My path to becoming a 'true' Entrepreneur.

My Million Dollar Idea ( part 1 )

2008-02-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty exited about the upcoming year – a lot of that excitement comes from the success of last year. I was in charge of sales for the company for that year, and we broke the record for sales in a year by Imperial Asphalt including breaking a million dollars in sales… to bad it snowed and shut us down before we could complete all the work that was sold! Oh well, next year for sure we will break that million dollar mark I’m sure. Overall though it felt really good to take over sales, and have this be the best selling year in the history of the company.

With that success behind me and a great year coming up, I start looking at ‘what’s the next step’ in the plan of becoming a true Entrepreneur. With Imperial asphalt as a ‘base’ that provides a source of income for other money generating projects, it’s time to start really defining what those projects should be.

I have been working on a few online businesses, one of them is Intagoal, which has an ambiguously defined purpose of providing online education. Also in the mix is Level20.com which is where I have had some sort of a game themed idea for a company twirling around in my mind. In addition to it being managed in a revolutionary ‘manage by project’ style – I really want it to be something that I am passionate about.

Tonight as I drove to meet a gamer friend of mine for a late night burrito at rolbertos, I had what I believe was an epiphany of clarity… now, I’m not sure that those two words really go together, but I like how they sound, so I’ll leave them there for now. Basically a clear picture of a method of generating income off of my passion for gaming formed in my mind.

I’m not going to go into the details of what exactly the idea is, I honestly don’t believe that the ‘what’ of the idea is really relevant to the success of that Idea, it’s the fact that it is something that I can really get passionate about. THAT! Is the key.

Honestly the idea is fairly mundane, the fact that I am exited about making it a reality is what is unique. I feel like there are several pieces of a big puzzle that are already positioned in a way to make the whole puzzle come together quickly and with great odds of succeeding on the first stab.

I’ll definitely be writing more about what the details of the idea are. I just know it has been a long time since I did an update in here, and I felt like this was a significant enough event that it merited being noted in this blog.

I’ll admit, this is the ‘slow’ part of the plan, but I’m really enjoying it – part of what is key to my vision of success, is getting ‘there’ in a vehicle that I will enjoy the ride in, and so far, this family owned business venture of Imperial Asphalt, very much is fitting the picture. It is a pleasure to have planning and goal setting meetings with my father, mother and Brother Trent, all sitting around the dinner table. We plan a bit, then tell a story for a while. Meetings that could be finished in an hour, can sometimes drag on for three. That may seem very anti productive, and I’ll admit, it is, but honestly, that is EXACTLY part of the pay check that I want… to enjoy what I do – and folks, I’m getting paid well in that department. At the same time, the paychecks on the financial end of the scale really haven’t been too shabby, and they are shaping up to be much better in the future. So, as far as how things are progressing – I’d have to give a ‘so far so good’ response to that query.

Wade Hone –out.

New Format and Future Articles list.

2006-12-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

I’m exited about the next few steps to be taken in entrepreneurial designs, however, I think that a ‘personal’ journal is not what this particular Blog needs. I plan in the near future to move the ‘journal part of this blog over to a personal blog. Instead, in this location I will be placing a weekly (or more often if the opportunity arises,) article that relates in a general way to Entrepreneurs. Some of the topics that I would like to cover are:

“Removing the Golden Handcuffs” – as inspired by a question from Everett Ruess to this Blog.

“Doing.” – Inspiration from Guy Kawasaki.

“Mentorship” – Thoughts and Ideas gathered from a group that I participate on a regular basis with.

“Defining Vision” – Stemming from my deep seated belief that clearly defining a destination is one of the most important parts of effective goal achievement.

“Accountability” – Discussions of various systems of accountability, with some suggestions on how to determine with is best for you. Some influence from Frank Bettger’s ideas in his book "How I raised myself from failure to success in selling" and my personal experience related to tracking / reporting progress in various forms. (including reporting to myself, and reporting to someone else.)

“Attitude determines Altitude” – referring to keeping a positive outlook, and how a persons emotional attitude has a direct influence on how high or far they will go towards achieving their goals. Much like the physical attitude of an airplane determines the altitude at which it flies. With a discussion on how to maintain a permanent positive attitude.

“Choosing reaction” – focusing on the fact that the one thing in this life that we have 100% control over is our choice on how we react to any situation. I would like to include a discussion on how effectively ‘controlling’ that choice in every situation can reduce stress, and provide for much more enjoyment of life, as well as actually provide more control of situation that previous to making a conscious choice on ‘how we react’ would have allowed.

“Developing an attitude of continuous learning” – Discuss the advantages that continuously gaining knowledge presents. Present several ways to acquire such knowledge that can be incorporated into a normal lifestyle.

“The benefits of Healthy Living” – Methods to get in shape, stay in shape and a discussion of some of the advantages of striving to live healthy.

“Developing the Social, Physical, Emotional, Financial (or Temporal), sides of life.” – an essay on each aspect and how they inter relate, and how by increasing our ability in those areas, we can increases the overall potential of ourselves.

Well that is Ten subjects, which should give me ten weeks worth of articles. I think that this format will be much more beneficial to an audience at large instead of my ‘personal’ journey on my path to entrepreneurship. If there is an area that you would like added to the list, please post your suggestion here. After each article is posted I look forward to some discussing it here.

Wade Hone –out.

The New Work Force Frontier - Level 20

2006-11-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

Level 20:
What it is = The new Work Force Frontier.

What that means :
This is a company dedicated to utilizing the technology of today’s world to bring teams of people together who:

...desire to get rewarded directly for the efforts that they put into their work.
...desire to have ownership privileges of projects that they build.
...are looking for a way to increase their income and their quality of life.
...can see that the new frontier is the internet, and who want to be a part of the development of communities and marketing strategies based on that technology.
...are comfortable working remotely.
...can work well as a member of a team that most often will be separated by large distances, teams whose primary means of connecting with each other will be through the internet.
...can work well as a member of a team that will most likely contain teammates that are culturally diverse, i.e. if you are an engineer on a team you need to be able to get along well with the marketing people, and marketing folks, have got to be able to communicate with and get along well with the engineers of the team, (and everyone has to love the accountants… because they need love too and… well… they help us all get paid.)
...can use, or are willing and eager to learn how to use, modern internet communication tools to coordinate efforts with the teams that they work with, (most often, access to broad-band internet will be a requirement.)
...work well under a management structure that will most closely resemble managed projects. (i.e. project coordinators that plot out a projects development that is based on the completion of objectives or milestones by team members.)
...can make realistic estimates on when work objectives can be completed, and then consistently deliver high quality results by those deadlines.
...are exited by the opportunity of the great potential returns on time investments, and who are willing to forgo the security of a regular paycheck in return for receiving their reward that is directly based on how well that the project they helped to produce or market does in the market place.

Based upon the principle that the people that build a thing should get to reap the rewards of their creation, Level 20 seeks to provide the infrastructure necessary that will alow professionals, to designate how much time that they can allocate to a project, then become part of a team that develops and markets internet driven products and applications to the masses, and reap the rewards for doing that.

If that definition fits you at all, then by all means read on. (even if you found nothing in common with the preceding list feel free to read it as well.)

Here’s the preview… keep in mind it's a ruff draft:

Here are a few definitions to keep in mind while reading this document :

Green = Good – on target with budget and schedule (the norm.)

Yellow = Caution – possible delay is sighted or an overage on the budget becomes a possibility.

Red = Criticle Failure Eminent -In eminent danger of missing the deadline, or not meeting the expected quality requirements. Also red means that additional funding is required and will need to be allocated to this objective. (this will of coarse decrease the expected returns for everyone.) Red also means that failure in this area may require for the project to be placed on hold.

Placed on hold = all work towards the project is halted while feasibility and profitability are
re-evaluated. This would be executed to allow the architect and project coordinators to re design the project plan.

Inactive project = a project that has been placed on hold, and then has been added to an
inactive project list by the Supervising Architect. Personnel can then have their time freed up so that they are eligible to be re assigned to other more feasible projects.

In the event that a project goes to the inactive project list and later is placed back on active status, a provision * in project design document will explain how rewards will be determined for teams or agents who’s work from the inactive project that is used on the now active project will be awarded.

Level 20 Architects build a basic project idea, and a brief outline of a
suggested reward program, and select a supervising Architect for the
project.

Project Coordinators are selected by the supervising Architect to run a particular
project or a portion of a project.

Project Coordinators work with the Supervising Architect to put together a project
design document with time lines that estimate what positions / roles will
be needed to complete the project and how many hours will be needed by
each roll to complete the project on time.

Project Coordinators will plan a budget for the project.

Project Coordinators will work with the supervising Architect to refine the reward
structure that will be offered to the team that works on the project.

The reward – will most often be
based upon the direct result of the team members.

In other words, the Project Coordinators break down the project into
milestones, and objectives that need to be completed.

Then the PC (Project Coordinator) assigns a priority to each objective:

Critical – the most vital parts of the project. These are the objectives that
would be the hardest to replace teammates on or would severely cripple
the project were they not completed with high quality and on time.

Normal – most objectives will have this status.
These objectives are definitely important to the over all
success, but have some flexibility on time lines or would be fairly easy
to replace team members if the objective remained in a yellow status for
very long.

Non Critical – These are the areas that would be easy to replace team
members on if they went to a yellow status or are very flexible as to
when they could be completed during a project.

The PC assign a value to each of the objectives.

The value assigned will be based on the objectives priority and based on the
time estimates and budget that was determined in conjunction with the
Supervising Architect.

The value assigned will be designated as a percentage of the return of what
ever profits that the project generates.

The team or agent that completes that objective is awarded the predetermined
value of that objective.

Bonuses will be awarded based on exceeding expectation.

Penalties will be subtracted from the assigned value and will be based on failed
deadlines, or expectations not being met.

A penalty that was assessed to a team or agent will go directly into the
bonus pool which is shared by those that exceeded expectation.

i.e. an agent completes an objective several weeks in advance of the
deadline – based on the priority of the objective, the value of the
objective, and the degree of exceeding the expectation a point value **
will be assigned to the team or agent. (1-6)

i.e. a team is late on completing an objective and the end result doesn’t quite meet the expectation. – based on the priority of the objective, it’s value and the severity of the failed expectation a negative point value will be assigned to the team or agent. (negative 1 – negative 6)

Any penalties that were assessed to an agent or team will be added to the bonus pool for each objective that a negative point assessment was given.

The bonus pool is calculated as a percentage of the profits. The starting
size of the bonus is defined in the design document.

To determine what amount of the bonus reward goes to which teams or
agents, the point totals of each team are added up. The total amount of
points that were awarded is considered to be equal to100 percent of the
bonus pool. From there it is easy to figure up what percentage of the
bonus pool every point is worth. Each team or agent then converts their
point total into the percentage that those points represent, and then
pool is divided up amongst the teams and agents based on those
calculations.

If the resulting project is sold outright, then the profits of that sale are
awarded as follows:

The gross value of the Sale of project result minus the expenses and minus a percentage of the profits (not to exceed 10%) that will be reinvested into the growth of level 20.

If the project result generates a continuing revenue then the profits of that continuing revenue are awarded as follows:

The gross Quarterly value of the revenue, minus the expenses that were used
to complete the project (as a general rule the expenses should be paid off within 5 years, but the exact details of repaying expenses will be defined in each design document,) minus the costs involved in maintaining the project minus 10% of the profits which will be used to reinvest in the marketing and growth of the project itself and minus a percentage of the profits (not to exceed 10%) that will be reinvested into the growth of level 20. The proceeds
will be awarded on a quarterly basis to the project teams and agents that participated in the projects creation.

If the continuing revenue project is sold, then the profits of that sale
are awarded the same way as previously defined.

The Project Team is put together by the Project Coordinators. This is done by
selecting members / agents that have indicated that they have available time commitments to allocate to the various roles that will be needed to complete the project. This is done by reviewing and interviewing members / agents of Level 20 and going over
the design document with each agent or team lead. (Team leads determine how rewards will be distributed amongst his team…This enables contractors who reward their employees in a more traditional manor to participate. However the Team Lead does need to be a registered Level 20 agent designated as a team lead.)

During the interview process, the projected budgets, and time lines need to be
discussed and agreed upon between the project coordinator and the agent or team lead. This part is very crucial. This is where Agents and Teams commit to meeting deadlines, and where expectations are explained and defined as well as the penalties and rewards for exceeding or failing to meet expectations are discussed and reviewed. This interview meeting needs to go over the same things that the kick off meeting goes over, except the focus should be more on the specific objective instead of the overall project.

The Supervising Architect should be consulted with on any major revisions to
the design document or timelines.

If the needed personnel resources haven’t been met then the Project Coordinator would be responsible for utilizing the Level 20 resources to recruit new Level 20 agents to fulfill any roles that are not filled by existing agents.

Once the whole project team has been selected and everyone has been assigned to all of the objectives and agreed to the deadlines and rewards and penalties, then a kick off meeting is held.

In the kick off meeting, introductions are made so that the team gets to know who all is involved.

The overall project is reviewed and the desired end result is explained and reviewed.

The definition of success for this project should be defined in this meeting.

The expected rewards should be reviewed including what the expected sale amount and expected profit margin will be. Or it is going to be an ongoing revenue project then the expected quarterly income amounts should be reviewed.

each project objective is reviewed.

The entire time line for the overall project is reviewed.

Clear expectations are set, and agreed upon for each objective. This should be done in front of the whole team.

The reward system for the project is reviewed.

A clear understanding of when an objective will be put in a yellow or red status needs to be understood by each person for their objective.

All of the communication tools need to be explained, and previous to the kick off meeting a check list needs to be completed that shows all that all of the team members have access to all of the communication tools that will be used and that they have access to the tools that will be used to track the status of the project.

Reporting needs to be explained:

Exactly who needs to do exactly what
reports?

Where, When, and How each report should be submitted.

Clarify that reporting accurately and on time will be reflected in the overall
rating of whether or not a team or agent met the expectation for the
objective.

Any potential issues need to be noted for review later. Each team lead and agent that is responsible for an objective should have the opportunity to list any areas that need to have special attention paid to them.

The next group project review meeting should be scheduled.

Objective review meetings should be scheduled.

After the kick off meeting the PC will play the roll of monitor making sure that
all the tasks stay on task, and moving any objective to yellow or red status.

If an objective moves to yellow or red then the PC needs to determine whether to
bring in new team members to complete that objective or exactly what needs to be done to get the objective back to green status.

The PC will also work with the Supervising Architect to determine if a project needs to go on hold to be reviewed or re-designed.

Objective Owners can be Solo Agents or Team leaders who are responsible for delivering an objective but rely on others to help them accomplish this.

Teams can be made up of a group of Level 20 Agents (called an ‘in house’ team,)
or the team could consist of a group that the Team leader is in charge of, and who are not members of Level 20. (called an ‘outsourced’ team.)

If the team is made up of Level 20 Agents, then the rewards for that team should be defined in the design document.

If the team is made up of non Level 20 Agents, then the rewards for that team are determined by the Team Leader, and only the Team Leader or the company he represents will receive the rewards from Level 20.

If a Level 20 agent is working in an outsourced team the agent’s reward for that objective, will not be defined in the design document. The agent CAN still work on other in hose teams or operate as a Solo agent as long as the agent can meet the time commitment requirements.

Objective Owners are responsible to make sure that the objective stays in the green status.

Objective Owners are responsible for accurately and promptly reporting status via the reporting tools. Also regular communication between objective owners and team members is encouraged via the communication tools provided by Level 20.

* Inactive status - When a project goes from inactive back to active, the whole process is started new. A new design document will be created for the re activated project. All the roles are filled just like they would be if it was a new project. Many or all of the roles may be filled by new agents. The original teams would still need to be rewarded for any work from the old project that was used in the new reactivate project. The new design document would include the provision from the old project design document that lists how the reward will be distributed to the old project members for work that is used in the new project. What ever gets used from the
old project should be listed in the new design document. The distribution of the reward to old project members should be defined in the new document as well.

** Point Value – the more Critical a task the better the opportunity to earn a bonus of course the opposite is true in that if expectations of time lines are failed, the penalties are worse.

A Critical task at normal value would get either 5 or 6 points. (positive or negative)

A Normal task at normal value would get either 3 or 4 points. (positive or negative)

A Non Critical task at normal value would get either 1 or 2 points. (positive or negative)

In the Design Documnet the objectives will be defined as High Value - Normal Value - Less Value - objectives. Depending on the value of the task, a point can be added (high value), no change - (normal Value) or Subtracted (Less Value.)

-to be continued and refined- by Wade Hone – Saturday November 18, 2006 6:42 am. --

Success on the Road

2006-11-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm in a hotel in Coerd'lene Idaho (which ever weird way it is that you spell it, it's still up here in the beautiful northern part of Idaho.)

on the day be for I came here for this 3 day conference, where I planed on, (and am currently,) hosting a booth for displaying our products and services, I started to get a cold. On the trip up, it bore fruit, and today, I went to the conference barely able to speak in anything other than a whisper.

Yes I had lost my voice. So to start my topic, about success on the road, I would recommend that you go healthy. Alas, if you can not go healthy, still go, as I'm finding that my presence is definitely better in my present condition, than had I not come at all.

Go prepared, that's another good tip, and I think that we did fairly well on that front. Nice display, plenty of candy for folks to snag on to, and a big stack of business cards.

(once again, I'll mention .. Bring Candy.. Average attendee has a sweet tooth, or at the least, appreciates the offer.)

Watch other's displays for ideas. I saw someone that was running a video, no sound, I was wondering how that would work, and in my mind I had it as a big display behind me, however after seeing this fellows in action, I have to say I like his idea. It's a small TV on the table, that plays in the background that displays his product in action. Well done, yet HE is still the main thing at the booth, and it's not intrusive for him to be talking to his customers and turn as a reference to the video. It's a short thing, maybe 5 mins that loops over and over. (on mine, I'd add words ala power point presentation, but I like the small size and the no sound option.)

Get Contact info.! Get good at remembering names, and where they are from, take a small note book that you can jot down name, where they are from, and a quick note about your conversation so you can talk with them later.

Stay friendly. From watching people, this group in particular, I can see that they are out of their element, at a new place with lots of new people. They are looking for a friendly face to connect with. A Smile and a wave is a great way to make friends, and I have no doubt that many good sales relationships will develop out of that as well.

If it gets slow, visit other booths, if it's not slow, stick around your booth as people may want to talk to you. Other Booth owners are a great source of marketing info.. How do they do it, what do they do, how to they greet their potential clients, and what 'hooks' do they offer to get people to give them more than a passing glance. - but don't forget to keep your base covered.... You may miss an important contact. Check out your competition... Sometimes they aren't really as evil as you first thought.

Enjoy the food... Enjoy the company... You need to be having fun so you can stay in a positive upbeat mood for those that your working with.

Hmm, I'm sure there is more, but then again, there is always tomorrow. Wish me luck on getting my voice back... I'm sure I'd be making a better impression if I didn't have to whisper every thing or squeak my words out to potential customers.

Oh... Final tip... If rich enough, hire a booth babe... The one booth that had a girl in it seemed to always have folks there to chat with her. ;'-)

Wade -out.

Accountability and Personal Success Defined

2006-11-05T04:09:00.002-07:00

2-13-08 ( a Re-Write of my original ramblings from 11-05-06.)

Accountability. The dictionary definition reads:

“the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.”

The dictionary listed a second definition when the word is applied to educators:

“a policy of holding schools and teachers accountable for students' academic progress by linking such progress with funding for salaries, maintenance, etc. “

I appreciate the second definition of the word, as I think it helps to explain a larger concept of accountability. The concept being that being accountable means that there is a cost to failing.

In many situations there is a social cost. If a father fails in his responsibility to his children to raise and protect them, by abandoning his responsibility, then in society he is looked down upon. One of the ‘costs’ of his failure is his standing in society. Of course there are many other costs associated with this particular failure as well, and unfortunately children often are the ones to suffer because of it.

This social paycheck is quite powerful. Most people are motivated by the respect and admiration that they gain as they increase their financial holdings or position in work or even political position in government. The motivation that a person draws from increasing his status in society varies from person to person.

Most every one, if they stop to think about it for a moment, can think of someone else, or some social group where they would like to be respected and though highly of. This may, (and should,) include a spouse and other family members. For most people even old acquaintances, and to varying degrees even perfect strangers can elicit at least some desire to be respected and thought highly of by them.

There are of course many other ‘paychecks’ that can be used to motivate a person to be accountable. One motivator is of course an actual paycheck that you bring home from your job. That money helps to motivate employees to fulfill their duties at work.

Another paychecks or reward that can be used as motivator is ‘Self Accountability’. I’d like to define that as the reward (or cost,) of meeting (or failing,) the requirements of success that each individual sets for themselves. Every person’s standard for measuring what success means to them is different from every other person. Like a finger print, that ‘Success Standard’ helps to define who we are, and yet like a finger print, every persons definition will vary to at least some degree.

The social groups that a person belongs to will all have an impact on the definition of success for that person. If some one works at a job, belongs to a golf club, attends a church, and has an extended family that likes to stay close, then all of those social groups will impact the personal definition of success for that person. If they also participate in the community, in the PTA, or on a city counsel for example, those social groups will also play a part in how success is defined for that individual. The priority that the person puts on each of those influences will also play a part. For example – when there is a church meeting, a PTA meeting, a work responsibility and a daughters beauty pageant that all fall on the same night, where a person spends their time that evening will tend to define the priority that person places on each of those groups.

The main point is that every persons definition of success is different from every other persons, and there are thousands of influences on that definition.

This definition of success still exists even if it isn’t written down, or even consciously defined. All of those motivators from self, and the outside influence of the various social groups that people belong to all mix together to form a personal definition of success. On some level, a personal measurement is made against how they are succeeding or failing when compared against their internal definition of success.

I once read, though I can’t remember who wrote it, that;

“Every day a man should know whether he has won or lost.”

I completely agree with that.

The point that I am trying to make is the same point that the Greek’s and those that continue their discussions, have been chit chatting about for Eons.

“Temet Nosce!” And no less important, “Sui Juis”

(“Know Thyself” and “One’s Own Master”)

That personal definition of success is already a part of every person – those that can do a bit of introspection and dig it out to look at it, can then start to revise it to have a conscious impact on that definition of success. Instead of blindly letting some sub conscious ambiguously defined definition of success impact you on a continuing basis, a person that has taken the time to clearly define what success means to them, has a much better chance to actually attain it that some one that has not consciously clarified that definition.

Once you have that definition of personal success, you can begin to allocate your time accordingly. With conscious thought put into the definition you may see that things that seemed so important at work, that took so much time up, don’t really fit in to your true definition of success.

Something that happens if introspection doesn’t happen and success isn’t consciously defined for a person, is that it becomes easier for other peoples wills and desires to influence you.

To explain, lets take for example a man that has a job that has started requiring him to work late most every night and most weekends. If he hasn’t clearly defined all of the other areas that he wants to find success in, like family, church, local government (city council for example,) then it becomes easier for him to let the demands of the workplace take priority and soon, there is just not enough time for him to succeed in those other areas of his life that have importance. Some of those areas, like family, may be way up on the priority list when compared to his job, but they may suffer, if a conscious effort hasn’t been made to define the priorities.

Now, this same situation could occur and may even fall right in line with the plans of that person, but there is a difference when it is a planned sacrifice verses being led by another’s will. A person may actually plan to spend a few years really working hard to save up money for their family so that they may have a better life. Sacrifices on extracurricular activities might be made in order to achieve some goal or another. Personally I know of many families that have made sacrifices while a husband or wife finishes school in the hopes that those sacrifices will pay off in the long run and that the education will benefit them. The difference lies in the fact that they are all following a course of action that will help them to succeed at a very clearly defined goal.

Once that goal has been defined, there are many things that can be done to help to measure accountability. There is a book by Frank Bettcher that is very helpful to anyone in the sales industry. He defines several things that he did to help track his activities in sales that he says ‘raised himself from failure to success.’ I have several ideas on measuring accountability that I will save for another article.

For now, let me conclude with the sage advice I received from my father. He said;

“Write down your goals.”

He actually said a lot more on that subject, but that is the short and the sweet of it. I have found when I followed that advice, 9 times out of 10 I’ll achieve the goal I wrote down. If I just ‘think up’ a goal and let it float around in my brain, not captured by pen or paper, those odds really go down.

So, bottom line is this, if you will;

First:

Think about all the areas in your life that you would like to succeed in. (introspection)

Second:

Prioritize those areas and clarify your personal definition of success.

Third:

Prioritize and write down the goals for each of those areas.

Here is what you will get:

You will have a much easier time achieving those goals because they are written down and you can focus on making choices that will help you succeed.

You will receive the hard to measure value of having a measuring stick to let you know whether you have won or whether you have lost each day. With that measure in place, you can start making choices about where to spend your time and efforts that will eventually turn each day into a win!

Best of all you will understand what it feels like succeeding at being accountable to yourself. When you are measuring up to your own definition of success that accounts for all of the variable in your life properly prioritized in order of importance and when you are succeeding at the goals set in each of those areas, the feeling is incredible!

By,

Wade L. Hone

Accountability - an important step to success.

2006-11-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

Accountability, it’s an important part of life. I, by design, have created a lifestyle that has very little accountability in it, unless self imposed. I admit, that I have been lacking in the area of self imposed accountability.

I have many goals and aspirations that if I do not hold my self accountable to some standard, I shall sadly not achieve them.

Life is short; the days are ticking by at an alarming pace.

Tomorrow, I will design a brief ‘checklist’ that I will use to make a weekly report. I’ll use this forum as a place to report to. It is my belief, that this check list will play a key roll in the achievement of my success as an entrepreneur.

Wade Hone,

Organization Draft Document:

2006-03-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

The Level 20 Distribution force.
Small = 1 to 49 agents
Medium = 50 to 500 agents
Enterprise 500 + agents

Small:

–Me-
Members (have access to Intagoal Training material.)
Individuals that receive the Level 20 News Letter – Special Offers and benefits perhaps even Discounts – Regular customers of Level 20 Sources or Level 20 Production Agents.
Small Support Staff (bookkeeping)
Source Customers
Are sources of products sold by Level 20 but are not Production Agents. Sources will have L20 Source Agents that coordinate the distribution methods that the Destination Agents use to deliver their products to the destination customers.
Destination Customers
Purchasers of Source products that are sold by L20 including Members and non members alike.
Source Agents (Intagoal Certified.)
L20 Agents that help to develop a relationship with Source Customers and Production Agents. Source Agents coordinate the distribution methods that the Destination Agents use to deliver the Source products to the destination customers.
Destination Agents (Intagoal Certified.)
Destination Agents deliver the Source products to Destination customers.
Production Agents (Intagoal Certified.)
Companies or individuals that provide products or services and are trained in the methods of operation at Level 20. Often Production Agents will fill the role of Source Agent.
Local Coordinator (Intagoal Certified.)
Coordinates the efforts of all Agents and Customers in a local area.

Medium:

Me
Members
Support staff including – receptionist – IT – accounting – law
Source Customers
Destination Customers
Source Agents
Destination Agents
Production Agents
Local Coordinators
District Coordinators
Area Coordinators
IT Coordinator

Enterprise:

-Me-
Continue Developing the distribution company so that it can be sold for no less than 10,000,000 Dollars.
Members
Support staff including – receptionist – IT – accounting – law
Source Customers
Destination Customers
Source Agents
Destination Agents
Local Coordinators
District Coordinators
Area Coordinators
VPs

A Plan of action

2006-03-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

3-20-06

I have decided to develop a world wide Sales agency. I’m starting in Boise Idaho and quickly expanding into Utah. The company will seek out and develop products to sell. By heavily utilizing the internet, a sales force that is developed across the US and eventually world wide will market these products.

The key is that it is the sales force that is the primary product.

The focus of this organization will be to reward the people that produce results with monetary wealth. A secondary goal will be to focus on helping people to break out of the ‘golden handcuff’ reward structure that modern business uses so prevalently in today’s world.

Wade Hone

Thoughts from the past help to form the future

2006-01-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, I start this Blog and then promptly don't write anything in it, what up with that eh?

Story of my life though.

So, I woke up this morning at 5 am ish. My early morning was largely due to a suddenly shrinking bladder I think... and what’s the deal with that huh? There shoulda been some PE Class in High school that had the name:

"Preparation for the deteriorization of your body for the next 90 years."

Of course I wouldn't have taken it, but at least I’d a known what to expect. Ok so 5 am means that I really only slept for about 4.75 hours, so I figure I'll just catch a few more Z's sense I'm just coming out of a cold.

Instead my mind spins with thoughts of Bills coming due and the glaring fact that I'm not gainfully employed blaring loudly in my mind.

So, I get up n hit the shower, ready to charge into the day. However before I hit the shower, for some reason I notice a little black book that I used for a work journal a few years ago. I read some pages that remind me about a focus that I once had. I'll retype what it said, but I don't know... does it go against my current mission statement? I'm hoping not because it seemed to get me energized about getting myself employed in something that will produce an income.

Anyway, here is what I wrote in the journal on Sunday March 9th 2003:

Defined Vision: Decide when "It" = "Enough"

In Gene Rodenberry’s view of the 24th century, he has humanity progress to a state in which there was no monetary system. Instead of seeking after money, people would give their time to society to advance it for a common good. I have often thought that was ideal! People not worried about 'how much' or worse, how much more than the other guy, that they have. Indeed that is a great utopia.

So how to... oh wait, I have to add this thought. I haven’t enjoyed, nor found greater fulfillment at any other time in my life than the time I spent on my mission preaching the gospel to others. I was not concerned with 'gaining' material wealth, but rather I was busy helping to better the lives of others.

Ok, with that a s a foundation I tried to think of a way that I could 'stop' focusing so much on the 'what I get' part of life and start concentrating on giving back to society.

Now I have some pretty aggressive ideas about some of the things that I want to be able to experience in this life. One way to attain those things is by having an adequate income that will allow me to do things like;

Travel,
Two locations of Residences
Involvement in business
Involvement in education

I know there are multiple paths one could take to achieve ones desires. I think that it is of utmost importance to 'choose' one of those paths and start along it, in order to achieve those desires.

Aha a key! Defining your vision or destination.

I strongly and firmly believe that 'desiring' or 'wanting' something is a huge part of 'getting' it. It is almost absurd to think of skipping that step. That being the case, by clearly defining what those desires are, the easier it will be to obtain them.

OK

I could write pages and pages on the preceding themes, but that entire preamble is to help me in defining the following ideas that have been jumping around in my head for the past 2 or 3 weeks. I have decided to 'establish' a 'that's enough' point. The world is not currently in a Gene Rodenberry 24th century utopia, but rather the opposite where Money plays a great roll in society. So to compensate for all of that, I will declare an amount of income that should be sufficient to provide me with my desires.

I do this with the hope that by setting a limit, it will combat the sad fact that the more a person makes, the more he spends or wants. I have experienced that in my own life and have witnessed it in the lives of others. I will set an income that I will 'force' myself to be happy with. As I achieve 'more' than that pre defined amount I will know that it is already earmarked as 'not mine' it will go towards benefiting society. If my plans work out then my source of income will be coming from an institutions that have 'improving others' at the heart and core of them. So Excess $ will go to those institutions.

Ok Deep breathes here! I'm setting my 'I will be happy with... # here so I'm "psyching up" for it.

Here is the only qualification... if the inflation rate average stays the same as it has been over the last 20 years (83-03) then the dollar # will not change. Yes that that's right the 'real income' will decrease over time! The # of loaves of bread or gallons of milk that I could buy will go down from year to year so I must budget for that!

Now the # I choose will seem very 'high' to some and 'low' to others. But here's the deal, it's my choice to make!

Every man bargains with life for his wage. Some may desire to live as cheaply as possible and others as richly as possible. Most never even give it consideration, instead just 'taking' what they are offered, never realizing that they could have sought more, or been happier with less.

That being the case, the following is what I have decided:

I Wade L. Hone will arrange my financial life to first achieve $120,000 (after taxes or net,) that I will live on each year. That is 10,000 $ a month. From that $ I will pay my bills, I will provide for my family, giving shelter, food, education, and other things that they stand in need of. Once I have attained that income, my focus will be on decreasing the amount of time that it takes each year to 'make' that money.

I can allow my self to get up to 10 years ahead in savings, but my expenditures need to not exceed 120K a year.

If I get 10 years ahead I need to dedicate my time 100% to my 'life’s work' and not focusing on 'working to live'.

Pay All Debts

Don't get further into debt. (exceptions = education and up to 2 houses.)

Once you satisfy your 'needs' levels then focus your time and energy on giving back to society. (Life’s work)

Stay humble

Which means to remember that the lord may have other plans and you need to always put his will first.

So, that is what I wrote 3 years ago... then you put that with my mission statement... I think they still jive together. I can live with combining those views into my present plan of action.

that plan being to start making money, key in this write up from 3 years ago was the line that talked about first attaining my income goals. In Maslow's higharchy of need, he postulates that certain needs like food shelter and emotional well being need to be met before an individual can really start giving back to society.

Amen to that. It's good training too. Anyway, here is a long post that I'm scribbling in here, to help me stay focused on the goal, albeit a goal from a while back... just because I lost sight of it for a while doesn't mean that it's not worth coming back to now.

It's time to start making hay while the sun is shining. As my Dad would say. I'm over my cold, and though my bladder may not be as patient as it used to be, I can still make it to the bathroom. Hence I've got allot to be thankful for and need to get up on the horse n ride.

Wade -out.

Missoin Statement 2006

2006-01-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

The New Plan 1-1-06:

A new year dawns, and instead of playing and partying to ring it in, I have decided to re form my mission statement. Previously my ‘Master Plan’ has included things like changing the way that society works, buying and selling million dollar corporations, and creating training programs that will enlighten all of mankind… well perhaps not all that, but the truth is they have been very grandiose, and far reaching. The problem is, I haven’t ever focused on any of them like a person would have to, to be able to accomplish them.

Perhaps one day those things will become important to me again. So far, apparently I haven’t had the motivation to really do anything more than develop plans and play in air castles built from my dreams. The action part just never happened. So, today I will focus on a few things that are attainable in the now, things that will allow me to better enjoy this short little slice o’ time on earth that I’ve been blessed with.

-- ---------- --------- ---------- --

My mission statement:

“I will keep work in its place. Work is a means to acquire food, shelter,
and after that, luxury. I will recognize the importance and value of
time. I will carefully consider choices that trade limited highly
valued time for, often, low value luxury. Only when the luxury is
worth the time cost, will I choose to make that trade.

I will build relationships. Relationships are either in the process of
growing or dying, it is a rare case indeed where a relationship hits a
plateau and stays there for any amount of time. There may be a limit to how many close friendships that a person can have, but I will push those limits by using the technology of this age, and by choosing to consciously and continuously reach out to others.

I will choose my reaction carefully in every situation. I have total
control over how I choose to react. That choice has a great influence
on my attitude and I choose to keep my attitude pointed in a positive
direction. Life is much more enjoyable that way.”

-- ---------- --------- ---------- --

There! I have it, now that’s a mission statement I can live with! I like it, I am 100% bought in to that one. No list of things that I will or won’t do, nothing that I have to beat myself up over failing to achieve. It’s really something I can live by and I like it.

It summarizes easily too.

The Wade Hone Mission Statement:

I will keep work in it’s place.
I will build relationships.
I will choose my reaction carefully in every situation.

Professional Mission Rules June 6th, 2005 to Juneish, 2010

2005-06-04T03:14:00.000-06:00

Professional Mission Rules June 6th, 2005 to Juneish, 2010

Professional Mission Rules June 6th, 2005 to Juneish, 2010
Personalized for Wade L. Hone.

Intro.

Over the last 30 years of my life, the time that I was the most productive was during my religious mission. One very important part of the mission was obeying the mission rules. These rules included a schedule, and guide lines on what activities that would help us reach our objectives, and what activities would prohibit us from reaching our objectives.

The objective of this mission is the building up of the professional side of my life. This professional mission will focus on building wealth and creating successful business models utilizing modern communication technologies. This mission will last for 5 years.

The rules listed in this document help to maintain focus on the objective, and will increase personal productivity if followed. The spirit of the law takes precedence over the letter of the law, however the letter of the law is still important.

This book should be read once a week at least during a study and preparation time.

Schedule outline:

Weekday:
7:00 – Get up and prepare for the day.
7:45 – Review Goals and specifically plan what you will do today and when you will do it. Make then study your mission guide.
8:15 – Make profit. This should be high intensity production work, every minute you should be able to theoretically ‘bill’ level20 for the time that you are spending doing things. (as owner you won’t, but if you weren’t owner, this time should be as productive as time paid for.)
11:30 Break for lunch, usually no more than 30 mins, but on occasion 1 hour breaks are acceptable.
12:00 Make profit. (same as the 8:15 – 11:30 time slot)
4:00 – review the day. Make notes in your journal, answer the question ‘did you win today?’ Review what went well, lessons learned and prep for production time tomorrow.
5:00 – Work on non or lesser profit baring projects, Intagoal, Training, one night a week can be used for socializing and having fun. Exercise now for a few mins if you didn’t earlier.
9:00 – Grab a bite to eat.
10:00 – Read something inspirational.
11:00 – Sleep.

Saturday:
Use this day to prepare for the upcoming week. Make sure the following are done for sure:
Clean house.
Organized work areas.
Clothes washed and ready to wear for the following week.
Use Saturdays to work on Training mostly or to catch up on projects that are getting behind.

Sunday:
Go to church, and keep this day holy.
Plan your upcoming week.
Review your goals.
Write letters.
Write Intagoal Essays and novels or build Semerial.com

Spirit of the law:

Overall, do things with your time that will benefit you in some way, whether character building, relation ship building, material gain, or health. Never stay stagnant.

Letter of the law:

Follow the schedule.
No more than 8 hours a week spent on entertainment activities including movies video games, pleasure reading, playing etc..
GIGO – Make sure you only let the good go into your mind and work hard to keep the garbage out.
Exercise regularly. (at least 3 times a week.)
Eat healthy.
Be and react positive in speech and action, but maintain a realistic understanding of life.
Report every day on whether you have won or lost. (make notes)
Read these rules at least once each week.

Amendments or focus Items:

This section is used to focus on specific areas. Perhaps short term goals, assignments by mentors or focusing on character building activities, much like Benjamin Franklin did with his values, concentrating each week on one specific value.

Conclusion:

Sui juris – one’s own master.

Follow these rules and be your own master. Over all don’t waste time on things that won’t actively move you in the direction of your goals. Not only that but work to spend the majority of your time on the activities that will be most effective, and the least amount of time on the activities that are less effective. For 5 years you have dedicated yourself to the building up of wealth and creating successful business models utilizing modern communication technologies. Remain focused on that for these five years. Your efforts will be rewarded. Don’t let down your guard, know yourself, and stay true to yourself.

By Wade Hone.

To do list June 3rd 2005.

2005-06-03T09:54:00.000-06:00

Things to do:

Make a rule book for the next five years, treat it like you treated your rule book for your 2 year religious mission in Argentina. -Completed 6-04-05-

Implement the goal setting, web based project as explained at: http://www.wadehone.com/goalppt/INTAGOAL-Goal%20setting%20program_files/frame.htm

Explain in a document the Level20 flow chart, found at: http://www.level20.com/images/flow.gif

Get a revenue producing product posted for sell at both of your e-bay and amazon.com stores.

Get ACT working and organize your contacts in a way that will be effective for Level20.

Write a letter that will explain the basics of Level20.com and how most of your contacts might benefit/be benefited by it. This is so that you can send this on via e-mail or letter to introduce the idea, and get updated contact information from them.

Revamp the Level20.com website, and make it functional, explaining the basics of what Level20 will do in it’s start up stages, and what the plans are for it to evolve into.

Write a document about how Intagoal Training will integrate with Level20.com associates.

Get business cards created.

Set up Quick books for a retail business.

Post a training calendar.

Review what’s done so far with Dennis, go over what’s next with Blaine and Dennis.

Look at the other three ‘freelance’ type web sites, note what is the same, and what is different about your level20.com Idea.

Feburary 17th records of varios conversations

2005-02-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

Feburary 17th records of varios conversations.

I spoke with my Brother tonight about various ideas that we could act on this month that could produce an income. We are both going to get an outline down of exactly what needs to be done. Then we plan to actually ‘do’ something by next week that will start to generate income. The call was re-invigorating, but not just inspirational, talking with Blaine helps to more clearly define my vision. I hope it does the same for him. We both have many hopes and aspirations. When we speak, it becomes easy to pinpoint the things that keep us from achieving those dreams. It still remains to each of us to actually implement the solutions, but over all the hour long discussion was very helpful.

Today I also had dinner with my father, we had a very uplifting discussion that really helped to lift me spiritually. I always enjoy speaking with him, my time with him is as if I’m being rewarded for some good deed. My mother is out of town, and he spoke of her and how much he loved her, and how beautiful that she is. He told stories about when they were first married. It was great spending time with my Dad. I sometimes think of him as Mufasa, like the father lion in the lion king movie.

There are several articles that I’d like to get written, that help to form the base of the company that I envision building up. I plan to post the ruff drafts in here.

For now, I'm off.

Wade Hone

My path to becoming a 'true' Entrepreneur.

2005-02-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

My path to becoming a 'true' Entrepreneur.

I read a quote by Guy Kawasaki in a recent Entrepreneur Magazine that really inspired me, or perhaps it was a slap in the face, in that I find that I fall in to the three things that he mentioned that do not properly represent true entrepreneurship.

The quote was this:

“…Doing, not wanting to do, learning to do, or planning to do, is the essence of entrepreneurship.”

With that quote prodding me on, I finally got the start of a web page posted. It was a favor that I’ve been promising to do for some one for a long time. It sounds like a little thing, but I was surprised at how many times I needed to put my mind back on the track of actually doing, instead of engaging in planning to do, or learning to do last night.

It is a start, I’ll soon have a schedule posted that firmly establishes the time to do. During that time, I will not engage in learning to do, or planning to do, or wishful wanting to do. I will be fully engaged in the DOING part.

Wade Hone

Becoming a true Entrepreneur.

2005-02-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

I’d like to document my path towards becoming a real, or true entrepreneur. I’m a huge believer in the philosophy of ‘return and report’. Meaning that once a task is given or a goal set that there needs to be some sort of a forum established for returning and reporting the results of any activity taken towards the objective.

My objective has been set, and this forum will act as an informal place that I can return and report.

It will also contain some personal musings on life and the state of affairs I supose, but that all fits in becuase I believe that those thoughts will influence my entrepreneurial path.

Thanks for tuning in.

Wade Hone.