Think Like an Entrepreneur: Perform as a Leader

By Steve Mellingerv

This book was designed to guide the person with limited experience in the process of setting up and running a business venture successfully. It is based upon the practice experience and knowledge of the author in addition to the many referenced resources. This book presumes that the idea for your business has been developed, incubated and is ready to be hatched. Your venture may also be a going concern and you want to take it to the next level. You will definitely find resources here to help you.

"This is a must read for anyone who wants to accelerate the growth of their business. Steve has presented both the tactical and psychological strategies necessary to be a successful entrepreneur. His experience and insight is invaluable for a leader who wants to make a bigger impact on their organization."
Bob Teichart
Author Motivator Teacher Shrink

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 24, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467855662

Steve Mellingerv

Steve Mellinger is an Entrepreneur with unique information, experience, skill sets and social networks. He likes to look at business to include both numbers and human impact. His earned degrees are BS, Education, and MA, Psychology with doctoral studies. As a practitioner in the Financial Services industry he carried CLU and Series 7 credentials for many years. His interest in financial planning, wealth accumulation, wealth management drove him to earn the CSPG (Certified Specialist in Planned Giving) credential dealing with many issues of property and philanthropy. He has built sales organizations, produced training programs, organizational development, individual performance coaching, and nonprofit consulting. Along his career path he has formed relationships that allow him to help with real estate investments. He currently has a Real Estate practice dealing with site development in commercial and multifamily projects. Author of Think Like an Entrepreneur-Perform as A Leader and How to Profit in Any Economy, Commercial real Estate Tactics which are available on www.PBI-USA.com. Alsowww.PBI-International.com

Book preview

© 2009 Steve Mellinger. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 11/21/2009

ISBN: 978-1-4490-0162-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4678-5566-2 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009912181

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Preface

This book was designed to guide the person with limited experience in the process of setting up and running a business venture successfully. It is based upon the practice experience and knowledge of the author in addition to the many referenced resources. This book presumes that the idea for your business has been developed, incubated and is ready to be hatched. Your venture may also be a going concern and you want to take it to the next level. You will definitely find resources here to help you. If you have purchased this book and are not there yet that’s OK it will be quite handy when you are ready. A companion book Thinking through Entrepreneurship a precursor to this one is available at www.EntrepreneurStore.com and has helped many reach good decisions.

The focus in the book content is directed towards the entrepreneur’s roles at different points in a company’s development. Leadership challenges and behavior insights will be discussed to aid your thinking in the execution of you game plan. You will be exposed to the practicalities of the two ingredients of business which are people and money. My emphasis is on people because there are many how-to books available that focuses on the structural and procedural methods of starting a business.

Building a business is a lot like raising a child in my experience, and I will be drawing the correlation from time to time. When you have a new or challenging situation develop with one of your kids, what do you do? How do you handle it? Your business will be as unique as each child out there. Each business and child has a chance for success but as we know, the outcomes vary for many reasons. For those without children, I’m sure the meaning of point will not be lost; you will get the points. Who knows, it may even give you a leg up if children do enter your life?

My hope is that as you were contemplating the road of entrepreneurship, you wanted to build something of value for the long term because that is where I can be of the most help. This does not mean that you won’t sell your business in a few years as part of an exit strategy; however, I don’t favor get rich programs even though they have printed testimonials of praise and success. Few endure or create value although some make money as a sole objective. That is OK for them but I also believe money allows me to make choices in life. It alone is not the end game. I also need to be rewarded psychologically by seeing that my efforts are positively impacting other people like my customers, my family and my community. Here you will be exposed to tools and techniques to guard against failure once your initial success is established. The reference made throughout the book to gender as his or she is intended to mean his/her.

About the Author:

Steve Mellinger is an Entrepreneur with unique information, experience, skill sets and social networks. He likes to look at business to include both numbers and human impact. His earned degrees are BS, Education, and MA Psychology with doctoral studies. As a practitioner in the Financial Services industry he carried the CLU, Chartered life Underwriter, CLF, Chartered Leadership Fellow, NASD, National Association of Securities Dealers, Series 7, credentials for many years.

His interest in financial planning, wealth accumulation, wealth management and philanthropy, drove him to earn the CSPG (Certified Specialist in Planned Giving) credential dealing with many issues of property and philanthropy. He has built sales organizations, produced training programs, organizational development, individual performance coaching, and nonprofit consulting.

Along his career path he has formed relationships that allow him to help with real estate investments. He currently has a Real Estate practice dealing with site development in commercial and multifamily projects. http://www.PBI-USA.com

In addition he is pioneering entrepreneur training and consulting using the electronic platforms to deliver service.

Contents

At the starting line

When?

Early training

Inspiration and persperation

Instinct verses knowledge

Entrepreneur defined

The Game plan….

building it on strengths & Vision

The Why?

Who are you?

You can’t do it all by your self

Who wants to spend time with this person?

Sixteen Traits

Independence

Curiosity

Quasi risk taker

Visionary

Pragmatic

Resourceful

Impatient

Contrarian

Charismatic

Conceptual

Imaginative

Optimistic

Passionate

Empathic

A giver

Values people

Skill sets (What got you here won’t keep you here!)

How will you measure Success?

Values and Beliefs

Vulnerabilities-what is your Achilles heel? (Avoidance of conflict?)

Negative byproduct of avoidance

Pension considerations

Legal considerations

Additional skill sets needed

Problem solving

Directing people

Decisiveness

Accountability

Change management

The P word -If an organization wants long term success

The common language

Scripting

Consistency

Duplication

What it is and is not

It is your friend

Employees

The economic side

Additional understandings

Changing others

Motivation

Leadership vs. Management

Look at all the choices you have!

Recruiting and Selection Process

Intangible asset building

Education and training recruiters

Recruiting Secret # 1

Recruiting Secret # 2

Recruiting Secret # 3

What big companies offer to prospective employees

Selection

Effective versus efficiency?

Training: What will you train?

Clichés

Practice makes perfect!

Knowledge is power!

The wise learn from experience!

Financing and finances

Psychology of money

Conclusion

What have you learned?

Revised game plan-

Appendix

Exhibit A

Professional Growth cycle

Exhibit B

Values worksheet 1

Exhibit C

Sugar Ten Reasons to Start Business Now

Exhibit D-Maslow’s Pyramid of needs

Exhibit E: The Leadership Framework

Works Cited

Bibliography

At the starting line

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At this moment you have to be filled with rushes of emotion and feelings ranging from exhilaration to depression and everything in between. If not I’d be a little concerned. Some may be having pregame jitters and are ready to chuck the whole thing even after making announcements to their inner circles and know it’s on. I will never forget the day or minute of the day that I consciously committed to not becoming an entrepreneur but taking a business from the success level it was at and doubling it. I was sitting on the couch in my office on Wilshire Boulevard downtown Los Angeles discussing the growth or change subject with my then consultant, Morrie Shechtman. The second I verbally committed to the process, something happened. It was profound and at the time I didn’t know what to think. I could not articulate what was happening; I was scared, alone, challenged, optimistic, overwhelmed, confident, happy and much more. I noticed in retrospect that my eyes had even managed to well up completely spontaneously. Wow, it was powerful! Please understand how unusual that was for me because at that time I would have described myself as a hardnosed, former All Big Ten middle linebacker, hard charging, strong leader and not a ruthless but well seasoned entrepreneur of 18 years and definitely not a cry baby. My point for bringing this up to you is twofold; first to let you know if you experience these things, you are perfectly normal. Second, what was going on for me will go on for you at some level. Your skill or ability to be aware of the process will be vital for the long term business and personal success.

We will cover this further in a coming chapter. When your business prospers, this skill set and knowledge base will enable you to manage others through the growth process. Here is a caution or warning, it’s your choice to make; throughout my many business years, I have not seen a business or the person driving it to prosperity without an understanding of the growth process on a conscious