Know Your Market

"Nothing GREAT ever came THAT easy"

Hey All,

Knowing your market – is it important?

During my travels, I meet some fantastic people! As a matter of fact I am sitting next to the GM of value management at my work. As a matter of fact I strive every day to meet people with extraordinary stories.

Surrounding myself with people from all walks of life gives me the biggest buzz.

    Have you surrounded yourself with experts, that operate where you want to be?

Last Thursday on my Trip up to Auckland, I was talking to my boss about how CEO's and their sale pitches. The CEO’s I am referring to are the corporate – they have a sales pitch that is either bought or declined by stakeholders.

I was questioning my boss..”Is it true that CEO’s just cycle through the corporate world with their sales pitch (that delivers value)”. The answer YES they do, they all focus on a niche. Every CEO has their own pitch that will deliver value to their niche, for example some CEO’s specialize in scaling business… while others specialise in reducing operating costs.

These corporate are the master of their niche… rather than being a jack of all trades and being a master of nothing. The capability of the CEO is the value driver stakeholders seek.

You are your own brand.

If you are your own brand, what is your market.. do you even know what that might be?

Knowing your market, finding your niche – you hear this all the time, what does it mean? Well for myself I know my strengths, I know my weaknesses and I know my values. Without knowing these and being true to myself I wouldn’t have been able find the path, I am currently on.

Yes being in the right place at the right time was part of my path but this did not come about by accident, I was purposely placing myself in the area where I wanted to be – everything just blossomed from there.

Some people call it luck…I call it hard work, for example – was I tired last night? Yes.. did I suck it up and go out to my property mentoring group? Yes, was it valuable – YOU BETCHA

A simple decision led to great opportunities.

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

Everyday EACH one of us, has a DECISION to make at some point – think TWICE, as this MAY-BE the decision that opens up an OPPORTUNITY

A Summary,

You are your own brand, know you;

Strengths

Weaknesses

Values

Find your market that suits your skills

Exploit a niche in that market for you (and others) to benefit.

And don’t forget, Place yourself in success – go the extra mile.

Cheers

M

Live you Legend!

Hey Guys,

I thought I would share with you one of the key sources of daily inspiration I get from the internet!

When I started on this journey I had great support from my girl friend, but sadly this is all I really had. Most of my friends and family that love me, were more afraid of the failure I would go through rather than the successes I would achieve through the failures - they didn't want to see me get hurt. 

But HURT i have been and I am the better for it.

There are KEY people that don’t even know that they have influenced my life for the better GREATER. 

I too have a dream that I wish to share with my family, and friends, and I also want to be able  to open doors for others to follow.

But this blog is not about another story of my failure or successes – this is about celebrating one of the blogs that has influenced me as a person more than any tertiary education has!

http://liveyourlegend.net/ by Scott Dinsmore is one of the KEY people who have broadened my thinking, and I thank him for that!

I hope you too will be encouraged to follow Scott and his awesome blog, so without further ado – please see an excerpt from his blog

The 20 Uncommon Career & Life Lessons from My Weekend with Warren Buffett:

1. Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation and I will be ruthless. This is covered every year. Money can always be made again. Reputation doesn’t recover quite so easily. It’s all too tempting to trade long-term respect for a little short term gain. The world constantly tries to seduce us. Here’s an easy reminder: imagine whatever you do will be reported by an informed reporter the following day in your local newspaper for your family, children and closest friends to read. Act accordingly. [Tweet This Lesson]

2. Don’t expect people to change. Berkshire Hathaway owns over 70 businesses. They buy a few more every year. But they only buy ones they won’t have to improve (contrary to what happens in acquisitions elsewhere). They’ve realized how futile is to try to changes others’ behavior. We love to paint a rosy picture that things will be better after some special event happens (an acquisition, a marriage, kids, a move, a new job, whatever), but for the most part, how people act is out of our control. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are the right fit from the beginning. [Tweet this Lesson]

“If we thought the success of our investment depended on them taking our advice, we’d move on.” – Charlie Munger

3. Conventional wisdom is often an indication of what not to do. 99% of business schools teach their students that the type of investing Warren and Charlie do is impossible. Who do you think’s right? (side note: it’s funny for two guys crazy about learning, to so openly put down business school, given 30% of the audience probably has an MBA or is trying to get one). The road less traveled still does make all the difference. If everyone’s doing it then it’s usually time to reassess. Be careful taking things as fact just because a bunch of other people do. Like we’ve seen before, everything was impossible until someone did it. [Tweet this Lesson]

4. Fighting the tide can be brutal, but it’s usually the only fight worth fighting. Enough said. [Tweet this Lesson]

5. Start as early as possible. When a 26-year-old asked Warren what he’d do in the man’s shoes, Warren said “If I had to do it over again, I would have done the same but earlier.” It is never too early to start something. The sooner you begin, the sooner you get your experience. [Tweet this Lesson]

6. Don’t expose yourself to steps that can keep you from tomorrow. It can take a lifetime to build a masterpiece, but only an instant to destroy it. Very smart people have failed this way all throughout history. No matter what the possible benefit, these two guys refuse to do anything that opens them to the chance of going back to zero. That’s why they don’t use debt, and in their last 50 years have never faced a truly dire situation. In fact, when things are the worst for the world, is often when they do best. Nothing’s worth risking everything. [Tweet this Lesson]

“Never risk what you have and need for what we don’t have and don’t need.” – Warren Buffett

7. Tell the truth to a group of people who believe what you do, and things will work out. I do everything I can to run Live Your Legend the same way. Align with the right people and do it in an honest way. Pretty simple. [Tweet this Lesson]

8. Great things are built as a result of the combination of time and consistency towards a cause you deeply believe in. Find what you’re good at – what you want to build. Then put your head down and allow a lifetime to build it. 40 years ago Buffet wrote out 13 principles of what he wanted to create and how he wanted it run. He then built a culture that executed on that every day. Just about anything can be done with the right focus, time and consistency. As long as you care enough and aren’t in too much of a hurry. [Tweet this Lesson]

9. Be your own market of one. As a result of the culture they’ve built, Berkshire is often the only company a business owner is willing to sell to (even despite other more attractive offers). Those who think of Berkshire first, don’t think of anyone second. Instead of going out and trying to replicate those around you, go out and create a category. Then be the first guy to hang a shingle in that space. Be willing to do the things others won’t. Standing out will come naturally. [Tweet this Lesson]

“The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.” – Simon Sinek [Tweet this Quote]

10. There’s little progress without failure. These guys quickly admit not only that they’ve had plenty of failures, but that they wouldn’t have what they do if it wasn’t for the screw ups. Unsuccessful people avoid failure at all cost. The successful ones embrace it, learn from it and keep building. If you’re not screwing up every once in a while, you’re not trying hard enough. [Tweet this Lesson]

11. You don’t need to be able to do that many things right to succeed. In fact, success is inversely proportional to how many things you try to do. Do a few things really well. Focus on that. Hire others to do the rest or don’t do it at all. The most successful businesses and people have a much longer list of what they aren’t willing to do, than what they actually spend time on. Warren is notorious for how many things he’s says no to. Stay within your circle of competence. When in doubt, do less. [Tweet this Lesson] 

12. In business and in life, incentives make all the difference. Understand the incentives on both sides before engaging in a transaction. Most investment managers get paid for how much money they manage, not how much money they make you. Real estate agents are more encouraged to get your house sold as fast as possible than they are to get you the best price. Even the best natured of people can get lead astray by misaligned incentives. Align your incentives with the people you work with (clients, customers and partners) and you’ll get a lot more done, with a lot less frustration. Most importantly, only engage in activities that incentivize you to act in line with what you believe. [Tweet this Lesson]

13. The first $200 billion is the hardest. The 2nd is relatively easy. The hardest part is starting. Achieve small victories, build momentum and watch what happens. The first time is always the most daunting, there are always more excuses and it certainly takes the most courage. But once you know it’s possible, it becomes your new normal. That starts with starting. [Tweet this Lesson]

14. Purpose is the ultimate compensation. Job satisfaction and loyalty come from the autonomy to do the work that matters to you, not from a lofty salary or bonus. Every manager at Berkshire is independently wealthy, yet they can’t wait to come to work every day. “They get to paint their own paintings,” as Buffett says. Give people autonomy and trust to do things they are good at. Avoid micro-managing. Don’t think you can do their skill better than they can. Give them the paintbrush and freedom to build upon their vision and that’s what they’ll do. Daniel Pink has an excellent TED talk on The Surprising Science of Motivation.

The same goes for why Warren and Charlie, in their 80′s, have no interest in retiring:

“We get the opportunity to paint our own painting every day and it’s a painting that will never be finished. We love it.” – Warren Buffett

You can’t infuse passion into someone, but you can certainly create a system that takes passion out. When in doubt, give those around you the brush. [Tweet this Lesson]

15. The most powerful investment is the one you spend on yourself. As Charlie puts it “Berkshire’s record would have been terrible if Warren didn’t keep learning.” These guys are crazy about going to bed slightly smarter than when they woke up. Read everything you can get your hands on. Learn from those around you. Be a sponge. Everything is a lesson. Despite all kinds of advanced formal education, Warren’s #1 diploma in his office is the one he got from completing a week-long Dale Carnegie Public Speaking course. You never know where you’re going to find the best nuggets. Just keep learning. [Tweet this Lesson]

16. Be a student of other people’s folly. The first seven pieces of art on Warren’s office walls were the seven biggest financial failures of the past century or so. These guys study failure like a med student would study for the Boards. They absolutely refuse to take steps that have even the the slightest chance of leading to financial ruin. The more you learn about the brick walls others charged into head first, the more likely you are to avoid them. [Tweet this Lesson]

“Learn a lot from other people’s mistakes. It’s a much more pleasant way to live.” – Charlie Munger

17. Think huge. When Warren was in his 20′s, he told his wife that one day they were going to be incredibly wealthy (despite having no real wealth at the time). He wasn’t exactly sure when, but he was sure it was going to happen. He told her to prepare and think about what she’d do with a great deal of money. Then he slowly made $50 billion dollars. Have your vision of what you want your life to represent. Visualize, animate and create it in every part of your world. Give yourself something inspiring to build towards. Sketch out your castle in the sky – then start building the staircase to get there. [Tweet this Lesson]

18. A brand is a promise. People all over the world buy a can of Coke over the generic options because they trust what’s inside. That it will be of the consistent quality they’ve come to expect. What promise does your brand represent? What do you want it to represent? What about yourself? Every one of us is our own brand. The things we say and do, the way we treat people – all of it is building our own personal brand. The promise that we will deliver to the world. Are you representing a promise that makes you proud? [Tweet this Lesson]

19. Stop saving up sex for old age. This is my all-time favorite analogy. Working a job you hate, just to build up a resume to hopefully do something you enjoy later on, is just like saving up sex for old age. There is no sense in waiting. If you’re going to build your resume, then build it with things you enjoy, or better yet, take the steps to start doing things you are excited about, with people you admire, right now. There is no waiting. Happiness not spent today does not equal more happiness tomorrow. [Tweet this Lesson]

“Take a job that you love. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?” – Warren Buffett

20. The most powerful tools cost nothing. Last week we talked about how today it’s possible to build a meaningful business for less than a $100. You don’t need huge investors, you don’t need an Ivy League education, you don’t need a huge office or a bunch of employees. The most powerful and enabling tool required to run a passion-based business in today’s world is totally free: The Internet. So is most every other key ingredient… Meeting passionate people is free. Learning through books, studies and videos is all free. Hard work on something you love doing, is also free. Have you been embracing the tools that make what was previously impossible, possible?

Buffett recently mentioned how he’d give up his private jet long before giving up his Internet access. And who wouldn’t? But think what that means. A billionaire has access to every tool in the world, yet the most important is the one that all of us have equal (and free) access to. No one needs the jet, but we all need the information. We need the tools. Because the access is what makes everything possible.

Stop thinking you need something more to pursue a dream. [Tweet this Lesson]

The things that can change our life are right here.

They’re either inside of us or accessible at the click of a button.

They don’t cost anything.

This leaves us with very few excuses not to do what matters.

Aside from my flight and hotel (which I split with a few buddies), this weekend, this 7-hour session with Buffett and Munger, cost me nothing to attend. But as a results of what I’ve learned and experienced in the past six years, my life operates on an entirely new level.

Thanks to a free weekend, I have an investment business I run with people I enjoy.

I have a set of principles that all but ensure success.

And I have the kind of stories most only get to read about.

And the cost of admission was exactly nothing.
 
Are you spending your resources the right way?

Hope you all enjoyed this and find the value that I did in Scotts thoughts and enjoyed his passion which is to live your legend :)

Cheers
M

Gone But Not Forgotten - An aspiring Lad comes to grips with LIFE

Hey Guys,

I know I’ve been away for a while – multitasking seemed to slip me by on my blog.. aah not good I know!

This year things have been busy, I Started a new job as a Business Architect at one of NZ’s largest Telco’s. I can be honest and say that I have devoted my time to being the best I can in the role – where change happens on a day to day basis.. literally!

But I can say that I enjoy the role so much, being able to aid the business with solutions and business transformation is a joy.

I’ll sum the last couple of months up for everyone real quickly below;

Work- Career: New Role,  dedication to the groups success.

Property Investing: Leveraging knowledge for success.

Friendship: Gaining some great mates, by investing time in them!

Helping: Helping everyone I meet so that they can take their first step, investing, business, career *Good TIMES*

Business - EyeGratify: Gaining momentum

Family: Building a great one, and enjoying the current family I have J

Travel: Phuket and Bangkok look out!

Lets get onto what this blog is about!

When I first started writing this blog it was all to help people that are in similar situation as me. I was and still am an employee for one company – and I am a Director of another, does this mean I have succeeded in the transformation from Employee to being a Business Success – like I wanted? NO.

I was going to write about how it is hard to move from one space to another… but I won’t – I’ll keep this positive and voice how I think ill carve the path to success quickly for my Business ( I would love your feedback)

Currently The EyeGratify team is working on the recognition *it’s the hardest part of our product* this bread and butter recognition is going through different test iterations to show the limits of the tool currently and highlight the work needed to have success at scale.

The path forward once holidays have completed – will be to knuckle down the most basic functionality – and increase the smarts behind our algorithm and matching filters.. just saying that is a task in its self!

I am determined to get the ball rolling with this – more time with my Co-Founder and Lead Dev and more time feeling the market!

• 5 May 13 – First meeting
• Weekly Sprints 

         - Deliverables at end

•  More Photoshop use cases 

-         Perhaps a short MVP video

-  What are your thoughts?

I would also like to look at another option for our software to run… That would be to explore the use of TV applications, an application that runs over the top of normal TV viewing

o   Why  - because the world is moving to leaving your phone in your pocket, Google Glass is a good example. Its good to keep innovation moving and additional markets to target.

Some Value for the Readers!

Ideas are great! Chase them and validate your ideas thoroughly and quickly before investing any money.

-          Validation is scary, but its worth pivoting or dropping your idea than spending money on it to only realise later, that your in the wrong market or worse.. your product is not needed.

Marks financial Longevity TIP #1

Long term save 10-15 % of your paycheque

-           - Live off 90% of your wage or salary

Trust me it may not be much But it all adds up.

What do you want to see?  - Shout out and ask

Until next time :)

Cheers

M

They say good luck - you say don't give up!

Hey Guys

Another week and ALOT more Growth!

As you can see in the title this blog is for the people who need a change in thought

You see it up there it says “they say good luck - you say don’t give up!”  can you see what this means, this here is 2 different encouragement statements going on .

• One person says “good luck” as if to say good on you but there is a air of doubt
• The other person says “don’t give up” as if to pat you on your back and encourage you forward with your effort you are putting in.

I know I have meet a lot of people that have said “good luck”  to me over the years and I have heard it been said to a lot of other people I know also.

- Have you had “good luck” said to you, how did it make you feel?

I, myself have always had a “can do attitude” once I set my mind to a task its like laser focus – but I always wasted time on people with false negative, Until I learnt that being around people who have aspirations of their own and are support of others that aspire to their goal, helps you get ahead quicker! This is where I surrounded myself with people who say “don’t give up”

it is IMPORTANT to be with people that constantly encourage you! The people that are supportive and believe in you.

Are you around people that encourage you? If not why not?

Your friends, family, partner etc should all be supportive of you and your goals!

As Eric Thomas says - nothing is impossible, everything is Past possible – meaning that there is no way you Can’t DO IT, but you can go way beyond doing it. the odds are for you not against you!

GROWTH

The amount of growth that everybody that I am currently working with has been enormous, you know that feeling where everything just comes together, That’s not just a feeling at the moment its what is actually happening. We as a TEAM are together, working all for the same purpose! This is the point where all of use know what is required of ourselves, but also how it progresses the next member in the team.

Its amazing how a group of people from different backgrounds can come together and use their knowledge and skills to get to the same goal! Everyone at EyeGratify has skills, knowledge and passion that are all applicable in what we do.

Where are we now? Well we have grown in numbers! Yehp that’s right we have brought on some great people with great skills into the business! total of 6 people now – from a team of 3 to 6 I never thought this would have happened from initial concept idea!

“Good things happen to those who put effort in”

I cant wait to show you guys what we have been doing in the coming month/s!

Readers thanks:

A big thanks to all the readers from;

New Zealand

United States

Australia

Russia

Germany

United Kingdom

Latvia

Japan

For stopping in at my blog, I hope I inspire you to take that first step at your dreams!!

Until next time ;-)

M

Constant Evolution

Hey Guys!

These last couple of weeks have been hectic!! But like I promised I’m getting in where I fit in! And today this blog and you - my readers, my followers are fitting in!

I don’t want to leave all of you hanging if you who are looking for the motivation to start their business, to start your passion and really make your dreams a reality!

These last couple of weeks have been busy both for the business and my life, We have been;

• Meeting with investors
• Registering our Company – EyeGratify Limited
• Creating our Mission – Connecting what YOU see!
• Creating our company plan/layout
• Building our Technology
• Creating more Products
• Building our website
• And more and more

Also My partner and I have bought out first investment property! – dealing with this process, and negotiations all while doing the above, and committing my best work to my current job EVERY SINGLE DAY! Is what needs to be done for our dreams to become a reality, how do I fit this into a day! Well I get 7-8 hours sleep and work for 16 hours!

I am blessed to get to do this every single day with great people around me!

I can tell you that WE and EyeGratify are SO proud of what we are creating! So watch this space as we launch our company website and our product pages in the near future!

The work behind the scenes has been MASSIVE, Danny, Emma and I are constantly learning and improving our skills – Did you read that? WE ARE IMPROVING OUR SKILLS, not our weaknesses!

This is the KEY -  to many people always focus on the negatives, their weaknesses – now how can you take your life to the next level focusing on the negatives! YES that’s right! LOOK UP and LOOK AT YOUR SKILLS! Lets start perfect them!

Start looking at what you can do right now! Look at what you CAN do and start perfecting what is before you, you will get what you want in life.

If you want to be a;

• Entrepreneur
• CEO
• Designer
• Athlete
• Or anything else in life

You must act as one each and everyday! If you want to be an Athlete you better behave like one, get your routine sorted, get your diet sorted, find a mentor/coach, get up first thing in the morning and be excited to go for your morning run or weight session! Put in 120% and each day you will become the athlete you dream of!

This goes for all the examples above and anything you can think of! RIGHT NOW in this current time we are blessed with the resources that we are able to call upon to help us get to where we want to be! No longer is it impossible to become a entrepreneur – in New Zealand is can cost as little as $260 to register your company! BUT you must commit yourself that is the best resource – commit yourself and with as little as a few dinners out with your friends you can be on your way to six figures!

It won’t happen over night but keep perfecting what you are doing each and everyday and you will BLOW UP – You CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.

Now I get to work every day and I work as I want to become – I am a CEO in my mind! Not just talking the talk but walking the walk, and Im helping my work and myself! I’ll NEVER stop being this was as I am

So what do you need to do? you need to look at WHO YOU ARE, and Focus on YOUR STRENGTHS you are strong, you are smart and resourceful and you can get what you want out of your life just START NOW! 

As I promised, I WILL be fitting in more often! 

Until then, Be your creator :)

M