MS Firms: September 2015

Tuesday 29 September 2015

7 Ways to Be Debt-Free for the Rest of Your Life

When it comes to money, some people act funny.

I was buying a new suit at Nordstrom yesterday and had a delightful conversation with the sales clerk. She was extremely smart--until she started talking about money.

"I don't know how people eat out every day. It's too expensive. I can only do it once in a while, but not on a daily basis. I'd rather cook." After cringing, I asked her, "Why do you say it's too expensive?"

She continued, "I have all these college loans. They just weigh me down. It seems like I can't do anything until I get out of debt. I basically have two full-time jobs and three kids to feed."

Thankfully, I paid off my college bill ($50,000) and credit-card bills ($50,000) with ease last year, so I clearly understood her dilemma. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to tell her what I'm about to tell you. I think it will make a lot of sense (or dollars):

You can't make dollars if you can't make sense.

If you keep thinking about debt, you will attract it. However, if you think about wealth, you will attract it, too. In short, you have to stop thinking about paying off your debts and think about earning wealth.

Related: 7 Ways to Network Like a Millionaire

Let me explain this concept further: When you think about debt, you're inviting thoughts of despair, poverty, and the feeling of being overwhelmed. This forces you to think about putting in long hours and makes you believe that you'll be paying your bills endlessly, which is a painful and miserable experience.

On the opposite side of the continuum of debt, you have wealth. Of course, earning money is a better experience than paying people whom you owe. When you focus on earning money, your debts will take care of themselves. Focusing on wealth leads you to have pleasurable, prospering, and powerful thoughts.

Here are seven quick tips for getting out of debt for the rest of your life:

1. Think About Wealth, Not Debts

Since you think about money every day of you life, you might as well have good thoughts about it. When you think about gaining money, you'll be more creative. If you think about debts, you'll die.

2. Pay Your Bills Willingly

The next time you get a bill, fine, or fee, pay it willingly. If you pay it painfully, you're admitting two things: 1) That money is hard to come by, and 2) You don't enjoy the services that you're getting.

3. Bless Everything You Have

Appreciating your substance only allows you to have more of it. You're basically telling the universe or God, "More of this, please." Take inventory of everything you have and appreciate it. You've got to take what you get to get more of what you want.

Related: The Secret Formula to Gaining Massive Wealth

4. Get Away From Broke People

There's a ton of people who will share their gospels about wealth. Stay away from these folks. Many people are charlatans when it comes to earning money. Seek richer friends instead. They'll help you get to where you need to be.

5. Don't Speak of Debt

Words have prospering power, but they also have poverty power. If you're sharing your poverty (or debts) with others, you're enslaving people with your thoughts. Instead, speak wealthy thoughts.

6. Go To Wealthy Places

Go and test drive a Rolls Royce and get the experience of a lifetime. You may even want to visit a few million-dollar mansions once per month. Surrounding yourself with prosperity will make your richer. You'll start asking yourself, "How can I get this?"

7. Buy Luxury Goods

When you purchase items from the luxury market, no matter how small it is, you will automatically feel richer. For instance, every week, I went to Pier 1 to buy gold forks. As I began to accumulate more superior products, my self-esteem increased, which affected my bank account.

Earning wealth is a more pleasurable experience than paying off debts, don't you think? After all, you'll be earning more money this way and enjoying the ride in the process. When it's all done, you'll have fun stroking big checks to the loan department. In the meanwhile, focus on accumulating wealth!

Private Aviation Company Wheels Up Raises $115M to Fuel App, Expansion

Wheels Up, the private-aviation company founded serial entrepreneur Kenny Dichter, has closed a $115 million funding round, bringing its post-money valuation to $540 million.

The round was led by T. Rowe Price, Fidelity and NEA.

Wheels Up, based in New York, is Dichter's second foray into private aviation. He founded Marquis Jet in 2001 as the first-ever fractional jet-card program, before selling the company to NetJets in 2010. He then went on to start luxury spirits brand Tequila Avion, before founding Wheels Up in 2013.

This company is different from other private-aviation companies in that it operates more as a membership club than traditional fractional-ownership models. Individuals pay an initiation fee of $17,500, then annual dues of $8,500, in order to be eligible to book flights, Dichter said. "That's a very, very big step to open up the marketplace," he said.

As a result, Wheels Up can attract younger executives who typically don't think of a private aviation, people in their 30s and 40s -- a "group of people who are going to be flying for a while," Dichter said -- as opposed to their travelers in their 60s, who have traditionally made up much of the private-aviation market.

That was a big draw for the investors. “Private air travel has been the domain of the ultrawealthy," Henry Ellenbogen, who led T. Rowe Price's investment, told The Wall Street Journal. "This is attractive to that consumer base and the one right below that, which is much bigger.”

Related: What $100 Million in New Funding Means for Ipsy, Michelle Phan's Beauty Box Startup

Just like Uber is less about the ride than about the app to book it, the startup community has been interested in Wheels Up's proprietary booking app, which the company developed internally. The app manages members' flights, by allowing travel booking, planning and access to the company's conceirge services. Part of the proceeds from the latest capital raise are going to increase development of the app.

Dichter said the plan will be use the app to allow ridesharing. For example, if a member books a flight from the New York area to Boston, other members would be given the opportunity to take that same flight, which would lower the costs for everyone. It will also allow members to see repositioning flights -- about 30 percent of the fleet's flights right now -- and travel on those, he said.

"It's social aviation," Dichter said.

In addition to using proceeds to enhance the app, Wheels Up plans to fund a further expansion in the U.S. to areas like Chicago, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest, Dichter said.

Also, the new capital will allow the company to enter Western Europe, with the first flight offerings scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016, he said.

4 Ways to Be Certain You Don't Order Faux Pas at a Business Lunch

Business lunches can induce anxiety, especially those high-stakes meetings with investors and potential clients. Good manners make a big difference in these meetings, improving the odds that the meeting will have good results. Whether you’re meeting with a longtime business associate, an employee or a potential business partner, it’s important to order carefully to prevent sending the wrong message. Here are a few things to avoid at your next business lunch.

1. Messy foods.

I have to admit that I was inspired to write this post after a lobster dinner during my most recent business trip to New York City. I was with some close work associates, so I didn't feel all that bad when my lobster became messy as I cracked and ate it.

I realized at the time that this wouldn't have worked if I had been dining with a boss or supervisor, however. It’s difficult to have good manners when you’re spilling items on your shirt or food is dripping down your chin. So, save that feast for a weekend meal with friends or the family. At your business dinner, stick with easy-to-eat items that you can cut into small pieces to avoid a mess.

While browsing the menu, consider the impact various food choices will have on your teeth, mouth, and fingers. Don’t order foods that will stain your teeth or lips and avoid anything that has to be eaten by hand. A business luncheon is the perfect time to put all of the utensils beside your plate to use.

Related: How to Navigate the Tricky Terrain of a Business Lunch

2. Disruptive foods

Skip all foods that take a toll on your digestive system. Business lunches can often drag on well after the meal is complete, which means you’ll want to avoid a gastrointestinal incident. This is especially true if you’ll be spending the time following your lunch with someone of importance, doing things like touring your local office or going over financials back at the office.

You should also avoid obnoxious lunch choices like fajitas or garlic-infused dishes. The odor produced by these meals can overwhelm an entire table, introducing a distraction that wouldn’t otherwise have been there. That odor may linger on your dining companions’ clothing for the remainder of the day, leading to an undesirable lasting impression.

3. Pricey menu items.

If the other person is paying, the worst thing you can do is order the most expensive item on the menu, even if everyone else at the table is doing so. Even if the other person isn’t taking care of the check, ordering showy, overpriced menu items can make you appear as though you’re wasteful with your business’s funds. This likely isn’t the impression you want to make on potential business partners.

Pay attention to what your dining companion orders and stay somewhere in that realm. If the other people at the table are having salads, it might not be a good idea to splurge on the prime rib. Conversely, if everyone else has asked for a pricey steak, a salad might stand out, making it necessary to perhaps order a less expensive menu item like grilled chicken or pork chops.

Related: Everything You Need to Know to Avoid Business Lunch Blunders

4. Alcohol

Alcohol is a tricky topic for business meetings, but it’s important to avoid getting inebriated during any work-related function. So many people abstain from alcohol for personal reasons, it can lead to an awkward moment if you order alcohol first. For that reason, follow the other person’s lead and only order an alcoholic beverage if he or she does.

If the meal does bring alcohol, order your usual drink and sip it slowly to avoid overindulging. If your client orders a second drink and you feel that you can comfortably handle it, go for it, but continue to sip slowly on the second drink, as well. One popular rule of thumb is drink water at the same time as your alcoholic beverage to avoid dehydration and improve digestion.

Rick Santorum, Republican, former senator from Pennsylvania

It's easy to forget that Santorum won 11 states in his 2012 primary matchup with Mitt Romney, the eventual Republican nominee — including the Iowa caucus.

That's because so far — despite the fact that he's the first candidate to crisscross all of Iowa's 99 counties this time — he hasn't been even a blip on the radar in the 2016 race.

He is facing much stauncher competition this time around, and he has not solved his biggest problem from 2012 — money. He raised just over $600,000 in the last fundraising quarter, the kind of money that doesn't bode well for staying power in a crowded field.

The state that provided his biggest win in 2012 — Iowa — also hasn't given him the same kind of love. Despite his focus on the Hawkeye State, he still barely registers in polling there.

National polling average among Republican voters: 0.6% (11th)
Iowa: 1.5% (11th)
New Hampshire: 0.3% (T-13th)
South Carolina: N/A

POWER RANKINGS: Here's who has the best chance at being our next president

Over the past month of the presidential campaign, we've seen more surprises (Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Bernie Sanders). And we've seen our first exits from the race.

Former Gov. Rick Perry of Texas (R) is out. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin (R), one of the strongest-looking GOP candidates early in the race, is out.

Meanwhile, a group of self-proclaimed political outsiders continues to shake up the races in both parties.

With just more than 400 days until the 2016 election, here's another look at who has the best chance of making it to the White House to succeed President Barack Obama.

Our rankings are based on the Real Clear Politics averages of national polls and those in the first-voting states of New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina. We also factor in candidates' fundraising prowess and their momentum (or lack thereof) over the past few weeks, especially after the second Republican presidential debate earlier this month.

Here's a look at where all the candidates stand.

Attract Customers Who Want to Buy: 7 Ways

Last week, I suggested to some contention that you could Do More Business with Fewer Sales People. One clear path to doing this is through inbound marketing.

Since HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan wrote the book on inbound marketing, it's no surprise they have a stake in seeing companies use it to its full potential. (UsingHubSpot software of course.) So it was interesting this week to see them release results from an in-depth survey of 3,339 companies and agencies, two thirds of which were not HubSpot users.

The about to be released 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report, (here's an exclusive sneak peak), shows that 58 percent of respondents are using inbound marketing. More important, 48 percent will increase their spending on inbound marketing this year. So it's likely that if you're not using inbound marketing techniques, you'll be competing against those who are.

The report also showed that companies struggle with measurement, and a clear definition of what inbound marketing is and isn't. Many have tried to classify some tools like blogs and SEO as inbound versus ads and direct mail as traditional. However I maintain that blogs, e-mail, TV ads, and any other marketing tool can be used as traditional or inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing is not about the tools you use; it's about how you use the tools.

Inbound marketing strategically integrates data, technology, content and intimacy to efficiently attract customers predisposed to buy, and often at a premium price. The survey results also confirm that inbound marketing helps consolidate and target fragmented audiences and generate resource efficient leads.

In case you haven't yet fully adopted an inbound marketing approach, I consulted with several inbound marketing experts to provide some best-practice tips so you can compete with the inevitable onslaught of inbound marketers:

1. Give Before You Get

Michael Brito, senior vice president of social business strategy at Edelman Digitalnotes that most ads don't take into account where a customer is in their buying process. If you just read a blog entry, getting an aggressive call from a sales rep is unwarranted. Instead, he recommends "giving valued content" so customers feel a benefit from your brand, and are more inclined to come to you when it's time to buy.

2. Build Your Own Audience Instead of Renting One

Jason Falls, vice president of digital strategy at Cafe Press, notes that traditional paid advertising involves essentially renting eyeballs or clicks. "With inbound, you're building the audience you need so you don't have to pay someone to go find them. At CafePress, we provide sharable, inspirational and humorous designs, images and quotes on our Facebook page. The people who enjoy those are people who generally enjoy the types of unique products and gifts we offer. So when we're ready to run an offer or promotion on $5 silly t-shirts or a low-price art canvas, we've gathered over 430,000 people interested in our type of products to present that offer to."

3. Replace Campaigns with Continuity

"Marketing used to be isolated events involving large-scale advertising and media campaigns, but your customers don't live on a campaign schedule," suggests David Carpenter of Connection Model. Continuous engagement is the new campaign. Successful inbound marketing can follow a customer through their entire lifecycle, from their first site visit, to the point they become a lead, through the sales process, and even after for repeat and referral business. Don't just go for one and done.

4. Go Above and Beyond Content

Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot's director of marketing and author of The B2B Social Media Book, says, "Content marketing is a critical component of inbound marketing, but it goes well beyond that to include an integrated system to optimize every interaction in your funnel." Use compelling content as fuel to stoke your inbound marketing fire.

5. Measure, Experiment, Remeasure

Data is readily available in electronic marketing so use it a lot. Measure everything you can and find ways to capitalize. For example, a study by Marketing Sherpa notes that lead scoring increases conversion rates by 79 percent. And HubSpot data based on their users indicates that lately most e-mail unsubscribes come on Tuesdays, while the highest click through rates occur at 6 a.m. Little numbers can have big impact so measure everything and adjust constantly.

6. Know Who You Are, Know Who They Are

Consumers want to interact with brands in a highly relational way. They want to believe there is a distinct YOU, know who YOU are, and that there is mutual respect and understanding between YOU and THEM. Develop buyer personas based on your customers' habits, buying behavior, and lifestyle. Then instead of searching for customers, help them find you. Put yourself in places they want to be, and invite them to come to you. Julia Roy, co-founder of WorkHacks suggests if you are clear on who you serve, you can serve them better. She points out: "It's counterintuitive at first, but you really don't want to reach everyone. Focus on the dreams and desires of your top customers and pay them special attention."

7 HubSpot's Senior Vice President of Sales and Services, Mark Roberge notes that the benefits of inbound marketing extend beyond your marketing department. "The best companies win with inbound marketing by deeply engaging and aligning with their sales department so both parts of the business are more measurable, scalable, and effective."7. Practice Smarketing

Creative, Free Ways to Attract New Customers to Your Business

DECEMBER 14, 2012

If you run a small business, you have so many wonderful and creative opportunities to stand out this holiday season and get new customers without cutting prices and margins to the bone. Granted, everyone loves to get a great deal, but the holiday shopping season actually offers several opportunities to attract new customers to your business.

Below are just a few ideas that you can use this holiday season to help your business stand out from the rest and create memorable experiences for your customers.

Put your advertising dollars in the hands of customers. With this strategy, you’re taking money you would have spent on advertising and literally giving it to your customer. So your advertising money walks back to your business in the hands of a new customer.

The best way to implement this strategy is to send a friendly letter to your local community. For cost-effective ways to do that, check out the USPS “Every Door” program. In your letter, tell them that what you are sending them is not a coupon, is not a discount—it’s an actual gift certificate that they can spend in your store. Then share all the great things you offer and encourage them to stop by.

This is a ridiculously profitable and successful strategy—yet few retailers have the guts to do it. I encourage you to give it a try.

Do random acts of business. This strategy is ideal for service businesses and professional service firms. First, take a hard look at who your customers are: What’s missing that you can provide? To get to that answer, start paying attention to the things your customers do and say. Then, find something you can provide that they need, and do it.

For example, I recently had a landscaper put a fire pit in my back yard. I had mentioned to him that I was going out of town during the weekend and wouldn’t be able to water the patch of grass they planted around the new fire pit. When I came back from my trip, I found the patch of grass watered with a little card tucked inside the door that read “Compliments from your friendly neighborhood landscaper.”

This was such a simple act of kindness (and part of the services he offers) that I was left really touched. This guy heard me and took the time to do something to maintain the quality of his work. When I asked him about it, he told me he had these printed up and gave them to all his employees so that when they heard a customer say something, or saw something that obviously needed some care, they could step in and lend a hand.

This isn’t just for landscapers—it's a great strategy for professional services firms as well. One of my clients is an elder law attorney who's very committed and connected to his local community, especially the nursing homes who often refer clients to him. A member of his staff used to work at a nursing home and knew that during the Christmas holidays there were residents who didn’t have family and wouldn’t get presents. This year she went out and purchased blankets and personal care products, and delivered them to all the local nursing homes as a gift from the law firm.

Doing something like this sets you apart because it shows your passion for what you do, your commitment to your customers and it allows you to feature your products and services.

Offer 12-days of your product or service. You'd be surprised at how few of your customers are aware of all the wonderful things your business does. This is why my “12-Days” strategy is an ideal way to have fun during the holidays while featuring products and services your customers may not have been familiar with.

Simply identify 12 products or services that you offer regularly and combine them into an offer with a special discounted price. Another option is to choose 12 days during the holiday season, and feature a free sample or experience of a new product every day. So if you’re a bakery owner, you might feature brownies on Monday and cupcakes on Tuesday.

Treat this program like an event. Promote it, tell your newspaper about it and get the word out any way you can. Give new customers a reason to come and try something new. If you run a local business, treat the 12 days like a party so that anytime anyone comes into the store, want to come back. (This isn't just for the holiday season, either; you can apply it to any holiday throughout the year.)

Run a product swap. Instead of ordering generic gifts for my clients, I purchase products from those clients and community members who actually sell physical products, then I give those products to other clients.

For example, I have a client who runs a special gourmet bread bakery and a friend who creates “conversation stones” that you can use as a game at a party or family gathering. I would give the conversation stones to the bakery and the bread to the conversation stone client. Each would receive a card and a note describing the other's business. I was blown away by how much my clients loved this! Another year, I created a set of baskets with all these gifts carefully combined—so that no client received their own product as a gift. This not only brought my clients joy for receiving a creative gift, they got to know and understand my business better as well as that of my other clients. Often, they became fans of each others’ products.

This holiday season, take the time to come up with some creative ways to tell your existing customers how much you care and use the opportunity to attract new customers to become part of your customer community. The tips I’ve shared here don’t cost any more to implement than taking some time to brainstorm what works for you.

4 Secrets to Starting an 'Idea Epidemic

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was wildly successful in raising awareness of ALS and brought in millions in donations last year. Yet there were no complicated communications strategies, no metrics communicated to local offices and no costly branding campaign.

Related: How These 10 Marketing Campaigns Became Viral Hits

The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral simply because we told one another about it -- and everyone liked the idea. We challenged one another to either donate or face a downpour of ice-cold water -- and most people ended up doing both.

Why did it work so well? Because it was a great cause, we all had a role to play, we shared what we had done and we wanted to be asked.

While most of us won’t likely be on the front lines of the next Ice Bucket-like promotional action, that experience was instructional: It answered the questions, How do we get others excited and interested in the next great cause? How do we get people involved in work that matters? How do we get them interested in the products/services we offer?

Sure, we can tell people about our Next Big Idea. But ideas spread organically only when people decide that they really want to join in.

Defining Business Marketing

8 Most Important Features of Business Objectives

1. Objectives should be understandable:

In order for a company to establish a business objective, it must first understand where it stands and where it has been. It then determines what its goals are and how it will attain them.
Once the objectives are set, it must be properly understood by the team members because it helps in proper implementation for achievement of the objectives.
The business objectives should be made in an understandable way. This helps in communicating your objectives to your investors, employees, partners etc. Without this communication of business objectives, it becomes very difficult to reach them.

2. Objectives should be measurable:

Objectives of an organisation must be measurable. Unless the objectives are set the organisation will not be able to compare the actual performance with the planned target. Objectives give the business a clearly defined target.
It also enables the business to measure the progress towards to its stated aims. To avoid this, organisation must state the objectives that are capable of being measured in terms of performance.

3. Hierarchy of objectives:

Hierarchy means level. Business objectives are structured according to its hierarchy. All the objectives are not equally important. It should be achieved according to its priority and importance. The most important objective should be achieved first.
For example:
In a hierarchy survival of a business firm comes first following growth and then the prestige and goodwill.

4. Multiplicity of objectives:

Business does not have a single objective. They are multiple in natures. The primary objective of every business is profit followed with customer satisfaction. Business also has objectives towards society that comprises of employees, shareholders, creditors, government etc. Business objectives are classified as organic objectives, economic objectives, social objectives, human objectives and national objectives.

5. Achievable:

Business goals must be achievable. The organisation should frame those goals, which can be achieved taking into consideration its capabilities and resources. The objective must be feasible enough to keep team members motivated to strive towards its achievement. While setting the objectives, the organisation must concentrate on the limitations also.

6. Objectives should be specific:

Objectives must be specific in terms of time, quality and quantity. Specific objectives help in the accomplishment of those objectives in the specified time frame and resource availability. If the objectives are specific it gives precise results.
Specific objectives help in understanding the objectives in the correct manner. Specific objectives help the firm to understand where they stand with respect to the completion of the objective.

7. Quantitative and Qualitative:

Objectives can be expressed in quantitative and qualitative terms i.e. volume, number or value terms, increase in sales, market share, rate of production etc. are the examples of quantitative objectives. Some objectives are qualitative in nature such as goodwill, worker's job satisfaction etc.

8. Flexible:

Flexibility means, 'that keeps on changing'. Business objectives should be flexible. It must not be rigid. Business environment keeps on changing. Therefore the objectives should be changed or modified according to the changing situation. The objectives must be able to reframe in the light of changes in the environment.

Saturday 26 September 2015

4 Secrets to Starting an 'Idea Epidemic

AUGUST 07, 2015

Related: How These 10 Marketing Campaigns Became Viral Hits

Why did it work so well? Because it was a great cause, we all had a role to play, we shared what we had done and we wanted to be asked.

Sure, we can tell people about our Next Big Idea. But ideas spread organically only when people decide that they really want to join in.

Here are four infectious behaviors to help your idea spread:

1. Think beyond yourself.

For an idea to take hold, your “why” must go beyond you and your business. To get other people personally invested, you need a rallying cry that speaks to a broader purpose.

Leslie Needleman, who co-founded The GEM juice bar (with Mary Kathryn Bass), started juicing when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She didn’t launch her Dallas-based bar just to turn a profit; she wanted to spread the message of how juicing and healthy eating contribute to a cancer-free lifestyle. This broader purpose is reflected in every aspect of her business, and it’s helped her build a huge customer base of die-hard juice lovers.

2. Communicate a bite-sized “why” that people can’t ignore.

A recent study by Microsoft found that the average human attention span decreased from 12 to eight seconds between 2000 and 2013. For an idea to spread, you must find a way to get people interested quickly. The best way to do that is to focus your message on a crisp, compelling “why” and communicate that “why” via a trusted source.

For example, just being on TEDx can provide point-of-view validation. Because TEDx is such a trusted source for clips detailing innovative ideas, your being featured there will warm up your audience to your ideas and lead them to trust and eventually spread them.

Related: iJustine on Creating Massive Social Reach

3. Find your early-momentum builders.

As an entrepreneur, you might find find yourself falling into the trap of self-reliance. Sure, the business and the idea are yours. But if you want the idea to spread, you can’t do it alone. Deciding on early-momentum builders entails more than simply building buzz. You have to consider which idea partners truly have the power to mobilize advocates on your behalf.

One reason the standing desk phenomenon caught on so rapidly and gained momentum, for instance, was that the media jumped on the analogy “sitting is the new smoking.” That phrase may not have been 100 percent accurate, but it was a succinct and terrifying justification to get up and move.

4. Make real connections.

These days, even pets have stories. Instagram accounts feature pets that need to be adopted, and people even take pictures of pets inphoto booths to capture their personalities and help them find homes.

This is happening because adoption agencies and SPCA International know that if you care, you share. By creating personalities and stories for these animals, these agencies facilitate a connection between the animals and potential owners and boost the likelihood that the pets will find homes.

These types of real connections encourage people to trust you, and are more effective for energizing and inspiring your early advocates. Grabbing coffee with colleagues or striking up conversations on an airplane changes the dynamic, from a one-way broadcast to an exchange of information. Plus, studies show, face-to-face conversations inspire more trust than does email or video conferencing. So, make your connections count.

In our hyper-connected, distraction-prone society, presentation matters as much as the idea itself. Start by thinking beyond yourself and refine your message to a crisp, compelling “why.” Then find those early advocates to champion your idea.

Even if your early-momentum builders live on social media, make an effort to have real, one-on-one conversations with them. You'll find that you just may have hit on the next Ice Bucket Challenge.

Related: 6 Epiphanies I've Had Writing Explosive Content

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