Who's doing the hiring?

You work constantly at building your business.

Cold calling.
Shaking hands.
Meeting new people.
Facebook posts, tweets, instagram uploads...
Going to those events dubbed as networking events only to walk away with business cards from people trying to do the same thing as you are.

No one has any money.
Every one is working to build a client list.

You find a few clients from this networking, but you are on a hamster wheel. You are going no where. You believe this is progress.

Because BELIEF is all you have left.

Struggling to find enough money to put food on the table, you pretend everything is going well in fear that if the potential customer really knew what was going on, they would never buy from you.

No one wants to work with the struggling supplier!

We take any client who wants our product or service. Money is important and sales are the key to making it.

We find a client who is a pain in the ass.
They struggle to pay our invoice.
Their demands are impossible.
They are intimidating.
They are assholes, for lack of a better word.

A mentor tells you to fire them. You agree but it's hard to let go of that extra income. You worked hard for that sale.

But you didn't qualify them properly.
You qualified them on the basis of need.
Mostly yours.
Mostly financial.

In the service sector, a client needs to be qualified before you take them on. A client is no different than an employee.

In hiring an employee, you research them. You conduct interviews and personality test. You check references and make a decision. Most importantly, you find out if the employee is a good fit for your organization.

Most service sector businesses don't hire their clients. They allow themselves to be hired. By not being selective in their client recruitment, they turn their services into a hired commodity.

A commodity, by definition, does not have qualitative differences to the market.
The cheapest usually wins in the mind of the buyer.
The cheap buyer is usually an unrealistic one.

If you want more success in your client recruitment, don't allow clients to decide if they are going to hire you. You have to decide if there is a fit first.

The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who BELIEVE what you BELIEVE.

You are doing the hiring. Find clients who believe what you believe first.


If you want to find clients who believe the same things you do, I can help you with that. It's a simple process but not easy to do. It's one of the things we learn at Wizard Academy. You can reach me at ricknicholson@wizardacademy.com to find out more.

10 reasons why you should not get into business

I am constantly approached for my thoughts around business ideas, startups, and purchases. Most times, someone wants to make the leap from employee to entrepreneur. This leap is a difficult one. Although working for one self can be rewarding. If the motives and conditions are not aligned, the business will likely fail.

According to Michael Gerber in "E-Myth Revisited", 85% of businesses fail in the first five years of operation. There are many reasons for this failure but some of them are related to the person starting the business.

Here are 10 reasons why you should not get into business:

1. Business is tough. It will make your skin crawl because you'll not get enough sleep. You'll constantly worry about the next sale, next invoice, or the next payment. It's a constant struggle to balance income and expenses. And in the early years, you'll have to sacrifice both time and money for a potential dream. There is no guaranteed paycheque every two weeks. If you don't work, you don't get paid. And even when you work, you may not get paid. Your personal finances could suffer. You could lose your home, your savings and even your marriage for this dream. Is it worth that much to you?

2. No balance. There's no room for work-family balance in the beginning. This concept was written by a bunch of new wave hippies who sold hand made hemp figurines out of the back of their Westphalias. If you're going to start a business, you have a choice: have a really small business that you treat like a hobby and pays you as such or have a real business with help from others (employees, contractors, or partners). A real business takes full time dedication and commitment.  Are you willing to give up family vacations, weekends, and your evenings for this business?

3. Getting into business is NOT a career choice. It's a lifestyle choice. The 40 hour work week was developed by socialists trying to create more work for more people. A business is like a child. You have to care, feed and nurture it all the time. You don't take a day off from being a parent, when the kids aren't around. You don't take a day off from being a business owner, when you're not at the office. How much do you value your weekends, evenings and vacations?

4. People are creatures of habit. It is hard to convince them to switch to your new offering. They already have what they want, despite what you may think. The world doesn't need another business until you SHOW the world why you're so special. If you don't know why you are special or don't have time/money to show them, then how will the rest of the world ever know.

5. You get paid last. Every financial guru will tell you how you should be paid first. When you are starting a business, every surviving moment is based on your ability to pay employees, contractors, suppliers, landlords, and the government. After everyone is paid, if there's anything left over you can keep some for yourself ever keeping in mind that there's another round of payments the following week. There's always a reason to keep the cash in the corporate bank account, even if it means you miss your personal mortgage payment.

6. You need to be extremely strong mentally.  There will be times when you'll feel like a punching bag. Everyone wants something from you and you have nothing left to give. You'll feel small, insignificant. You'll feel like a poser trying to MAKE IT, when in fact you're eating cereal for supper because there's nothing else in the cupboard.

7. If you're looking for a retirement plan, don't buy a business. Although some businesses are very lucrative, retirement plans are for people with careers. See number 3. You may want to slow down as you get older, but there's no time for that right now. You're working toward a dream. The best business owners don't have retirement dreams. They have growth dreams.

8. You love to travel. See number 2. If you do an amazing job at running your business, you may have enough money and time to travel. But in the first five years, you shouldn't go far. Your business is an infant. Despite what systems you've created, they may not have been tested in your absence. Before planning that 3 week vacation in Italy, go away for 3 days and see if the phone rings. If you don't call the business and no one calls you, try going away for 5 days. Working up to the three week vacation will take about five years (even if you have an impeccable team).

9. You want to make more money. Money cannot be the driver for you to get into business. Money is a result of a job well done. If you work for money, you're a slave to it. You will struggle for a long time. If you work for a purpose, people will follow you with money in their hands throwing it at your feet to help them. If you're opening a business to make money, do yourself a favour and quit now. It will be difficult for you to succeed with that premise.

10. You will lose friends. You will be seen as weird. The exceptional are not normal. To be normal is to be like everyone else. We are taught to conform. To be successful in business, you should NEVER conform. It's what sets you apart from your competitors. You'll be alone and may lose a few friends along the way. You will be focussed on your work and you will miss some of those social engagements you used to do.  Some friends won't understand. They would never say anything, but they secretly want to see you flat on your face so they can justify their own decisions of conformity. They are not jealous. They are afraid they are making the wrong choices.

I'm the world's first DE-Motivational speaker. If I haven't demotivated you from getting into business after this article, you may be one of those fine breeds that deserve to work for themselves. Good luck to you and I wish you much success.


"No one wants to be average, but everyone wants to be normal". - Roy Williams

Precision decision

Making a decision is hard.

Not making one is painful.

The world rewards those who make decisions and eats up those who don't.

I had a boss who didn't like making decisions. He wanted to do the right things all the time. He analyzed a problem for months before making a decision. He preferred to take the big decisions to focus groups for their approval. He was in a position of leadership but he wasn't one.

He used focus groups as a crutch. He blamed the focus group for poor results and thus protected his job.

He was smarter than the average person. Very well read, he explained and taught the latest business principles to his disciples. I learned a lot from him.

Focus groups are not a good validation for any concept. 

There are two simple reasons: 

1. Perspective

2. Physiology

Let me explain.

1. Perspective

A person's expression of interest can be quite different than what they actually will do. They don't know they are lying. They think they know what they want, until it comes time to actually buy.

As a funny example, I owned two restaurants. When asked why customers chose our place, they talked about the healthy options. The top sold menu item had greasy bacon, greasy sausages, greasy potatoes, greasy ham, two pieces of toast greased with butter, with a couple of fruits as garnish. 

A buyer doesn't generally know what they would do until they have to do it. 

This is called Perspective. Without real conditions, perspective is biased, and probably wrong.

2. Physiology

Humans have two brains. The left brain is responsible for analysis and logic. The right brain takes care of intuition and creativity.

Great ideas are born and nurtured in the right brain. The left brain executes them in a methodical, engineered approach. When a great idea is shared in a group for analysis, the left brain goes to work trying to assess and predict its validity. It's not the left brain's job to assess creativity.

Similar to Perspective, Intuition cannot be challenged until you're in the middle of an important problem. That gut instinct cannot be summoned until it's time for immediate action.
Do you know what you would do or do you think you know what you would do?

Most of us think we know what we would do. Therefore, feedback on a hypothetical situation or product is purely speculation. Speculation boils on past experiences combined with future problems.

It's not wrong to get someone else's opinion, if you are unsure of yourself.
Don't blame them when things go bad. You are responsible not only for your opinions but the opinions of others that you decide to consult with.

Focus group consultation is dangerous.
Great businesses are not managed by committee.
Focus groups give feedback like a committee.
Tasks are handled by committees.
Not leadership.

Leadership is reserved for the bold!

We like working with the bold! If you are one of those leaders who are able to make decisions without the use of committees and you want help with your marketing, you can reach me at ricknicholson@wizardofads.com.

Advertising is exactly like baseball

You need to hit a home run on your next swing or the business is bust.

As a marketer, I don't like home runs.

In baseball, a home run is a high risk, big reward swing.
Three little singles can yield the same result.
Hits are easier to get.
It takes longer to get a run, but once the bases are occupied, more runs come much easier.
In baseball terms, this is called "Small Ball".

"Small Ball" is the best way to make the biggest difference in your marketing efforts. Search for little hits that continue to encourage a customer to buy from your business. Three little hits and you have a run (or a sale).

There are four bases in baseball, so why is three the magic number? In baseball, a player on second base is considered in scoring position. If the third batter gets a hit, there's a good possibility the runner can score from second base.

In advertising, three is also the magic number. A frequency of 3 per week is the objective. Frequency is defined as the number of times a person hears or sees your ad in a week. 3 times per week over a 52 week buy is 156 times. That's lots of potential runs from the customer.

Small ball.

Hitting a homerun is fun and exciting.
You're a star when you hit one.
It clears the bases.
Most home run hitters are also the strike out leaders in baseball.
The best home run hitter in Major League Baseball in 2016 was Mark Trumbo. He hit 47 home runs in 613 at bats. That's a 7% chance of success. He struck out 170 times or 27.7% of the time.

He struck out almost 4 times more often than he hit a home run...

Despite what some advertisers will tell you, home runs are hard.
Hits are not.
Hits come from the crafting the right message and delivering it to the right people at the right time.

The problem with hits is it takes time to be rewarded for the efforts.

Most businesses can't afford to wait. They need results now. They need a home run. Yet they swing with a weak bunt.

Most advertising campaigns fail because the message is weak.

No one can hit a home run with a bunt.

When customers come to me looking for a home run, I send them to someone else. I don't hit home runs.  It's too risky.

I'm evaluated on results. Striking out is not an option. So I don't try.

My goal is to hit singles... a lot of them... It gets better results, in the long run.

Flaws are your strength.

Characters are built on four points of a character diamond. The NorthStar, the Counterstar, the Flaw, and the Core.

The Flaw is the most interesting of the four. It is the one that most marketers like to hide.

Our greatest weakness as perceived by others can also be our greatest strengths in the right circumstances.

Let me explain by sharing a quick story. 20 years ago I was sitting in a Montreal alley, letting a complete stranger draw my caricature. Aline and I were vacationing in the city and decided to check out the artists. It took about 20 minutes to sit for him.  When he was finished, he showed it to me. Aline said it looked exactly like me. I didn't agree.

The artist took a flaw from my face and accentuated it. He made it the focal point of my profile. There was one thing I wish I could change. And he turned it around and made it the hero of my face. 

Most of us hide our flaws behind a mask in order to protect ourselves. Flaws make us self conscious. They remind us we are not perfect.

Every good character has to have a flaw. It's what makes them real, memorable and remarkable.

Luke Skyywalker is a whiny turd.

Michael Corleone is in the mafia.

Sheldon Cooper is socially awkward.

The flaw rounds out the character and makes them interesting.  Without it, the character would be flat and boring. 

Most marketers don't display the flaw. They hide the character behind a mask, trying to convince customers to believe in the message. Yet, it is the flaw where ALL the magic lies.

Just like with the caricature artist, the flaw brings out our uniqueness. Marketing is about getting in a potential customer's head. To be memorable.

If everyone says the same thing, looks alike and acts the same way, then there is no differentiation in the market. 

I want to know the flaw or the vulnerability of my clients. It makes it easier for their narrative arc to be believable.

If you're marketing yourself or your business, remember that flaws are equally important to your perceived strengths.

In essence, it is your flaw that makes you stronger...

If you want to develop the character arc for your brand, you can contact me at ricknicholson369@gmail.com.

Minimum wage legislation will decrease jobs (in the long run)

I don't work my best when someone tells me to do something. 

I don't like authority for authority's sake.

I willingly listen to smart people. I'll take their advice and apply back to my life and business.

But when someone says I have to do it, I try to figure out a way not to do it.

This behaviour has repeated on countless occasions to with parents, teachers, bosses, business partners, co-workers, my spouse, my kids, friends, and even government.

That's my crazy.

Conversations recently circled around minimum wage legislation. And why it was time for a dramatic raise for our less fortunate working class to increase their standards of living. 

I grew up in a poor household, so I know how that feels. I went to school with butter sandwiches that mom bought on credit at the convenience store.  I believe poverty is not a financial condition. It's a mental one. 

That's just me. 

Listening to the arguments for and against the minimum wage debate, something occurred to me. 

"When cigarette prices increase, more people quit. And subsequent demand for it shrinks!" 

And

"When a business wants to sell more of something, they put it on sale. And demand rises."

If this theory is correct, then as labour costs continue to rise, more buyers of labour (employers), find other alternatives through foreign workforce, automation, downsizing, and closures. 

The argument is not about greedy corporations. It's economic theory.

Here's what Jeffy had to say:

“I very frequently get the question: 'What's going to change in the next 10 years?' And that is a very interesting question; it's a very common one. I almost never get the question: 'What's not going to change in the next 10 years?' And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two -- because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. ...  we know that customers want low prices, and I know that's going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection."

If you believe Jeffy is correct, then we can expect corporations to find a way to give customers low prices. Labour costs are considered material costs in almost every industry in North America. As wages increase, so do consumables. 

The general public doesn't want prices to go up. Jeffy doesn't think so and neither do I.  If anything we want them to come down.

Manufacturing jobs left North America when those same jobs were a fraction of the price in Mexico and Asia. Other manufacturers figured out how to automate their plants, thus reducing workforce and remaining competitive.

Businesses are based on outputs and inputs. The employee who says pay me more money and I'll work harder has his pants on fire. 

Profits are marginal today in most retail businesses. The internet has helped marginalize them even more. Those jobs aren't in jeopardy, they are on the most endangered list. 

One friend owns a well respected pizza shop. He told me that he has a pizza special that has increased in price by $1.00 in 12 years. Considering labour increases, food prices and energy costs, it's certain his profit margin has shrunk on that special.

I don't like being told what to do. Force me to pay more for a labour hour and I'll figure out how to pay less through some other means. That's business and a thing called a "free market". 

Jeffy knows something about "free markets". He started a little company called Amazon.com. I'm sure you've heard of it. He's kicking Walmart's butt.

The cocaine of marketing

Imagine going to the doctor with no real ailments. But wanting to feel better, you ask for a prescription of cocaine.

Cocaine may solve a short term need but it has long term negative effects. Cocaine is not the answer. Proper diet and exercise is.

Discounting works the same way. It's never the real answer.

Yet, discounting is so appealing. It works so wonderfully well.
Put something on sale and customers buy it.
Sales spike.

Business is thriving...or so it seems.

Discounting is exactly like cocaine. It is less effective each and every time you snort it. The initial high is never as good as that first time. Eventually, customers don't even buy unless there's a discount.

Business erodes.
Profits sink.
Sickness prevails.

The retail industry has become heavily addicted to discounting.

In the battlefield of retail, businesses look for reasonable excuses to put another sale on the window. The traditional reasons to buy for Valentines Day, Easter, Summer break, Back to School, and Christmas are too far apart. Retail needs other reasons to keep customers coming within the two months of each occasion.

Those reasons feed the addiction. The addiction to looking for a sale.

Retail started advertising "Black Friday" deals about four years ago in Canada.

It doesn't make sense to me. Black Friday doesn't mean anything to Canadians. Traditionally, Black Friday is the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season in the United States. It follows American Thanksgiving, as the last Friday of November.

Canadian Thanksgiving is in October. Black Friday is just another Friday. The unofficial start of Christmas shopping in Canada has long been immediately following Remembrance Day.

In an industry where it seems like everyone is addicted to the same drug, it has become the norm for consumers to look for the deal.

And look we will.

Until someone gives us a better deal.

When consumers look for deals, there is no loyalty to brands, products or businesses. The sale becomes transactional.

No wonder retail stores close so frequently.
Their competitive advantage is based on price.
And price is always the easiest and fastest thing to copy.

In the words of Roy Williams, "Most retailers are twitchy little weasels".

My advice to retailers:
Don't be a twitchy little weasel.
Don't be lured in by the powder.
It won't make you feel better long term.
It will kill you.

Come up with a better competitive advantage.
And watch you're coke laced neighbours die off over time.