Comments on: Please don’t make this mistake in your business. It will RUIN you.

By: Spencer Goldade

Spencer Goldade — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 22:46:19 +0000

I once had a vision for my company to build a community where budding artists and designers could come for education, collaboration and other help. A good friend of mine that I had a lot of respect for told me I had delusions of grandeur. Cut like a knife.

By: Michael Belk

Michael Belk — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 23:01:04 +0000

Derek, I believe just like you that all people have something to offer. Too many people want credit for coming up with the best idea.

I get advice all the time and I use some of it and discard the rest.

I always bounce ideas off a close friend of mine. Even though they doubt if I am listening, I am taking notes to apply it to my life or like recently I was convinced to change the way I do business.

By: Mike Forgie

Mike Forgie — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 15:26:04 +0000

When I quit my job to work for myself one of my family member said, “You don’t want to work for yourself. Get a job at a good company and have them pay for your health insurance. You want stability.”

Wrong, I did want stability, but I didn’t want to sit in some office all day. That teachable moment was that everyone has a different idea of success and what life should be. I am just not a 9-5 type of person, and that is fine by me.

By: Niria

Niria — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:44:45 +0000

My boss once told me ” Speak Intelligently”, in front of 8 people. Im guessing she only wants a sugar coated version of the truth. Or she is simply telling her employee she is dumb.

By: Aurelie Chazal

Aurelie Chazal — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:08:10 +0000

I once had a reader tell me that I should stop plagiarizing and start coming up with my own content. It’s different from your experience but in my case I knew the article he referred too was my own content. I even used personal anecdotes inside it.

I have no idea where his reaction came from but what I learned from it is that I needed to make the content I wrote sound more personal. Give it my own voice.

I really like your vision here. I also believe you can learn something from almost anything you read or hear, but most of the time you’ll need to read between the lines.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 00:47:42 +0000

Someone told me she hated my business name, and after I paid lots of money on graphic design work, printing costs, etc. I was very offended by her comment because it took me years to come up with this name. I named my company after Coco Chanel’s suitor who gave her the money to start a hat shop that became the House of Chanel. He also happened to be married at the time of dating Chanel, and that’s why this woman didn’t like my name. She found it offensive to name a business after him (note: she doesn’t mind buying Chanel handbags though).

Anyways, I thought long and hard about what the woman said. And I came to realize one of the reasons why I like the name so much is because of the tarty history….it shows not even the most elegant woman is perfect. So, I kept my name, and the people that don’t like aren’t my target market!

By: Dennis

Dennis — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 08:52:59 +0000

As a photographer, people always try and tell me the prices I should charge, whether they have experience running a business or not. Friends always want you to charge more, strangers you’ve just met think that you charge a lot (you always get the ‘oh wow, what does a photographer actually do to charge that much?’)

I don’t dismiss all of that advice. I always ask why and want to hear their reasoning behind it. That will teach me a lot more than me thinking that I know all about my customers and pricing.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 07:44:20 +0000

One time (and one time only) I had a client actually scold me for my proposal price to do her professional website. She was in my networking group which made it even more shocking. PLUS, at that time I was TOTALLY undercharging for my services.

Sometimes when people negatively criticize me, I have to work myself through it. But with her, there was no question! She was out of line.

By: Carole

Carole — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 02:47:45 +0000

My specialty is, and has been for decades, black and white graphite artwork. I have a passion for the art of light and shadow and it’s what I’m known for. Someone once suggested I might do better if I added some color. Nuff said.

By: Kam

Kam — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 02:20:33 +0000

hey nice article Derek. I remember watching the video for the “Don’t Discount” take you did and I remember being blown away by it because I had just not that long ago been reviewing the 4 day cash machine that Frank Kern put out with Mass Control several years ago. The whole premise for the 4 day cash machine was to offer a 50% discount on product and operate heavily on scarcity, promote to your list for 4 days. It was a good tactic and it works.

Watching your video though, really made me think about future implications of the tactic. I personally ran a lifetime membership promo for my membership site over a period of 5 days. It worked very well but still..like I said your video made me second guess the tactic a little…

I mean, does that mean I lose some of my target market because they are going to wait for the next promotion???

I don’t think an intelligent person can ignore your take on it. The troubling thing about it…like with so many things…is that it seems to come down to balance. Every single tactic you use will have a repercussion and you have to weight each one.

Thought provoking stuff man. Appreciate you posting it.

Kam