The Entrepreneur’s Survival Tool-Kit

No entrepreneur is an island.

That is the theme of my success as an entrepreneur over the past 14 years of Next Step’s life. I surely did not do it alone.

Because of Next Step’s incredible team, Next Step Publishing just made the Inc 5000 list for the third year in a row (http://www.nextstepmag.com/press) and I am very proud.

As mentioned, it’s not just me and I should be caned if I didn’t credit our team. Without them, we would never have achieved such awesome growth. A good team is the most valuable tool in any entrepreneur’s kit. Without a smart, passionate and engaged team, most entrepreneurs wouldn’t make it past running a small, local business.

We grew from a small Rochester, NY company to a nationally respected resource because of good ideas executed greatly by…OUTSTANDING PEOPLE.

But how does a neophyte entrepreneur learn how to hire, support and grow an outstanding team that helps to create an outstanding company?

I recently thought about that question!

And as I looked back over the years to examine our success, I examined what resources I have surrounded myself with that have helped me to personally grow, hire well and maximize the team’s performance, all while adhering to our standards and core values.

I started writing down the people and resources which have allowed me to not be alone as an island in the rough waters of entrepreneurship. In my opinion, I have created a survival tool-kit for the passionate, humble and ever-curious entrepreneur who aspires to grow; both professionally and personally…

The Entrepreneur’s Survival Tool-Kit:

1) Verne Harnish
Verne founded EO – Entrepreneurs Organization (www.eonetwork.org). EO by far has been the most instrumental resource I have been a part of. It’s a global organization of more than 7000 entrepreneurs which hosts monthly forums (confidential support roundtables), local/global learning events, online networks/resources, executive education programs and much more. The things that I have learned and the people that I have met because of EO, have undeniably influenced the growth of our company in many, many ways.

Verne, is now the CEO of Gazelles (http://www.gazelles.com/), a company that works with growing companies and their leaders. He has also written a must-read book called “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.” This book has become the operational DNA for our company and thousands more.

2) Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw from Zingerman’s (http://www.zingermans.com/). These two guys went from starting a small deli in Ann Arbor to creating a vision driven, community business model that has many entrepreneurs spinning their heads with excitement! Instead of expanding their deli nationwide, they decided to create a Vision Statement detailing their future plans of creating a community of related businesses in the Ann Arbor area. The philosophies that helped them to become an Inc Magazine Coolest Small Company in America (http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030101/25036.html) are now taught in one of their spin-off companies called ZingTrain (http://zingtrain.com). I have been to their seminars and have implemented many of their practices in Next Step’s business model.

3) Jack Stack
The Great Game of Business (http://www.greatgame.com/). Our newest learning adventure at Next Step is Jack Stack’s philosophies on open-book management. He has co-written two books with Bo Burlingham, (one of my favorite authors as you’ll read below) about his experiences with open-book management and giving his employees a stake in the game for optimal success. The books are called “The Great Game of Business” and “A Stake in the Outcome.” His company also holds seminars about the process.

4) Bo Burlingham
Bo is an author and editor at large of Inc Magazine. I suggest reading all his books as soon as you can. There are the two mentioned above with Jack Stack and also “Small Giants” and “The Knack” (co-authored with entrepreneur and Inc. columnist, Norm Brodsky). I read Small Giants when it first came out and it profoundly influenced me. And still does. It truly reshaped my ideas about how to grow Next Step and it continues to be a rudder of my thinking. The book has gained so much popularity that there is now a Small Giants seminar at ZingTrain and also has spawned its own community (http://www.smallgiantscommunity.com/). “The Knack” is also a must read. Norm and Bo do a great job at detailing the tools entrepreneurs need to run a business but rarely learn! I suggest all entrepreneurs read it and the earlier the better.

5) Inc. Magazine
(http://www.inc.com/) If you can’t tell, I do love Inc. Magazine and hope it’s around forever. It’s the only magazine of its kind that really gets into the nitty-gritty of helping small business entrepreneurs grow their company. The magazine is always full of helpful stories of real-life entrepreneurs; their struggles, successes and more. If you don’t subscribe, just buck up. The subscription price is peanuts and the content is extremely helpful. Plus they have great events like the Inc. 5000 conference. I went last year and had a blast; plus learned a ton from great speakers like Jim Collins and Norm Brodsky.

6) The New York Times
Yes, that’s right! No, not the newspaper. Their blog! They started a new blog for small business owners and it’s actually very helpful. It’s called “You’re the Boss – The Art of Running a Small Business.” The reason it’s so good is because, first of all it’s run by Loren Feldman, a former editor of Inc. Online. Second of all, many of the blog posts are written by down and dirty entrepreneurs. Like my friend Jay Goltz. Jay is an amazing entrepreneur that dispenses awesome advice whenever he talks or writes. He calls himself “The Thinking Entrepreneur.” Probably because he makes you think! I also suggest you read Jay’s book “The Street Smart Entrepreneur: 133 Tough Lessons I Learned the Hard Way.” Read the New York Times blog at: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/

Another one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Jen Walzer is going to start writing for the NY Times blog too. Her business is www.BackUpMyInfo.com and she has some amazing stories to share we well!

7) I’ve also started to incorporate some other helpful players into my game plan:

a. Cameron Herold. Cameron has been intricately involved in exploding many businesses including 1-800-Got-Junk and College Pro Painters. He now has his own company called BackPocket COO (http://www.backpocketcoo.com/) and works with many entrepreneurs to help grow their companies. I have seen him speak many times, ordered his DVDs and will be working with him soon to run a strategy session for Next Step. He tells me that he has a book coming out in the near future too!

b. Simon Sinek. I saw Simon speak a few months ago and loved his message. His purpose is to help people find the “why” in their life and/or business. Once you find the “why,” you can more easily inspire action! His message is powerful. He has a great blog (http://sinekpartners.typepad.com/) and also a book coming out soon – (http://www.sinekpartners.com/book.html). Simon’s message is so powerful, I asked him to write for Next Step Magazine (www.nextSTEPmag.com).


c. Keith Ferrazzi. I saw Keith speak about four years ago when he had just finished his first book “Never Eat Alone.” His presentation was fantastic and touching. His story moved me. I am currently reading his new book called “Who’s Got Your Back” and so far it is outstanding (http://www.keithferrazzi.com/WGYB/). Keith also has a great blog that I suggest you subscribe to (http://www.keithferrazzi.com/blog/).


So there you go! If you incorporate these people and resources into your entrepreneurial life, your learning curve will be reduced by 75% - guaranteed! Ok, well I can’t guarantee that but I assure you, you’ll hit the ground running a lot faster!

The best way to incorporate them is to go to their seminars, read their books/blogs, watch their DVDs and meet them! As the late, great Earl Nightingale once said “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.”