The “I’m Me” Theory

“Boy, I've got vision and the rest of the world is wearing bi-focals.” ― Butch Cassidy

All my life I’ve seen things differently. Where others see adversity I see opportunity. Where others see problems I see profit. And while this has led me to many successes, it has also led to many problems. Historically, when these “opportunities” arise and I share my ideas with those around me inevitable I am met with the same questions. “Hasn’t that already been tried?” “If that idea is so great why hasn’t anyone else thought of it?” and my favorite “If all of those other people have tried to do that and failed what makes you different?” Sometimes I answer these questions with a reply reminiscent of Condoleeza Rice’s testimony before congress. The reason being, that people don’t like it when I answer with the 3 word response that I prefer. “Because I’m Me.”

I realize how arrogant that sounds however, that is not my intention at all. I believe I am simply stating the facts. And if anyone questions your goals I would suggest that you do the same. Just because they don’t see what you see does not mean it’s not there. It means that they don’t have your eyes. Don’t let anyone project their fear of failure onto you. The reason you can do what you do is because you’re you.

If you are a better business person than most, claim it. And when people ask you why you started a business in “this economy”, you tell them “Because I can.” Everyone is capable of building castles in the sky, but only a few can build the foundations to support them.

Hustle Harder,

HNC III

What is a Righteous Hustle?

In light of some recent business decisions I've had to make, I've been thinking. Does the end always justify the means when one's intentions are good? Is it acceptable (more appropriately, understandable) for a convicted felon to sell drugs to feed his family and pay for his mother's cancer treatment? Is it ok for a stripper to use her body to send her kids to private school? More specifically, should I deal in an industry that conflicts with some of my beliefs for the sake of growing my business?

I while doing some research to locate potential clients for my mobile marketing services I found that the adult entertainment industry fits the client profile perfectly. They have a very specific target audience, an extremely limited number of advertising venues and very large profit margins and advertising budgets. Now, in the not so distant past I used to patronize certain adult establishments however in my ever-changing quest to "get my life right" I have tried to stay away from them. But the entrepreneur in me would not let me pass up an opportunity that could quite possibly grow my business significantly. So, I gathered my sales materials (text messaging statistics, cell phone usage info etc...) and started making sales calls. I had a few pretty solid leads and some very promising sales presentations, then it happened. I was talking to a family member who had invested very heavily in my company, in fact his investments were a big part of the reason I was able to quit my 9 to 5 and work on my business full time. After listening to me talk about the niche I had been pursuing, he explained that as a Christian he could not consider himself being a good steward over what God had blessed him with if he supported a business that dealt in an industry that conflicted with his beliefs. I understood completely after all, they were my beliefs too. But the problem was the entrepreneur in me had (and still does at times) a problem with "leaving money on the table."

And that is what led to my dilemma. Do I compromise my beliefs, walk away from one of my biggest investors to date and pursue the business in this niche? Or do I stick to my "moral code" and look for business elsewhere? Well, I chose the latter and while I can say that things are look up and I've made a little more progress in my spiritual walk I still have not seen the revenue I think we would have seen working with the adult entertainment industry. I'd like to believe that's because we're being prepared to see even more prosperity than that because of our faithfulness. I'll keep you posted.