Derek is one of my favourite authors because of his conciseness and how simple he makes life lessons seem. Has one of the more interesting entrepreneurial stories in creating CD baby, the first online marketplace for CDs, and now spends his time out in New Zealand responding to every email he receives (seriously, he responds to every email you send him)
Rating: 4/5
Know your personal philosophy of what makes you happy
Never start a business just for money
Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business
Success comes from persistently improving and inventing
If you present an idea to the market and it doesn’t work, get back to improving and inventing
Don’t say ‘yes’. Say ‘Hell Yeah’ or ‘No’
Make every decision according to your customers
Stay focused on helping people today
‘How do you grade yourself’
Little things make all the difference
Make sure you know what makes you happy and don’t forget it
Second time reading it
You cant please everyone so proudly exclude people
The best business plans are simple
Success comes from persistently improving and inventing, not from persistently doing what is not working
Don’t say yes, either it’s ‘hell yeah’ or no
Absolutely everything you do is about your customers
To grow a business, focus entirely on existing customers
Start by sharing what you know
Formalities like terms and conditions play on fears. Bravely refuse
Stay focused on helping people today
All great service comes from this feeling of generosity and abundance
Set up your business like you don’t need th emoney and it’ll come your way
Customer service is everything!
Imagine every customer that contacts you was your favourite rockstar and give them all the time in the world
It’s the tiny details that thrill people enough to make them tell their friends about you
If you find the smallest way to make people smile, they’ll remember you for that smile more than anything else
Once you become the boss, your opinion is dangerous because your opinion can hurt morale
Prepare to double
Make sure you know what makes you happy and don’t forget it
A business is a reflection of its creator. Be as unconvenitional, unique and quirky as you want
Pay close attention to what excites you and what drains you
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