Live It. Keep It Exclusive.
Another reason that some agents struggle to find their footing in an ultra high-end market is that they cannot relate to the clients or communicate effectively. You’re dealing with a much savvier and usually more demanding crowd who know what they want and are used to getting what they desire. Now, you don’t necessarily have to live in the luxury community you are targeting, but you have to present yourself like you do. The way you dress, your ability to network within their circles, the way you communicate with these sophisticated individuals, the quality of your marketing materials—you have to be able to make a personal connection and develop a strong professional image. If they don’t buy into you as a luxury home expert who’s tapped into their community, they aren’t as likely to do business with you.

Jack Jeffcoat III is an agent who is in the process of transitioning his market focus from high-end golf communities in Central Florida to ultra high-end waterfront properties along Florida’s Space Coast. From his marketing presence to his personal presentation to his servicing strategies, everything he does is to support his image as a luxury real estate specialist. He’s often bold and unwavering in his approach because he never wants to lose credibility.

Think of it like any high-end product that is in demand because of its scarcity and exclusivity—a Rolex, for example. There’s an image that’s built in when you wear a luxurious watch like this and it’s that image that buyers want to be associated with. Everything about Rolex’s branding is designed to support this image of a luxury timepiece. With that, buyers are willing to pay more. So as a real estate agent specializing in high-end properties, you, your marketing image, and the service experience itself need to reflect the utmost quality. If you look and act like the best agent around, people will aspire to work with you.

“When I take a listing presentation, I conduct an interview with the seller to make sure they are willing to follow my recommendations,” Jack says. “At every opportunity, I want to remind them why they are hiring me. They know I am a luxury real estate expert that only works with an exclusive group of clients. From the beginning, they are instilled with the belief that if they want to have a successful sale, they need to follow my lead. It gives me the upper hand and keeps me positioned as the market specialist.”

Also, keep in mind that high-end real estate isn’t necessarily going to be the same from region to region. A waterfront community in Florida will have a different set of challenges than a mountain resort community in Colorado or a downtown high-rise in Toronto. In some places, “high-end” may be $400,000 and up. In others, prices could be in the multi-millions. So when it comes to your personal presentation and the way you market yourself, be sure to properly present your niche and look impressive.

“Always look bigger than you are,” says Robin Milonakis. “You have to have exceptional marketing materials. They have to make people feel good about hiring you. It feeds their ego knowing they are working with the best.”

#4. Image is Everything, Especially in Marketing
When it comes to your marketing materials, quality is key. You can’t position yourself as a high-end agent if your materials look unsophisticated. A first-rate personal brochure and dynamic website are absolutely essential. Your personal brochure should take the place of your business card whenever you meet a potential client. It needs to look sharp and feel impressive at the very first glance (exceptional photography, nice glossy paper, sophisticated writing, clean design). It needs to reflect your personality, but also relate to the luxury market you are targeting. In a way, you are a representative of this lifestyle and your marketing should convey that. It shows your unique expertise and highlights the service/knowledge benefits that make you a specialist in this distinctive market.

It’s very important that you don’t skimp here or it will show. You simply can’t fake high-end quality. You must be committed to investing the money to do the marketing right or people will see through it

Put simply, the brochure and all other marketing materials need to be of the utmost quality. This includes your house advertising. You should at least have a tabloid-size glossy flyer/brochure that you use to promote each property. The staging must be great. The photography must be very professional. Of course, you should keep the property marketing pieces branded clearly with your personal image (logo, colors, fonts, etc.) so you don’t lose your own identity.

“My brochure is quality and people associate the piece with its sender,” Carol Barkin says. “I send it out prior to meeting someone to warm them up. It gives me more credibilty and shows my knowledge of the market they are concerned about.”

The same is especially true when it comes to your website. It needs to reflect the quality of your brochure and other print materials. It needs to look sharp and feel representative of your luxury market. Two of the agents we spoke with—Jack Jeffcoat and Robin Milonakis—are both actually in the process of revamping their compaigns to better target their high-end clientele. Even though both of them have been highly successful with their current Hobbs/Herder-designed campaigns, they know it’s worth the investment to take their marketing to the next level to promote an exclusive luxury niche.

“We’re looking to sharpen up the materials even further to make the campaign look as elegant as possible,” Robin says.

One bold strategy Jack uses is to feature only properties above a certain price on his website. Does he take listings at lower prices? Yes, when the situation calls for it. But his image is that of a luxury real estate expert and his website is one more way to show that. “If one of my high-end prospects goes to my website and sees a bunch of low-priced listings, then it’s not really helping my cause,” Jack says. “Like a doctor, specialists make more money and earn more credibility, so I want to be known as a high-end listing specialist in every aspect of my marketing.”

When it comes to online marketing, you also need to make sure you are very active on your web site. You cannot just put up a site—no matter how nice it looks—and expect it to generate business over the long run. You have to actively post information—links, articles, blogs, calendar events, community information etc.— to make it a resource that people want to return to on a regular basis. Your active engagement on the site will enable you to better communicate with your target market. And of course, it also boosts your SEO (search engine optimization) to help you generate more leads through all the major search engines.

#5. Be Prepared to Back It Up
In addition to making sure your marketing campaign and personal presentation are representative of your market, you must also make sure you are fully in-tune with the market itself. If you don’t know everything that’s happening around you, you will never be able to establish yourself as a luxury specialist. This is one area where you will not be able to fake your way through a transaction with minimal knowledge or experience. Clients will expect more and demand more from you, so you have to be able to back up your claims as an expert—in terms of both your knowledge and your service experience.

“Expectations from clients are different and, in general, they are more demanding. They want you to be available to provide answers and information,” Carol Barkin says when referring to the clients she works with. “In the end, they need to make their own decisions. They are gathering advice and professional recommendations from me so they can come to their own conclusions.”

That said, never underestimate the clients’ need for up-to-date information. Be proactive in giving them regular updates (at least one call per week) on market activity. Always stay current with everything that is happening in the market. Word travels fast in luxury real estate, so make sure you know what’s going on—what listings have sold, for how much, how long they were on the market, and so on. If you are not all over the market, your clients will be all over you. How and what you communicate will make them feel better about the experience

“No matter what, I personally call every one of my clients on Monday with a detailed market update,” Jack Jeffcoat says. “I make it a point to always know what’s going on in the market. If any home sells, I need to be aware of it and discuss it with each client so they know what’s happening.”

Robin Milonakis has the same approach. “Even though some clients prefer minimal communication, I still make sure I call them every week with an update.”

Then, make sure your service experience reflects your marketing image. You have to be able to deliver on your claims by making the client feel special throughout the process. Think of it as the difference between the Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott. It’s a completely different experience from the moment you walk through the doors of either hotel, and it’s why you pay substantially more to stay at the Ritz. Imagine your real estate service as a luxury experience. That will make you a valuable commodity in the market.

Is the Luxury Market Right for You?
Ultimately, that’s for you to decide. You must be prepared for the unique challenges and tough competition found in the world of high-end real estate. You have to make sure you are patient enough to handle a slow-moving market. You need to be willing to invest the time and money it takes to not only brand yourself as a luxury specialist, but to back it up with higher standards of service and expertise. If you are ready for what the high-end market has in store, it can be a very lucrative place to do business over the long-run. And whether you are in a slow market or a hot market, right now may be the time to take the big leap!

2. Broke People give up when things don’t go their way; a few disappointments and they are onto something else, saying things like “it wasn’t for me”. Successful People work harder and become more determined when things go bad, and understand that you have to take the bad with the good to make it.

3. Broke People always have an excuse. Successful People say “it’s my fault” and refuse to make excuses.

4. Broke People think that not getting what they want is OK. Successful People are disgusted at the thought of not getting what they want and will do whatever it takes.

5. Broke People always have to talk it over with their broke friends to make sure no one will make fun of them if they make a decision. Successful People think for themselves and couldn’t care less what their broke friends think.

6. Broke people are never coachable and teachable. Successful People are always learning, even when the money starts coming in. They never stop learning from those who were there first.

7. Broke People are scared of others. Successful People trust in others and know that other people are crucial for their success.

8. Broke People are always procrastinating; they would rather talk about it, read about it, think about it, but never seem to do anything. Successful People hate doing anything but getting it done.

9. Broke People are glad when the day is over.Successful People love when the day begins.

10. Broke People think the Rich are lucky. Successful People put themselves into a position to be “lucky,” and then work hard to make the “luck” show up.

11. Broke People work by the hour. Successful People work by the month.

12. Broke People want to know that after 1 hour of work they have something to show for it. Successful People find broke people who think this way and make them their employees.

13. Broke People get excited they just got hired. Successful People think it’s interesting that someone could be fooled that easily. They’re amazed that Broke People never consider that they are selling themselves at wholesale while the Successful Person is reaping the retail rewards.

14. Broke People complain a lot. Successful People are thankful that no one shot at them today, they didn’t have to fight in a war, and that they don’t have a job.

15. Broke People are too concerned about what other people are doing.Successful People are only concerned about what they can be doing to get more done.

16. Broke People think that if no one is doing something, it must suck. Successful People think that if no one is doing something, it means more money for them.

17. Broke People think that if everyone (all 200 people at a meeting or on a conference call) are all doing the same thing, it must be saturated. Successful People think that Broke People who think that way aren’t too bright.

18. Broke People think it is OK for other people to live where they want to live, drive what they want to drive, and do what they want to do. Broke People are OK with the fact that they can’t do these things. Successful people get sick just thinking about being average.

19. Broke People think that other people’s opinions are worth more than their dreams. Successful People know that their dreams are worth more than other people’s opinions.

Moral of the story: To be successful, find out what unsuccessful people do, read, watch and think…and don’t read what they read, watch what they watch, do what they do, or think how they think! (Author unknown)

Being all three, and belonging to several professional groups surrounding these industries, I can tell you that many haven’t got a clue as to what to charge or even an inkling of the value they offer.

Here’s what I hear most frequently among my poorest colleagues.

“I feel guilty charging for my natural gift.” Every great artist and entertainer has a natural gift too. But they have also practiced, studied and sacrificed to fine tune their gifts and have no problem charging audiences for enjoying their talent. Haven’t you done the same?

“I don’t need to make a lot of money, I just want to help people. ” Isn’t that just an excuse for failure? The more money you make, the more good you can do with it and the more people you can help.

“Money will corrupt me.” Really? Are you that corruptible? Money has nothing to do with character. There are many very good,kind, generous and spiritual people who are also very wealthy. They just don’t make the news; instead they serve others humbly and quietly.

“Money is bad”. Untrue. Money is a just a thing, a tool to use for good or bad. It’s entirely your choice how you use it. More money can equal more good works. Money can save lives.

“I don’t like selling and marketing” Then get out of business and get a job. Selling and marketing is a necessary part of growing your business. It is a good thing and its really fun! How else will people find out about you and benefit from your good work?

“I’m not comfortable promoting myself”. Even the Bible says.”Don’t hide your light under a bushel”.If you don’t think you are worth it, how are you going to convince others?

We have a tendency to underestimate the value of what we do. We think that what we know is common knowledge and obvious common sense. Not true! You are unique, amazing and have skills, knowledge, life experiences and insights specific to you and no one else on the planet. You have worked hard to hone your skills. You want to serve others. You have no competition. If what you offer can truly inspire others, change lives and revitalize a business, how much is that worth? Here’s an exercise to try. Stand in front of the mirror and practice saying, “My fee is $____and I’m worth it.” Say it until you believe it and your eyes show it” Your first client is you and your first customer is you. You deserve to be paid well for what you do. Good Selling and Marketing and don’t hide your light under a bushel.

I recently did two different speaker showcases in two different cities.  A speaker showcase is normally presented by a speaker’s bureau who assembles as many meeting planners as possible into a room and then several speakers do a short speech to “showcase” what they can do.  I spent quite a bit of money to be included in this particular showcase and the logistics were incredibly difficult.  The two different venues were back to back and literally 5 hours away from each other.  In other words, I had to sit through an eight-hour day then drive 5 hours, get a little sleep and then do another showcase.  On top of that I had another 6 1/2 hour drive after the second one to get home!

Now, you may be wondering what the point is to all this?  Why would I put myself through all of this just to get more paid talks?  Why would I shell out a LOT of money in the hopes that MAYBE I might get some additional work out of it?  The answer is one word:  PASSION!  I truly love the speaking business and am PASSIONATE  about it!

It’s not enough to just be good at what you do or even be great at what you do.  If you don’t have a passion for your business you’re never going to max out your potential.  All great business people, entertainers, athletes, etc. had a passion for what they were doing.  I’ve said for years that if I were rich, I’d still be doing what I’m doing. I truly love what I do and would literally shrivel up and die if I couldn’t do it.  Maybe that sounds extreme but that’s how passionate I am about my message.  Any greatness that was achieved by anyone was done with passion.

Are you passionate about what you do?  Or are you doing it because it’s a job or because you need to make a living?  You won’t attain the level of success you could ultimately achieve without passion for what your doing.  I’ve seen speakers who were mediocre but who moved the audience incredibly just because of their level of passion.  You could just tell they believed  in their message and “walked their talk”.

If you’re not passionate about the business you’re in you have two choices:  either get into another business that you CAN be passionate about or change the way you think about your current business and how you can become passionate about it.

As Tony Robbins always says, “Live with passion!!!”

Until next time,

Tim Piccirillo

Hi All,

I recently did two different speaker showcases in two different cities.  A speaker showcase is normally presented by a speaker’s bureau who assembles as many meeting planners as possible into a room and then several speakers do a short speech to “showcase” what they can do.  I spent quite a bit of money to be included in this particular showcase and the logistics were incredibly difficult.  The two different venues were back to back and literally 5 hours away from each other.  In other words, I had to sit through an eight-hour day then drive 5 hours, get a little sleep and then do another showcase.  On top of that I had another 6 1/2 hour drive after the second one to get home!

Now, you may be wondering what the point is to all this?  Why would I put myself through all of this just to get more paid talks?  Why would I shell out a LOT of money in the hopes that MAYBE I might get some additional work out of it?  The answer is one word:  PASSION!  I truly love the speaking business and am PASSIONATE  about it!

It’s not enough to just be good at what you do or even be great at what you do.  If you don’t have a passion for your business you’re never going to max out your potential.  All great business people, entertainers, athletes, etc. had a passion for what they were doing.  I’ve said for years that if I were rich, I’d still be doing what I’m doing. I truly love what I do and would literally shrivel up and die if I couldn’t do it.  Maybe that sounds extreme but that’s how passionate I am about my message.  Any greatness that was achieved by anyone was done with passion.

Are you passionate about what you do?  Or are you doing it because it’s a job or because you need to make a living?  You won’t attain the level of success you could ultimately achieve without passion for what your doing.  I’ve seen speakers who were mediocre but who moved the audience incredibly just because of their level of passion.  You could just tell they believed  in their message and “walked their talk”.

If you’re not passionate about the business you’re in you have two choices:  either get into another business that you CAN be passionate about or change the way you think about your current business and how you can become passionate about it.

As Tony Robbins always says, “Live with passion!!!”

Until next time,

Tim Piccirillo