The Power of Advice

                                               
"If you ask for money you will get advice but if you ask for advice you MIGHT get money."
                                                  -Peter Diamandis

While accomplishing the homework for this week I watched a clip from a speak given at Stanford where Peter Diamandis made the above statement. Seeing that I have been working out the back end details and making and then re-making my business plan raising funds and boot strapping my business has been on the front of my mind. So I had to experiences this week I feel like have been directly applicable to what we are learning and doing. The first started with questions inside of my head about my business. Questions like: "Should I bring in outside investors to loan me $20?" (for my $100 challenge business) or "Should I just finance this endeavor myself?"

Seeing that this was such a small sum of money I found myself thinking "Oh I will just give myself $20 bucks or more if needed...." Then I thought to myself "WAIT. What did I just say in my mind? I will give myself MORE if I need it? No. I will not. This is the $20 challenge. Not the $21.52 challenge or the $52 challenge it is the $20 challenge!" After I had this battle within the not-so-silent chambers of my heart I felt a iteration taking place within myself. I started looking for ways to not have to loan myself even $20. I starting "boot-straping" as Guy Kawasaki says. I found myself thinking about how I could use some of my own raw materials that would go into this and that to cut the cost of my business.

The second experience was after I pitched two ideas and then asked for "advice" or feedback. I did not receive money directly but I saw an abundance of other forms of payments through intellectual suggestions and experiences on the back end of the technology aspect of my business idea from individuals with much more experience then me. Overall I felt like the above quote was very accurate not only for potential and future business but in our own lives.

Consider when we want God to remove something hard form our lives. We may pray that He remove this bitter cup from our current lives and sometimes He does more times then not this is not the right prayer. When we ask God for advice then He usually if not always "pays" us and helps us know hot to iterate and make it through the challenges of life.

I hope to find connections with entrepreneurs so that I can go to them and ask advice in times of need and want to utilize the interview assignment to make some of these connections. I have been brainstorming some individuals and thinking of how to approach them.

Follow up on my $100 Challenge

Here it is I am doing a Cream-Puff business. I have pitched some friends and starting looking into means to produce sign-up sheets and flyers (virtually and possibly by paper) to have people order this good. I have not spent a dime but I have recieved commitments to take flyers and word of mouth advertising to a few different businesses and my mother who was coming up from Utah this weekend is bringing some plastic containers (for free) that she doesn't want that I will be able to use for storing the final product.

After this challenge and if (and when) I recieve the extra credit for raising the most money I want to challenge myself in the future to the $100 challenge with a start-up amount of nothing. Gotta get these boots on and get it done! Yes, that is a big statement to assume I am going to be the highest grossing individual but things like that motivate me. I want to win and win big. I want to get an A in this class because I am passionate about this subject. Period. Bring it.