The “launch party” for Disney Brothers Studio.
They were nervous.
It’s no secret that we were sticking just about every nickel we had on the chance that people would really be interested in something totally new and unique in the field of entertainment.
They were down…
Mickey Mouse popped out of my mind onto a drawing pad 20 years ago on a train ride from Manhattan to Hollywood at a time when business fortunes of my brother Roy and myself were at lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner.
But they knew….
The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
They ignored…
I am not influenced by the techniques or fashions of any other motion picture company.
We are not trying to entertain the critics. I’ll take my chances with the public.
They believed…
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
and there is no “done”…
Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.
Build what you believe in. Believe in what you build.
Ignore them all.
Never finish.
Make some noise
When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the facts are against you, pound the table.
Some ideas don’t work. The market isn’t ready for them or doesn’t want them. You can tell when every “sale” is a grind. The plow is just too heavy.
Admit it: You’re already dead.
That’s when you get a little crazy.
- Radical shift. Not to the product (if you think it’s good)…but to the process. Break the rules. Complete change of target, price or distribution system.
- Make some noise. Get loud. Every piece of momentum gets a touchdown dance. See who dances with you.
- Lever up. Put everything into the one thing that works. Everything.
There is no excuse for a startup dying quietly.
That’s pride. Newsflash— she isn’t gonna dance with the guy slinking off in the corner.
Die loudly.
Win.
Big companies fear you. Let me repeat that. Big companies fear you.
You’re fast, they’re slow. You’re nimble, they’re not. You’re innovating, they’re conference-calling.
Yes, their mass makes them extremely powerful. They can monetize FAR better than you can even dream of. That’s what they do… they push the big lever that works really well.
But if you’re smart and stay in the blue ocean, they can’t touch you. They know it.
That’s why they need you. They need you to find a new lever that works. They need you to show them the way through dangerous new water.
Don’t compete on the big levers. Find the small ones that work and grow them.
Win.
The only thing that matters is that you focus on the right things.
It’s difficult to do, but liberating. And effective.
Focus.
Win.
Push the levers that work.
Too many entrepreneurs do the opposite. They have a grand plan, and then only a couple parts of it work. So they spend all their time trying to figure out how to get the other parts to work.
Instead, focus on the stuff that does work. Leverage that to the hilt, and cut the rest.
It’s really difficult to do. It can hurt the ego. But it helps you win.
Win > Ego
Win.
p.s. you would be shocked to learn how many Swantastic Startups subscribers are winning….and winning big. You really should be among them.
It’s time to pay more attention to the people that matter than the glowing rectangles that don’t.
Win.
I’d love to help your startup. That’s why I created my Swantastic Startups service on Voomly…
There are four basic benefits to subscribing:
- Private Q&A access: Email me specific questions about your business, and I’ll give it my best shot within 24 hours. I’m a pretty good resource and sounding board.
- 365 Startup Tips in 365 days: New tip every day. Some are quick-hitters/links, others are lessons learned.
- Expanded blog posts: You obviously like my blog. This is the only way to get more of it. Deeper dives into the topics, war-stories…all backed up with Q&A access to let you reply with your questions about your specific situation.
- Luck. I’m lucky and that shit rubs off.
I know you’re probably expecting to pay an arm and a leg for something like this. And you should be.
But the truth is, this is part of a larger vision for me….and I love interacting with people that want to #win….so it’s not really “work” anyway.
$29/month. Twenty-nine bucks. Not for long though…. the price is going up. Once you’re in at 29 it’ll never go up for you.
Though this is the first announcement of it, I’ve already had a phenomenal response from people that have stumbled on it… I’m really excited to be helping so many people build such a wide-range of awesome startups! It rocks.
So come on and sign up. It’ll be fun. I’ll help your business (current or future), and you’ll help me in my larger quest.
Let’s do it.
Win.
p.s. Don’t forget to sign up now for Swantastic Startups and get private access to me for 29 little dollars per month…the price is going up eventually.
p.p.s. Did you know that a good “p.s.” like that one can increase sales tremendously? See… that’s just one of the 365 startup tips of the day :)
