The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage

by Daymond John

The product placement in this film was the spark that fueled the Under Armour

was. As a result, the Nielsen ratings for BET programs didn’t really reflect the actual ratings, so the advertising was cheap—you got a whole lot of bang for your buck, and when you’re broke, that’s the right kind of equation. You wouldn’t know this unless you knew the market, but we had our eyes open and our ears to the ground.

We ran the numbers and figured we could blast BET with a commercial for about $1 million, and in exchange we’d get wall-to-wall play for about a year. Our spots would run ten, fifteen, twenty times a day, and each time out we made an impression. The numbers weren’t huge, but we were target-marketing,

If we’d spent that same $1 million on, say, two or three thirty-second spots on Friends, our message would have been lost. That minute and a half of prime-time advertising, at a million bucks, would have been a waste, a memory. Yeah, we would have been seen by another 10 million sets of eyeballs, but it’s not like they would have noticed—and they would have been the wrong sets of eyeballs for our brand, since a good chunk of that audience was a little outside our demographic. Our spots would have been lost in the clutter. And besides, even if they were paying attention, these coffee-sipping Rachel and Chandler wannabes in the American heartland weren’t running out to the mall to buy one of our hockey jerseys, so we would have

Often, you’ll do well to go against the grain, to look at what the marketplace is doing and to go another way. It’s how new trends emerge from the old ways of doing business.

They embarked on an ambitious television ad campaign, seeking consumer feedback and promising to change their pizza recipe based on the response.

follow-up campaign, featuring the new recipe, which they began to roll out in stores, doubling their profit in the fourth quarter of 2009, with a sales increase to $23.6 million.

Domino’s found a way to win by inviting customers into the conversation—a great way to keep them in the mix in uncertain times, because now they can’t help but feel a rooting interest in your success. Plus, folk...

When times are “broke,” smart companies reduce costs by looking at ways to operate more efficiently,

while continuing to spend on marketing and on research and development.

(In some industries, it might even be a good time to acquire new assets.) The cost-cutting is necessary and can be looked on as a short-term move, but continued investment is also essential as a company looks ahead to an ...

When you’re pitching, you should never lose sight of the other person’s needs. You should think, What’s in it for them? and not, What’s in it for me?

My hopeful partner has only addressed his own needs here, not mine. Four or five million dollars? That’s great, but what if I’ve got plenty of money and my priority is spending more time with my children,

He’d just needed to do a little homework.

A quick Google search might turn up a picture of me in that seal coat, a picture of me working with a community in Trinidad, an article talking about how important it is for me to carve out time with my kids. But that never happens, does it?

But broke shouldn’t mean you always have your hand out. Go ahead and extend your helping hand to someone else instead—you might be surprised at the good things that come back to you in return.

Kevin O’Leary, even though it was the only cash offer on the table.

Moziah Bridges was an eleven-year-old kid from Memphis, Tennessee,

Mo’s Bows, was a line of handcrafted bow ties he made himself, with a little help from his mother and great-grandmother. It cost him about $6 in materials and other hard

Every entrepreneur needs a mentor. Don’t believe me?

The study showed that people who participated in a mentoring relationship saw their revenues increase by an average of $47,000—or 106 percent! Those who did not participate saw their revenues go up only $6,600—or 14 percent.

Do you love what you do? Would you do it for free? (Or, for a bag of chips?) If not, then maybe you should think about doing something else. Sure, money and success can be

In the story of Moziah Bridges that I just shared, what was in it for me was personal. He came on the Shark Tank set like a little Mini-Me, and it was so clear to me that he and his mom were on to something that could be life-changing for them—life-affirming even. It felt to me like I had no choice but to help him power up his bow-tie

But that’s not how it usually goes. No, usually, there’s a cost to me when I mentor someone, and

It’s tough to believe in yourself when the rest of the word lines up against you, so be sure to have someone on your side to help you see things more clearly….Mentors are great, but sometimes a cheerleader is even better. And as far as strategic partnerships

He was turned down by twenty-seven publishers.

I’d been turned down by twenty-seven banks when I was out looking to finance our first FUBU orders.

FACT: Walt Disney was turned down 302 times before getting financing for Walt Disney World; today the resort attracts over 25 million visitors each

That kind of determination, it comes from a place of nothing to lose; it comes from throwing all of your heart,

But it also helped that he put himself out into the world, looking for a way to make some noise for his

Wayne Gretzky line,” he explains, “about skating to where the puck is going, not where it is.

would say, ‘be in the efforts business, not the results business.’

What makes you happy? What are you passionate about? Figure it out and embrace

Coca-Cola sold just twenty-five bottles in its first year of operation….It helps to know even the big boys started out small….Go ahead and dream big, but keep it real out of the gate. And, know that your proof of concept can be found in just twenty-five bottles of soda—as long as you keep moving the needle

Over time, the Nature Valley name has become a name you can trust for all your granola bar needs. You’ve started to associate it with being active, being outdoors, paying attention to the food you put into

The next step up from the brand stage is when you start to buy into a lifestyle. At this level, there’s still the same promise of quality

And do you know what? Every single store owner I reached out to on this was happy to give me a shot. Why not? It didn’t cost them anything. They could see I was passionate about what I was trying to do and would take the time to make sure my “billboard” looked good, which would of course make their storefront look good too. And if they didn’t like it, they could paint it over and start fresh.

Michael’s explanation hit home. He said, “Hype, most of the people listening to my music will be listening through a radio just like this one. I want to hear what they hear.”

The takeaway here is, don’t just spend your time looking for new customers—spend time looking at ways to keep selling to the customers you already have.

Linda says the key to a successful cart or kiosk specialty store is to feature products that you can’t find anywhere else in the mall and to staff her locations with knowledgeable, personable salespeople. “We look for products that are demonstrable,” she says,

So one of the great lessons behind Linda’s business is that she’s found a way to bring the retail experience to the customer.

Can you think of ways to bring your product or business closer to your target market?

reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “If people aren’t laughing at your dreams, then you’re not dreaming big enough.”

The big idea behind Market America was that it would offer more than a simple listing of available products. To Loren’s thinking, this much was a given. The plan was for customers to hear directly from local sales reps with testimonials, demonstrations, and special offers. The local reps would take a hefty commission cut, but Loren hoped to recruit thousands of reps to help her get the word out in a traditional way, and then maybe drive customers to make their first online purchases.

here. And they were willing to work for it.” The great takeaway for Loren and JR after that first failure was to look beyond the manufacturer’s claims. They knew their next product had to really deliver on its promise if they hoped to gain back some of what they’d lost. Happily, they came across a weight-loss supplement called Thermochrome, which continues to be one of their bestselling products. Loren had a deep interest in nutritional and wellness products, and she was thrilled to have a chance to bring this supplement to market.