Entrepreneurs Make Pain in the Marketplace Disappear

I met with Sam Hansen the owner of FTK Music & Apparel in Fresno. I like this cat. He is passionate about music, fashion, and making the hangover headache go away...these are all good/commendable things. I first met Sam at a Creative Fresno event and I could tell that he was an entrepreneur. Hs was not a hustler or did not appear shady, he was a man with a product to move. Time passed and we didn't meet up agin until today. Today he came with gifts in hand. He brought me a 12er of HangOver--which I quickly shared with a couple of colleagues--and a tight shirt that he designed. These two items got me thinking about the role of entrepreneurs and the fact that they are a lot like magicians. 

Here are three key ways magicians and entrepreneurs are similar:

1) You need to know what type of magician you are.

David Blaine is different than David Copperfield. Cris Angel is different than Siegfried and "Tiger Bait". Just as each magician is different, each entrepreneur must differentiate him/herself within an industry. This is the old "know thyself" adage. 

2) You need to know who is performing down the street.

In Las Vegas there are several different magic shows. You know what? Odds are good that they have all seen each others show. Why wouldn't they. Not only can you get to know competition, but you can get to know their audience. Knowing the competition and the audience are keys to success.

3) You need to have a magic word.

That is where the magic happens. I know it and you know it. For an entrepreneur, that magic word allows the customer to loosen his/her grip on the dollar bill and watch it magically float into the magician's cash register. The customer walks out of the store, gets home, and wonders how that magic trick happened. Then they come back and say, "Do it again."

Three easy similarities to duplicate: 

Who are you?

Who is around you?

How do they give me a buck?

When you focus on being a good magician/entrepreneur, it frees you up to try new tricks and bring new "pain remedies" to the marketplace...