Archive View (January 2007)

You probably don’t think of your customers as expenses. But if you add up all the money you spent to win their business, you will discover how costly they really are. To win them, you spent a lot of money on advertising, salespeople, a Website and other marketing initiatives too. Customers are costly. In fact, many businesses report that it takes more than a year before a typical customer represents a profit, not an expense. What is the solution? You could go on spending money to win more customers - and you should. But you need to do something else too: You need to more...

  Have the guts to take on the toughest assignments  Ultimately, the reason that Marisa got fired last night was that she had annoying habits, like interrupting people, resisting authority and not listening to her teammates. It is sobering to think that just a handful of personal traits like those - probably invisible to her - were enough to end her Apprentice career.  But for me, the most significant lesson came when Surya left Kinetic, the winning team, and voluntarily went to work for Arrow. Arrow, you remember, had already lost the first three tasks this season. They were losers. They were sleeping more...

I was shocked after a recent task on The Apprentice, when a candidate resigned instead of taking her chances in the boardroom. After having a tough time as project manager - and knowing her teammates certainly didn’t like her - Michelle threw in the towel and quit.  I was amazed that she would throw away such an opportunity. She had a chance at catapulting into the business spotlight, a chance at a high-profile job in a high-powered corporation. Yet, she chose to throw it all away.  It’s a business lesson I teach over and over again: “Never, ever give up. Never quit. You more...

An exclusive first look inside Trump University’s newest book, Trump University Entrepreneurship 101  The term entrepreneurship leaves much to be desired. You have to wrap your mouth around the word, making creative pronunciation choices on three of the five syllables. Dictionaries define it as the startup and management of a business, with great initiative and risk, for profit.  But to me, entrepreneurship encompasses these three factors: Mindset, Actions and Process:  Mindset: Entrepreneurs go through the world continuously seeking ideas and opportunities that can be commercialized. They focus on innovating, doing things better, adding, creating, and delivering unique value to customers and to all more...

“The purpose of competition is not to beat someone down, but to bring out the best in every player.” - Walter Wheeler  One of the signs of a boom - or at least a boomlet - is that companies start wanting to drive their competition crazy. This occurs when “survival” is no longer an issue and optimization or maximization can become a corporate goal. However, the desire to do things to the competition can lead a company astray - or drive it to even greater heights.  Companies go astray when defeating the competition becomes more important than taking care of customers. When companies become more...

You’ll be glad that you stopped by today, because Trump University is giving away some of the most powerful marketing ideas available anywhere - information that can make your enterprise vastly successful in today’s competitive marketplace. Better yet, we are not giving away this information next week or next month. You don’t have to send us an email to request it either, because we have already given you all this information in recent postings on this page. In case you missed it, here it is for you. So grab that mouse and get clicking. Learn how to build your brand. (Trump Blog Post of more...

Talking to your customers is the real secret of career success  The contestants had a pretty simple task last night. They only had to organize sightseeing tours of Hollywood on double-decker buses. I could execute that task by myself in an hour or two, and I bet you could too.  So why did the contestants engage in such bizarre behavior? Michelle was trying to dodge blame again this week by refusing to make a decision of any kind. And Tim, once his team’s bus tour got underway, picked up a microphone and told a busload of nice-looking school kids exactly how John Belushi more...

The essentials of building a great staff  One of the keys to being a great leader is the ability to delegate. For some strong people, that’s not an easy thing to do. It’s often difficult to relinquish the reins because you want to make sure things are done correctly. Many people adamantly believe the adage, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”  But executives and managers and leaders of any kind are too busy to tend to every detail so delegation is crucial. However, in order to assign tasks to others, you have to really trust those who more...

Here’s a marketing strategy that’s literally too good to be true, because . . .   You can master it in an afternoon. It costs you nothing - literally zilch. It performs as well as expensive advertising. It is renewable, meaning that with just a little ongoing effort from you, it will keep producing good results.  I am talking about writing press releases. If you spend just a little time reviewing the information in this post today, you can achieve the results I describe above, or even better. Plus, you can get started today.   What You Need to Know   What are more...

  One week ago today, this blog ran Part I of a two-part, in-depth interview with Trump University Professor Richard Parker, developer of Trump University’s The Art of Buying a Business course.  In that interview, tackled many of the questions that need to be asked before buying a franchise. Today, Richard Parker talks more with Trump University’s Barry Lenson and brings the issue into even sharper focus.  Barry Lenson: If you own a business, you can deduct the costs of advertising, signage and other expenses. Is that also true with a franchise? Is there an advantage one way or another?  Richard Parker: The expenses can be more...

So you think your job is tough?  A new study in the Harvard Business Review estimates that 1.7 million Americans now hold extreme jobs. They define --extreme-- as any job that requires at least 60 hours of work each week, as well as all kinds of other work-related commitments.  More than half of the top income earners in the United States work more than 70 hours a week. Nearly half say they are working 16 hours a week more than they did just five years ago.  Not only do they work long hours, but these top earners have to travel for their jobs more...

 22 Vital Traits You Need to Be the Person at the Top   Be secure in yourself: No one makes you feel inferior without your consent.  Be in control of your attitude: Success in business is based more on mental attitude than mental capabilities Be tenacious: Nothing ever happens with one letter, one telephone call, one request.  Be continuously improving: Take risks. Mistakes provide some of your best learning.  Be honest and ethical: If you are careless with the truth, your credibility will be jeopardized when you are telling the truth.  Be sure to think before you talk: Think fast, pause, then speak purposefully.  Be original: Carefully observe what more...

I'd like to ask you a very basic question today: When you become an entrepreneur, will you know who your customers are? That's an interesting question, because there are so many ways to answer it. As an experiment, I asked our Executive Editor Barry Lenson to call three entrepreneurs and ask them that question. Here is what they told Barry: Entrepreneur #1 answered, --Well, I know who my customers are, but I have never actually spoken to any of them.-- Entrepreneur #2 said, --I have spent a lot of money on focus groups that told me what my customers like, and don't like, about my more...

Last night's episode taught important lessons about risks, responsibility and teams. But the most important lesson I took away was this: To get to the top, you have to make decisions Plenty of decisions were made on last night's show. Some were good, but many were bad. Let's take a closer look. First, Michelle made a non-decision. Early in the episode, she refused to make a decision about how to price her team's swimwear line. She obviously had ideas about what those prices should have been, but she clammed up and waited for other people to make the decision for her. She apparently more...

Recently, I took Britney Spears to task for getting a little too wild after she announced that she and her husband are separating. She's been constantly partying every night and she was photographed - more often than not - without underwear. Several celebrities have followed my lead and have chastised Britney for her behavior. Singer Courtney Love - of all people - suggested that Britney should stay at home more to look after her children. Former supermodel Janice Dickinson suggested that Britney should --buckle down and become a parent.-- Bette Midler even went so far as to call her names that I don't more...

An interview with Trump University's Professor Richard Parker Today we bring our readers the first installment of a two-part, in-depth interview with Trump University Professor Richard Parker, developer of Trump University'sThe Art of Buying a Businesscourse Should you buy a franchise? Does owning one offer a viable way to achieve entrepreneurial riches and independence? In this recent conversation Trump University's Barry Lenson, Professor Richard Parker brings the issue into sharp focus. Barry Lenson: Many people believe that owning a franchise minimizes the risks of owning a business - that there are systems, policies, and procedures in place that will minimize the hazards. So is more...

In my blog post this morning, I would like to confront a rampant misconception about marketing. It is that marketing is something that a company does - just another activity like HR, accounting, training or product development. I would like to blow that misconception to bits. Because marketing is not something your company does. Marketing is your company Nor is your company bricks and mortar, or even a Web page. Which leads me to another statement. Your company is your customer If you don't orient everything you do around your customer, you don't have a business. If you doubt what I am saying, let's consider the more...

--Secrets of the Self-Made,-- an interactive multi-media article on Forbes.com, offers a revealing glimpse into the minds of some of America's entrepreneurial billionaires. Among the more interesting information, for me, are the descriptions that these ultra-rich individuals share about their first jobs. (All data on the net worth of these men comes from the Forbes article.) Franklin Otis Booth Jr., an investor and rancher, started as an electroplater, making 65 cents per hour. Today his net worth is $1.9 billion. Danny Gilbert, managing partner of Gilbert & Tobin, fueled his entrepreneurial fires as a kid by selling homemade pizzas out of his family's kitchen more...

Only minutes into the season's first episode last night, Donald J. Trump stunned the contestants by asking them to build a tent in the backyard of his LA mansion. He hardly knew the contestants - they had only given him their names and professional credentials. He hadn't even divided them into teams. They were probably expecting a task like those that the teams tackled last year, like launching a new video game in a WalMart or planning a charity fundraiser. Instead, they faced a cardboard box packed with a canvas tent and tent poles. They looked as stunned and confused as steers more...

Lots of people have been asking me why I took such a harsh stand on Rosie O'Donnell. I own the Miss USA pageant and had a Miss USA who is a very lovely girl, Tara Conner. She had some problems because she was drinking too much. It was causing lots of difficulties but I decided to give Tara a second chance. She's right now in rehab and she's doing fine. Rosie O'Donnell, however, didn't like that I gave Tara a second chance. She went on television and the venom came pouring out. A friend of mine called and said, --Boy does she hate you.-- I've more...

Entrepreneurial wisdom from Apprentice finalist Andrea Lake We kick off our extensive coverage of the new Apprentice season with this interview of one of last season's top contenders. Be sure to watch the first episode of the new season this Sunday on NBC, 9/8c. On the last season of The Apprentice, Andrea Lake was the cool, confident, self-possessed competitor who made it into the final six. In real life, Andrea is a highly successful entrepreneur who had already founded highly successful companies before the showbecame part of her life. In this conversation with Trump University's Barry Lenson, Andrea talks openly about what she more...

If you are starting a new business, the day will finally come to stop planning and start interacting with your customers. That day is of critical importance. Ultimately, it will determine your success or failure. To get the most from that moment, I recommend an approach that I call giving your customers 100 percent of your promise, plus an additional one percent. How can you deliver101 percent of your promise? Let me explain. You start by answering this question: What is my promise to my customers? Let's say, for example, that you are starting a company that will install swimming pools. If that is more...

When a rabbi in Seattle demanded that the airport erect a menorah to go along with the nine Christmas trees already on display, airport officials decided not to get into any sort of holiday brawl.Instead, they took down the Christmas trees in order to avoid the threatened lawsuit.The rabbi complained, saying he only wanted to add a menorah, not take down all holiday décor. But airport officials were afraid that if they added one religious symbol, they'd be required to add symbols for every other religion and culture.In order not to offend anyone, they decided to take everything down. But they more...