One of the criticisms thrown at me via social media often revolves around who I am and what I do. I created the persona "Joe Neckbone" for that reason, to share a bit of who I am and what I do, and also so I can be brutally honest about often "controversial" subjects.
Sometimes if and/or when you are successful in business you don't have the latitude to "tell it like it is", especially if you have some melanin in your skin. As Joe Neckbone though I don't have those constraints, I can be as real as I want.
So here are a few life lessons about business I've learned along the way. This will be an occasional series broken into "lessons" so keep an eye out for them.
Joe On Business - Lesson 1, Prepare To Get Dirty
- ALL business is dirty. All of it, doesn't matter if you're selling porn or girl scout cookies. To believe anything different is the ultimate in stupidity. Think those Girl Scouts are nice and cute? Try getting into the cookie business, they are as threatening as a visit from a mafia enforcer! What do I mean by dirty? Business sometimes forces you to make alliances and compromises with either people or other businesses you normally wouldn't associate with.
- You get in business to make money (that is if you're not a 501(c3)). Profit is the goal of business. If you can't stomach that STAY AN EMPLOYEE. What you do with those profits though is up to you, but understand you ARE in business for profit.
- You play the business game to win, not lose or draw, that's why you're in business Understand that even if you aren't in it to win, your competitors ARE.
- The negative or positive impact of your business is often about spin and propaganda. Social media is a spin machine (the ultimate one). Businesses pay people and companies very well to manipulate and steer what you think about them on social media. This is why PR firms are booming right now.
- Speaking of social media, think all those likes on Facebook are real people? Think all those Twitter followers are real people? Think again, you can buy those.
- Business is dirty, but business capital is what drives and builds communities. Think someone built that house you're in out of charity? Unless you're living in a Habitat house someone built it for PROFIT.
- Like it or not this is the game in America. You play to win to eventually support your cause or concern. But understand the road to that point is a dirty, dangerous and tricky one. Only the swift and strong survive it.
- Broke folks DO NOT build or change a community, capitalists do.
