This is a business blog but if someone attacks you and tries to liberate your property or life force from you, and you can’t defend yourself or your property, well, you’re SOL (i.e., “so outta luck”)

In this fast-paced, at times dangerous world, it is better to be prepared for something and not need it, rather than need something and not be prepared. This is how it is when it comes to violent confrontations. Hey, most people are law-abiding citizens who will not try to hurt their fellow citizens, but then you have the bullies and jerks.

In my experience as a martial artist, most fights or assaults are not “fair”. Usually someone attacks someone doesn’t want to fight, or a person is caught off-guard/ambushed. Also, some sort of a weapon is used against an unarmed opponent, or it is many people against one person (i.e., someone got “jumped”). Again, this is not gospel as I leave the gospel to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but that has been what I’ve seen.

Well, you don’t want to carry an illegal weapon like some of the exotic martial arts weapons or some knives. With knives, you especially want to leave them alone if you don’t know how to properly use them!

Oh my. What to do?

Something that looks non-threating that you can carry around in your coat pocket or purse is the Yawara, also known as the Pocket Stick.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce David Bunch (a.k.a., Sensei Buddha) demonstrating and explaining the use of this weapon.

This weapon is less-than-lethal and legal to carry, but as demonstrated by Sensei Buddha, it can be a devastating. What I like about this weapon is that when I show it to some people, they laugh at it. Well, he who laughs last laughs best, right? Also, a Yawara can really mess up your smile. Kind of hard to have a picture-perfect smile when you’re missing a couple of teeth.

When looking for that extra edge, forget about mace and other dangerous weapons that may backfire on you and learn how to use the Yawara–the Pocket Stick.

To learn more about Sensei Buddha, visit his website at www.BuddhaStrike.com.

Glenn Garnes is a sought after speaker and trainer on a variety of topics relating to business relationships, including partnerships. Voted as “America’s Most Influential Business Connector” at the U.S. Small Business Conference, Glenn has positioned himself as an authority on building quality business relationships. Glenn’s book, Let’s Not Be Partners, Things You Must Do Before You Tie the Knot (’not’)! lays out a simple, but effective process for making better partner choices, and achieving more in business.

I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Glenn on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009. Wow! What an info-packed interview that was. Here are some of the things Glenn touched on:

• How to determine if you need a partner
• How to choose the right people for the right reasons * How to structure your relationship to maximize effectiveness
• The importance of structuring your deal in writing
• What to do if you’re already in a bad relationship

Folks, I’ve got to tell you, I so wish that I spoke to Glenn before I started my last two companies. I’ve made a lot of the mistakes that Glenn discussed on the call. Ever been in church and feel like the preacher was speaking to you? Well, that is how I felt when I was interviewing Glenn!

Here is the interview.

Make sure to visit Glenn’s website at www.GlennGarnes.com.

All the best,

Sometimes, we feel overwhelmed and that we don’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell to have success or some other desirable outcome. But the fact of the matter is, you are still here so as long as you can look up, you can get up.

Lean on your faith – believe in yourself, believe in the righteousness of your goal; believe in your allies; and have faith in a higher power.

Be inspired by these words from Laurence Fishburne in his portrayal of Morpheus in the movie The Matrix Reloaded.

Just follow these six steps, and what you desire will be your’s in uncommon hours:

1. THINK about what you want
2. SPEAK about what you want
3. Take ACTIONS toward getting it
4. Make your pursuit a HABIT – do something every day to put yourself closer
5. NEVER QUIT no matter what happens
6. Enjoy the RESULTS of your labor

Be advised, that these six steps always yield results, but make sure that you start with positive, desirable thoughts, or you may be quite displeased with the results.

Remember the old-school computer jargon – ‘GIGO’ – garbage in, garbage out.

“Don’t have stinking thinking.” ~ Zig Ziglar

See you at the top, folks…

I met Stow, Ohio-based (FYI, Stow, OH is between Akron and Cleveland) Mike Sheehan on a BlitzTime event, and he really struck me as a definite cut above most insurance agents that I’ve met. Life insurance is not the sexiest thing to talk about, but Mike is extremely passionate about what he does. If the average entrepreneur or sales professional had a ounce of the enthusiasm that Mike Sheehan does, they would go a very, very long way.

Insurance is a very competitive, crowded industry. Some would even say that life insurance is a vanilla product. However, someone like Mike Sheehan will show you what is the best solution for you so in effect, he adds hot caramel, nuts, whip cream, and cherries to your insurance!

What I like most about Mike Sheehan is that he has very successfully used high tech tools like video email, social media, his website, face-to-face, and the speed networking over the phone to grow his business.

Check out this podcast from Friday, October 16th, 2009.

Make sure to visit Mike’s website at www.YourInsurance411.com. Even though he is based in Ohio, with the power of the Internet he can help you no matter where you are in the USA.

Remember, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

All the best,

On Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing America’s #1 Sales Coach for Introverts (and Extroverts who don’t like to sell), Patricia Weber, and it was an eye-opening experience.

I first met Pat on a BlitzTime event a few months ago and I’ve been trying to get her to do a podcast for a good while now. Well, when you’re good you’re good and she IS good and very hard to catch.

Here are some of the things that jumped out at me during the interview:

• People do not know how to network
• Networking can be fun, it depends on the kind of group you join. For instance, Pat does a lot of networking with her exotic car pals
• Social media is NOT a replacement for face-to-face networking – especially in you’re a network marketer or a personal services provider (e.g., chiropractor, bookkeeper, etc.)
• Use LinkedIn to display your work history and to develop professional credibility; use Twitter share information; use Facebook to let people take a peek into your personal world; and use BlitzTime to “put the rubber on the road

With the tough times that our economy is going through, Pat mentioned that it is so important for people to learn how to market, sell, and how to network. She really broke-down what the difference between marketing and selling is, and how to do them both effectively.

This was probably one of the best interviews that I’ve had on the show to date, so make sure that you give it a listen. Just click on the player below to listen to the interview.

To learn more about Pat Weber and her services, go to her site at www.ProStrategies.com.

*** As of Wednesday, October 14th, 2009, she has a special promotion going on. CLICK HERE for the details. ***

Folks, we are committed to bring you the best and brightest. Make sure to tell people about this blog.

See you next time around.

What in blue blazes am I talking about?

When you’re out networking, be it face-to-face or virtual, you can stand out from the crowd if you use Survey Monkey when you follow-up. Survey Monkey is a free service that you can use to gather information from your new contacts. You can ask up to 10 questions on the free version (there is a subscription version that has additional features) and use those answers to truly add value to your new contact. It is like a lead capture page on steroids. Go to www.SurveyMonkey.com to set up your free account.

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You can and should add a ‘bubble comment’ to your survey. This is also a free service that allows you to add a personal touch to your websites.

For those of you that are network marketers, you add a bubble comment to your company’s replicated website to add your personality to it.

To get your free account, go to www.BubbleComment.com.

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Go get ‘em, tigers and tigresses!

All the best,

ReferQuest was founded by Camille Landau. The site was inspired by her desire to speed various transactions (finding a nanny, selling a car, finding office space) she was attempting to broker online. She had the idea when she noticed that the various searches were inefficient, and could benefit from the support of a third-party network. She believed that offering a referral reward would help speed the transactions, by bringing out a broader base of valid leads. ReferQuest was created to make e-commerce more efficient, and to help busy users make the most of their time.

I know that I’m supposed to be a neutral reporter, but please pardon my enthusiasm about this service – I absolutely LOVE this concept! It is going to help average peopled, ‘grassroots captitalists’, and Fortune 500 executives alike. You can join for FREE and you only have to pay a reward when you are satisfied with the referral you were given. This is truly a Web 2.0 service.

What also jumps off the page at me is that prolific networkers with huge databases can now be paid for giving referrals. These folks were already giving referrals to others and now they can get paid for doing so.

How ReferQuest Works

Overview:

Online customers waste time in search of buyers and sellers for their time-sensitive transactions. ReferQuest increases e-commerce’s efficiency by providing incentives for refer-ers to match buyers & sellers. Clients post referral fees on ReferQuest to provide incentive for uncovering the connections they seek. Visitors refer the requests on to their own contacts. ReferQuest brokers the messages and tracks the dealings between the parties. ReferQuest updates and publishes star ratings of participants, supporting mutual accountability. When transactions close, ReferQuest collects the commission the client had posted, disbursing it to the person who provided the successful referral, and taking its own commission.

Using ReferQuest as a client:

ReferQuest allows you to post notices regarding what you’re looking for, and how much you’re willing to pay when someone (a “connector”) helps you find it. The referral fee you post will attract connectors to assist you as you seek or sell a service or item.

ReferQuest doesn’t take any payment upfront; when you’re satisfied that you’ve found what you’re looking for, the site trusts you to pay the referral fee you set. You can indicate that the transaction is closed by clicking on the status update button that appears next to the record of your posting in your Dashboard.

Paying the referral fee when you’ve finished a transaction will help you gain and maintain your standing as a highly-starred requester. A high rating will help ensure that highly-starred participants will want to work with you. It’s up to you to decide how much you’ll pay as a reward to find what you’re looking for.

ReferQuest does not charge fees to post. It does charge by taking a 20% commission of the commission you post. For example, if you post a $20 reward, ReferQuest will take $4, leaving $16 for the connector. If you want the net fee you offer a refer-er to be $20, you would commit to pay $24.

Working with ReferQuest as a connector:

Anyone can make referrals on ReferQuest. Connectors (people who make referrals) don’t have to be professionals. If you see a posting and know someone who could fulfill the request, you can send them an message through the ReferQuest system. Your friend will then have a chance to contact the requester via ReferQuest. If the requester chooses your friend, they will be expected to report the transaction as closed, at which point they will be prompted to pay you the reward they promised.

All members of ReferQuest are on the honor system, and honest participation helps members gain, and maintain, higher star ratings. When the requester closes the transaction (that you helped to set up), you are due the referral reward that they offered . It’s easy for the requester to pay the reward through the site. If you’re the connector and want to make sure you get paid, or if you were referred, and want to make sure the friend who connected you got paid, then you can send a note to the requester through the site, prompting them to pay. Keep in mind that ultimately, however, ReferQuest can’t force the requester to pay… so, when choosing among requesters whose requests you can serve, check to see that they have a good rating.

Getting paid as a connector:

Payments on ReferQuest are made through PayPal.

Check out the interview I did with Camille on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 by clicking on the player below.

Make sure to check out ReferQuest’s website at www.ReferQuest.com and sign-up TODAY.

See you at the top!

All the best,

Click on the player below to listen to the companion audio to this blog post

The Lotus Code is a 2,500 philosophy that lays out a blueprint to achieve success. It has six parts that build upon and support each other.

Here is an overview:

1. Thoughts: Thoughts are things – well at least they can become things. Everything begins with a thought. Books that have really helped me get my head right and attract the people and situations that I want are The Secret, The Power of Positive Thinking, and Think and Grow Rich.
2. Words: Words are powerful. They can make or break people. This is the power of prayer and affirmations. T. Harv Eker’s, The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind talks about making declarations and Anthony Robbins’ books like Awaken the Giant Within are heavily influenced by neurolinguistic programming.
3. Actions: Nike’s timeless slogan is “Just do it,” and that is what is necessary. You have to do something. Books like The Science of Getting Rich tell us step by step what to do to achieve desired results. Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is also an excellent read on things to do to achieve success.
4. Habits: Stephen Covey reminds us in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the right actions to make habitual so that we can achieve success in uncommon hours.
5. Persistence: Persistence, particularly in the face of adversity, is what helps of earn our desired outcome. The universe must be paid in full, and this debt must be paid in advance. Feeling pain and fear and doing it anyway is what turns us mere mortals into the champions that we aspire to become.
6. Result: Everything that we do or don’t do will lead us to this outcome.

Remember, the universe is neutral so this roadmap can lead us to our goal or to a very sad and desperate state of affairs. As it has been said, “We become what we think about.” Truer words have not been spoken. I hope that you found this information helpful.

Kind regards,

We are pleased to announce that Grassroots Business Network, LLC has awarded a $500 financial aid grant to a deserving student at Grace Dodge Career & Technical High School in the Bronx.

The student is named Stephanie Echevarria and she was awarded a grant for being a Comeback Kid.

Stephanie wasn’t always the best student and use to actually get a good amount of trouble. She was cutting school a lot and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Fortunately, she has done a total 180 and shown steady improvement. She graduated with a nice grade point average and will be attending college this fall.

Academically gifted students and athletes always have a good shot at getting scholarships, but not comeback kids. Grassroots Business Network will always work hard to assist those students who have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and are working hard to walk the straight and narrow. Some urban youth face enormous adversity and temptations when they leave their old lives behind. We have to support these at risk students.

Grace Dodge is my high school alma mater and they can count on my organization’s support to give a financial aid grant a comeback kid each year.

Grassroots Business Network’s slogan is “We help put the pieces together.” A key piece to solving the puzzles of tomorrow is urban youth. Helping comeback kids is a nice thing to do and the smart thing to do for our city and country.

If you’re interested in helping comeback kids, please join the New School Meetup Group by CLICKING HERE.

This is the first post in an ongoing series where I will be introducing you to various individuals that I have had the good fortune to meet and or do business with. Folks, allow me to introduce to one of Atlanta’s best, a dynamic young woman named Denise Phinn. She is the owner of Sound Marketing Designs.

So, what is Denise bring to the table and how does she help people?

Everybody wants to get noticed, but how should a person go about getting noticed?

Let me direct your attention to something before I answer that question.

Babies cry for attention. Men and women go to great lengths to get the attention of a person that they have a romantic interest in. Businesses do all types of promotions and offer incentives to attract new customers and to upsell their existing customers.

With the advent of social media like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, people are very excited to be able to leverage the power of the Internet to share their personal interests and/or to market their business. However, the World Wide Web is a big place and it is easy to get lost in the crowd.

One thing that business owners can do for their business is to brand themselves.

What Denise does is help people audio brand their business by creating jingles and doing voice overs. This way a small business owner can better promote their business and stand out in the crowd.

We all whistle, hum, or sing jingles that we hear all the time. Most of us do it unconsciously. Wouldn’t you like to have a jingle that is associated with your business to be in playing in the head and being whistled, hummed, or sang by prospects? That is where Denise Phinn and Sound Marketing Designs come in.

I had the pleasure of meeting Denise and doing business with her. We met on a social networking site for small business owners and quickly took the online conversation offline (telephone). Her audio branding services really piqued my interest so I decided to retain her to help me with creating a jingle for my business, Grassroots Business Network, LLC.

We then had the opportunity to meet face-to-face earlier this month when she was in NYC on business. Ladies and gentlemen, this young lady really impressed me with her poise, passion for her business, and the excellent value she brings to the marketplace. Also, her rates are very reasonable and her turn-around time on delivering the finished product to you is impressive and sets a high standard.

Denise is really good a what she does.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Denise on the GBN Talk Radio Show recently, and you can listen to the recording of the interview by clicking on the link below. At the beginning of the show you’ll hear the jingle that Denise created for radio show.

CLICK HERE to listen to the interview.

I highly recommend Denise Phinn. Her services are particularly relevant for those interested in podcasting, creating a musical theme or voice intro to their website, or for voice over work for radio commercials and video.

She really studies your business while she walks you through creating tagline and jingle.

For instance, McDonald’s has a cool tagline – “You deserve a break today.” and it is supporting by a catchy music jingle and singing voice over.

How about the FreeCreditReport.com commercials you hear on the radio and see on TV. Those are stellar examples of how big businesses use audio branding as part of the marketing strategy.

You can do the same for your business. You can compete with big boys now.

Please reach out to Denise if you would like to learn more about branding your business.

Also, …

Who do you know who would be interested getting new customers for their business? Denise Phinn and Sound Marketing Designs can help.

All the best,