(Part 1) Workplace Dreams: Winning Big in Business One Success At a Time!

 General Motors (GM) is working its way back. This happened after filing for bankruptcy. It was their way of downsizing the operation. Now it looks like they’re on the up-and-up. They have new cars hitting the showroom floor. Could this be a lot like what happens in people’s career?

The recession has been brutal. So many people have hit the un-employment lines. They were downsized or put out to pasture. Some have toiled looking for work. Others have considered starting a business. A comeback starts with ambition. You must have the desire to turn your passion on fire.

What did GM do? The company eliminated a few models. They re-positioned their marketing from “old-school to new-school.” They streamlined the product line to five brands. That’s like focusing more on what makes you strong (your talent) and eliminating what makes you weak (the distractions).

But it didn’t stop there. They launched a new campaign built around their reinvention. The company held dealers to a new standard. They rallied their employees. They promoted the new GM with an advertising blitz. Before you get others to believe in you, you first have to raise the belief in yourself.

GM dropped the Hummer. They’re ready again to be a winner. They’ve repaid the Stimulus funds back to Uncle Sam. The Volt electric car is on the rollout. There’s even an Onstar-type IPad App. GM’s return shows us that a setback is not a period, but a comma before the rest of the story. 

Tip: Recessions can be a time to downsize your appetite and upsize your dreams.

Talkback: How has the recession caused you to downsize your lifestyle?

An Extreme Makeover Helps Oprah Better Her Best!

 Oprah leaving Daytime TV. Her show’s been #1 for 23 years plus. Started on a local Baltimore affiliate. Kicked-off Talk Show. When Phil Donahue was King. Since then she’s become the Queen. Of mainstream media. As well as a biz mogul. An Extreme Makeover helps Oprah better her best.

Launching the Oprah Winfrey Network OWN. A partnership with the Discovery Channel. So it’s like Reinventing herself. Means visioning a new gig. Building the venture capital. Working and networking her strengths. Reaping the benefits. Calls for courage, confidence and conviction.

Take this as a lesson. On how to reposition your brand. Repurpose your life’s work. Or restart your dreams. A lot like what happens on the Reality Show Extreme Makeover. Sometimes it’s just to refresh. The look and feel of a room. Other times to improve. Putting things in a functional groove.

Then there’s the use of heavy equipment. Where the demolition team tears down. Everything to the ground. Before replacing anew. And giving people’s lives a sense of renew. A rebuild that inspires. Takes you higher. Tapping skills of the head, hand and heart. Having hope sets you apart.

Layoffs have made some want to give-up. Finding their dream job. Or starting that dream biz. Focus your energies. Towards new synergies. Channel your emotion. To flow like the ocean. Release your passion. Boost your commission. Life’s too short. To be held down by a recession.

Hip Tip: Living your dreams means starting here and going there as the road leads to overcoming the fear.

Blog Talkback: How has the Oprah Show/Brand made a difference in your business or life?

Iron Chef Meets Top Model on Wall Street Before The White House.

 Born in America! Made in America! What’s the difference? Sounds a lot like another question. Leader, born or made? Think Iron Chef. First Started in Japan. Or America’s Next Top Model. Started by Tyra Banks. So, Iron Chef meets Top Model. Making more than just pennies and dimes.

What’s the business value? Cooking up a meal. Showing passion and zeal. Expanding market appeal. Tied to having the basics. Can’t impress anybody. Without knowing how to boil, bake and burn baby burn. To strut your stuff. Twist and turn. Got Junk in the trunk? Draws much attention.

Like branding on the booty. Let your U-S-P shine through. Unique Selling Proposition. It’s the way you package the package. Make the sale. Run the show. Hone your craft. Master the game. Inspire the people. Hang with the movers & shakers. Plenty love to go around. So get your biz in order.

Are more American millionaires foreign born? Food for thought. These Reality Shows give some hints. For business success. Sizzling in the kitchen. Gliding on the runway. All about looks, style and flava. As well as the entertainment value. Goes a long way. To impacting the bottom-line.

So the heat is on! Tell that to the aspiring Chefs, budding Models and “living your dreamers.” The Obamas are proof. President Barack as a Hawaiian born American. First Lady Michelle as a locally-grown citizen. Travelling coast-to-coast. Waking-up the world. With a new flava to savor.

Hip Tip: Success in cooking is like what modeling does for lifestyle. You gotta know how to wake-up the flava without burning the taste.

Blog Talkback: Speaking of U-S-P, does living your dreams make you more healthy? Sexy? Edgy? Groovy? 

Imagine Being The Cake Boss or Having Your Own Biz!

 Who’s the most savvy Businessman ever? So many to choose from. Like Apple’s Steve Jobs. Named by Fortune Magazine as CEO of the decade. And Buddy Valastro on TLCs Cake Boss.  What makes them ka-ching Kings? Imagine being the cake boss. Where you have to succeed at all cost. 

Buddy runs a Mom & Pop operation. While Mr. Jobs has built a multi-national corporation. The secret’s in the cake mix and the software fix. Both famous for being big on design. Where things are thought through. Before arriving at a store near you. Attention to detail and rich in appeal.

Who wants to be a millionaire? Learn from someone who is. Monetize your idea. Productize your service. Or servicize your product. Minimize ego. Maximize team-go. Simplify the message. Stay focused on the mission. Helps to supersize your bank account. But who’s counting anyway.

Deliver products, services or staffing. That improve the bottom-line. Know your retail value? Charge per head, per hour or per demand. By how you mass market, customize and socialize. Rich in your niche? Be about solutions. For the client’s needs. The customer’s desires. Smashing the competition.

The proof is in the pudding. As well as the iproducts. Buddy’s been turning out sweets, treats and eats. Mr. Job’s been busy with ipods, iphones and itunes. Changing the game. Making a name. So, if you can’t keep up with the Joneses. Just keep working the masses. Until the cash flow comes splashing.

Hip Tip: Savvy business moves can start out like an acorn and end up like an oak, triggered by a growth spurt where money shows up like dirt.

Blog Talkback: If you had access to all the right resources, how would you blow-up your business or blow-away the competition?

There Goes The Neighborhood With Another Scam CEO!

 There’s a new Colonel in town. Better known as KFC. More recently as KGC. For his un-fried grilled side. Planning to open a fast-food joint on the block or in the barrio? (Get to that idea in a minute.) Well, well, well! There goes the neighborhood. With more bogus Reality TV shows. And scammer CEOs?

Seen as a cousin to Big Brother. Pitting neighbors against one another. Then they wonder why this show had low ratings. Or why some businesses fail. Not enough time to talk about it here. Just know that they run out of money, ideas, and steam. What does it take to be your own boss?

The right mindset. No longer working for ‘The Man.’ But for yourself and a plan. The most dependable hands are next to your wrist. Gotta have the motivation. To carry on the vision. After the train has left the station. Applying a methodology. For moving goals along. Making things happen.

Then there’s the money factor. Maybe needed at startup or to get a leg-up. Sometimes you borrow. To build a brighter tomorrow. Other times you invest. In that rainy day fund. All this leads to ownership. Value appreciation and a tax shelter. Working with great people and on exciting projects. 

True, man cannot live on fast-food alone. Or in the Reality TV zone. Think outside the box. Even when your job’s stuck in a box. Grow your business acumen and Benjamins. Boost your point value. Happens lot by lot in the neighborhood. As you buy a house. Build a business. And pursue a dream.

Hip Tip: A Homegrown biz can start in the garage or guest room, grow into a franchise agreement and supply you with year-round fulfillment.

Blog Talkback: What have you learned as a career professional or entrepreneur about handling failure and turning lemons into lemonade? 

The Shark Tank is For Big Ideas and King Fish!

 Buffoonery! That’s how some people feel. About Tyler Perry’s movies and sitcoms. Billions are being made. Millions are being served. And a handful wanna hate. Perry knows The Shark Tank is for Big Fish. He’s turned a bright idea into cash flow. Checkout the Reality Show’s investor judges.

Different stories, but similar intentions. Starting out as a Me Inc. CEO. Emerging as a sole-proprietor. Developing from scratch as an Urban CEO. Targeting the metro or retro in people’s tastes. Raising capital as a Heartbeat CEO. Knowing when to buy. When to sell. And when to Dot Com.

Looking for the next breakout biz. That’s where they put their money. People get turned down. Just like Perry was in Hollywood. Before doing it his way. What makes the winners win? And the losers soar to new heights? Embrace the past. Release the pain. Channel the power within.

Listen to the voice of your calling. Discover the void. In self and the marketplace. Helps reveal hidden talents and an un-served niche. Define the vision. As a snapshot of future success. From today and this point forward. Start a business. Fascinate your following. Blowup the base.

That’s the story of Daymond John. Founder of FUBU and Godfather of urban fashion. The experience of Barbara Corcoran. Who turned a $1000 into a Real Estate windfall. And Kevin Harrington. Industry creator of TV infomercials. Add your name to the list. Reap dollars, profit sense and prominence.   

Hip Tip: Taking an idea or market need to the next level calls for ability, timing and a sales pitch that strikes a nerve.

Blog Talkback: Medical marijuana, Tyler Perry’s Madea… should people have to apologize to the critics for their business, depending on whether it’s legal, moral or controversial? 

 Guess who’s going digital? Now that they’ve teamed up with Ebay. An unlikely bond? Maybe GM sees a bigger universe. They’re adding web venues. Putting dealers and customers on notice. Launching a new sales profile. Starting a biz or partnership is like learning a new language.

GM continues to reinvent itself. Broadening its base. Narrowing its brands. Marketing a new game. Why this? Or why now? Changing demographics. The Internet is a growing cash cow. Milk is white but money is green. No matter who’s buying. So GMs following market-wise economics.

Business is bilingual. In customers and sales appeal. People respond differently. Some buy the product. The company. The brand recognition. How to connect? Know what works. Based on the difference between buyers and supporters. All buyers are supporters. But not all supporters are buyers.

Network for sure. Volunteer in another enterprise. As a board member. Or part of a mastermind group. Work with someone new. That could be the next breakthrough. Not every business idea is yours to keep. Sometimes it’s to share. Maybe even give away. It comes back to you with boomerang returns.

 Know how to speak profit & loss. Do the job. Understand the business. Fire-proof your career. Step outside your comfort zone. Try new things. Learn from the experts. Get to know the lingo. It’s a great feeling to see things come together. That started out as an infant idea. And flows like a complete sentence.

Hip Tip: Success with a new language, business or assignment is in knowing the lingo.

Blog Talkback: In starting a business which comes first? Chicken or egg? Hobby or hustle?

 Plaxico Burress is facing the lock-up. Brett Favre is on the ropes. But Michael Vick is on the mend. What do they have in common? Ok, NFL fans. These guys know about looking for work. They also got the #1 biz advice. For shifting careers and reclaiming the dream. It’s being a free agent.

Chained to the job with golden handcuffs? Become an expert or consultant. Change the script. Start a business. Get your hustle on. By how you sell the sizzle. Not the steak. Turn heartache into an escape. Have a Resume that rocks. Elevator pitch that wows. Shows you’re the best in town.

Good at what you do? Be a master blaster at doing what you do. By how you serve-up purpose and passion on a plate. Success secrets for doing you. Such that others might dig you. How you serve is part skill and part nerve. Wing it or bring it. So that the marketplace can’t get enough of it.

Executives would get golden parachutes. To leave quietly. Companies would give gold watches. For working a lifetime. Them days are over. The workplace is more and more like pro sports. You gotta brand your expertise. Stream your income. Reinvent your game. Stay relevant. Increase scores.

Burress could get jail time for weapons possession. Looks like a setback. Favre not coming out of retirement, again. His career’s entering a new season. Vick getting a second look. He’s poised for a comeback. What didn’t CNN show? These real life examples of another day at the office.

Hip Tip: “A free agent knows when it’s time to move on or up to bigger & better things in the workplace, or new & improved things in the marketplace.”

Blog Talkback: What should Burress, Favre or Vick do to show they’ve got the right stuff?

 Take this ?*@# job (or relationship) and shove it! Not to worry. Many have felt this way before. Career and business moves start here. Matchmaking too. Guess how? As just a side hustle. Going from hunch to the real thing. Step-up your game or blow-up your name? Channel frustration into invention.

Go to night school. Take a sabbatical. Work flex hours. Approach your hobby like finding a hubby. Jobs are like relationships. Sometimes you have to work on finding a better gig. Most times you have to work on self for a better match. No more drama at home or office? Turn passion into a money-making pipeline.

Coca Cola and the modern day Roller Coaster. Might have begun as experiments. Like how blind dates and affairs get started. Dot coms get loaded. Dreams get planted. Going from day job to play job. From idea to inception. Take it underground. Works for music artists and social networking superstars.

One wish for bliss? Turn fantasy into reality. It can take around three years. To get it right. Flush things out. Get past the fears. This could mean makeover or reinvention. Good for GM. And for M&M. Match lifestyle with passion at work. Or workstyle with your best life. Play job to dream biz?

Hustle and flow. What’s your brand? Niche? Delivery? Connect with the “who’s who” online and in primetime. Reinvention doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. Just make sure style and substance bump your salary. It’s how stars are born, dreams are made and rollers get paid.