Amity

  Today I would like to discuss with you this brand new organization, hot off the block called Amity.  Many have never heard of this word, neither had I until I looked it up.  Wikipedia  defines "Amity" as friendship.  Other known definitions call upon it as harmony and peace among nations.  Perseverance Productions analyzes the many successful business leaders out in today's market.  If one wants to discover success, one may desire to analyze the other strategies that the most successful people have used to achieve their goals.

Success can be defined differently in many others lives.  Market research could easily show that if one were to produce a survey asking one simple question, "What is success?" there would be multiple answers.  Some clearly see that success is defined by the accumulation of financial wealth.  Others may define it as the vast amount of knowledge, used and applied.  My favorite inspirational speaker, Earl Nightingale  states that success is defined as "The progressive realization of a worth goal or ideal".

What Earl meant by this is that if someone had decided that they wanted to be janitor, and they set out on that track, and made steps in this direction, they are considered successful.  Anyone in this world progressing towards a goal, whatever that goal may be, is considered a success.  Failure is giving up.

Amity Inc. was founded by two young brilliant mothers who never gave up.  The challenges that they overcame and still do to this day, are a natural case of Nightingale's definition of success.  After much observation, I have come to conclude many thoughts as outlined below.

1.  They had passion. Not for the accumulation of wealth, but for the people.  For those hurting and in need.  Their vision provided no expected financial reward or return, but developed a bond of love that held the community together like glue.

2.  They had vision.  Doors open when one is willing to take leaps of faith.  Not all answers come when needed, but they always came when the time was right.

3.  They sought to understand that weakness in itself is a form of strength.  Admittance to their weak areas gave them power over competition because it was managed properly.

4.  They focused on their strengths and came to realize how light the burden is if there are many helping to carry the load.

These four small critical areas of this organization is what defines their core values and I expect great things to become of this now small entity.  Keep your eyes posted.  Below is a short video clip of one of the owners favorite leaders in the field.  They would listen to his words of wisdom before each day started while sipping over a cup of coffee.  This sort of inspiration could surely lead us all.

Entertainment Fitness Industry

  Today I would like to take on a new challenge.  This challenge resides in the entertainment fitness industry.  More and more each day, the fitness industry is clouded with multiple programs to help people loose the weight they so desire and to achieve personal fitness goals.  Some great examples of the the newest programs are with BeachBody and Zumba Fitness.  These programs are the newest and most innovative ways to stay in shape but while having fun.  What if there was an entertainment company that mixed theater with fitness?  What if everything that you learned in a fitness routine also sent a message to your viewers?

   The message could be anything from teaching values, to the struggles every day that teens have.  Other thoughts of theater would include utilizing props such as basketballs, jump ropes and chairs.  The music choice would have an impact on how viewers responded to the message and in turn, they could gather knowledge about a certain subject going on in the world we live in.  My challenge is this.  Gather a record of the best kept musical records of all time and make a statement.  Children from all over the world, woman, and men can come together and demonstrate what they want the world to see and know through dramatic theater and fitness production.  What's your message?

Successful Business Strategies

  As an entrepreneur myself, I realize the importance of an successful business strategy to infiltrate the market and surpass the competition by offering products and services where needs are not being filled. In this series of blogs, I will take you through many different entrepreneur's that held down their strategies, and rose to the top.  Not only will I focus on a series of large corporate being's but also the small little dainty ones that you may pass by along your path.

 I have a firm belief that everyone was placed in your life for a reason and there is much to be learned from just about anyone.  My own grandfather taught me things that I still consider and respect to this day.  The first person that I would like to talk about is Howard Schultz.  Who is Howard?  If you like coffee(like I tend to on a hot steamy day) you may pass by one of his coffee shops, also known as Starbucks.

I became interested in Howard Shultz and his company strategy back in 2004 when I attended as small community college a couple of years out of high school also known as Beal College.  I had a passion for understanding how organizations work, and his book called "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company, one cup at a time" also co authored by Dori Jones Yang.

Howard discovered in travels throughout Europe and especially Italy, the vast amount of small Barista's  that offered sensational smelling coffee.  He admired the romance of the coffee shop atmosphere and how those things brought together the community in the country.  His thoughts were swarming of how to bring that atmosphere back to the United States by the masses without loosing quality.  He developed this centralized system of management that has allowed the company continuous growth for years.  At once point he had left the company, but shortly returned as CEO to bring it back to life.  The internal issues were resolved by closing doors to many shops and reorganizing the company.  This strategy worked and the stock prices soared once again!

Some of the things that I gathered from Shultz's book included:

1.  Have a vision and passion.  This vision must be the big picture of where you want your company to be long term(5-10 years), medium term(2 years), as well as short term (1 year).  This vision can be broken down into many smaller steps which will be the goals for the organization.  The goals need to be measurable.

2.  Treat your employees well.  Howard wanted to ensure every employee felt a part of the overall vision.  He understood the concept of caring for them and gave them all health benefits.  Some of the most critical advice one can give is to learn to ask for help when it is needed and understanding one can't do it all by themselves.  Attached at the end of this blog is a short interview with Howard Shultz which explains how he started the company and gave much of his glory to his employees.

3.  Understand Change.  Change is crucial to the success of any company and in the words of John C. Maxwell in the book Developing the Leader Within You "Change the leader, change the organization"!(pg. 49).  Everyday other companies strategies change, new emerging technology as well as governmental policies can interrupt the daily flow of activities.  A leader in any industry must initiate the change, foresee the future, and anticipate how it is going to affect the organization.

4.  Care for your community.  Howard not only provided a service, product, and atmosphere for the community but in efforts to give back Starbucks built water projects, immunized children, and built schools.  These selfless acts of social responsibility shows the true dedication of Starbucks.  You not only see the results of Howard's efforts but you can see and hear his sincerity in caring for those around him.

I hope that you enjoyed this tidbit of information on this company which I have been curious about for years.  His book is well worth the read, and we can learn much from his business strategies to implement within our own company.

Meet the Entrepreneurs

Here you will find the newest updates on my current magazine of local entrepreneurs.  You will hear about how they formed their business, their challenges, their passions, and successes.  My recent interview was with a local import/export furniture company.  I am working on the final touches for his review and publication.  Thanks so much for visiting and stay tuned!  Many resources are available to new business owners and some of these ideas were inspired by Money Magazine and Entrepreneur.