Start Up Big And Bold

 

1 The top 10% represents some 86% of the wealth in the U.S., and the top 0.1% represent 46% of it. To join the party, “it’s not out of your control,” said Melissa Carbone, author of “Ready, Fire, Aim: How I Turned a Hobby Into an Empire.” In business planning, “it is all about choices; we are not victims of circumstances,” she added. “The entire path to living your most extraordinary life starts with your choice, your decision."

Carbone left a mid-six-figure income as a Clear Channel Communications executive and invested her life savings to pursue her passion for Halloween and the horror genre. She founded Ten Thirty One Productions in 2009. In 2014, the company, which features the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, was named the premier leader in the horror attractions industry.

When it comes to business planning, here are tips on how to mentally prepare:

Think big. “If you’re going to start out, don’t start out small,” Carbone says. “That’s my mantra of life.” She’s not a fan of hearing someone say they’re just dipping their toe into the water or they want to take it slow.

Her philosophy: “Market yourself like you’re DisneyDIS ” from the outset.

Dive in. Having ideas isn’t what makes you special, Carbone says. “What makes you special is activating those ideas. That’s the bridge between your most extraordinary life and a life that you’re settling for.”

Live now. Carbone says she hears people say they’ll act on an idea when, for example, their kids are out of college, they have enough money in the bank, or as soon as they get that next promotion.

“If we continue to just wait,” she said, “we think ourselves into inaction.”

Fear is the reason most people don’t act, she wrote. “While you think, others will activate and eat your strawberry rhubarb pie right out from under you. . . . Take the shot, take a hundred shots.”

Choose boldly. When business planning, doing so has to become part of your mindset. Boldness is not just something that you compartmentalize, Carbone emphasizes. She compares it to a diet, in which the implication is that at some point you’ll go off it, as opposed to a lifestyle change, which is permanent.

Behave your beliefs. “Longterm thinkers with the modern legacy mindset work from the inside out, letting beliefs guide behaviors, as actions matter more than words alone,” said Mark Miller, co-author with Lucas Conley of “Legacy in the Making: Building a Long-Term Brand to Stand Out in a Short-Term World.” Miller is also the founder of The Legacy Lab, a consulting firm.

He cites the MarriottMAR -owned Ritz-Carlton hotels where employees, known as “ladies and gentlemen,” gather at the beginning of each shift to discuss goals and share “wow stories.” It’s an example of “the brand’s beliefs in action,” he said.

Invent your own game. Shortterm thinking when business planning leads to mastering rules, accepting conventional wisdom, and maintaining the status quo, Miller says.

“In contrast, modern legacy builders leverage long-term thinking to break rules and reconcile paradoxes, ultimately forging extraordinary and lasting change,” he said.

To draw new fans to horse racing’s original “must-see” event, Miller says the 150-year-old Belmont Stakes has recently drawn inspiration from other entertainment categories like casino gambling and pop culture at large. Among the updates is growing the event into a three-day festival with more races, more purse money, and A-list musical acts.

Take leadership personally. Short-term thinkers also traditionally embrace management systems and institutional processes in order to keep up with market trends, Miller says. In contrast, he adds, leaders with the “modern legacy mindset build their brands on a fundamentally different guiding principle: long-term personal ambition.”

Telegram me: Bursa Snipers