by: Geoff Ficke

What is your definition of the word “luck”? Not the Webster’s Dictionary definition, your definition. Is it being in the right place at the right time? Picking the right dealer in a casino? Turning up at a party where you meet your current wife (could be good or bad luck)?

Entrepreneurs seem to be so lucky, so often. People see their success and attribute much of their good fortune to luck. What luck that they thought the idea would work. The luck of the Irish for old Doyle, don’t you think? It was his great good luck to file that patent when he did.

The passengers in life attribute so much of fate and successful outcomes to random luck. “Lightning strikes for others, just never me,” is a bromide that covers the view of people that are perpetually success challenged. The masses that think like this can not see, or comprehend, that luck has little to do with achieving real success as an entrepreneur.

In business, luck is created. Luck generally evolves from capitalizing on a risk taken. Entrepreneurs are not passengers: they are drivers. The drive to succeed and overcome obstacles inherent in attempting to create any new business requires drive, courage, and passion. Not luck!

This is not to say that luck never occurs and is not appreciated. It does occur and it is appreciated. However, when luck rears its happy face it is usually the confluence of hard work bumping into opportunity! If an entrepreneur accidentally bumps into a funding source while enjoying a latte tomorrow morning at Starbucks, is this luck or the result of a business proposition that is properly seasoned?

My experience is that entrepreneurs create luck by stirring a unique brew of personal qualities. Some or all of the following traits are obvious, in every success from the Wright Brothers to Mary Kay Ash. These qualities are the true ingredients required that make luck occur.

Confidence
Every entrepreneur is perpetually afraid. The fear of failure is palpable. They can not stand the thought of failure and will do anything possible to avoid it. The need to succeed is demonstrated in a confidence that they develop in their novel product, their ultimate success, and the benefits their product will produce for consumers. Confidence smothers fear. Fear creates inertia. Failures are always afraid, to try, to fail, to be criticized. The confidence necessary to succeed in a brutal marketplace is earned through hard work, study, preparedness and finding answers to obstacles.

We all have doubts. However, successful entrepreneurs overcome fear and doubt and grow in confidence as they master their task. The confidence earned is a great key to attainment of success. There is no luck involved.

Learn From Mistakes
My first sales manager had only three basic bits of wisdom for a youngster starting out on a sales career:
1. Make all of the mistakes you must, once!
2. Study and learn from each mistake you make!
3. If you are torn between choices, and face a choice that might lead to a mistake, make the most aggressive choice!

Everybody makes mistakes. Coca-Cola brought out New Coke and almost murdered a world famous brand. Merck was seriously harmed by the failure of the prescription drug Vioxx. What was the Ford Motor Car Co. thinking in 1958 when the Edsel was introduced? There was the matter of a President of the United States and an intern. Pete Rose has lost his almost certain place in the Baseball Hall of Fame over gambling.

The key is not the mistake, but learning from and not repeating the mistake. The only way we avoid mistakes (almost impossible in all but the most sedentary lives) is to never try anything new. Entrepreneurs are always going to try. The successful ones make aggressive mistakes, learn from their errors and this minimizes the probability of repeat errors.

A baseball player is considered a star if a .300 batting average is achieved. This means that failure is a result 70% of the times they bat. Players hate to make outs. No one could succeed at baseball unless they seek and obtain a psychological comfort zone that enables them to filter and balance the mistakes in making outs, and the positives they learn from making a base hit.
After an out is made, players can not wait for their next trip to the plate to get another chance. This is the way entrepreneurs think after a mistake is made.

Responsibility
A Congressman drives while drunk, crashes his car, hits a parked police vehicle and then claims amnesia. Did the dog ever eat your homework? The NBC television news magazine 20/20 has run several shows showing men using the internet to organize meetings hoping to conclude a sexual encounter with very young girls. The men, caught in the act, always deny intent, knowledge or responsibility. The top executives at Global Crossing, Enron and Adelphia scandalously bankrupted their huge businesses, costing thousands of employees their jobs and pensions and millions of investors lost their investment in equity in these firms. And yet, none of the accused executives knew anything about what was going on (they claim) inside their businesses while they were taking tens of millions of dollars in annual compensation. Responsibility is an endangered quality in a modern world that has embraced the psycho-babble of endless victimology!

If I was the Earth Czar, and could re-engineer one physical feature of the human body, it would be this: the palm of every human being’s left hand would have a small mirror permanently attached. And everyday, several times per day, we could look at the mirror and see the reflection of a man, or a mouse. Successful people, including every fine entrepreneur I have ever known, assume full responsibility for every decision that they take. The assignment of blame on another person, or an outside condition is a diversion.

As human beings we have the unique ability to make choices, free will and the ability to reason. These tools are denied every other form of life. A lion or a fruit fly operates solely on a pre-programmed set of instincts. A lion is nor responsible for what it kills. It is on earth to kill. However, if a person kills, they are solely responsible.

Entrepreneurs assume full responsibility for their success, and failure. The luck so many would subscribe to a successful entrepreneur is actually a manifestation of the ability to make reasoned decisions and abide the consequences of those choices.

Perseverance
Imagine a boy, dreaming of playing and starring at professional football, and suffering 10 years of indignity, disappointment and failure in trying to achieve this goal. After an average high school career, playing in a rural town with no exposure, he is not offered a single scholarship to a Division-1 NCAA school. He plays for four, largely undistinguished years at a small school in Iowa. After graduating, the National Football League does not draft him and he is not offered a free agent tryout. He goes to work in a super market and catches on with an Arena Football League team. The pay per game is $400.

Interestingly, his growing success in the Arena Football League over several seasons makes his name at least a point of conversation in one NFL office. He is scouted, thought to be a bit too old but maybe worth a test in NFL Europe. After one very successful season in Europe, he is invited to a NFL training camp. As camp began, he was listed as the fifth quarterback on the team’s depth chart. An injury to a quarterback, then another quarterback injury, and now third on the depth chart, he has realized his dream. He is signed to a contract.

Now the tale could end here. He is a real NFL quarterback. Goal achieved. However, our struggling quarterback has persisted and now that he has made a team he wants to play, and knows, really knows that he will be a star if given a chance. It takes another season, a few more injuries and he gets his shot. At the age of 28 he leads his team to a Super Bowl championship, is the league Most Valuable Player, is named All Pro and signs a multi-million dollar contract.

Kurt Warner, our quarterback, is the most unlikely of football successes. Every college team, every scout and every professional team missed on him. In a sport where players are computer rated, graded, tested, weighed, timed, quizzed and probed from high school onward not one assessment rated him a player of potential. And yet, he is one of the best players in professional football.

Perseverance can not be taught. Some people quit at the first sign of trouble. Edison tested over 1000 versions of the light bulb before he perfected his invention. Kurt Warner would not listen to the experts telling to get on with his life’s work and that work would not include football. He made his own luck through work, sweat, sacrifice and perseverance.

by: Geoff Ficke

Most of the entrepreneurs we interview in our consulting business have a very unrealistic conception of what excites and disappoints investors. The dream of many inexperienced inventors seeking to fund their opportunity is to build a substantial infrastructure. Their business plan identifies the need for factory space, equipment, staff, and many other fixed costs.

Investors want to see a plan that maximizes return on investment. High fixed costs are the enemy of a great profit margin. When business turns down, and it always does at some point, fixed cost assets become liabilities and must be continually fed, even as income declines.

Always present decision-makers with the most streamlined operations plan possible. Do not confuse grandiose staffing and equipment wants with actual needs. In today’s business climate, almost every possible service can be rented, leased, farmed out or performed by contract manufacture. A 25,000 square foot factory that is not running at 100% capacity is an under-performing fixed cost asset, especially if a private label manufacturer will provide the service at a competitive price. The cost to rent, power, insure maintain and staff the facility is ongoing and will be a drain on the bottom-line.

Investors want to see a lean operation with no fat or excess. They will always be open to adding costs as growth and sales traction begin to kick in. Initially, the entrepreneur needs to display that he or she will be a prudent shepherd of the investment required to startup the enterprise. Here are a few areas where fixed costs can be avoided and potential investors greatly impressed.

Facilities
An opportunity killer is a funding request that includes money to buy a facility, office or plant. No startup can accurately pinpoint the growth (or failure) rate of a brand new business. Investors will want to see a plan reflecting realistic goals and space requirements. This almost always means renting facilities until need demands a purchase of facilities.

Manufacturing
There are almost no good reasons for a startup to manufacture their own product. Possibly, if there is a very valuable trade secret involved, but not often even in that case. All contract manufacturing should include a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) as part of negotiations. Contract manufacturing is available and utilized in almost every industry today. Estee Lauder manufactures almost none of the many cosmetic or fragrance products they market. Liz Claiborne and Calvin Klein make none of their apparel. Ikea sells only furniture made in third world facilities.

All of these companies, and many more, realized long ago that manufacturing was better left to factories located where labor, raw materials and government rules were not stifling. These companies concentrate their assets on research and development, design, sales and marketing. So should every entrepreneur seeking to succeed in obtaining investment.

Sale
Every entrepreneur should be able to aggressively market and sell their product. However, no single person, or small partnership, can be in front of every customer that will potentially be interested in purchasing the product on offer. The investor will want to know that there is a sales strategy that offers an excellent chance for success.

In the area of sales, there are industry specific sales representatives: manufacturer’s representatives and agencies available to sell an interesting, market ready product, on commission, within their industry. Commissions are typically standardized within each industry. The gift industry is 15%. Food products are 3% and up, depending on the volume a product can reasonably be projected to achieve. Industrial products are 2% to 5%. Historic profit margins dictate commission rates.

When using sales agents, the entrepreneur should manage the sales force as if they were salaried employees. Weekly calls to review goals, promotions and upcoming meetings. Write letters and e-mails pointing out other agent’s successful achievements. I have used commission sales agents for many years, and recommend them to most of my clients.

I make as many key- account sales calls as possible with my sales agents. If it is my product, I want to control big presentations, even though I will pay a commission on the sale I have principally generated. I attend as many sales meetings as possible. The more I can meet, learn and know about my sales teams activities the better I will be able to motivate, train and energize them.

When commission sales agents do not sell a product they are not paid. This obviously minimizes fixed costs. However, you will want to pay the largest amount of commission as possible. Healthy commission checks mean a very healthy sales base.

As a very young National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care Products I was confronted with a problem. Our sales had exploded. Growth was so rapid and market acceptance of the Vidal Sassoon brand so overwhelming that our commission payments likewise accelerated to the point that my top management became upset when commissions exceeded their own salaries. “Don’t those guys work for us, why do they make more than the owners”, they asked?

I faced a difficult situation. I offered two options: cut commissions or fire the commission agents and hire a company employed sales force. I reckoned that if I could get sales coverage for 8% cost of sales (including salaries, benefits, travel, etc.), it would make sense to make the transition. Cutting the commission rate would displease the agents and I did not want to risk losing the excellent momentum we had developed.

Very surreptitiously and quietly I interviewed and hired a team of key regional sales managers and we quickly executed a plan of conversion that top management had signed off on. Vidal Sassoon was at the point in their business development that a company owned direct sales force was needed and justified. However, it was a concern as we were greatly increasing our fixed overhead.

Entrepreneurs should focus maniacally on sales growth. Sales are Job #1 in every company, especially a new venture! Be very careful in constructing sales coverage that will support the growth you project while not choking cash flow with a very high selling cost.

Marketing
Hopefully the entrepreneur, or a member of the management team, has marketing experience. If not, the answer is often to hire a consultant. An experienced consultant will save time, money and mistakes. Be sure that the consultant being considered has current industry specific experience, strong references and a transparent history of success.

Fulfillment
I never recommend for a new venture to handle their own logistics (warehousing, pick and pack, shipping, billing, etc.) Dealing with shipping, handling, conditions and the terms necessary to satisfy retailers is daunting. Big box stores such as Kroger, Lowes and Wal-Mart have exceedingly complicated inventory control systems. Special, very expensive software is needed to communicate and expedite receipt of goods.

On average, I can have my inventory warehoused, packed and shipped for about 4% of my selling price (depending on volume). If business is seasonal or slows down I do not have to pay high fixed costs, just a percent of the shipments total invoice amount. If business is booming, my contract fulfillment warehouse ramps up hiring. A good contract warehouse offers a complete menu of services that I can pick and choose from as needed. Their systems will be sophisticated enough to handle the most demanding purchaser of my product.

The first time reader of a business plan typically has a strong reaction, positive or negative, to the overall document. A negative result usually occurs when the Executive Summary contains references to high fixed costs. A positive verdict is more probable when the entrepreneur indicates in every way possible that they are solely interested in maximizing profit and return on investment, not building a colossal infrastructure that will bleed the enterprise dry if all does not proceed perfectly and assumptions are not realized.

by: Geoff Ficke

The 16th century was a time of amazing transformation in Europe. The Dark Ages were gone, the Black Plague had run it course and Middle Age fears and superstitions were slowly disappearing. The printing press had been invented and it was completely revamping the way people communicated. Columbus had discovered the America’s and the great age of exploration was in full swing. Medical advances, the Reformation, the creation of the great Italian banking houses and the Dutch trading companies had completely changed the way people thought, worked and worshipped.

And yet, there was one area in which there had been virtually no advance since the time of Christ: transportation. Horse or mule, horse drawn carts and boat were the methods of travel utilized to convey people, goods and foodstuffs. Travel was slow. It was uncomfortable. And, it was often very dangerous. Brigands and pirates faced little in the way of organized policing. A bandit pretty much had a field day during the period.

Of all the difficulties a traveler faced, the most frustrating by far was speed: or the lack thereof. As the great Florentine, Venetian and Genoan merchant banks financed warfare, fleets, crops, expeditions and colonization, they had to continually factor a risk premium into their risk/reward computations before settling on the interest to be charged on each loan. The slowness of receiving news of progress, success or failure on the status of an investment vehicle was agonizing to all parties participating in an enterprise. Did the fleet sink, or is it close to home with a valuable cargo? Has the battle been engaged, and who won? Was a new land discovered, and what did it offer in minerals or trade goods as materials for profit?

Knowledge is power, and speed provides the edge that makes this power so important. If I know today, what my enemy or rival will not know for several days, I have a decided advantage on strategizing to my advantage and profit. In the 16th century an industrious Belgian family developed the first international service to address the ages old problem of slow communication.

The Tassis family had obtained the rights to handle a rudimentary postal service in several Duchies in what is now Belgium. The service promised a decent living for the Tassis family by the standards of the time. However, they wanted to do more, expand and create a service that could become the international standard.

The Tassis family divided the work responsibilities between family members and had them disperse throughout Europe. The key to their success was a cohesive, standardized system of fleet horses, experienced, responsible riders, a network of terminals to change horse, rider and re-route mail and packages, and scheduled delivery times. Spain, France, Italy and Germany were little more than a polyglot of feudal city states during this time. There was no central government to handle a service like mail delivery that we consider routine today. The opportunity for a private company to organize and manage an international operation of this import and scale was a wonder.

The Tassis’ received contracts to handle the delivery of mail throughout most of continental Europe. From Naples to the Danube, and Gibraltar to Copenhagen, the family built a delivery network that managers at DHL, UPS, or FedEx would admire and recognize today. A treaty, legal contract or purchase order that took five weeks to reach Genoa from Madrid, could now be delivered in seven to 10 days. As the loads increased the price was lowered and this only accelerated the use of the service.

The family became rich, powerful and across Europe became members of the aristocracy. The name Tassis in the German language is spelled “taxis”.
Today, everywhere in the world, people call for a taxicab when they need to transport themselves for a fare. The taxi service created by the Tassis’ was an important part of the development of the Renaissance.

The Tassis are responsible for one of the most elemental and important service enhancements in history. The ability to accelerate the movement of important commercial, legal and governmental communications enabled decisions to be made more quickly and on a grander scale. The entrepreneurial innovation that the Tassis family introduced enriched their family, business, government and, most importantly, the working class that benefited so much from the rapid expansion of capital and trade. Even today, we can still learn from the historical record that the ability to offer a novel new benefit pays off in so many ways.

by: Geoff Ficke

At the conclusion of every sales presentation the salesman will have achieved one of three results: a sale is made, a sale is lost or valuable information is gleaned that can result in building a relationship. The third result can be called identifying the “hot button”. Obviously, the purpose of every sales presentation is to close the sale, and this is the only acceptable outcome any good salesman expects. However, identifying the hot button that will motivate a prospect to purchase can lead to a successful closing in a subsequent meeting.

The great salesman identifies the customer’s hot button by asking questions, listening closely to the answers and ferreting out the prospects true objections, pain, or fear about dealing with your company or your product. This is accomplished during the first meeting. Sales people never want to risk having to wait for a follow-up meeting to secure a positive result. Too many things can happen between the initial and second presentation, all bad.

However, realistically not every salesman is great, and the opportunity to re-tool a presentation based on data learned at the initial meeting can enable ordinary sales people to successfully close. Learning the customers hot button issue allows a sales man to craft a presentation that specifically addresses these open points. Not identifying and keying in on the hot button issues that are so important to buyers is the equivalent of commercial self- immolation.

Entrepreneurs must be able to sell. Golf, tennis, the trombone, driving, sailing, carpentry, indeed every activity is honed by practice. The same is true of developing crucial sales skills. You must practice, learn from mistakes, practice more and perfect a set of selling skills.

When sales people call on me I am always keen to hear the presentation and grade the effort. To say that there is a dearth of sales skills today is an understatement. When I experience a weak presentation I will cut off the presenter and tell them why they have lost the opportunity to have my business. If I am sitting through a weak presentation, but the sales person is obviously trying, I will stop them and give them pointers as to areas they might improve upon.

Invariably, not seeking, or discovering my hot button is usually the deal killer. I want to know how a product will satisfy a need I wish to address. What does it do for me? What does the product do that my current widget does not do? Is there a saving for me of labor, energy or maintenance? Does the item feature a storage, portability or multi-use advantage? There are many more features that might be relevant to my making a decision. It is the sales person’s responsibility to discover my hot button need and directly overcome my hesitance with a soundly presented response to each objection.

Notice I did not include cost in my list of hot buttons issues. Price is never, repeat never, an acceptable reason to lose a sale. Raw materials of like quality are price sensitive. However, a commercial product, technology or service should never be sold on price alone. The seller who touts a cheaper price alone as a reason to buy will not last long. There is always someone willing or able to sell more cheaply.

There is one exception I allow to my mantra to close every sale on the first presentation. I call this the “Naked Salesman”. In specific situations, usually when I need more background on the prospect than I can find in the marketplace (and this happens rarely), I go to the meeting as the Naked Salesman.

The Naked Salesman goes into the meeting with no briefcase, no bag, no folio and no sales collateral. This tends to disarm the customer. Sales people always appear as if they are ready to negotiate the terms and conditions for building the pyramids. The buyer always expects to be sold something they do not want and tends to build a barrier that the sales person must overcome.

Here is how the Naked Salesman might handle the meeting. Consider the following talking points:
• I am not here to sell you a thing.
• I simply want to learn more about your firm, your needs and how I can customize a program that increases your profits.
• My product (service, technology, invention, etc.) is too important to both of our companies for me to present without more knowledge of your application requirements.
• Can I borrow a pen and pad to make some notes as we talk?
Why does this approach succeed? Simply because the Naked Salesman has expressed more interest in the clients needs than the client expects. This is called relationship selling. The Naked Salesman wishes to customize a program that enables the client to enjoy features and benefits their product will provide. The classic armor that sales people utilize (brief case, Mont Blanc fountain pen, power point presentation, etc.) is replaced by a conversation. And this conversation is solely about what you can do to address the customers needs, wants and problems.

The Naked Salesman will return (with a briefcase, folio, sales collateral, no longer the Naked Salesman) enjoying a different relationship with the client. The return meeting promises the deliverance of a plan to address the stated hot button issues learned by the Naked Salesman. The psychological barrier so often placed between seller and buyer is greatly minimized or eliminated. In my experience the receipt of the details contained in the customized presentation is appreciated and anticipated by the buyer. The close should be completed after the presentation is completely reviewed, all aspects discussed and each issue of concern at the initial meeting fully answered.

Do not let analysis paralysis ever become a part of your, or the customers, decision making process. The sales person has a product. The customer has a need that must be discovered and addressed. The sale should then be closed as soon as possible. All parties should leave feeling that they received a fair deal. Over analyzing the market, current business conditions, industry trends, or hundreds of other paralyzing excuses are not countenanced.

I often ask the following question of a difficult customer: “If I could give you my product for free, would accept a unit”? The answer is almost always, “yes, of course”. My next question, “How would you use my product”? The answer almost always leads to the REAL hot button you could not pull from the prospect during the meat of your presentation. Listen to the response, adjust the close to address the answers you are hearing and then reopen your effort to close the sale.

Ability to close sales is equivalent to the performance of a MRI for your business. Selling is job number one. Answering objections and differentiating between real and phony objections is crucial to sales success.
The hot button issue is the key to concluding a successful sales presentation. Find the real hot button, answer it directly and watch your business expand exponentially as selling becomes easier and even fun.

by: Geoff Ficke

There is an old adage in the funding community: “Investing $1,000,000 to fail is expensive, investing $5,000,000 to succeed is cheap. Investors will respond to funding needs based on real world assumptions. They will be very cautious when assessing a venture’s real funding requirements.

Think of investment capital as fertilizer. If a farmer applies too little he harvests a poor crop or worse. Too much fertilizer and the harvest will likewise be disappointing. Experienced, successful farmers know their fields, their climate, crop planting patterns and their equipment. They will apply every pound of fertilizer needed to maximize their harvest. Investors handle their capital in exactly the same way.

I review many business plan submissions each year. It is amazing how many entrepreneurs can not identify, quantify or justify the investment requirements they describe in their business plans. This is an absolute eliminator in terms of creating investor enthusiasm for funding a project. This is one of the largest reasons so many plans never receive a thorough reading.

Often, the entrepreneur woefully understates the obvious funding level a new enterprise will require. The justification, stated or not, is usually that they are attempting to keep the needed investment number very low in order to create interest. They do not understand that there is no too high or too low investment number if the need for capital can be demonstrated, qualified and narrated. Investors want a crystal clear look at the use of funds and how they will earn an appropriate return on their invested funds.

Seeking a number in excess of the amount needed to successfully launch a startup is equally disastrous. Investors are not seeking to build a Taj Mahal before the first dollar of revenue is generated. Here are a few tips for building expense assumptions that will withstand withering investor scrutiny.

Salaries
Investors do not want entrepreneurs to starve. They also do not want to fund the lease on a BMW 745. Salaries should be based on sustenance requirements. Most investors I have worked with want their management teams to make enough salary to pay their bills and not place untoward strain on personal finance and marriages. Comfortable is fine, but they will not fund luxuries. Be very realistic.

Staffing
I often see plans with a list of proposed employees that resembles the list of animals on Noah’s Arc. Keep this area very lean. Use outside contractors, consultants, and part-timers to fill every post possible. Employees add high fixed costs to the budget. Salaries, benefits, training and equipment can be too heavy a burden for startup projects to absorb. Another no/no is a squad of vice-presidents. These are red flags that scream excess and will all but eliminate any possibility of receiving funding for a new business opportunity.

Facilities
Plan on renting needed office space on a short-term basis. If growth happens as planned it is always easy to find bigger premises. You do not want to obtain a larger space than initially needed to run the business in the most efficient manner. You will be using too much of your precious capital for an underutilized asset.

This may seem obvious, but you should read the business plans I do. Many entrepreneurs try to replicate the surroundings they enjoyed when they were corporate employees. Recently, I reviewed a cash flow projection that included an office expense for a daily delivery of flowers, and this was not a floral business. Investors are totally put off by expenditures such as this. Unless the office environment will be crucial to closing sales and making deals keep the space as Spartan as possible.

Do not load up the staff with numerous family members unless they perform an absolutely essential function. Just because cousin Myrtle has been laid off for several years, the focus of your startup is not to give her employment, unless you can defend her abilities and unique skills. Your judgement will be questioned unless you can sell Myrtle’s benefits.

The cash flows you project in your business plan will be in the red (burning cash) for a number of months. Your ability to secure investment money will be largely effected by showing how quickly the burn rate stops and the business starts throwing off cash. This is a point that you must be able to defend aggressively. Investors will be very dubious about your cash flow projections, and thus the level of investment you really need, not what you may think you need. The better job you do of vetting assumptions and supporting them with historical industry specific data, the more likely you are to win investors and their money for commitment to your project.

A business plan that does not show cash burn slowing, then stopping and then turning to cash flow positive during the first 12 months of operations will likely not be funded. Investors want to see quick sales traction. A plan that does not show growth quickly enough will increase capital risk and sour investors.

Whether you require $1,000,000 or $21,000,000 the business plan should be written to justify the needed funding level being sought. Too low, or too high, and seasoned investors will walk away. Think like a farmer fertilizing his fields during spring planting. He has so much land and needs to make every square foot produce the greatest possible crop yield. The farmer does not waste seeds, fertilizer, water, labor or fuel. He makes sure that the crop is tended with all due diligence and given everything needed to reward his efforts. Farming is hard work.

So is finding and securing investment commitments. There are thousands of projects on the street every day seeking investment capital, partners or license. The number of projects greatly exceeds the supply of available resources. Do not injure your opportunity by loading up your offering with excess, fat and dreams. Your pay out comes after you achieve success, and the investor has begun to see a return on their investment.