Archive View (September 2006)

Life-changing ideas from Trump University's Entrepreneur's Success Code Many entrepreneurs nearly kill themselves running their businesses. They work such long hours that they experience no joy or true abundance in their lives. When they finally get fed up, their solution is often to limit the size or scope of the business. True, that reduces the demands that their business places on their lives. But their organizations are still out of control, only smaller. That is hardly a recipe for success. The solution is management, and that is a problem for many entrepreneurs. After all, we start companies because we hate that word. We don't more...

A unique, exclusive invitation for the students of Trump UniversityWhat are you doing on October 6, 2006? Are you free from 8:30 AM until 5:30 PM?I ask because it will be a day when you can literally write a new script for your success. On that day at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, an organization called The Power Within will host a formidable gathering of influential leaders. Better yet, you are invited. Trump University has arranged for special discounted admission fees for our members. But before I extend that offer to you, let me tell you who will be more...

"Prices of existing homes fell for the first time in 11 years and the backlog of available homes for sale was at its highest since current measures began, underlining the significant slowdown in the housing market." - "US Housing Slowdown Continues," by Daniel Pimlott and Michael Mackenzie, Financial Times of London, September 25, 2006. Over the last month, articles like the one have been appearing almost daily in magazines and newspapers. They tell us that we're in a slump, the bubble has burst and the real estate market is flat as a pancake. But if you look at that quote above, doesn't it say more...

Companies that talk to their customers succeed. Companies that don't, fail. I hope you are communicating effectively with your customers. If you don't know who they are or what they want, how can you possibly sell them your products or services? If you aren't talking to your customers, you have probably fallen into one of these traps: Losing attitude #1 - You are so pressured to get short-term results that you overlook long-term strategies. Of course, there are times when you need to generate profits quickly. But at some point, you need to understand your customers and market to them strategically. If not, any more...

You can give your next speech or presentation without fear While I was writing my book Good Stress, Bad Stress two years ago, my phone started ringing. People were asking me to do radio interviews, give talks at corporations, speak at churches and appear on regional cable TV shows. Man, was I in trouble. Why? Because I was a very nervous public speaker. And it was a very bad idea for me, Mr. Stress Expert, to appearin public with sweaty palms and knocking knees. I needed help, fast. The problem was, I knew from experience that the usual advice about beating stage fright did more...

There's good news and bad news in the war against drugs. The good news is that drug use among teenagers has dropped slightly for the third straight year. Less than 10 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 claim to have used illegal substances. The bad news is that overall, for the rest of Americans in nearly every other age group, drug use has gone up. Surprisingly, the demographic most affected is Baby Boomers. The use of marijuana and other drugs among people ages 50 to 59 rose a whopping 63 percent over the past three years. Anti-drug officials say that a lot of these more...

When you ask most people how much they are willing to pay for a property, they usually say something like, Well,the asking price is $275,000 . . . maybe I can bargain that down to $245,000. That's how they decide how much they are willing to pay for a property. And that kind of thinking makes no sense. To make sure you make a profit from every deal, you have to back into the price you will offer by working the numbers. First, Determine Your Estimated Sales Price This is the price you will be able to sell the property for after you have more...

When you profit in real estate, other people profit too. You've seen it on the evening news and read about it online. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. is pursuing plans to build a magnificent new hotel casino in Diamondhead, Mississippi. It might be as beautiful as the Trump Marina, pictured to the right.  Where is Diamondhead? It is located on Interstate 10, a little northeast of New Orleans on the Bay of Saint Louis. In other words, Diamondhead sits in the heart of Hurricane Katrina country. You've seen it on the evening news and read about it online. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. is pursuing plans more...

What your organization needs to compete in today's marketplace I've been thinking about Organizations lately. THINKING ABOUT THEM A LOT. I don't think that the new winners will be marked by a set strategy. I think that they will be marked . . . ABOVE ALL . . . by the Ability to Respond. To whatever. Whenever. So I've developed a new name/concept, which I think applies as much to the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security as it does to the Corporation. I call the new form of organization Itinerant Potential Machines. What that means is that they have a fabulous roster more...

Sometimes I can't believe researchers get paid to do these scientific studies. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars doing all this in-depth analysis and I could've saved them a heck of a lot of time and money. For example, recently, researchers discovered that when a man and a woman meet for the first time, men are more likely to think about sex than women. That doesn't exactly sound like a shocker, but I'm not so sure that it's correct. I've known lots of women and I think they're probably just as sexually oriented as men. Some women are highly aggressive and they more...

When people start businesses, they often hire staff when needed, where needed, with no strategic plan in place. Sometimes they are lucky and it works. But more often than not, it wastes money and hobbles the startup, as these typical scenarios show:Ready, aim . . . wait! A software developer sits at her computer for more than a year, developing a product that she plans to bring to market. Finally, the product is ready, so she dashes out and starts looking for a marketing consultant. Two months later, she finds one. But during that time, she is not making any sales more...

Many people believe that buying your own business is too risky. But personally, I think that putting your fate in someone else's hands carries far greater risk. Of course, there are risks in buying a business. But many of them, if not all, can be eliminated by doing your homework beforehand. If you follow these steps recommended by Richard Parker, professor of Trump University's new course The Art of Buying a Business, you'll be well on your way: Educate Yourself. Accept the fact that nothing you've done before has prepared you for the business-buying process. Even if you've handled corporate acquisitions in the more...

Million-dollar advice from America's top executive coach You've seen them. People whose personal magnetism makes them stand out and propels them up the ladder of success. But is charisma - that powerful personal magic that attracts people and success like a magnet - something you are born with or something you can learn? It's common knowledge, for example, that the late president John F. Kennedy exuded charisma. Yet historians say his style was so carefully rehearsed that before running for president he commissioned a study to determine the most effective handshake! Those who study charisma say while some people are innately more charismatic than others, more...

As you may know, my former Apprentice Carolyn Kepcher is no longer with the Trump Organization and everyone wants to know why. I had to fire her but it wasn't like one of my dramatic boardroom scenes. The fact is, I like Carolyn very much but she loved her fame and she loved her celebrity on The Apprentice and it was affecting her work. She wasn't doing her job like she used to or was capable of doing. So I felt that after 11 years together it was time for a rest. I told Carolyn in the nicest way possible, Go out and more...

Michael Sexton interviews Ricardo Bellino, author of the new book, You Have Three Minutes!Imagine yourself walking into Donald J. Trump's office, where you will have only three minutes to sell him your most cherished business idea. He's hurried. He seems uninterested. But your presentation is so compelling that he starts to listen. Then he smiles and offers to partner with you in your new enterprise. Sounds like a fairy tale? It isn't. It is exactly what happened to a Brazilian entrepreneur named Ricardo Bellino. In just three minutes, he convinced Mr. Trump to partner with him to build Villa Trump, the more...

Every day seems to bring more doom-and-gloom news about the current real estate market. Just two days ago, I read an article on Reuters in which Robert Toll of Toll Brothers builders said that today's soft housing market reminds him of the awful sag of the 1980's. That slump was so dire, it took housing prices more than three years to recover.It sounds dismal, but as I explore in my book Trump University Real Estate 101, which I wrote with Donald J. Trump, there are many ways to make money in any kind of market, hard or soft. Of them all, more...

With more employees getting shoddy treatment or worse from their employers these days, there is little doubt that it really is better to be the boss today. And for mostof us, the best way to become the boss is to buy a business. Within the last week alone, I have read three disturbing articles at cnn.com.In different ways, each one tells me that it does not pay to work for someone else. Let's take a closer look at the facts. Fact # 1 - You're Not Being Paid for Your ContributionIn her article, "Workers Lose Traction over Last 10 Years," Jeanne more...

Critical knowledge from The 10 Golden Rules for Buying a Business In my blog post of August 30th, I explained why buying a business can be the smartest step you will ever take toward becoming a wealthy and successful entrepreneur. Today, I'd like to take the process one step further by sharing more detailed information, drawn from the free special report, The 10 Golden Rules for Buying a Business, which I wrote for the students of Trump University. What are The 10 Commandments? Let me give them to you in condensed form: Commandment # 1 - Pay for the past, consider the present, but buy more...

Students at the College of Charleston can earn a new grade on their report cards this semester. Instead of an "A" or a "B," they can get an "XF," which is not a good thing. The "XF" grade means a student failed a course because he or she cheated. About 70 percent of college students admit they've cheated at least once at school. Colleges and universities are well aware of this dishonesty and are trying to do something about it. Duke University has a Center for Academic Integrity. The University of Georgia has created a new full-time position for a coordinator of academic more...

Life-changing advice from Trump University's course, How to Build a Fortune "You have to be positive every single day. You have to put effort into it daily, because no one else is going to do it for you." Get out of your own static comfort zone by moving forward with momentum and power that positive thinking can give you. Every time a negative thought comes at you, zap it. Replace it with a positive thought. That takes energy, but the result will be stamina - positive stamina, a necessary ingredient for success. Sometimes you just have to be tough. I use the example of more...