Adrian Nantchev's Blog, page 28

How to value your time as an entrepreneur

Your time is valuable and you have to treasure and manage it well, because time cannot be bought, sold, traded or built. You can only manage it well.Focus your time on income generating activities, other things can be outsourced, delegated or deleted. You can outsource them to your virtual assistant, delegate them to your team or personal assistant or delete it.Your time and income have got to be in sync. Meaning that when you decide what task to do you have to look at the opportunity cost of it. If you spend 1 hour cutting the grass, whereas it could cost you £10 for someone to do it for you and in that 1 hour you can make a deal that will pay you £100. The opportunity cost of mowing that grass is £100- because you could have created the £100 by doing something else and delegating the task to someone else.That is one expensive garden activity. Often, the trust cost of something is not determined by what you get, but by what you miss out on.Cutting the grass is not an income generating activity. Do no work for less than you are worth.I was watching a documentary about workers in a big company and they were getting paid around £5/hour during the day shifts and being paid £7 during the night shift. But the night shift was twice as tiring and exhausting, yet they were only being paid x1.4 times the wage compared to during the day. To truly compensate for the extra energy that you need to spend during the night, they'd have to offer you £10/hour to make it worthwhile. People working there would be better off working the day shift only, because although it pays slightly less than the night shift, there is so much less energy needed to perform their entire shifts.Warren Buffet was playing golf and someone made a bet that he could get a hole in one for $10,000. Warren did the calculations and figured out his chances of getting a hole in one, which is summarised to be 125,000/1. So the bet of $10,000 did not truly reflect his chances of getting a hole in one and was in fact undervaluing his odd.It is worth also understanding the differences between price and value. Price is what you pay for something, whether it is an object, person, software etc, whereas value is what you get. There is a company in London that sells shoes for £500, yet they will last you a life time, made out of premium materials, by the best crafts men and probably custom fit to your feet. Whereas the £1 shoes from Walmart or Asda may break after a month and you'd have to buy them again.I was out with some friends one night recently and it was 1am and they wanted to go to a strip club in another city, around 26 miles away. It was 1am, there were no more trains and I was their first point of call to get there. They offered to pay for my petrol, so I calculated how much the petrol would cost and I said it would be £15 each, so £45 in total. They were not happy to pay this, but they misunderstood what they were getting for £15:No more trains for the day, so I was theiremergencychoice.It was Saturday 1am and I had been awake since Friday 7am, so it is inconvenience to me.They were paying for my speedy and efficient driving.Paying for my safety precautions as a driver (having been recently discussing how I have been driving for 4 years and one of them was for only 2 years).I could get them to the strip club in 1 hour, much faster than a taxi or a train.I was out that night for drinks and catching up, not to be a ad hoc taxi service.They could have paid a high price, but they would be getting a lot by me driving them to the strip club.Understanding your time and value is not being being lazy or ripping people of, but being paid in proportion to your skills and services. It is about managing your time well and recognising your own value.Learn more about this topic in one of my books:101 Entrepreneur Mistakes and Lessons.

Don't let your family stop you from starting your business

You have to do and live the life you want to. You should not live it by other people's dogma and rules.Remind them that you have lived the life that they want you to life and now you want to take a different path in life. So say to them that you need to do this because otherwise you'll have regrets of not trying it, and everyone has regrets. Once you are not seeing any success or progress after something like 4 months, then state that you will toe the line and do as they say.Because they are looking out for your best interests, but they do not have the same priorities as you. So you need to remind them about what is important to you.As you take a stance for what you believe in and as your family begin to see your successes and realise that they cannot dissuade from continuing along your path and decisions, then they will let you go and be less judgemental towards you.Learn more about this topic in one of my books:101 Entrepreneur Mistakes and Lessons.

Have a purpose for your business

As an entrepreneur, you want to start your business with a purpose and a vision behind it. The reason for starting a business cannot be about the money, because that is a result of your activities and a measuring stuck to trick your success and how much the market wants your product or service.Furthermore, there is money in everything and that you can make money from every different product or service, because a £10 is £10 no matter how you got it. Although, sometimes there are more efficient ways to make money elsewhere.When you start a business with a purpose you are creating a guiding star that helps to determine your actions, procedures, company culture and everything you do. This helps you to retain your core values and helps to create a strong company brand identity.For my upcoming hemp business that I am about to start, the vision behind the company is tochampion the use of hemp and bring it into the mainstream conscious, so this vision is my guiding start that determine everything I do.Furthermore, define your message in either 10 words or less and/or within 140 characters. For the 140 characters it is the phrase mentioned above, where as for the 10 word version it is:champion hemp's use.Have a bigger purpose for your business- have a cause that you rally your team, stakeholders and customers behind.Learn more about this topic in one of my books:101 Entrepreneur Mistakes and Lessons.

Who should an entrepreneur be in a relationship with?

Be cautious of who you are in a relationship with, because you both need to be in sync with your ambitious, goals and desires.You cannot be in a relationship with someone that is not very interested in business, entrepreneurship, making money online, building a name for themselves in the world, etc. Because your conflict of priorities will distract you and they may be not supportive of what you are doing.One of my previous girlfriends was totally negative towards businesses, money and capitalists. I urged her to read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, yet she never did. Near the end of our relationship she complained that I tried to "dupe" her into reading a book. How can you dupe someone into becoming smarter, better or wiser? Some people are beyond help.The same girlfriend that once, when we were in a book store; I showed her a book and she flicked through it and said "I know all of this". I was shocked and surprised because I instantly thought "well, what are you doing with that knowledge?" She was so uninterested in business that we could not have a lasting relationship- our priorities were too different.Another girlfriend of mine was too unambitious- she wanted the pleasure and adventure now, but was not prepared to buckle down and work to build an online presence so that money could come to her. Had she buckled down and became self-employed she, and I, could afford a 6 month holiday twice a year. She was too willing to be someone else's leverage and work 60+ hours a week and hope to have significant time off.There was another potential girlfriend that was a workaholic- I offered to meet up with her and go for a drink, but she was too preoccupied with working. We never met each other, although we connected over Facebook.You, and I, want to be in a relationship with someone that has the same priorities as you. Otherwise there will be a conflict of interest.It is also worth learning the lesson from Donald Trump's first wife, because Ivana Trump. When they were married in the 1980's, she would run his Atlanta businesses and as they were home together she would not stop talking about the business. She was unable to switch off and be a "wife" when she was at home. She was unable to relax and unwind, as she could not leave work at work as she got home.But also, some people do not want to change their life. So long as you are happy and competent with what you are doing, then it is fine, as the change that occurs in their life has to be voluntarily.Learn more about this topic in one of my books:101 Entrepreneur Mistakes and Lessons.

Hard work vs. smart work. Which is better?

There is an interesting question: do you work harder or smarter than your competition? The answer: it depends on your goals and priorities. I'd prefer a mix: a lot of smart leveraged work.When you are working hard you are working for longer hours and for more days, where as when you are working smart you are leveraging your time and energy to get the best results possible with the least amount of energy. When you are working smart you are being efficient, lean and leveraging what ever you can.So, why does it depend?If you want to achieve something then you will need to work hours on achieving it and you will need to work smart in order to achieve it.If you and a competitor are working towards the same goal, then you can be working smart and simply outworking them. If you are twice as productive and working twice as many hours, then you will achieve your goal in 1/4 of the time.You can be working smart and achieving your goals and you can also be working hard. It depends on you and what your goals are. With smart work you can out leverage your competition, which means that you are doing the least amount of work and getting the most amount of energy.Be lazy and ambitious- be ambitious enough to achieve something, but find the most efficient and lean way of achieving it.Do the work once and get paid forever:use this as a standard as to what kind of infrastructure you should build. How can you create something that enables you to receive an income for ever? I am happy to do hard working on my system that I can leverage 24/7. By writing this blog and recording the corresponding video: I am having 100's of conversation all the time. I am leveraging the internet and YouTube to be found and to build my reputation.So I believe it is a mix. Hard work and leverage. Doing the least amount of energy needed to get the maximum amount of reward. But do more hours of hard work that is also leveraged work. You can outwork your competition and leave them behind in the dust when you are out smarting them. Be smart and work hard; be lazy and ambitious.You can outwork your competition, but you will have burn out. So you need to be working smart, but unless the smart work is consistent, then the hard work will overtake you.Learn more about this topic in one of my books:101 Entrepreneur Mistakes and Lessons.

Meet New People and Network - 14/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

As far back as fall 2014 I went to different networking events. Whether they were free or cost a little bit of money, whether they were talking about Google Adwords or general entrepreneur stuff. I networked, met and spoke to new people.I travelled around the UK for different networking events; London, Birmingham, Manchester etc.My philosophy is that when you talk to new people that share likeminded principles and priorities, then you are learning from them and you never know who you are going to meet.I make it a habit to meet new people all the time, when possible. Because it could be that one conversation, that one topic that could change your future and enrich you forever.When you are there, spend quality time with quality people.At the start of my journey I met a gentleman that dealt with supplying water to farms, he was in some water agricultural infrastructure business. He told a lesson that I'll never forget: the first offer someone places on the table is not the best offer that they can do.There is a thing what I call Cost of Discovery, which means: what was the financial and time expenditure in order to discover something, someone or learn something that you would have otherwise not learnt had you not networked or gone somewhere?Had I not gone to that networking event, I'd have never learnt that lesson. The cost of discovery for the lesson was a small drive and a morning spent in a football stadium's conference room.The cost of discovery is probably the opposite to the opportunity cost, which describes what you may miss out on if you do go to the networking event. Such as, what work would you get done at home if you didn't go.The cost of discovery that I could write books and become an author was a £30 day trip train ticket to London, sit and listen to a few talks for a day. This was the business conference that I went to in March 2016. So, I pay this cost and I eventually start writing books- and here you are reading one of my books.There are another 100 mistakes that I madehere.

Be Competent With What You are Doing - 13/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

The other side to this principle is that you've got to be competent with what you are doing. Again, it is the same with the people that you work with and your have hired.If you are not competent then you'll not see results, nor would you see the rewards and fruits of your labor.If you are not competent then you'll struggle; clearly it is something that you were not meant to do. When you are not competent with what you are doing, then you'll want to quit and do something else.In my first business I plateau immediately, which meant that I had little to no idea as to what I was doing. Where as in my second business, I developed and grew so much, I achieved more than I imagined and destroyed so many disempowering beliefs. I am very competent with it and I am now looking onwards to do bigger and better things.When you begin to understand your strengths and weaknesses then you can begin to create and start businesses that best compliment you.Without competence your business cannot flourish and you cannot progress.You need to have a level of competence in order to develop yourself and to grow your business.Without it, you'll struggle and wither.Always start a business based on your strengths, and if there is anything that you are not competent at, then outsource it to someone else, or seek to have it as automated as possible from the beginning.Being happy and competence are the joint number once requirement for business. The other principle is mentioned later on.There are another 100 mistakes that I madehere.

You've got to be Happy With What You Are Doing - 12/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

I've come to realise that there are two fundamental requirements in business.The first one is twofold, and it is that you've got to be happy with what you are doing.Back December 2010 I once said to my family that happiness in life does not matter, only the income from your job. I was prepared to live to work and relinquish all pursuits of happiness.There was a short period of time where I did not value happiness and thought it was irrelevant. Thankfully this was a very short period in my life and it was so long ago.After talking to 100s of entrepreneur's experiences and listening to dozens of talks and lectures and from my firsthand experiences, I realize that you've got to be happy with what you are doing.In my second business, I slowly grew tired of doing the physical labor and activities of handing and shipping the products. Also, the nature of the business was a little embarrassing, but people still loved it so I was still willing to work on it.Being happy is an emotional requirement for you and the people you work with/those whom you've hired.Because if you do not enjoy what you are doing, then you'll be upset, you won't enjoy your time and you will want to do something else.If you do not get up in the morning excited to do what you are about to do, then you may need to change what it is you are doing.When you are not happy you build up stress and everyone knows that stress can be harmful to your health. If you don't enjoy what you are doing you'll want to quit.One of the best ways to find happiness in what you are doing is to give a damn about the cause that you champion and differences that you make in the world.his is one of the biggest principles you've got to master in order to succeed at business: you've got to be happy with what you are doing.There are another 100 mistakes that I madehere.

Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses - 11/101 Entrepreneur Mistakes & Lessons

One of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur is understand your strengths and weaknesses.When you understand who you are, especially from a psychological and scientific point of view, then you can understand what you are good at and what you are not good at. When you understand this then you know what you should  focus on the most in business.I say scientific, because horoscopes are alright but dubious. I like how they breakdown your personalities and explain who you are best compatible with, but I'm not bothered with the daily or yearly predictions. I'm more interested in the personalities and understanding others. I'm Virgo by the way.For instances, I know I'm a rather creative person and people always tell me that I'm the ideas guy, not to mention some of my ideas and businesses have been rather simple that anyone could have done them.So I will focus on doing things that based on my skills: such as writing another book on how to generate content for marketing purposes.I recommend that you do a personality test on16Personalities.com. You have to answer a series of questions and it'll give you information about yourself based on one of sixteen different personality types that they've identified. It is a Myers Briggs personality test, where there are different personal aspects such as introvert vs. extrovert. I recommend you do the test a few times in order to average out your results.I'm ENTJ, which means that I take control of the situation, but I do not handle my emotions very well. You could also do aHexacotest, which is a little more complicated than the 16Personalities, but could reveal more about yourself.Complete the personality tests to figure out more about yourself. Because once you do, you can then focus your time and energy on the things that work best for you.You could also create a list with the following thing's and begin to populate them over time:Things I'm good at.Things  like to do.Character strength.Wins and successes so far.Capabilities and skills.There are another 100 mistakes that I madehere.

Why Positive Thinking is Bullsh*t

The ugly truth about business is that bad things happens, and it is how you prepare and deal with them that helps to protect your business and future.In business you need to be a little bit pessimistic and have a healthy amount of scepticism, because things can go badly in business and you need to keep an eye out for them, have a back up and plan to prepare for them.When you are only thinking about positive thoughts then you are leaving yourself open to negative things happening in your business. If you are only looking for the good, then you are not preparing for and anticipating the negative of your business that could throw you off balance.You need to think about what could go wrong in your business and seek to create contingencies over your business. Brace yourself and your business, for what could go wrong.You need to be thinking about what could go wrong all the time and preparing for it. Your business is only as strong as its weakest link.A positive mindset is often blind; only thinking about how good things are and not preparing for the bad things.Prepare for the hard times when it is unpopular and easy to do so, because when the shit hits the fan, you are ready and prepared. Everyone can party during the good times, but can you also party during the bad times too?What assumptions are you making that could damage yourself? Trust but verify everything you advocate and stand for. What assumptions are you making unknowingly? We all see things with a filter. What assumptions are you making? Questions and argue against yourself. When you can argue against yourself, you are testing your own assumptions in order to find the truth and find your own flaws.Not preparing for the hard times is one of the mistakes I made in business, as seenhere.