Life Unsettled

Age for an entrepreneur, how old are startup entrepreneurs? Are you too old or too young? A constant question always seems to be: “How old should I be? Am I too old?” I have a few surprises for you, both with examples, and some survey material.

Many Famous Startup Entrepreneurs began Later in Life

First, let me give you a few examples. Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s franchise, you may have heard, he didn’t start. Actually, he met the McDonald’s brothers when he was 52 years of age and that’s when he literally started with the idea. Wally Blume. You may not have heard of Moose Tracks Ice Cream, but age 57 was his starting time. Even though you may not know it, they are making 80 million dollars a year. The co-founder of LinkedIn was 35, that’s sort of on the young side actually. The founder of Curves was 40 years of age. It goes on and on.

Remember from Episode 01, an introduction to entrepreneurship and lifestyle success, the economic and technological change is a major reason to get a side gig or your own business.

Do you know that Martha Stewart was nearly 50 before she moved from the catering business into Martha Stewart Living and became that big magnet? There are even some people. If you remember the old TV show that had Justin Bateman on it, you’d think she wasn’t very bright. At age 48 she realized that some of the things that she wanted to do, she had to go back and she had to learn programming. She went back and learned how to program at 48. Vera Wang, she didn’t do her first dress design or any design until she was 39 years of age. It goes on and on.

Surprising Facts about the Age of Startup Entrepreneurs

Let me give you a few facts that you probably haven’t even thought of and that are really crucial for you to feel a little more confidence if you’re older and thinking: “Gee, what am I going to do now?” Remember the whole concept behind Life Unsettled is that if you’re a 50-year-old person then you have more years ahead of you than your entire adult life. Yes, living past 90 is greater than the 32 years you’ve been an adult, so plan on your next journey, plan on your next adventure.

A couple of little facts to help you out, too. What is the average age of an entrepreneur? It depends on where you are a little bit. It turns out in the United Kingdom it’s 47. For US, there was some research done by the Kauffman Foundation finding that the average age of a successful startup in the high-tech industry was actually 40. Yes, not 19, 20, 25, and all those years you heard, but the average age was 40. Gee, I thought they were supposed to be over the hill already for tech.

It turns out that high-growth startups are twice as likely to be launched by people over 55 than by people 20 to 34. Wasn’t it just a few years ago we were constantly hearing that it was the young people who were starting up all these neat, new companies? Yes, they may have started up Facebook and a few others, but a lot of the high-tech companies of today need a lot more breadth and a lot more in some other industry than a Facebook or something like that. Twice as likely to be over 55 than 20 to 34. I bet you didn’t know that.

Why Older Folks are Good Startup Entrepreneurs

Part of the reason I’m doing this is for you to think in terms of all the things that you have as your own experience, and in many cases how to meld technology. It doesn’t have to be technology. Vera Wing, that was designer. It can be technology melded with what you already know. The internet and technology have changed the world and they’re changing it very rapidly and continuing to change. Henry Kaiser of Kaiser Permanente, he linked together with a physician to form Kaiser Permanente when he was 63.

Colonel Sanders was Driven to Success at 'Retirement'

Harland David Sanders, yes, Colonel Sanders, you’ve probably heard that over and over again, he was 65 years old when he started his first little business. Actually, not a store.

Age for an entrepreneur, how old are startup entrepreneurs? Are you too old or too young? A constant question always seems to be: “How old should I be? Am I too old?” I have a few surprises for you, both with examples, and some survey material.

Many Famous Startup Entrepreneurs began Later in Life

First, let me give you a few examples. Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s franchise, you may have heard, he didn’t start. Actually, he met the McDonald’s brothers when he was 52 years of age and that’s when he literally started with the idea. Wally Blume. You may not have heard of Moose Tracks Ice Cream, but age 57 was his starting time. Even though you may not know it, they are making 80 million dollars a year. The co-founder of LinkedIn was 35, that’s sort of on the young side actually. The founder of Curves was 40 years of age. It goes on and on.

Remember from Episode 01, an introduction to entrepreneurship and lifestyle success, the economic and technological change is a major reason to get a side gig or your own business.

Do you know that Martha Stewart was nearly 50 before she moved from the catering business into Martha Stewart Living and became that big magnet? There are even some people. If you remember the old TV show that had Justin Bateman on it, you’d think she wasn’t very bright. At age 48 she realized that some of the things that she wanted to do, she had to go back and she had to learn programming. She went back and learned how to program at 48. Vera Wang, she didn’t do her first dress design or any design until she was 39 years of age. It goes on and on.

Surprising Facts about the Age of Startup Entrepreneurs

Let me give you a few facts that you probably haven’t even thought of and that are really crucial for you to feel a little more confidence if you’re older and thinking: “Gee, what am I going to do now?” Remember the whole concept behind Life Unsettled is that if you’re a 50-year-old person then you have more years ahead of you than your entire adult life. Yes, living past 90 is greater than the 32 years you’ve been an adult, so plan on your next journey, plan on your next adventure.

A couple of little facts to help you out, too. What is the average age of an entrepreneur? It depends on where you are a little bit. It turns out in the United Kingdom it’s 47. For US, there was some research done by the Kauffman Foundation finding that the average age of a successful startup in the high-tech industry was actually 40. Yes, not 19, 20, 25, and all those years you heard, but the average age was 40. Gee, I thought they were supposed to be over the hill already for tech.

It turns out that high-growth startups are twice as likely to be launched by people over 55 than by people 20 to 34. Wasn’t it just a few years ago we were constantly hearing that it was the young people who were starting up all these neat, new companies? Yes, they may have started up Facebook and a few others, but a lot of the high-tech companies of today need a lot more breadth and a lot more in some other industry than a Facebook or something like that. Twice as likely to be over 55 than 20 to 34. I bet you didn’t know that.

Why Older Folks are Good Startup Entrepreneurs

Part of the reason I’m doing this is for you to think in terms of all the things that you have as your own experience, and in many cases how to meld technology. It doesn’t have to be technology. Vera Wing, that was designer. It can be technology melded with what you already know. The internet and technology have changed the world and they’re changing it very rapidly and continuing to change. Henry Kaiser of Kaiser Permanente,

We’ve discussed many different topics. Here is a great real life example of overcoming adversity, which bring many topics together. This particular episode and its example brings in many different pieces that we’ve had in the past and shows a great example of goals, ensuring the drive to succeed; hitting a plateau, striving and obtaining super success – all of the things that most of us want to do. This also is why and where we stop.

Aaron Curry, one of the top linebackers entering NFL ever. You need to know why he failed and how he rebounded for your life lessons

Let me get on with it by first saying and introducing a football player, Aaron Curry. He was a tremendous athlete, one of the top prospects as linebacker for a long, long time. As an example, linebackers in general are not taken early on in the draft; there’s just so many of them. I think there’s only been four times, that somebody has been drafted as a linebacker in the top 10. He was taken number four overall. Let’s look at a little bit of history. It has nothing to do with football, except for the story which is really tremendous. His goal was to get an NFL contract and take care of his family. He defined well his major life goal. (click here about setting goals)

His Start - Overcoming Adversity

Here was somebody, started out, he grew up extremely poor. In order to reach the NFL, he would need to overcome adversity. His family basically didn’t even have quite enough to feed themselves. He got his breakfast and lunch at school, he was very underweight, etc. but he trained hard and he played football very hard. But he was very underweight. What happened was East Carolina was the only school looking at him. At the last minute, Wake Forest came in, liked him. Wake Forest came in, offered him a scholarship, and he was able to go. At Wake Forest he was able to gain the weight that he never had before. Why? Because of the training and the meal programs that they had.

Finally he was able to eat like a football player in training. He was able to put on the pounds, gain the weight, etc. What drove him so hard to do all of this? That dream of being able to get an NFL contract and of supporting his family, of overcoming adversity for his entire family. He had a “why” that was extremely strong and extremely driven. If you think back to one of the earlier episodes, that’s developing that overarching “why,” but you need more than that. How do you ensure goal success (this episode explains how to build your own drive to succeed)? He knew that if he did not succeed, he and his family would end up back in that situation. That image, that motivation is what kept on driving him to get into that contract where he’d be able to absorb and bring home the money to support his family.

Reaching His Big Goal

With the goals and with that drive, he exceeded and excelled. He was well-regarded across the nation, and was drafted number four by the Seattle Seahawks. That was in 2009. By 2013, he dropped out of football, he couldn’t succeed in the NFL. What happened? He got his great, large contract. He got the contract that took care of his family. His goals were reached, so he really did change the financial position of his family. They were now in a much different situation and well-situated with a huge contract. He was also far from home. Seattle from Carolina is a huge difference.

Plateauing

Remember I’ve talked before about hitting a plateau? What has happened, and what really is a plateau? Did that mean when he hit the NFL he reached his limit and was beyond his ability? No, not at all. What happened was he had realized his goals, he slowed down. He satisfied his goals that had driven him so far. The biggest enemy of success is success and losing motivation. The NFL, which changes the dynamics tremendously has more demands and nobody can just step in and do well. You may be a rookie, you may be slotted to be a superstar because of potential,

We’ve discussed many different topics. Here is a great real life example of overcoming adversity, which bring many topics together. This particular episode and its example brings in many different pieces that we’ve had in the past and shows a great example of goals, ensuring the drive to succeed; hitting a plateau, striving and obtaining super success – all of the things that most of us want to do. This also is why and where we stop.

Aaron Curry, one of the top linebackers entering NFL ever. You need to know why he failed and how he rebounded for your life lessons

Let me get on with it by first saying and introducing a football player, Aaron Curry. He was a tremendous athlete, one of the top prospects as linebacker for a long, long time. As an example, linebackers in general are not taken early on in the draft; there’s just so many of them. I think there’s only been four times, that somebody has been drafted as a linebacker in the top 10. He was taken number four overall. Let’s look at a little bit of history. It has nothing to do with football, except for the story which is really tremendous. His goal was to get an NFL contract and take care of his family. He defined well his major life goal. (click here about setting goals)

His Start - Overcoming Adversity

Here was somebody, started out, he grew up extremely poor. In order to reach the NFL, he would need to overcome adversity. His family basically didn’t even have quite enough to feed themselves. He got his breakfast and lunch at school, he was very underweight, etc. but he trained hard and he played football very hard. But he was very underweight. What happened was East Carolina was the only school looking at him. At the last minute, Wake Forest came in, liked him. Wake Forest came in, offered him a scholarship, and he was able to go. At Wake Forest he was able to gain the weight that he never had before. Why? Because of the training and the meal programs that they had.

Finally he was able to eat like a football player in training. He was able to put on the pounds, gain the weight, etc. What drove him so hard to do all of this? That dream of being able to get an NFL contract and of supporting his family, of overcoming adversity for his entire family. He had a “why” that was extremely strong and extremely driven. If you think back to one of the earlier episodes, that’s developing that overarching “why,” but you need more than that. How do you ensure goal success (this episode explains how to build your own drive to succeed)? He knew that if he did not succeed, he and his family would end up back in that situation. That image, that motivation is what kept on driving him to get into that contract where he’d be able to absorb and bring home the money to support his family.

Reaching His Big Goal

With the goals and with that drive, he exceeded and excelled. He was well-regarded across the nation, and was drafted number four by the Seattle Seahawks. That was in 2009. By 2013, he dropped out of football, he couldn’t succeed in the NFL. What happened? He got his great, large contract. He got the contract that took care of his family. His goals were reached, so he really did change the financial position of his family. They were now in a much different situation and well-situated with a huge contract. He was also far from home. Seattle from Carolina is a huge difference.

Plateauing

Remember I’ve talked before about hitting a plateau? What has happened, and what really is a plateau? Did that mean when he hit the NFL he reached his limit and was beyond his ability? No, not at all. What happened was he had realized his goals, he slowed down. He satisfied his goals that had driven him so far. The biggest enemy of success is success and losing motivation. The NFL,

Leadership comes in styles for varied groups and purposes!

I want to talk about leadership. Often you hear and you see a lot of things for leadership training or how to be a leader, etc. Just like everything else, just like in business you have many alternatives. There are many different types of leaders that have been incredibly successful in life. What I want to do is go over some of the differences. I’m going to point you in the direction of a particular blog post that was done that really does a nice job of showing the differences with some examples. Now, I haven't done research and analyzed all the other research in this area. This episode is just to point out interesting leadership styles, done very well. For you, it is an opportunity to understand that there really can't be only one type of training and there are different styles that will appeal to different personalities. I was particularly impressed by research done by one individual.

This all started because I was getting a lot of information and hearing a lot of statements that I really had trouble believing. Remember, I’m always asking: “Why? How? What causes this?” questions of that sort. When it doesn’t make sense, I keep asking questions. I ran across this article as I was researching ideas on leadership. It’s by Suzanne Vickberg, PhD, so Dr. Vickberg. She’s a Social Personality Psychologist with very good training. She also has done a great deal of research, statistical and otherwise that gives her a very nice measurement and characteristics that are attributed to four different types of personalities that are leaders.

I’m not saying that there are exactly four types of leaders. What I’m saying is this is what she’s done is good and should be motivational. I’ve also seen examples in other studies and other research of seven, or five, or something, and people make up different categories. What I like is as an example, something to show you that yes, you can become a leader. You don’t necessarily have to be an outgoing, dynamic personality. You may be somebody who has a completely different set of characteristics. You may be that mathematician/engineer that could still be a leader.

Let me first go through an overview of some of these and what they are, and some of the examples that she gives. As I say, keep in mind there are many different types of leaders, so some of these would in a sense turn me off or may turn you off, others are people that you would follow.  Just like we have different personalities, we have different products that go to different people. The idea of how to be a leader is a really loose concept because there are different types. Think of it very much like niche marketing or marketing across the internet. You can pick your industry, you can pick your market, and you will have people follow or buy your products. That’s what you have, in a sense, in a leader. It doesn’t mean that everybody in the world is going to follow you. It means that people that fit into certain norms or certain personality groups will follow you.

Forgetting training for a minute, let’s just talk about what compromises a leader. First of all, the four types that she mentions are a pioneer, a driver, a guardian, and an integrator. What does she mean by each of these? As a pioneer, it’s somebody who’s outgoing, somewhat adverse to detail. You know that person who stands up and is the life of the party? Think of it in that way. Spontaneous, willing to take risks, etc. Jump outside their comfort zone (see Comfort Zone). They don’t really seem to have fear. That may be good or bad in many situations. The driver style, what is the driver? Quantitative, logical, focused, competitive, scientist-oriented, so things that really are much more detailed. There will be many, many people that will follow that direction or leadership style. You can see immediately if you think of the different people who have been around you.

Leadership comes in styles for varied groups and purposes!

I want to talk about leadership. Often you hear and you see a lot of things for leadership training or how to be a leader, etc. Just like everything else, just like in business you have many alternatives. There are many different types of leaders that have been incredibly successful in life. What I want to do is go over some of the differences. I’m going to point you in the direction of a particular blog post that was done that really does a nice job of showing the differences with some examples. Now, I haven't done research and analyzed all the other research in this area. This episode is just to point out interesting leadership styles, done very well. For you, it is an opportunity to understand that there really can't be only one type of training and there are different styles that will appeal to different personalities. I was particularly impressed by research done by one individual.

This all started because I was getting a lot of information and hearing a lot of statements that I really had trouble believing. Remember, I’m always asking: “Why? How? What causes this?” questions of that sort. When it doesn’t make sense, I keep asking questions. I ran across this article as I was researching ideas on leadership. It’s by Suzanne Vickberg, PhD, so Dr. Vickberg. She’s a Social Personality Psychologist with very good training. She also has done a great deal of research, statistical and otherwise that gives her a very nice measurement and characteristics that are attributed to four different types of personalities that are leaders.

I’m not saying that there are exactly four types of leaders. What I’m saying is this is what she’s done is good and should be motivational. I’ve also seen examples in other studies and other research of seven, or five, or something, and people make up different categories. What I like is as an example, something to show you that yes, you can become a leader. You don’t necessarily have to be an outgoing, dynamic personality. You may be somebody who has a completely different set of characteristics. You may be that mathematician/engineer that could still be a leader.

Let me first go through an overview of some of these and what they are, and some of the examples that she gives. As I say, keep in mind there are many different types of leaders, so some of these would in a sense turn me off or may turn you off, others are people that you would follow.  Just like we have different personalities, we have different products that go to different people. The idea of how to be a leader is a really loose concept because there are different types. Think of it very much like niche marketing or marketing across the internet. You can pick your industry, you can pick your market, and you will have people follow or buy your products. That’s what you have, in a sense, in a leader. It doesn’t mean that everybody in the world is going to follow you. It means that people that fit into certain norms or certain personality groups will follow you.

Forgetting training for a minute, let’s just talk about what compromises a leader. First of all, the four types that she mentions are a pioneer, a driver, a guardian, and an integrator. What does she mean by each of these? As a pioneer, it’s somebody who’s outgoing, somewhat adverse to detail. You know that person who stands up and is the life of the party? Think of it in that way. Spontaneous, willing to take risks, etc. Jump outside their comfort zone (see Comfort Zone). They don’t really seem to have fear. That may be good or bad in many situations. The driver style, what is the driver? Quantitative, logical, focused, competitive, scientist-oriented,

I want to talk about getting business advice. Actually it could even be considered getting advice for life, life advice. Before I get into the episode I want to remind everybody that I’ve always said over and over again how you can learn from anybody and everything.

Be ready for Business Advice that questions and challenges!

I’ve given examples of how birds and other animals sometimes know how to raise their young better than we do. Why? Because they raise them to survive.

Taken that little intro in light, ignore the person, but I want to talk about how I am always asking: “Why?” I’m always wondering why something exists. “Why does it happen? Why did somebody do that?” Of course I saw everybody’s criticism in the comments when Trump’s cabinet went up and said they disagree with some of the things he says. A lot of people seem to be surprised. I don’t care whether you like him or not, this episode is not about politics, nor about anything Trump says or does. As a matter of fact that is the last time I need to mention him.

The idea was being surrounded by people that are going to tell you what they think and will be very happy to disagree with you, but you trust, like them, and have a good, strong feeling that they know what they’re talking about. It reminds me how important this is. Do you find yourself around people that agree with you? Stop for a minute. How are you ever going to learn? Add people to your circle that disagree, people with whom you can have reason discussions to better understand the cause and effect, the why something works or happens, why it should be done a different way than you thought. Then you can run your company better, perform better at work, or create a better company.

Just recently I explained to somebody what underlies the unemployment number. That understanding is in part crucial to your confidence in the future for your own investments and how the economy is going. The note I got back was a ridiculous rant telling me something political. I’m not interested in discussing politics, so if I recognize it as political, I stay away. Why? It’s a waste of my time.

Don’t get confused with what you do day to day. For example, Facebook posts, no matter what is said almost everybody seems to agree. Somebody can say the most outlandish things and everybody tells them how wonderful it is and they’re given compliments. If a friend is suffering, okay, maybe say all those lofty, nice, wonderful things. You’re going to visit somebody in the hospital, tell them how wonderful they look. But if somebody is about to open a crochet store in a major mall, do them a favor: Get them to evaluate the feasibility of that. Inside a company this is probably in general not a safe thing to do, so you may have to do the political thing and all the other things, but I’m going to relay a couple of stories that show you how important it is.

When I was at General Motors we’re all at a coffee machine one day and my executive director a couple levels above me asked a question by giving an opinion. One of those: “What do you think? Where I believe such and such.” Everybody there was agreeing, shaking their head: “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I disagreed. Everyone looked at me like I was about to be executed. He said: “Wow. I’ve been here 32 years at General Motors before somebody would tell me what they really thought.” From that moment on we had a great relationship and almost daily he had me in his office discussing or asking for opinions, ideas. He became a great mentor for me in business as well as analysis. I will certainly never forget Gene Steininger. He was a strong individual seeking the best business advice he could obtain rather than ego satisfying agreement. After all, he would be either taking action or recommending to superiors based on the business advice he received.

When I was leaving GM, Gene asked me, he said: “You’re already targeted and slated to be very high up in the company.

I want to talk about getting business advice. Actually it could even be considered getting advice for life, life advice. Before I get into the episode I want to remind everybody that I’ve always said over and over again how you can learn from anybody and everything.

Be ready for Business Advice that questions and challenges!

I’ve given examples of how birds and other animals sometimes know how to raise their young better than we do. Why? Because they raise them to survive.

Taken that little intro in light, ignore the person, but I want to talk about how I am always asking: “Why?” I’m always wondering why something exists. “Why does it happen? Why did somebody do that?” Of course I saw everybody’s criticism in the comments when Trump’s cabinet went up and said they disagree with some of the things he says. A lot of people seem to be surprised. I don’t care whether you like him or not, this episode is not about politics, nor about anything Trump says or does. As a matter of fact that is the last time I need to mention him.

The idea was being surrounded by people that are going to tell you what they think and will be very happy to disagree with you, but you trust, like them, and have a good, strong feeling that they know what they’re talking about. It reminds me how important this is. Do you find yourself around people that agree with you? Stop for a minute. How are you ever going to learn? Add people to your circle that disagree, people with whom you can have reason discussions to better understand the cause and effect, the why something works or happens, why it should be done a different way than you thought. Then you can run your company better, perform better at work, or create a better company.

Just recently I explained to somebody what underlies the unemployment number. That understanding is in part crucial to your confidence in the future for your own investments and how the economy is going. The note I got back was a ridiculous rant telling me something political. I’m not interested in discussing politics, so if I recognize it as political, I stay away. Why? It’s a waste of my time.

Don’t get confused with what you do day to day. For example, Facebook posts, no matter what is said almost everybody seems to agree. Somebody can say the most outlandish things and everybody tells them how wonderful it is and they’re given compliments. If a friend is suffering, okay, maybe say all those lofty, nice, wonderful things. You’re going to visit somebody in the hospital, tell them how wonderful they look. But if somebody is about to open a crochet store in a major mall, do them a favor: Get them to evaluate the feasibility of that. Inside a company this is probably in general not a safe thing to do, so you may have to do the political thing and all the other things, but I’m going to relay a couple of stories that show you how important it is.

When I was at General Motors we’re all at a coffee machine one day and my executive director a couple levels above me asked a question by giving an opinion. One of those: “What do you think? Where I believe such and such.” Everybody there was agreeing, shaking their head: “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I disagreed. Everyone looked at me like I was about to be executed. He said: “Wow. I’ve been here 32 years at General Motors before somebody would tell me what they really thought.” From that moment on we had a great relationship and almost daily he had me in his office discussing or asking for opinions, ideas. He became a great mentor for me in business as well as analysis. I will certainly never forget Gene Steininger. He was a strong individual seeking the best business advice he could obtain rather than ego satisfying agreement. After all, he would be either taking action or recommending to superiors based on the...

This episode is about feeling as the customer or to 'be the customer'. This is apparently very difficult for people, but we all know and have wonderful experiences as a customer. How come we can’t reverse it and feel so well by being the customer that’s in front of us or around us to have them have the feeling that they want to do business with us? At the end, I’m going to give a few examples of some good companies and one person as well. You can't understand customer perception without actually thinking as if you are the customer, i.e. be the customer.

First, what do we do and how do we learn the technique, or better than a technique, the ability and the inner feeling to know what a customer feels like when they’re in our business or we’re talking to them? Yes, you can learn how to 'be the customer' and understand customer perception (listen to Customer Perception, not Yours ). First, practice. Listen intently to what every person you are with says, whether it be a customer, a businessperson, or even your family. Try to go beyond understanding what the person says. You don’t want to just understand them. You imagine that that person is using your product or service. Imagine what they’re feeling like when you’re talking to them or one of your salespeople, or one of your technicians, support people, whoever is talking to them. How do they feel? Can you do it so well that it can be the culture in even a large company, let alone a small one? Most people even as an individual can’t attain this, but there are companies that do it overall and make most everybody feel good. You feel good just belonging or participating at that establishment.

It is important to “Pick up on buying signals.” is a phrase frequently told to people. Forget the buying signals, unless you’re strictly in sales. Even then you don’t need buying signals if you can imagine or picture the customer with the product. How you’re making their experience so that even you would feel good inside if you were on that other side of that transaction. Just focus on over-satisfying your customer, helping them internalize the feelings of the product. At the same time, this has to last so you have to truly maintain absolute integrity. Then you are building true trust. When you attain true trust, you will not lose them either as a customer or referral. Now, this doesn’t come easy. I’m sure of that, I know that. But at the same time, you can do it, if you can practice it. Practice it just by how you interact with other people in the supermarket, in line someplace, whatever you’re doing. Are the people around you positively influenced by how you act and what you do? That actually is great practice for how you treat your own customers and how you build your own company.

Any Size Company Can Develop the Culture to 'Be the Customer'

Starbucks hire people who believe in the atmosphere to create a satisfying experience

Companies often have cultures that are taught, and they hire based on that culture so that the culture is trainable and they hire the people who are trainable. That is right, trainable people with the right heart. One of the examples is Starbucks. Take a look at the way Starbucks’ employees act and their training. They only hire people that have that very strong sense of belonging and that want to make the person on the other side of the counter smile. What do they do? They also treat their employees that way. Every one of their employees has all kinds of benefits, etc.

Alaska Airlines. This is a great example, and I’ve used it before but it’s a great example in this case because you can use the comparison. How and why do the employees at Alaska Airlines, the flight attendants, the pilot, co-pilot, everybody, the ticket agents – why are they so nice? I have to say I’ve only had one person ever that I’ve ever run into that was less than wonderful connected with Alaska Airlines.

At the same time, other airlines you go in there,

This episode is about feeling as the customer or to 'be the customer'. This is apparently very difficult for people, but we all know and have wonderful experiences as a customer. How come we can’t reverse it and feel so well by being the customer that’s in front of us or around us to have them have the feeling that they want to do business with us? At the end, I’m going to give a few examples of some good companies and one person as well. You can't understand customer perception without actually thinking as if you are the customer, i.e. be the customer.

First, what do we do and how do we learn the technique, or better than a technique, the ability and the inner feeling to know what a customer feels like when they’re in our business or we’re talking to them? Yes, you can learn how to 'be the customer' and understand customer perception (listen to Customer Perception, not Yours ). First, practice. Listen intently to what every person you are with says, whether it be a customer, a businessperson, or even your family. Try to go beyond understanding what the person says. You don’t want to just understand them. You imagine that that person is using your product or service. Imagine what they’re feeling like when you’re talking to them or one of your salespeople, or one of your technicians, support people, whoever is talking to them. How do they feel? Can you do it so well that it can be the culture in even a large company, let alone a small one? Most people even as an individual can’t attain this, but there are companies that do it overall and make most everybody feel good. You feel good just belonging or participating at that establishment.

It is important to “Pick up on buying signals.” is a phrase frequently told to people. Forget the buying signals, unless you’re strictly in sales. Even then you don’t need buying signals if you can imagine or picture the customer with the product. How you’re making their experience so that even you would feel good inside if you were on that other side of that transaction. Just focus on over-satisfying your customer, helping them internalize the feelings of the product. At the same time, this has to last so you have to truly maintain absolute integrity. Then you are building true trust. When you attain true trust, you will not lose them either as a customer or referral. Now, this doesn’t come easy. I’m sure of that, I know that. But at the same time, you can do it, if you can practice it. Practice it just by how you interact with other people in the supermarket, in line someplace, whatever you’re doing. Are the people around you positively influenced by how you act and what you do? That actually is great practice for how you treat your own customers and how you build your own company.

Any Size Company Can Develop the Culture to 'Be the Customer'

Starbucks hire people who believe in the atmosphere to create a satisfying experience

Companies often have cultures that are taught, and they hire based on that culture so that the culture is trainable and they hire the people who are trainable. That is right, trainable people with the right heart. One of the examples is Starbucks. Take a look at the way Starbucks’ employees act and their training. They only hire people that have that very strong sense of belonging and that want to make the person on the other side of the counter smile. What do they do? They also treat their employees that way. Every one of their employees has all kinds of benefits, etc.

Alaska Airlines. This is a great example, and I’ve used it before but it’s a great example in this case because you can use the comparison. How and why do the employees at Alaska Airlines, the flight attendants, the pilot, co-pilot, everybody,