“The Greatest” is Gone……. His Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives Forever

“The Greatest” is Gone……. His Entrepreneurial Spirit Lives Forever

 

 

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth” …. Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali (born, Cassius Marcellus Clay born on January 17, 1942) the former 3-time heavyweight boxing champion of World and Sportsman of The 20^th Century died on June 3^rd 2016 and was laid to rest today on June 10^th 2016.  There is no doubt his boxing, athletic, political and social activism during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Era made him one of the most influential people not only in America but also, around the World during the latter half of the 20^th Century.  Ali was famous throughout the world for his “trash-talking” (sports psychology), quick-whit, humor, commitment to his religion (Islam), the uplifting of his people (African American Community) and commitment to World peace; however, what about his role as an entrepreneur?  Yes, you got it right!  Entrepreneur and I mean that with all seriousness because that was a title most assuredly bestowed upon the man called the “Greatest”, because of his actions both in and out of the boxing ring.  Admittedly, the term entrepreneur and Muhammad Ali doesn’t immediately intersect, so let’s explore how, when and why.  Perhaps his history will clarify things and create a better understanding about the man and his passion to solve problems.      

So, how does Muhammad Ali, fit the description of an entrepreneur?  Well, let’s recall that an entrepreneur is often perceived as a business leader, leader and/or innovator that thinks outside the box and willing to assume all risks and rewards in pursuit of achieving a specific goal through new ideas and business processes.   In essence, he or she is frequently anti-establishment because the core of entrepreneurship centers upon creating and implementing new ideas and/or methods of solving problems.  Now, being a Blackman in the segregated Southern United States during the turbulent 1960s consisted of extraordinary structural challenges that restricted the personal freedoms and liberties of millions of people of African descent and the poor.  With remarkable boxing skills, commonsense, courage, incredible oratory skills and a global platform to express his thoughts and feelings Muhammad Ali, began the task of addressing racial, economic, social and political injustices imposed not only upon his fellow Black Americans but, other poor and disenfranchised people throughout the world.  Needless to say, Ali’s name and reputation brought significant influence to a problem that could be and often monetized into a solution to a conflict.  Yes, the Ali Brand was capital or fiat currency, which is the genesis of what is today called social entrepreneurship.  Indeed, Ali sought social change through a business approach.  Trust me, Branding the name Muhammad Ali is big business.    

“we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” …Albert Einstein.  It’s Darwinian, you either adapt or you die.  Hence, Muhammad Ali epitomized the Darwinian Theory of Survival of The Fittest.   

Now, Muhammad Ali, was an excellent marketer and self-promoter of himself and the sport of boxing through his poetry and ring psychology that told a story of him being the chosen one and would overcome all barriers/challenges.  In fact, Ali shared about his promotional skills being influenced through professional wrestling’s late icon “Gorgeous George”.   Like Gorgeous George, Ali was a showman that could sell and put backsides into seats, while generating massive revenue through his big-mouth and charismatic personality.  Needless to say, Muhammad Ali was very confident in his abilities or according to his many detractors was arrogant and needed to be slapped down and put into his place.  Does this sound familiar?  Like all entrepreneurs Ali, encountered extreme opposition and made the appropriate adjustments (physically, emotionally, psychologically and religiously) to achieve, success.  No Poverty Mindset existed with the Greatest nor would he allow barriers (racism, death threats, being stripped of the world title for refusing military induction, loss of boxing license, etc.,) to kill his dream.      

If, you compare the entrepreneur and athlete then, you eventually, come to realize they share many of the same qualities such as the following: disciplined, hardworking, self-confident, leadership, passionate, long-term thinking, having to prove something and possessing a Millionaire Mindset.  Hence, you can see many of the aforementioned qualities in Muhammad Ali, which in true entrepreneurial fashion explains his desire to make significant social change in the world and an inspiration to hundreds of millions of people around the globe.  The parallel between Muhammad Ali and Social Entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Richard Branson and Bill Drayton, are clear as indicated by their respective desire to solve social problems or make things more efficient for the greater good of collective society.  

One of the lasting legacies of Muhammad Ali was his push for what is called “Ethnic Entrepreneurism” (cultural economics) within the African American community.  Ali often shared about the need for blacks to build their own banks, schools, theatres and overall, economic infrastructure to sustain its own community due to economic deprivation resulting from historical barriers (Slavery, Jim Crow and Anti-Poverty Laws) that continue to impact the black familial structure.  Since, wealth is a generational game but, your community has been systematically denied opportunity to participate and grow due to an uneven playing field then, it’s of the utmost importance to invest your resources with others who look like yourself.  Indeed, charity begins at home or more accurately, in your community.  There is no doubt familial instability continues to function as a primary factor of economic instability that is better addressed through efforts of both ethnic and social entrepreneurship. 

Muhammad Ali, often spoke of the importance of the people to develop the skills and abilities to pull themselves out poverty rather than reliance on government that has its own political and/or ideological motives.  It’s clear Ali, was about the people and viewed their salvation would best have achieved through their own efforts which reflects the importance of his role as an inspirational figure of hope for millions of average individuals but also, entrepreneurs. 

In closing I have included 10 inspirational quotes by the Champ and I hope they serve you well:

1.       “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses—behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

2.       “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”

3.       “It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.”

4.       “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside

them—a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

5.      “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it—then I can achieve it.”

6.      “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life” 

7.      “To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.”

8.      “You lose nothing when fighting for a cause … In my mind the losers are those who don’t have a cause they care about.” “

9.      “The man with no imagination has no wings.” 

10.  “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.” 

11.   “What you're thinking is what you're becoming.” 

 Vaurn James

Contributor

Credit Cards: The Perfect Pyramid Scheme and Legal

Credit Cards: The Perfect Pyramid Scheme and Legal

So, are you using a credit-card to fund your home business opportunity or entrepreneurial venture? I am and millions of other serious-minded entrepreneurs; likewise, use this lifeline of credit to fulfill the dream of financial independence.  Unfortunately, credit-cards are like marriage, both are institutions endorsed by government because once you sign the contract getting out will cost you more than what you invested in the first place.  Think about when you said, “I, do” then, you have agreed to sharing your debt and/or wealth with another individual and the cost of dissolving the partnership will often involve 50% forfeiture of current and future assets (bye-bye 401K).  Now, credit-cards and their interests rates on average are 20% of your existing balance (make sure your debt is low).  Seems that borrowing the capital to fund the enterprise is more expensive than the actual operational costs but, that’s the economic reality. 

Funny, how the concept of Free Market Economics in the bedroom and kitchen can frequently resemble a criminal enterprise involving extortion and being made an offer you cannot refuse if, you value your health, wealth and personal freedom.  Hey, credit is part of all westernized economies, while fewer and fewer people make purchases using raw fiat currency.  In fact, you get scrutinized when you insist on paying cash and have no history of credit which puts you on the radar of Homeland Security or some other intelligence agency.  It’s no accident that credit-cards, bank debit cards or plastic are the standard method of payment, because paying cash or by cheque forces us to live within our means.  Businesses cannot profit by people who are disciplined shoppers; hence, no financial education in our schools because they want the kids to be as reckless as their parents who are currently in debt from spending (yes, this includes me).  Credit-cards are the middle-class version of welfare and like the poor, both credit-card companies and government cannot afford to allow their respective audiences to be educated consumers that use their product in a responsible manner that results in short-term use.                  

I am addressing this issue because a mentor of mine Jeffrey Combs of Goldenmastermind.com once said; “credit card companies are brilliant because they get people to pay interest on money that doesn’t exist”.  In essence, people are paying legal tender to access a line of credit that they don’t see, can’t smell nor touch.  Additionally, countless new transaction fees are implemented by credit-card companies and approved by government finance committee members because, “you NEVER bite the hand that gives you a bribe, I mean a financial contribution, I mean political donation and then, after your political career seek employment from the same industry you were regulating  as government official because their salary is higher and you as former regulator know how to circumvent that laws that are designed to protect the consumer”.   

Now, the concept is brilliant from a business/entrepreneurial perspective because when a product/service is intangible; yet, millions of people want it then, a collective sense of trust in the product has been established (at least in the past, but may be not today).  Well, credit-cards are no longer perceived as a positive but, more of a necessary evil; yeah, like marriage.  Oh yes, if, you tie the NOOSE, her debt will become yours so be careful.  Oh yes, learn about the danger of “compound” interest with credit cards because it exposes the true quasi-criminality of credit.

Now, if the credit card companies were prohibited by law from charging ridiculous interest rates to the loans of their millions of customers then, the national problem of credit-card debt would be significantly reduced.  Unfortunately, government and business have a relationship where “business lobbyist write legislation that is supposed to regulate the conduct of the same industry they represent”, yes a clear conflict of interest …forgive the pun but, business is business.  Now, in 2008, the US Mortgage and Financial Industries prompted by previous federal administration to extended home loans (line of credit) to people, who didn’t meet the financial litmus test and in reality couldn’t afford the monthly payments resulting in most defaulting. 

Hence, this Pyramid Scheme collapsed because no revenue was coming in and no interest could be charged so as to generate profit for the companies.  Basically, the gamble that people with marginal credit histories could pay their monthly bills plus interest proved to be wrong.  In retrospect the idea was poorly conceived but, when you make deals with politicians for special business privileges who are also, fighting for re-relation then, you sometimes are forced to offer loans to people who are on default.  Additionally, taxpayers always end up paying through a government bailout (you know, too big to fail) or increased fees passed on to them.  It’s safe to say much of Corporate America functions like a pyramid scheme with respect to unethical business practices and government regulations that in truth, fail to correct conduct the average individual would suffer criminal and/or civil sanctions but, “you get as much justice as you can afford”.  Needless to say, financial criminality remains more of a regulatory issue than criminal.      

“The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 or Credit CARD Act of 2009 was signed by President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009”. “It is comprehensive credit card reform legislation that aims "...to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes."^[1]

One of the critical reforms (lol) absent from The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Right was any provision for price controls.  So, the most important feature of credit card reform is absent and consumers continue to complain and pay exorbitant fees they were complaining about in the first place.  We shouldn’t be surprised because a common practice for committee members who regulate industries involves them seeking employment at the same companies they once regulated after their political term expires.  Again, conflict of interests is like a bloody virus that gets worse.    

Long-term consumer activist Ralph Nader has spoken, lectured and testified countless times about the unholy and corrupt relationship between credit card companies and government at the annual meeting at Center for the Study of Consumer Financial Services (CSCFS).  Mr. Nader spoke about his experience not having any credit-cards and provided the following 10 reasons why he refuses to allow corporation to stop him from using legal tender:

·         Plastic lays the groundwork for massive, daily invasions of privacy

·         Once you enter the credit economy you fall under the controls of arbitrary credit rating and credit scoring merchants

·         The credit card economy, with its anti-competitive no-surcharge rules, etc. is inflationary and affects negatively consumer purchasing power as well as lower savings rates

·         Credit cards encourage impulse buying

·         Credit card terms…You sign on the dotted line, shut up and shop

·         Using cash/check encourages consumers to live within their means and not get caught in an ever deeper cycle of debt

·         Paying by cash/check avoids the gouging of fees, penalties, termination charges, and of course, sky-high interest rates for consumers

·         Paying by cash/check….it prevents the addition of any fraudulent charges to the bill.

·         Paying by cash/check avoids having to give away your personal property to the likes of internet companies

·         Credit card issuers often approve consumers for credit cards with maximum spending limits that are too high considering their salary or lack thereof

It would appear that Ralph Nader recognized long ago the culture of failure and economic control credit-card companies attempted and successfully continue to impose on the mases through daily financial commerce via plastic. Unfortunately, the situation continues to get worse not only with crerdit-cards but, with proposed laws like “Trade Secrets Protection Directive”, that serves to increase the secrecy of corporate criminality.    

Vaurn James

Contributor

Inbound Marketing: How to Connect with Millennials

Inbound Marketing: How to Connect with Millennials

“So, Content is King but, millennials demand superior content quality for their money” …. Vaurn James

So, do you smell the money and if not then, your olfactory senses require immediate medical intervention because “there are currently 80 million millennials in the U.S., and with an annual buying power of 200 billion, they are the most lucrative segment of the us market”.  Clearly, it’s in the interest of both marketers and corporations to better understand this audience so as to provide them value rich content, while addressing their interests, needs, wants and problems for this segment of the population between 18-34 years old.  So, how do you go about understanding the behavior of Generation Y in the digital age and build a trusting relationship where commerce results in a WIN-WIN for all involved?  Truth be told, I had no bloody idea and that’s why I deferred to Google, Hubspot, Markethive, life experience, millennials, marketers and pure guesswork.  It’s like being a parent but, you still don’t understand the kid because your knowledge and experience are both inadequate so you seek help.  Hence, I sought professional expertise in the arena of what is called Inbound Marketing to millennials and learned much about this new generation of consumers.  To connect involves understand how they behave and think. 

According to the experts creating a Buyer Persona is the best approach to connecting with this desired target market.  Now, a buyer persona is a multi-dimensional profile that identifies the way your ideal consumer thinks, feels, motivations and problems, that you will resolve by providing a solution.  Remember, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them…Albert Einstein”.  The more detailed the profile the greater the odds of success increases.  Think of today’s inbound marketing specialists as behavioral analysts or more commonly known as profilers who analyze significant sums of data detailing past sales patterns and contact databases (surveys, interviews, etc) to uncover trends about how certain leads or customers find and consume your content.  It’s all psychology; therefore, to better influence anyone then, it starts with understanding their behavior through how they think.  Without a doubt critical thinking, research and posing the right questions are key factors in the assessment process that helps create an evaluation narrative of your ideal buyer persona.

This is especially true when dealing with millennials because they are highly educated but, also technologically dependent and use social media as a daily interface with other millennials to interact with each other, while developing their own individual identity through the use of technology.  Today’s corporations still continue to struggle to connect with flavor of the month demographic because they are very frugal and skeptical because of how business is conducted in such a mercenary manner.  In today’s economy millennials have little expectation of long-term employment with the same company; hence, they have no loyalty to brands that have not been approved by fellow millennials which creates the challenge of gaining them as long-term customers.  As a growing and powerful segment of the economy millennials demand what they want and can leverage by using the digital tools that have become part of their daily routine.  

Now, interruption or outbound marketing tactics appear to be no longer effective because the approach isn’t permission based.  Traditionally, marketing involved the following methods: buying TV ads, flyers, popup ads, radio ads, mass emails and other intrusive methods that try to interrupt an individual’s daily routine to buy.  Clearly, a permission-based method of marketing where attention of your audience is earned increases the chances of successful sale.  Since, millennials were raised in the digital-age with new technology available to them and increasing in sophistication their attention is often restricted to products and services that they and peers identify with.  Old school marketing tactics are less effective and this is why inbound marketing that focuses on the interests of their audience functions as superior approach in developing a long-term trusting relationship.  Nobody will buy if, they don’t trust you nor your company.

So, are you engaging in direct advertising or educational marketing where an informed decision can be made regarding potential purchase?  If, it’s the former then, your content is wasted because purchases in today’s economy often go through a vetting process by consumers via YouTube, blogs, snapchat and other social media devices where people express their likes or dislikes of a product.  Want people back at your website for purchase then, content must show the benefits; otherwise, the miserly millennials will keep their shekels in their pouch.

“In a nutshell, inbound marketing is about making meaningful relationships with consumers via the internet, primarily through content. It’s about creating and sharing content that your audience seeks. It’s about positioning your brand as a thought leader that can be trusted”.  “In addition, inbound marketing will help you to create opportunities for participation and interaction—through likes, comments, and shares, your audience can better connect with your brand on social media, through your blog, and through other means”.
Vaurn James
Contributor