A CONVERSATION WITH CHRIS GUILLEBEAU

 
Whipster,

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup.
 
If you know anything about Chris (and chances are you do!) you know that he’s an entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, and world traveler.
 
He’s incredibly driven, and he’s a big believer in bootstrapping. And I think every single one of us can learn from him. So read on! Take notes! (And buy his latest book! I love it. And one of my clients Erica Cosminsky is featured in it!
 
* Chris, you know a little something about bootstrapping. (Hello, understatement of the year!) How did bootstrapping early on in your career impact you and your business?
 
I've always been a bit of a renegade, so you might say I've been bootstrapping my whole life. I think bootstrapping a business (or any sort of lean startup initiative) is a little bit like Outward Bound. When you're equipped with just your own ideas, skills, and nerve, it's somehow easier to begin to solve problems using those skills rather than looking externally for solutions.
 
On a personal level that's been incredibly empowering, and from a business perspective I'm likely to trust myself and my own judgment because I've had to figure everything out firsthand. Success really does breed success, and even those small victories at the very beginning can create the kind of momentum indicative of a viable project. 
 
Who are your top three picks for entrepreneurs that you know are gonna be huge? (We’re talking Chris Guillebeau in 2008!)
 
1. Emily Cavalier: Emily is one of the people we were excited to feature in the trailer for The $100 Startup. She's such a great example of someone who walked away from a high-paying corporate job to create a business around her major passions: food, culture, and community. Her underground supper club Midnight Brunch consistently sells out and now she's begun to use the event to connect brands with each other and their customers. I have no doubt that her work will continue to evolve.
 
2. Selena and Khary Cuffe: I love what Selena and Khary are doing because they have such an appealing social entrepreneurship angle: they're wine distributors, but they're committed to promoting the relative handful of African wineries with black ownership. They've brought together something everyone loves to get on board with -- wine -- while encouraging economic development in unexpected places. That kind of message (think Tom's Shoes and Warby Parker) resonates with people. 
 
3. Elizabeth King: Elizabeth is an up-and-coming superstar who has a million irons in the fire all based on education, critical thinking, and creativity. Her test prep biz is booked solid (she caters to ass-kicking kids like members of the actual Olympic team), she writes books, and she kicks ass. All she needs is a whip... maybe you can hook her up.  
 
I think one of the biggest challenges my uber-talented Whipsters face is the fear of focus – which is really the fear they might be leaving someone out or leave money on the table. I'm handing the whip to you on this one—what's your advice?
 
I worry more about leaving money on the table by entertaining unfocused ideas.  A dozen unrefined ideas aren't worth nearly as much as one carefully honed concept. I do a lot of different kinds of work, and I offer a number of different products, largely because I have a lot of interests. It's totally fine to have breadth in your areas of knowledge, but if you hope to get someone to pay you for something, that particular thing needs to be somewhat focused and meet that person's need in a specific way.
 
At the end of the day it's most important to remember that each piece of the puzzle has to be of real quality. By the same token, if you tell someone you don't offer something in particular because it's not your area of expertise, she's going to trust you when you say "Oh, but I do this really well."
 
Thanks, Chris! I can’t wait to see what you do next! 

Kisses + Whippings,
 
P.S., Now it’s your turn, Whipster. I want you to take a couple of minutes to reflect on what bootstrapping has done for you. Head on over to my Facebook page and share your bootstrapping lessons with us!

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Increase your clout,
Raise your influence,
 Move heaven + earth. 

               
You + Me
25 Spots :: June 2012 

All of my attention + brilliance lavished exclusively on YOU, so you can get
out of survival mode and into expansive luxury mode. 

Go here to spoil your business!

 

 

 

 

 

 

“YOU DON’T GET WHAT YOU DESERVE.
(YOU GET WHAT YOU NEGOTIATE.)”

 
Whipster,

I was sitting on a plane, heading home after attending the phenomenal Rock the World NYC conference, thrilled about having gotten two of my dream endorsers on board with endorsing my book. I started flipping through Sky Magazine (which I just love – what a beautiful, smart magazine).

And I see this ad*, and immediately I’m intrigued, thinking, Oh, what’s this about? Here’s this attractive lady with a cigar, all in control and confident and business-y. And I love what it says.

                                            

Because that’s spot on. You don’t get what you deserve! You only get what you negotiate. Which explains why so many people who seem like total bumbling bumblers (who might well be total bumbling bumblers!) still achieve great success: High-paying jobs, lucrative contracts, amazing projects, hot cars, hot dates…you name it.

And the flip side? Sadly, yes—it’s that tons of wildly talented people are really not getting what they’re worth, because (and only because) they’re not negotiating.

But before you can negotiate,you need strong, deep, solid foundations. You need confidence. You need to be able to sit in the very seat of your clout and operate from there.

So now that I’ve told you what to do, how do you it? How do you negotiate UP?

Good news, business babe: The Bombshell Business Lab is finally here!

 

                            

It’s a high-level, fancy-lady, business think tank that will increase your clout, raise your influence, and build the platform where negotiating UP comes effortlessly, and is as much fun as shopping for new stilettos! It’s about knowing that your worth is solid gold. It’s about laughing at offerings of mere peanuts.

It’s having me for your outsourced business partner.

(Oh yeah.)

So whether you’re:

• The front woman of an up + coming heavy metal band and you actually want a lifelong, platinum career in music;
• An emerging haute couture designer with her sights set on NYC Fashion Week and a wait list for her handbags;
• About to enter into a high-stakes contract that could result in millions;
• An idea-generating machine and just can’t figure out how to leverage your talent for profit;
• Dreaming about launching the latest + greatest green tech company that could possible save the planet;
• Something else entirely (you tell me!);

 
I’m your gal!
 
The Bombshell Business Lab is by application only.

Are you ready to negotiate what you deserve?
 
Then let’s do this.

Kisses + Whippings,
 
*Ad for KARRASS Effective Negotiating® Seminar, in the April 2012 issue of Sky Magazine.

 

 

GUESS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I ASKED?

Whipster,

This past week I was at Rock the World NYC (an AMAZING experience, by the way) and had the opportunity to hear JJ Ramberg (MSNBC) and Amanda Steinberg (Daily Worth) speak. They were phenomenal. Inspiring. I felt like I was on top of the universe!

And both of these women were on my dream list of people whose endorsements I want for my book, Think Like a Stripper: How to Hustle Like You Mean It. I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity and ask – right then and there – for the endorsement. I was nervous, a bit shaky and I also knew that if I didn’t seize the moment how could I be your Whip Leader? So I proceeded, wearing my love-and-awe cocktail on my sleeve.

And guess what?

They both said yes!

And that’s what hustling is: It’s asking. It’s about finding the opportunities that are going to create other opportunities for you to increase your sales, your revenue, your business, your life. It’s opening doors for yourself.
Because if you don’t do it, it’s not going to get done.

But when you decide it’s time and you get out there and hustle like you mean it, doors start swinging open in your direction everywhere you look.

And then?

It all gets done. Simply and elegantly.

(Hey, has anyone told you that you look really great on that red carpet you’re standing on? ‘Cause you do.)

Kisses + Whippings,
 
P.S., Hustle Your Business Boot Camp is sold out. Want to get extremely, ridiculously good at opening doors for yourself? Then hurry, darling and get on the red-hot list for August 2012.

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INCREASE YOUR CLOUT

               

All of my attention + brilliance lavished exclusively on YOU, so you can get
out of survival mode and into expansive luxury mode. (This glorious,
swank-hotel-spa-meets-brainy-think-tank is by application only.)

Go here to spoil your business!