Little did I know, I would be staying at another one a few weeks later. Funny how life works like that. You never do something, and then all of a sudden you’re doing it often. (I’ll tell you how this all came to be at the end of this post.)

As I said before, I’m a simple man. I’m not familiar with the typical luxury hotel crowd. But as I soon discovered when I arrived at the St. Regis Bahia Beach resort in Puerto Rico, there are all sorts of successful entrepreneurs and business executives at these places.

And guess what? You can learn a lot from these people.

Here are a handful of lessons that I learned during my brief stay. If you’re looking to build a successful business (or just make smarter decisions in the near future), I think these 5 lessons that I learned could help you as well.

1. There is no one “best life”.

There were people from many different walks of life at this resort. Entrepreneurs, athletes, rich kids, business managers, lowly bloggers.

If you would love to travel to different countries and stay in fancy places, there are a lot of ways to get there.

Just because your friends are all going into finance, doesn’t mean you have to do so. Just because your peers are focused on getting a promotion, doesn’t mean you can’t break off and do your own thing. Just because you’ve had a career in one industry, doesn’t mean you can’t switch to another.

There are many paths to greatness. The important thing is that you walk one of them.

Related note: as I sat on the beach and enjoyed my time in the sun, I realized that I’ve had many other wonderful experiences that had nothing to do with a luxury resort. Some of the best moments of my life have been incredibly simple. So the idea that “there is no one best life” extends to your goals and experiences as well.

Just because society puts money and wealth and fame on a pedestal doesn’t mean that you need to go chasing it. You can choose your own route to happiness just as easily as you can choose your own career.

2. Gratefulness is the key to happiness.

There was a funny moment that happened after I ate dinner one night. This resort is so snazzy that it sends golf carts to pick you up and take you back to your room (you know, because walking isn’t an option).

Well, the golf cart was late and this one guy wasn’t happy. He was cursing and pacing and yelling about how much money he spent to stay there.

Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t have to pay for my room, so perhaps my mind was in a different place than his. However, the fact that he could afford to stay there means he has more resources, opportunity, and wealth than 99% of people in the world. Why not be grateful for that?

Why not take the long walk back to the room (it would have been about 15 minutes) and enjoy the stroll with your wife? Why not appreciate the few moments you have in this beautiful place? Why not think back on what you did to get here and be proud of the accomplishments you’ve enjoyed?

Here’s the real kicker though: we ALL do this in our daily lives.

We all take opportunities for granted. We all complain when we could live in the moment. We all forget how lucky we are to be here and to simply be alive.

Recently, I heard about a set of interviews that a nurse did with people who were on their death bed. She said, “So often we don’t realize the opportunity that our health gives us until it’s taken away.”

You are alive and that is not insignificant. Be grateful.

3. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

Want to be unhappy?

Compare your life to everyone around you. Measure your success by what your neighbor, your friends, your co–workers, your competition, and the rest of the world is doing. Make everything a race.

I’m starting to find more and more that comparison is useless. Not only that, it’s one of the biggest drivers of unhappiness.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still guilty of it. But I’m working to get better.

In a resort filled with successful people, you would hope that everyone would take a breath and celebrate their success. But instead you see each patron trying to out do the next. You roll up in a BMW, the next person rolls up in a Ferrari.

There’s nothing wrong with doing great things for yourself, but do it for you and not to win some imaginary competition.

4. Do things you can sustain.

I saw a few families at the resort and I started thinking about how long it would take my family to save for a trip like this and bring everyone down to this resort in Puerto Rico. “Probably 10 years,” I thought.

For a moment I was impressed by the thought of that kind of financial discipline and saving, but then I remembered that many people would just rack up a bunch of credit card debt to have the trip of a lifetime.

As I’ve hinted many times in this article already, you can find happiness in a wide range of lifestyles. There’s no need to rack up debt or buy things that you can’t afford in some attempt to purchase joy.

This idea of doing things you can sustain extends to other areas of life as well:

• Ignoring your friends or family once or twice might be fine, but if you don’t keep contact then you’ll never stay connected. Socialize in a way that you can sustain.
• Pulling an all–nighter once might be alright, but forcing yourself to work hard while running on empty isn’t going to work for very long. Work in a way you can sustain.
• Relaxing for a day is great, but if you live a sedentary lifestyle, then you’ll gain weight and die sooner. Life a life you can sustain by moving and exercising more.

5. Don’t cheat your goals.

If you’re not as wealthy or successful as someone else, then I think the tendency is to assume that this other person had some stroke of luck that you didn’t have.

In reality, I think that’s rarely the case. The truth of the matter is that almost all of us start in the same place: no money, no contacts, no experience.

The difference is that some people decide to go for bold things anyway, despite the lack of resources. This may be in stark contrast to what you’ve been told for most of your life (i.e. “Be reasonable.”).

What I’m starting to discover is that there are so many people trying to be “reasonable” that going for an average goal actually has much more competition than going for a major goal.

Don’t cheat yourself. Go for something big. You just might find it easier to achieve anyway.

Would you like to stay at a luxury hotel?

As you may know, American Express and Starwood Hotels are official sponsors of Passive Panda, which is how I ended up at the Bahia Beach resort. I had a great time there and I’d love to share the experience with you.

For that reason, I’m giving away 50,000 Starpoints to one lucky reader, which can be redeemed for a free hotel stay at any Starwood hotel property. The retail value of these points is $1,250 (i.e. that’s what you would pay for an equivalent stay at the hotel).

How to Enter: Leave a Comment Below

UPDATE: Congrats to the winner, Joy Holland. Thanks to everyone who entered!

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me why you would like to stay at a Starwood luxury hotel. You can enter once per day until Monday, January 21.

The Fine Print: the winner will be chosen at random on January 21, 2013 at 3pm EST.

Disclosure: American Express and Starwood Hotels are official partners with Passive Panda and they have donated 50,000 Starpoints for Passive Panda readers to win.

There are tons of apps, widgets, and thing-a-ma-jigs that claim to get you more followers and fans on social media. I’m not a fan of all that hype.

But I’m telling you right now: there is one social media tool that you have to check out.

I use it to automate 99% of what I do on social media and it has not only saved me time, but also increased the number of followers I have and resulted in more exposure for my work and my business.

Want to know what it is and how I use it? Keep reading…

What I Use and How I Use It

The tool I use is called Buffer.

When you combine it with a nifty publicity strategy, which I’ll share below, it is hands down the best app I’ve found for managing and sharing over social media.

Buffer allows you to set a specific time for your tweets or Facebook posts and then schedules them for you. Then, you simply add your updates to Buffer and it handles the rest without you lifting a finger.

For example, you could set up your account to post new content at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm each day. If you add 9 pieces of content to your Buffer, it will post 3 today (at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm), and then 3 tomorrow, and finally 3 more the day after.

This gives you the ability to always be on the social networks at the right time without actually having to be there. And it gets even better when you use the following strategy to gain maximum exposure.

Here’s how it works…

How to Use Buffer for Maximum Exposure

There is a free online service called Tweriod that tells you when your Twitter followers are most active.

I use Tweriod to tell me what the most popular times of the day are for my followers. In other words, Tweriod tells me when people are most likely to retweet, share, and like my content. (Note: you only have to get these times once and then set them up in Buffer.)

Once I know the times of day that my followers are most likely to retweet and share content, I use those times as a guideline to set my scheduled times in Buffer. That way, when I add new content to Buffer it’s automatically scheduled to post at the best times.

Presto! Maximum exposure for your thoughts, your business, and your work.

The best news? This entire strategy is totally free. That’s why I think it’s one of the best ways to bring valuable fans, followers, and leads into your business.

Note: Buffer does have a paid option, but you can sign up for the free version of Buffer here.

p.s. Another good idea is to browse your recent posts and tweets to see if there are any trends. For example, do your posts in the morning tend to get more likes than in the afternoon? These insights can offer a good idea for which times to schedule posts in your Buffer as well.

In other words, our community believes in doing work we love and getting paid well for it. And today I have an incredible resource for you that should help you do exactly that.

Scott Dinsmore is a good friend of mine and he has made it his mission to help people find what excites them and build a career around the work only they are capable of doing. He recently gave a TED Talk on how to find and do work that you love.

I’ve seen the inner workings of pretty much everything Scott has done over the last few months and I can tell you this: he’s really good at what he does.

As you probably know, TED is one of the most premier platforms for sharing new ideas. In other words, if you’re watching a TED Talk, you know you’re getting great information. If you’re the type of person who wants to love the work you do, then you’ll enjoy every second of Scott’s presentation below.

Click the Play Button Below

You can get more from Scott on his blog, Live Your Legend.

What You Should Do Now

Leave a comment below. Share your thoughts on this video or ask any questions you have about doing work you love.

As always, I’ll do my best to help.

And while the giant chandeliers were nice, I’m a pretty simple man. The biggest thing I brought back from my stay at the St. Regis Bal Harbour resort was a handful of lessons on entrepreneurship.

If you’re building a business (or thinking about building one), then I think you’ll find these 7 lessons useful. If nothing else, I know they have been important learning points for my own entrepreneurial career.

1. Know what you stand for and the rest will become clear.

The whole operation at the Bal Harbour resort runs like clockwork. Everyone knows their role and the customer’s experience has been planned out from the moment they step out of the car until the final checkout.

How do you get your business running that smoothly? It all starts with knowing what you stand for. If you’re the manager of a luxury hotel chain, you can look at your employees and say, “Service is our top priority. When in doubt, always, always, always do what serves the customer best. We will bend over backwards for each and every person who walks through our door.”

Knowing what you stand for clarifies the mission for every employee. It makes work easier. It makes delegation easier. It makes cooperation easier. It’s not just about having a common goal. Increasing revenue is a common goal, but that doesn’t tell you what to do. It’s about having a common mission and a common belief system that can guide your actions and those of your employees.

Knowing what you stand for makes all of the decisions about what to do and how to do it much easier. Know your principles and you can choose your methods.

2. Know your target customer.

I am not the target customer for luxury hotels. It doesn’t calm me to have five people tending to my every need. I don’t need to have a remote that controls all of the lights in the room. I don’t need to have my bed “turned down” and prepared for sleep.

(True story: when the maid came to turn the bed down the first night I had no idea what she was talking about. We went back and forth for two minutes before I figured out that this was just a normal service they did every night.)

But here’s the thing: some people love that stuff. They want everything to be taken care of. Based on what I saw at the hotel, the target customer for a luxury property drives a Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce, BMW, or Mercedes Benz. It was very rare that I saw a car besides those brands.

This is important because if you’re a luxury hotel manager you should not be wasting your marketing dollars on me when you could be spending them wisely on someone with a nice car.

Do you know who the target customer is for your business? I mean, do you really know? Do you know what kind of car they drive? Or what other businesses they typically shop at? Or are you wasting your efforts trying to recruit new customers from people that aren’t interested?

Spend some time mapping out your target customer. It could save (and make) you a lot of money.

3. You can either blur into the crowd or be one of the few to stand up and say something.

A luxury hotel is different. It prides itself on being different. It flaunts each unique piece of its service offering.

As a result, luxury hotels get talked about. When people leave Bal Harbour, they probably talk about the private bungalows by the pool. Or about the staff members walking around and offering little cups of sunscreen to patrons.

You don’t need a unique business to be unique. Luxury hotels do the same thing that Motel 8 does: they offer people a place to stay for the night. But the way they do it is very different.

Is the way you do business different from the rest? Or do you blend into the crowd?

If you want people to talk about your business, then stand up and say something by serving your customers in a different way.

4. Too many people are focused on too small of a problem.

Luxury hotels have TONS of employees. At any one time, I felt like I could see a dozen criss–crossing people and headed off to do various, small tasks.

The goal, I think, is to minimize the amount of time the customer needs to wait. The result, in my opinion, is that too many people are working on too small of a problem. Do you really need to have 6 people pacing around the pool refilling water glasses? Probably not.

When I look at my own work, I find that I struggle with this same problem. Many days, I spend hours and hours focused on things that, in the end, are really just a small problem.

Do you know what your most important tasks are for today? Are you actually working on them? Or are you spending all day refilling water glasses?

5. Happiness isn’t something you find, it’s something you create.

Imagine this scene…

You’re staying in one of the nicest hotels in the world. You’re eating incredible food by the pool. The ocean is just a few hundred feet away.

And yet, even in this paradise, you hear people complaining.

When I heard people whining at this incredible hotel, it reminded me of an important lesson: happiness isn’t something you find, it’s something you create.

Some people are determined to be unhappy no matter where they are and it’s important to realize that happiness isn’t something that is handed to you.

Maybe your business isn’t as big as you would like it to be. Maybe it’s tough for you to watch your friend have tons of success while you toil away in obscurity. Maybe you feel confused or overwhelmed because there is so much to do.

Guess what? You can still be happy!

This is a common pitfall for entrepreneurs. We delay happiness and satisfaction until we reach some imaginary mark of success. You won’t find happiness in a luxury resort or with a million dollar business. You’ll have to create it when you get to those places as well. So, you might as well create some happiness now and enjoy the ride.

6. The more you take care of yourself, the more you can take care of someone else.

The employees at the resort all had one thing in common: they were relatively healthy. Because they were always walking to the next task, they spent a large amount of their day moving. As a result, they were in decent shape.

At one point, I realized that they were only able to serve each guest because they had already taken care of themselves. An unhealthy or severely overweight person would not have been able to perform the job in the same way.

The lesson is clear: take care of yourself.

It doesn’t matter if you want to serve customers or your family or your community. It’s hard to help others if you haven’t first helped yourself.

7. The best way to get famous is make amazing stuff.

Why do people rave about luxury hotels? Because they create an amazing experience.

Will people rave about your business? Only if you create amazing things.

Blogging, networking, marketing, and promotion all have their place. But the truth of the matter is that creating something incredible is the best way to make a splash.

Get to work on something amazing. Everything else is secondary.

Would you like to stay at a luxury hotel?

American Express and Starwood Hotels are official sponsors of Passive Panda, which is how I ended up at the Bal Harbour resort. I had a great time there and I’d love to share the experience with you.

For that reason, I’m giving away 60,000 Starpoints to one lucky reader, which can be redeemed for a free hotel stay at any Starwood hotel property.

How to Enter: Leave a Comment Below

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me where you why you would like to stay at a Starwood luxury hotel. You can enter once per day until Monday, November 19.

The Fine Print: the winner will be chosen at random on November 19, 2012 at 3pm EST.

UPDATE: Congrats to the winner of the giveaway, Jonathan Clark-Harris! Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future.

Disclosure: American Express and Starwood Hotels are official partners with Passive Panda and they have donated 60,000 Starpoints for Passive Panda readers to win.

Before that night, the only runways I had been on were at the airport.

But don’t worry, it might have been unfamiliar territory, but I didn’t waste the opportunity. I did what any good entrepreneur would do when surrounded by supermodels. I analyzed the marketing strategies.

And I have to say, I learned a few things. In fact, here are 7 insights about Fashion Week that you can use to more successfully market your business and yourself.

1. Rally the people who believe what you believe.

I had never heard of Rachel Zoe until that night, but almost everyone else had. They were part of her fashion community. They watch her TV show. They look at all of her designs.

In short: they believe fashion and design are important.

Most strong communities are built around a common belief system. The strange thing is that most marketers waste their time and money trying to convince people to change their beliefs.

Rachel didn’t waste her time trying to convince people like me to love her work. If you’re leading a business or a movement of any type, the goal isn’t to force people to think like you. The goal is to rally the people who don’t need to be fixed.

2. Dream big, start small.

If you wanted to be a fashion designer it would be easy to look at Rachel Zoe now and think, “Ugh, it’s so easy for her. I wish I could have that.”

Two things.

First, you can, so don’t cut down your own dreams. Second, the only way to make progress is one step at a time.

Do you know the first person Rachel Zoe did fashion design for? Her next door neighbor. She laid out all of his clothes for the week.

It sounds so simple, but what you have right now is enough to get started on your dream. Start with what you have and start now.

I’m sure Rachel Zoe still has big dreams about where she wants to go with her career, but she will probably start small by designing the next piece of clothing.

3. Launches attract attention.

Fashion Week is a big production. As a result, it gets a lot of attention. Major companies like American Express and Mercedes Benz roll in to sponsor it. Thousands of people pay to attend. Major celebrities show up.

Do you know the only reason all of this happens? It’s because the people who run Fashion Week decided to make it one big product launch. It only happens once each year. Tons of blockbuster designers show up. People plan their schedules around it.

If you’re launching a business or a product of some type, then consider how you can make it something for people to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be an event in the physical world (although that would be great). Just give people something to point to and say, “I want to be there for that.”

4. Market around events to drive yourself forward.

Having trouble getting things done? Feel like your business is languishing and you’re not sure what to work on next? Have five or six open projects instead of one or two completed ones?

Use events to push your business forward and get things done.

Every designer who has a show going on the runway knows that they need to be finished by the time the first model walks out onto the stage. There is a deadline for completion that can’t be adjusted.

Having deadlines that can’t be adjusted is an excellent way to improve your productivity because it forces you to get something out to the world — even if it’s smaller than you imagined.

Use events — speeches, meetings, webinars, conferences — to force yourself to complete tasks and market your product publicly.

5. Rigid thinking benefits no one.

Sure, some of the designs at Fashion Week are off–the–wall and over–the–top, but so what? If everyone stuck with what we already do, then we would all end up stuck.

Whenever you try something new there will be a lot of mistakes made. (And let’s be real: when I see someone coming down the runway dressed like Big Bird, I’d call that mistake.)

But in the end, making mistakes is the only way forward. You can either play it safe in the world someone else created, or you can push the envelope and (possibly) create a new world for everyone to enjoy.

6. Success unshared is failure.

Take a moment to imagine the thousands of people wearing Rachel Zoe designs. Now imagine if she had kept those designs to herself. Imagine if she simply drew them up in her free time and filed them away in a drawer.

That’s exactly what many would-be business owners do! They think up great ideas, but then talk themselves out of sharing them with the world.

It doesn’t matter how great your ideas are or how brilliant your plan is, it only becomes meaningful once you allow other people to take part in it. Your value doesn’t come from the achievements you enjoy, but the people you share them with.

Sidenote: The people you share your ideas with are the only ones who can make it a success. Every person at that fashion show can now be an advocate for Rachel Zoe and her work because she shared it with us.

And yet, what do new entrepreneurs do? They ask advisors to sign an NDA before they reveal the million dollar idea. They hoard their thoughts in private spreadsheets and documents for fear of getting them stolen. Stop overestimating the risk of letting other people in on your idea and start realizing that sharing your work is the only way for it to become successful.

7. Give away something nice.

Apparently, the gifts at Fashion Week weren’t very good. I didn’t even notice until the third person came up to me complaining about the “lame” gift bags.

At first, my response was, “It’s free, people. Let’s get serious here. How do you complain about something you don’t have to pay for? If you don’t like it, don’t take it.”

But there is something to be said for having a cohesive experience. Everything else at Fashion Week was so nice that the second rate gift bags seemed out of place. They didn’t meet the expectations that were set by the rest of the event.

The lesson: It’s better to do a few things very well than to force in half–baked ideas.

Speaking of giving away something nice…

How would you like $250?

American Express is a sponsor of Fashion Week and Passive Panda, which is how I ended up at the event. As a little bonus for you and courtesy of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card, I’m giving away a $250 American Express gift card to a lucky Passive Panda reader.

Sidenote: While we’re talking about fashion and shopping, the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card offers some of the best shopping purchase protection on the market. For example, eligible purchases made with an Amex Card are protected against accidental damage and theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. Additionally, cardholders enjoy 90-day Return Protection, so that you can get a refund (up to $300) on eligible items you can’t return in store.

How to Enter: Leave a Comment Below

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what you would spend your $250 American Express gift card on. You can enter once per day until Tuesday, October 2nd.

The Fine Print: the winner will be chosen at random on October 2nd, 2012 at 3pm EST.

UPDATE: Brad Berkebile was chosen as the lucky winner of the $250 American Express gift card. Stay tuned for more giveaways.

Disclosure: Just in case you missed it earlier, American Express is an official partner with Passive Panda and they have donated a $250 gift card for Passive Panda readers to win.

There is a hot deal going on right now and if you’re a small business owner, you should take advantage of it.

There are 3 things you need to know.

1. The Best Deal for Free Business Travel

Next week, American Express and Starwood will be flying me to New York to watch the US Open Tennis Tournament. I’ll be enjoying elite travel benefits along the way.

If you’re interested in getting similar benefits as you travel for business, then pay attention to the following sentences.

I’ve said multiple times before that the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card is the best small business credit card. Right now American Express is offering 25,000 Starpoints for signing up. You get 10,000 Starpoints right away and 15,000 after spending $5,000 in the first 6 months.

But that’s not all. Let me share how to double that bonus and (possibly) win $1,250 in travel prizes.

2. Double the Perks

I’ve mentioned over and over again that networking and relationships are one of the keys to success in business.

In fact, it’s the key to overnight success in business. Not to mention that relationships are the foundation of The Remora Method.

We all know that face–to–face meetings are the best way to build relationships. The only problem is that it is often expensive to travel and meet with your partners, mentors, customers, and colleagues.

Well, now it’s time to change that.

American Express is offering the 25,000 Starpoints deal for the personal and business versions of the Starwood card.

This is big because it means that you can apply for both cards and double the travel rewards. So, you get 20,000 Starpoints right away and 30,000 after meeting the minimum spending requirements.

Here’s why this is especially useful for business travel: for every 20,000 Starpoints you convert to frequent flyer miles, you get a 5,000 mile bonus.

In other words, if you get 20,000 Starpoints, they are worth 25,000 frequent flyer miles.

I’ll let you figure out all the ways you could use those points.

Now, about the $1,250 prize…

3. How to Apply (And Get The Prize)

You can apply for the personal version of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card here.

You can apply for the business version of the Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card here.

Plus, I’m giving away 50,000 Starpoints to a lucky Passive Panda reader regardless of whether you apply for a card or not! The retail value of those points is $1,250.

How to Enter for the 50,000 Point Giveaway

To enter, all you need to do is:

1. Go to http://www.starwoodhotels.com and pick your favorite hotel in your area.
2. Send a tweet to @PassivePanda with the name of your favorite hotel where you would use the 50,000 points and the hashtag #SPGAMEX.

For example, a valid contest entry would look like this:

@PassivePanda I want to stay at the St. Regis Princeville in Kauai, Hawaii #SPGAMEX

The Fine Print

Here’s a recap of the 50,000 Starpoint Giveaway.

• One winner will be chosen at random on September 7th, 2012 at 3pm EST.
• Winner receives 50,000 Starpoints to redeem for a hotel stay at a Starwood property featuring a world–class tennis facility (approximate retail value: $1250 USD).
• All winners must (1) complete, sign, and return a W9 form within seven days of receipt to be awarded the Starpoints and (2) participate in the SPG program. (You can sign up for a free account here.)

And that’s it! Best of luck in the contest! I’m looking forward to sending you more free travel opportunities in the near future.

UPDATE: @thinkjpi is the winner of the 50,000 Starpoint giveaway. Stay tuned for more giveaways in the near future!

Disclosure: Just in case you missed it earlier, American Express is an official partner with Passive Panda and they are sponsoring this post. American Express has donated the 50,000 Starpoints points for Passive Panda readers to win in a sweepstakes in conjunction with Starwood Hotels and the 2012 US Open Tennis Tournament.

If you heard about a young woman who raised $29,000 to support an idea she had, would you be interested in learning more about her story? Would you be interested in learning how you could do the same thing?

A few days ago, I spoke with my friend Sarah Peck. She’s in the middle of raising a boatload of money for a crazy idea.

Here’s what she did (and how you can do the same).

From Zero to $29,000

We all have a dream. A crazy idea. A cause that we believe in.

The only problem is, we often need money to make our dreams happen.

For Sarah Peck, she wants to make a difference in the lives of people who don’t have access to the things we often take for granted. For example, clean water. 800 million people on our planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water.

Sarah decided to do something about it.

On her 29th birthday, she will be swimming from Alcatraz to San Francisco with the hope of raising $29,000 for charity. Oh, and during the swim she’ll be wearing nothing. A birthday swim in her birthday suit.

How to Raise Money for Your Cause or Business

This is Sarah’s first time raising money for a cause, but with $15,000 in the bank she’s already more than halfway there. I asked her to share the lessons she has learned about raising money for a cause, a business, or otherwise.

Here’s what she had to say…

Tell a story.

Humans are natural–born storytellers. Jonathan Gottschall, in “The Stortyelling Animal,” writes that stories are what make us human: “We operate in worlds of make–believe, in fantasy, in novels and plays.” We love stories because they help us “navigate life’s complex social problems,” and also ensure our survival.

For your business or project, it’s not enough to have a decent project. We want to believe in what you’re offering and what you’re selling. Not just in your product, but in the story behind the product and what it can do for us. We want to see ourselves as the hero, the one that matters, the person that makes a difference.

In the $29,000 birthday swim, my story is one of thrill and excitement, one of daring and adventure. I’ve promised to do something scary and risky (swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco) in a brash and flashy way (naked!) if enough people rally behind the cause. People like to be a part of a great adventure. It’s easy for people to join in by pledging $29, and then they become part of the story.

In short, find a way to let people be a part of the story.

Your story is your business.

People give money to people, causes, and ideas that they believe in. Give them a story that they can believe in. Give them something that inspires and energizes them.

“If you want people to invest in your business, give them a story to get invested in. Your story is your business.”
Click here to Tweet this quote

Raising Money is Hard

It’s easy for someone to smile and tell you that what you’re doing is great. It’s easy for them to say they’ll help you out. But taking money out of their wallet? That’s hard.

But it’s not impossible. Here’s how Sarah is doing it every single day…

If you want to raise a lot of money, ask a lot of people. It’s a numbers game. There’s no substitute for traffic and eyes.

I need 1,000 people to chip in $29, which is a lot more than the average social network. In order to do this, I’m committed to asking every person I meet to donate, tweet, or share.

(When I first talked to James on the phone, the second thing I did was ask how I could have him help!)

Every time I get into a taxi or on a bus, I ask another person. Many of the people are intrigued, curious, and interested in helping.

Rule of thumb: You don’t get what you don’t ask for.

But what if you do muster up the courage to ask and the answer is no.

Then what?

Ask at least three times. It’s not just about asking once.

Think about the context in which people are receiving your messages and requests: on social media, not everyone sees the stories you post. In email, you don’t have control over the context of the recipient. Someone might get your message while traveling, on vacation, in motion, or otherwise busy. The first time people get your message, they might want to donate but aren’t able to go to the site at that exact minute.

Guess what doesn’t get pulled up in their to-do list later that day? Your project.

So? Ask again.

I sent out three emails, once a week, to my closest friends and another to my extended network. Each time you remind people who already wanted to participate that they still have a chance to help out.

People often feel like they are bothering others if they ask repeatedly. Well, there are some people that you are bothering. But not as many as you might think: it’s a numbers game. There’s a group of people that want to donate but forgot to the first time. They are the ones that you are reminding. Ask again, and then ask a third time.

Don’t be afraid to show up.

There’s another benefit to asking multiple times: The more you keep people in the loop about your project — updates, emails, social media, etc. — the more they feel like part of the story. Sure, they have more chances to donate, but even if they don’t, they might support in another way.

It’s a funny thing, but oftentimes the people you thought you were bothering with all of your updates will be some of the first people to congratulate you once you succeed. They were paying attention all along and your continual communication made them feel like they were part of the process.

“Most people give up after the first no. Don’t give up, and you won’t end up like most people.”
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“But I Don’t Have a Big Network”

I won’t lie to you. Networks matter.

It will help you to know a lot of people. And it will help you to know the “right” people. That’s why you’ll often hear the advice, “Build a network before you need one.”

But here’s what “build a network before you need one” really means:

Start now.

Everyone starts small. In the beginning, we all have no resources, no contacts, and no experience. Get moving anyway. So you’re network is small today? Reach out to someone now and it will be bigger tomorrow.

Here’s Sarah’s approach…

The process of asking — and selling — is about reaching people who want what you have to offer. Setting up a stand and hoping people come is no way to run a business or a campaign. In the digital world, you’ve got to get as many eyes on your page as possible, and get the page in front of people who want to help out and are willing to participate in your project or need your product.

Build your network of like–minded thinkers as early as possible. Reach out to people. Challenge yourself to ask new faces, and use the project as a way to build your network. For me, I’ve used it as an excuse to meet more people, and to talk to people at lunch, on the bus, in cities, anywhere.

The more people I ask, the better I’ll do.

Throughout this whole campaign, my mantra has been:

“If you never ask, the answer is no.”

In other words, the best way to start is to skip all the planning and just start doing whatever it is you want to do.

Can I Trust You and What am I Getting for My Money?

These are the two questions that anyone has when they are asked to donate to a cause or business. Don’t leave the answers up to chance!

Demonstrate trustworthiness by showing how much you care and how much you have already sacrificed for the cause. Offer value by giving back to the donor. Here’s how Sarah does it:

Give them a reason to donate. Why do people open up their wallets? Offer incentives. It’s not enough to simply build a good product, service, or charity. A lot of people are motivated by what they get back, or how they feel when they donate. Sometimes a story or emotional feel–good is enough; often, however, you would be well served to reward them.

So, make them feel great! Tell them everything they get, and make your offer clear. I’m running a huge party and offering all sorts of prizes for donating.

Also, value is relative. One of the crazy things I noticed is how differently people will value certain products and offerings. Many people will squabble over a book costing $15 or $20 (something that the author may have put a years’ worth of work into), but they won’t think twice about dropping $50 for a dinner somewhere. Or $5,000 for a college course because the expectation and cultural norms suggest that that’s the right price.

Don’t always ask people to donate for the same reason. Run a party, ask businesses to match donations, give away prizes worth 3x more than the donation. Give people something so ridiculous that they can’t help but donate.

Be Grateful

The fact that anyone cares enough to help, support, or donate to your cause is a small miracle in itself. Don’t dismiss the effort that people are willing to provide — no matter how small.

And, as Sarah says below, thanking people can be strategic as well.

Thank people and thank them publicly.

Social proof is incredibly important. We want to know that other people are helping, too. We constantly check the behaviors of our peers to see if they are taking action. If they are, we’re more likely to. If we see a lot of people buying something, enthusiastically supporting, or we see something’s made a top-ten list, we are more inclined to donate.

Strategically, you can send out small sub-group messages to early supporters and ask them to contribute first. In Amazon book reviews or project referrals, this is your first target group.

In this case, the charity project, you can thank people, and thank them publically: write a note on their Facebook wall or link to them in the social spheres. Include them in posts. This shows their friends and networks what they’ve done and also extends your reach to a bigger audience.

What You Should Do Now

Go to Sarah’s charity:water page and help her raise $29,000 for clean water.

Then, use her insights to get people to donate to your own cause.

Let me share a secret with you.

Software is the greatest tool for building a profitable business that the world has ever seen (even if you don’t have any money to get started).

Bold statement, I know.

However, once you’re finished watching today’s interview, I’m confident you’ll feel the same way.

Why Should I Watch This?

Today’s interview is with Dane Maxwell and it will cover the exact steps you need to take to go from nothing (seriously — you don’t even need an idea!) to a profitable software business.

Dane has already built four six–figure software companies and his biggest seller, Paperless Pipeline, currently pulls in over $40,000 per month. Yes, every month.

If you have ever thought about building an iPhone app, web app, or any type of software then this interview is for you.

The goal of this interview is to help you answer the question, “If I started building a software business, what steps should I take right now?”

Don’t miss this one. You’ll love it.

Click the Play Button Below

Mentioned In This Interview

Special Gift — Because Dane is my main man, he has decided to give away a free gift to Passive Panda readers. Click here to find out more.

Spin Selling — Dane mentions this book in the interview (and I promptly pull a copy off my shelf like it was planned all along). You can check it out on Amazon here.

The Foundation — Dane has also taught hundreds of students how to build their own software companies. One student, Sam Ovens, recently went from having no money to building an iPhone app that pulls in over $2,500 per month … and he did this all in 10 weeks. You can get a case study of Sam’s full story here.

What You Should Do Now

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this interview and on any questions you have about building a software company.

As always, I’ll do my best to help.

The goal of this series is to hand you the exact, step–by–step blueprint of the best way to start a specific business or side project right now.

Each week, we will break down a different niche or idea. For example, “If I started building a freelance photography business, what steps should I take right now?”

Already on this list: creating software/web apps/mobile apps, becoming a freelance photographer, building a blog, starting a charity campaign, and more.

Before we get to specific businesses, let’s break down the number one thing you should look for if you are building any business right now.

The #1 Thing You Want When Building a Business

So what is the #1 advantage every business owner should be searching for?

There is a story from the famous copywriter, Gary Halbert, which reveals it.

Here’s how the story goes…

One day, Halbert was teaching a group of students when he looked at them and asked, “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side?”

Students started naming off some ideas…

“I’d like to have the highest quality meat, so that I could create the best burgers.”

“I’d like to have a special sauce, so that my hamburgers were different from everyone else’s.”

“I’d like to have the ability to charge the lowest price, so that my burgers would be the most affordable.”

… and so on.

Halbert looked at the students and said, “Fine, I’ll give you every single advantage you asked for. As for myself, I only want one advantage, and if you give it to me, I’ll crush all of you.”

“What advantage do you want?” the students asked.

“A starving crowd!” replied Halbert.

How Hungry are Your Customers?

Maybe you’re building the next Google. Maybe you’re starting a small, self-funded business. Maybe you just want to set up a lemonade stand down the street.

It doesn’t matter how much funding you have, how much experience you have, or how unique your business model is: the easiest way to succeed is to give a starving crowd what they’re looking to buy.

A starving customer is someone who is desperate for a solution. Think about the project you’re working on or the business you’re running. Are your customers starving? Are they at least hungry? Or are you constantly fighting an uphill battle to get people to see the value in what you do and explaining why they need what you’re selling?

I once heard that you should keep trying business ideas until success comes easily. Another way of saying that is, “Keep searching until you find a starving crowd.”

Good businesses solve desperate needs. Keep searching until you discover an itch that needs to be scratched so bad that they’ll pay you to rub a jagged rock on it.

“Good businesses solve desperate needs. Find an itch that scratches so bad they’ll pay you to rub a jagged rock on it.”
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What You Should Do Now

Each week during the “If I Started Now” series, we will break down a different niche or idea.

Here is a list of the topics covered so far:

• How to Start a Software Company That Makes $40,000 per Month
• How to Raise $29,000 (The Art of Asking for Money)

If you have a particular business or niche that you would like to hear about, then leave a suggestion in the comments below.

Otherwise, make sure you sign up to get free updates of new articles by clicking here.

You simply cannot replace the ability to take the first step, even if it is small. Many people dream, but few actually begin.

In two days, I will re–open The Remora Method and a private class of 100 students will join who will be guided along step–by–step as they start generating a side income from their own small business.

If you’re thinking about building a business or starting a side project of your own, then I encourage you to join us. Regardless, I encourage you to get started.

With that in mind, here are 10 reasons you should start building your business right now.

1. Successful people start before they feel ready.

You are not the only person to feel uncertain or unsure about the outcome of your business. In fact, being an entrepreneur is one, long exercise in dealing with uncertainty. Uncertainty will not go away.

You can plan, delay, and revise all you want, but the winners begin despite the uncertainty.

2. If you have a goal, the most important thing is to start. Do not wait for motivation. If it’s not there, it will come after starting.

You can’t rely on motivation striking you at the right time each morning. You can’t wait for someone to come along and give you permission to begin. And you certainly can’t hope to research and understand it all before you get going.

Start small, but start today.

3. Make decisions and make them now.

Research has shown that the people who make decisions faster will become more successful. These people aren’t necessarily better decision makers, but simply quicker ones.

Get in the habit of making decisions. It will serve you well.

4. You don’t really have much of a choice.

If you want to do important work, if you want to do something that matters, then it’s pretty simple. You really don’t have much of a choice. You need to act now. The clock is ticking.

There was never a plan that changed the world, only the people who executed it. Make your move.

5. Give yourself time to think it over and you’ll overthink it.

Our brains are incredible machines with the ability to get to work on very difficult tasks. But if you simply sit in the planning or dreaming stage, then your brain gets bored with things because nothing new is happening. You’re not asking it to perform a difficult task because you are just running the same planning ideas on a repeating loop.

This is dangerous. Unless you give your brain a task to perform it will get bored and start to dream up reasons why this will never work. If you give your mind enough time to mull the options without giving it any real creative battles, then it will work against you.

Set your brain to the task of accomplishing your goal and it will start working for you. Don’t give yourself the chance to overthink it, start now.

6. This moment is a gift. Contribute to it.

At the risk of sounding foo–foo and fluffy, I firmly believe that the moment we have right now is a gift. You only have one life and this is it! It’s happening to you right now at this very moment. The mere fact that you are alive in a universe filled with mostly dead, empty space is a miracle.

The best way to be grateful for the time that you have is to contribute something to it. Step into the thick of things and make your own waves. Create something of your own and share it with the world. Give back to the moment you have been given.

7. “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

Entrepreneurs without direction spend their days wandering and hoping for an opportunity. The odds that you’ll stumble your way into a thriving business are unlikely.

Pick a direction and pursue it. If you are crystal clear about what you are going after, people will either help you achieve it or get out of your way.

I swear to you that the world is filled with good people who are willing to help you get where you are going, but it’s on you to tell them where you’re headed.

You can call it your purpose in life, you can call it the vision for your company, you can call it why you do what you do … call it whatever you want, but you need to pick a direction and start walking.

8. “The best person is not usually the person who wins. The person who wins is the best at connecting with others, and getting people talking about them.” —Aaron Wall

You don’t need to be the best, the smartest, the most prepared, the most unique. But being the best connected will help immensely.

If you don’t have a strong network, guess what? Neither did anyone else when they got started! It takes time to connect with people, and that’s why you need to start now.

You don’t need anything else. Who you are right now is good enough to start. Be honest, be genuine, and be sincere. Start connecting with other people and start sharing your story.

9. Your actions are your priorities.

Don’t tell me that it’s a priority for you to start a business when you haven’t done it. The simple fact is this: what you do is what you care about.

Sometimes what you see on the surface is what you get underneath as well. You don’t have to look that deep to see what people are made of. Show the world you’re made of something better.

10. Do something now.

Make progress, even if it’s much smaller than you anticipated. Start with something small that you can do right now. Get in the habit of accomplishing things. Finish a small task, build momentum, and repeat.

If you’re looking for ways to start, I’ll give you two options.

1. Use this article to pick a name for your business. This article will show you how to choose a name that brings in customers. Once you know what your business is called, it will start to become more real to you. Give your project an identity.

2. Get the first lesson of The Remora Method for free and use it to find a profitable idea for your business. I’ll be sending it out tomorrow to anyone who has joined the priority notification list below.

If you sign up, you’ll also be the first to know when The Remora Method opens up. Per usual, I’m only offering 100 slots to new students. If you’d like to join a small group of committed people who are taking action and getting individualized feedback on starting their own businesses, then The Remora Method might be a good fit for you. (Note: you can read the full story here.)

To get the free lesson and priority notification of when The Remora Method opens, simply enter your email below.

Note: this email list will only be used to notify you of The Remora Method.