Value/Weight of social skills in the fast lane approach?

[m1522632]

I am reading this book now.... and I see that many of the things in this book are similar to my perception of entrepreneurship and starting up a business. More over, I was always moving in this direction. I was trying to come up with some ideas about what people really need and build something new around this in parallel with my full time job.

Just one more thing that I waned to add.

The book is really cool and it resonates with my own views. The only thing is I didn't find much in the book about the social part... there is a chapter about immersing yourself into the right environment and mingling among right people… but I think the meaning of your social skills and connections for starting up a successful business may even outweigh hardworking, brilliant idea and implementation.

Most of the existing successful businesses were created by several people. So you definitely need to have business partners. They would help you shape your idea, stimulate and motivate you all the way long. There are also lots of businesses that were based when someone pitched his/her idea to people with money or connections...Out of my experience all my successful ventures were done together with my friends or people that I knew.

[MJDeMarco]

but I think the meaning of your social skills and connections for starting up a successful business may even outweigh hardworking, brilliant idea and implementation.

In other words, it's not what you know but who? I'd agree this has tremendous value. And to add umph to your post, I think "social skills" are terribly important in a Fastlane. Perhaps I didn't write about it because it is a weakness of mine and I don't have much experiential wisdom to impart. I can tell you that I'd be a lot richer, or more successful, if I was more social and less of a rogue.

Business ultimately is always about sales, and sales, are about relationships. Relationships are about being social.

Most of the existing successful businesses were created by several people. So you definitely need to have business partners.

I think it really depends on the business and the type of partner synergies. I think the larger the market of attack, the more beneficial it would become. Great post!

[healthstatus]

Now you need to find a very social partner that has weaknesses where you are strong, but you have the same work ethic and financial mindset.

I would be in the same boat with MJ, I am not really skilled socially, I can sell when I need to, but my idea of fun is to get away from people, not go jump into a big crowd. I have chosen never to have a business partner, but even without that I should be selling my primary website for 7 figures in the next 18 months.

[JASpinnato]

In other words, it's not what you know but who? I'd agree this has tremendous value. And to add umph to your post, I think "social skills" are terribly important in a Fastlane. Perhaps I didn't write about it because it is a weakness of mine and I don't have much experiential wisdom to impart. I can tell you that I'd be a lot richer, or more successful, if I was more social and less of a rogue.

Business ultimately is always about sales, and sales, are about relationships. Relationships are about being social.

Up until I read the book I had the slowlane mentality and always loved sales. I started out with Enterprise Rent A Car which is a company that is heavily based on sales and I had so-called success there by being recognized for my high sales and being promoted at a quicker pace than most. But, after a while I fell out of love with this sales job simply because I felt like my sales were not helping people. I've always wanted to help people with my work so I decided to switch careers and try to find a sales job where I sold a product that would genuinely help people so I decided to get into insurance sales. In my eyes I have a somewhat fastlane mentality and a slowlane mentality at the same time. The fastlane mentality is that I am selling a product that has a need and helps people out. The slowlane mentality is that I am selling somebody else's product and the marketplace is flooded with people like me doing the same and I do not have control of the product I am selling.

I always prided myself on having the social skills and building relationships with my clients and I have done alright in insurance sales. I realized my true weakness after reading the book and that is I never had the mindset of a fastlaner in which I would actually try to find a need on my own and create a product that fulfilled that need. I didn't know it but I was always going to be headed down the path of the slowlane by selling someone else's product and think of that as true success. Now I am using my social skills in the market place to talk to people and try to find needs so I can develop my own product and become a true fastlaner. It has not been easy but thank god I read the book because if I had not I would have had the slowlane mentality for my entire life.

[Knowledge Kick]

I agree that being social is a great key to becoming successful. I can't find the post but I remember someone posted an article on here that polled millionaires. Turns out that the majority of millionaires weren't geniuses or even A+ students, but were very good at building relationships. A lot of the article talked about how the millionaires got through college by being friendly and getting their new found friends to help them on tests, etc.

This lends itself to the concept of not "what" you know but "who" you know.