2nd, 3rd & 4th secrets!

2. Million-Dollar Ideas Can Come from Anyone.
Ninety-five percent of CEOs never ask the $8-an-hour employees for their opinions. Yet, those employees are the ones touching the product and speaking to the customers. Brilliant ideas are generated by the most unlikely employees, and you’ll never know what they’re thinking if you don’t ask.

Tapping into my employees’ ideas at Vickie Milazzo Institute helped me grow my $12 million legal nurse consulting firm more than 300 percent over the past five years. We have monthly brainstorming sessions where the entire staff, from the mailroom clerk to the director of finance, offers ideas and opinions on new products, marketing strategies and ways to streamline systems. Everyone works as a team. Back in their departments and offices, they continue to brainstorm with one another and solve problems brought up at the original brainstorms.
If you don’t have an employee base yet, collect gray matter wherever you can find it. Someone else has already solved every single problem you will encounter. Don’t limit yourself to the experts; you can learn from everyone. Your daughter’s soccer coach who’s been a successful salesman for 20 years can be a gold mine of sales tips.

Leveraging other people’s talents and ideas to accelerate your future success is just plain smart. I’ve met many entrepreneurs who say, “I want to do this all on my own.” When I hear that, I think, “That’s crazy. Ride the horse of anybody who has what you need.”


3. Networking Is Not Working.
Many new entrepreneurs spend more time at networking events than on their businesses. Millionaire entrepreneurs are selective about relationship building. You won’t find them at networking events. They’re busy building their companies, not their business cards collections.

The people you really need to be networking with are most likely not at your typical networking event. Always strive to network above your level. Just as you improve your tennis game by competing with better players, so too will you become better at your enterprise by interacting with people who are already successful.

If you do spend valuable time at a networking event, make sure plenty of prospects or powerful resources will be there. Don’t confuse networking with socializing, and don’t give credence to anyone just because they show up at a networking event. Though ideas can come from anywhere, you do need to be selective about whose advice you decide to follow. Always assess the validity of the advice offered, and don’t take advice from people who mean well but are not qualified to give it.

4. Don’t Underprice Yourself.
Smart buyers understand that anything cheap can be expensive in the long run. They’ll buy in to your enterprise as long as you provide value for their dollar. For 24 years, people have said my products are too expensive--until they purchase and use them.

Whatever you do, don’t create a commodity business. For example, my company doesn’t sell $16 DVDs or CDs, although those are the media we employ. Instead, we sell a $7,400 educational system. We build value by providing the highest quality products and innovative services such as free mentoring. We build trust by providing unmatched attention to customer service. Competitors might be able to duplicate our ideas, but they can’t duplicate the experience our customers receive. Stamp your enterprise with innovation and originality so it’s not easily duplicated by a cheaper, low-quality version.

Above all, you must make a profit. People who say, “I love this so much I’d do it for free” are not entrepreneurs--they’re volunteers. An enterprise is profitable, otherwise it isn’t an enterprise--it’s a charity. The word profit stems from the Latin word profectus, which means “advancement or improvement.” Millionaire entrepreneurs are willing to start small and grow slowly, but they fully intend to make money.

The 5th & 6 th secrets will be coming out tmr! =)