Category Archives: Business

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2018

Change is good

The week after Christmas, I had some down time. I loved it. It gave me time to reset and reboot. It gave me time to think. Most importantly, it gave me time to rest.

I spent most of my downtime with my family. Life is good when I am surrounded by my family.

January 1st is really just a day like all others, but it definitely affects me. I can’t help but love the potential of a new year. I can’t help but think about what could be in 2018. I love it.

Some people argue whether you should have resolutions or goals and how quickly you will fail them. I have resolutions. It is just what I call them.

I have areas of my life that need to change. I need to change them. I am resolved to make changes. Yes, I most definitely may fail some (or even many), but I am resolved to make significant and important changes in my life. I like that we can use the first day of the first month of the year as a benchmark of where we are and where we are going.

I have some specific “places” that I want to go and I have some specific targets that I want to hit.

My biggest one: I want to change my business. I want to enjoy running a business that is all me. The other day, I went shopping with my oldest son for a new guitar. We found one and it just looked like it belonged to him. It looked like that is what my son would be holding if he could have any guitar he wanted.

That is what my business should be. It should fit like a tailored suit. (FYI – that is how your business should look too.) It should be a mirror to your core and reflect you.

I am going to struggle with this. I am going to struggle to be authentic and to make sure that I follow my heart when it comes to this business.

You may ask, why?

Simple. I don’t trust my real vision. I fear that others will not embrace it. I fear that it will not grow to be what I hope that it can become.

For years, I have struggled with explaining what I do. It has been something of a lie. I have tried to come up with the right words for the right things to say so that my business will connect with the right paying clients. But the real reason I struggle with how I need to explain what I do is because I am trying to tell the wrong story. I have been avoiding the reality of what my core vision for this business really is and therefore I am not telling an authentic story. And that is why I can never come up with the right set of words to describe what I do for my clients.

But I have come to a conclusion that I can no longer live that way. I have to finally unleash the kraken and let this business go where it deserves to go.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this. It has been a confession of sorts. But mainly it is a public announcement of my intent.

No longer will I try to hide from my real vision and dream.

If you want to find out what that is, please come back and visit this blog. I am pulling back the veil and will be uncovering the business I will be running in 2018 (and hopefully many years after).

If you own a business, I am the hired gun that helps you create a battle plan for your business. I have an armory of business growth strategies and tactics to help equip you to grow your business.

I will end this post with a quote from Og Mandino:

Today I begin a new life. … Today my old skin has become as dust. I will walk tall among men and they will know me not, for today I am a new man, with a new life.

– Catalyst John

 

cat·a·lyst: an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action

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I’m sorry, but failure does not make you more successful.

 

I hate this insanity and propaganda of how you just need to fail more.

Stop it, please.

No one failed himself or herself to the top. Our “celebrity” entrepreneurs we love and admire refused to quit. Yes, they messed up and failed, but it wasn’t their failures that made them stronger. Instead, it was their resilience. They persisted to the top. Once again, they did not fail themselves into success.

“No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity. I can do nothing about the past. My future is immediate. I will grasp both hands and carry it with running feet…

I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth. Failure only exists for the person who quits. I do not quit.

I am courageous. I am a leader. I seize this moment. I choose now.”

 – Andy Andrews

Anyone who encourages you to fail is helping you take your eyes off of the target. No one in their right mind would want to fail on purpose.

If you believe in them, then make sure you don’t fill up your gas tank the next time the low fuel light comes on. One morning you will fail to get to work on time because you ran out of gas. You will overcome it, but it will not make you stronger because you never needed to overcome that adversity.

So instead of focusing on your next fail, skip this ridiculous trend and go do something to get you closer to your dream.

When you do fail, get up quickly and brush yourself off. Then continue to focus on the realization of your dream instead of your next failure. It is about how you push through failure and not how many times you fail.

 – Catalyst John

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Does the transaction stop once you get paid?

unsplash-jeff-sheldon-when-does-the-transaction-end-krakenWhen does your business transaction end? Most entrepreneurs believe that it is over once they deliver their product and/or service and get paid. I think that this is just when it starts. I want to separate myself from all the other entrepreneurs and that is why I make sure to follow up after the transaction.

Imagine how your clients would feel if they received a hand written card in the mail from you thanking them for their business. Now imagine if you did that and then gave them a follow-up call two weeks later to make sure that they were getting value from the product (or service) you sold them.

(This is also an amazing way to respond to a prospect that does not buy from you.)

Now, let’s take this a step further. What if you sent them a card (not an advertisement) on their birthday, wedding anniversary, or the holidays?

What if you regularly reached out to your “old” customers and checked in on them. I schedule reminders to help me keep in touch with prospects and former clients. I don’t do it to sell to them; however, I bet you can imagine how well they would receive news of an exciting opportunity for them to spend more money.

An interesting side effect occurred that I did not realize. The other day, someone on Facebook was pretty rude to me. All of a sudden, I saw the post blow up with comments as my friends and clients immediately engaged the guy. I never had to respond because my audience did. You can’t buy that kind of loyalty. However, you can build amazing relationships simply on how you act after the sale.

Don’t let the relationship end just because you received payment.

– Catalyst John

How do you follow up with your clients?

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You’re just one person away from true success

Thanks to Unsplash.com & Nicolai Berntsen for this photo.

 

I want to tell you a secret. I was thinking about how you are more than enough and thought about writing about that, but then I realized what really needed to be said tonight.

You are just one person away from success.

The secret is that the one person is you. Yes, you. Yes, the person reading this.

The secret is that you have to be uniquely you. Today, I ate a sweet corn cookie. I didn’t know they even existed, but the amazing folks behind the Poor Porker introduced me to this amazing baked item. Like this crazy cookie, you are uniquely awesome. It is time to let your true self be free.

Your unique customers are very excited that they are about to meet you, the real you.

Be yourself. Be amazingly successful!

– Catalyst John

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Why I want you to fail at your goals

road through mountains For some reason we have this mindset that goals are designed for us to achieve them. But what if the greatest thing about goals did not come from completing them?

“You want to set a goal that is big enough that in the process of achieving it you become someone worth becoming.” ― Jim Rohn

Isn’t the greatest result from the goal setting process becoming a better version of ourselves? The new creation we become as we work on achieving each goal we set before ourselves? For example, almost everyone wants more money.

$$$

What if you set a goal to make six figures next year?

$$$

You have to change the person you are to become the person that earns six figures. You would have to become a better person to earn 500k. Therefore, what if you set your financial goal for $500,000? Yes, one half of a million dollars! On the way to half a million dollars, you would have to become a $100,000 dollar person. I want to encourage you to set ridiculously and crazy high goals.

“If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” ― James Cameron

For some reason, I believe that if you are truly committed and you show up each and every day to work on your #1 goal you would achieve a minimum of 20% of it. If you set your sights on an income of $500,000 then I would expect you to end up with over $100,000 in income. Remember, you have to show up and work consistently on this goal, but you would end up earning between 100k to 500k.

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Why you can’t give up being healthy or entrepreneurship

I’ve been sharing with you my struggle with my weight. I have failed numerous times. Even though I am truly committed to success, I know that my ability to stay focused on this doesn’t go that well.

As I went for my morning walk today, I was thinking about how long will this last… Will I make it into a habit or will I get distracted and veer off the course. Even though I hate to admit it, I know that I have wanted to improve my health since 2003. I started training to be on my agency’s SWAT team with a guy named Martin. However, I got married in August of 2003 and I didn’t continue training after my honeymoon.

If we were to talk about my desire to get fit…

Would you tell me to quit?

Would you tell me that I tried and failed and it was time to give up the dream?

Would you tell me that I just didn’t have it inside of me to living a healthy, active life?

I don’t think you would. How do you tell someone to not be a better version of themselves.

My next statement will offend some, but entrepreneurship is the same. How can you tell someone that they need to give up their dream? Or tell them that they just don’t have what it takes?

Why would you quit your dream? I’m not telling you to abandon your responsibilities or make excuses, but if you are truly sold out on a dream why would you not fight for it with all your soul?

Why would you ever give up? How can you put a quantity on the number of attempts that you have before you give up?

I believe that you don’t get to quit your dream. You may have to hustle on the side of your day job and push yourself to the very limits of your being, but you take another step every single day.

If you want to talk about your dream, I’d love for you to schedule a call with me (did I mention it is FREE?)

http://catalystjohn.com/call
Catalyst John

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What is anchoring your business?

I went for a walk this morning and I passed a park that has two giant anchors at the entrance. It is pretty cool because instead of a fence, they use the anchor chains to “rope” off the area.

What is anchoring your business?

This made me think about what is the anchor holding down your business? I remember being a naive entrepreneur that was easily blown here and there by the wind. I had no solid anchor and I lacked a solid plan. Today, I have a much different outlook than I did a decade ago. The anchors in Catalyst John are connected to the core of this business.

There are too many distractions that we encounter each and every day to survive if our businesses don’t each have at least one solid anchor to hold us steady and in the right place.

You need to grab a pen and some paper and answer the question:

What is anchoring my business?

Next, are your actions as the entrepreneur behind the business consistent with that anchor or anchors?

 

Catalyst John

 

How to write great blog posts as you drive…

Tom Schwab, InboundForEccommerce.com

My good friend Tom shared this the other day. I’m a huge fan of working in a way that causes you to explode with productivity. He found a hack to write blogs…

Click the link above to check it out!

Catalyst John

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Author John

typewriter-by-florian-klauer-via-unsplash-1200x628

I’m diving into the deep end and writing a book. I want to write a book that serves well and is written for the one person that needs it most. I’ll be devoting the first 20% (Pareto principle) of my day to this book. I am going to show up every day until it is finished. However, I do not plan on doing this alone and am looking to surround myself with a community to make this an amazing book.

The book will be about chasing your dreams. I have chased mine and the results are amazing. I want to help others do the same. If you are an entrepreneur, a dreamer, a doer, an avid reader, and / or a fan of serving others, would you be interested in joining my book team? I have little to nothing to offer you and I am not going to bribe you to help. However, if this excites you and you are willing to sacrifice some time to help me make this vision an unbelievable resource, please join the community.

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