Paul Singh

A friend of mine called me out of the blue a few months ago, here’s how the conversation went:

Me: “Hey man, how’s it going?”
Him: “Great! Listen, I know you’re busy but I want to start a business”
Me: “Ok.”
Him: “Where do I start?”
Me: “Uh, what kind of business?”
Him: “You tell me!”
Me: “I’m hanging up now.”

First, let me say that I love helping people succeed. I really do. But for the love of all that is holy, please spend a second (or three) to make sure that you’ve got a useable idea before you pitch it to someone.

Ideas are worthless unless you can make them into something useful. Your most incredible idea can turn into a stupid one if the idea simply isn’t doable. I’ve had a few of these. Chances are, you’ve had some too.

What makes an entrepreneur great isn’t the actually greatness of the idea, but the ability to make it happen.

Image Credit: mskogly

Ben Casnocha wrote an interesting article on the six habits of highly effective mentees which is a great add-on to my previous post on goal buddies.

There’s no shortage of people hailing the benefits of mentors. There’s also ample advice on how to find mentors. Few talk about what to do once you’ve made contact with someone who wants to help you. You sit down to lunch with a potential mentor. What do you say? How do you act? How frequently do you follow up, especially if the person is busy and important?

Before you reach out to your goal buddy (you have one now, right?), make sure you keep a few things in mind (head over to main article to learn more about each):

1. It’s all about the questions you ask.
2. Have strong beliefs, weakly held.
3. Have a long term perspective.
4. Be open to topics not on your short term agenda.
5. Follow up by showing interest in them (at least four times a year).
6. Don’t make the mentor do the work.

Most importantly, don’t disrespect your mentor’s time. If they’re good enough to make you want them as your mentor, they’ve probably got a pretty busy schedule. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a call from a mentee that starts something like, “Hi, I’ve got a quick question for you!” There’s no such thing as a quick question - just don’t do it.

The best people I’ve ever mentored have been very good at sending me an email to schedule time for their questions. Once we’ve set that expectation of each other, I know that any random calls I get from this person is either going to be a simple “Hi, how’s it going?” or a real emergency.

The point is that your mentor wants to help you - do yourself (and your mentor) a favor by working with his schedule.

My first job was at a Papa John’s Pizza in northern Virginia. Not only was making pizzas the only employment available to me, it was my favorite food at the time. What better way to make my first few paychecks?

It’s All About the Process
On my first day, each new employee would get a manual - a freakin’ MANUAL. This thing contained exact measurements, diagrams, pictures and clear instructions on how to wear your uniform, talk to customers, make the pizza, clean the oven and anything else you can think of. Damn, these guys were killing my individuality - I was about to become Papa John himself.

I quickly ramped up and was able to make pizzas, dispatch drivers and take orders within two weeks. I learned how to have a little fun and make some tips off of customers. I could smell the sauce and tell if it was made properly - I was that good.

Fair Pay? Eat Your Weight in Pizza
Did I mention I was paid nearly minimum wage? If I recall it was about $7.00 an hour. I could expect to make good money if I was willing to spend all my non-studying hours there at the store. Don’t get me wrong, it was good money for my first job but definitely an eye-opener.

The food was free – all we could eat.

Quitters Sometimes Win
By the end of the summer, I had decided to retire from pizza-making and move on to something else. It was time to move on to non-commission sales at Best Buy. The work was less time consuming and I got paid a little more. I now began learning how to talk to customers and had a tiny bit of free time to plan my next ventures.

What did I learn during my pizza-making days?

• If you can package what you do into a process, you can teach it to others.
• The guy who made the process gets paid a lot while the people performing the process got paid shit.
• It’s important to be looking for the next thing - no job is forever and once you’ve learned everything at your current place, it’s time to move on.

What lessons did you learn in your early jobs?

Image Credit: Joel Cook