“I hate to lose.”
Four little words…
But for billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, they spelled trouble – and in typical Cuban-style, a brand new business opportunity too…
When Cuban was investigated by the SEC (the charges were later dropped), one of the pieces of information that the government focused on was that short statement…
That the message was in reference to a Mavericks game was considered less important. The SEC believed that because Cuban “hated to lose,” he must logically be willing to do anything to win…. Including insider trading.
To Cuban, it illustrated that once you send a message out into the world, it can be used for purposes that you never imagined possible.
Luckily for Cuban, the government dropped the charges, but the idea that people needed a way to protect themselves in a digital world – where there is a permanent record of everything they say – stayed with him.
His solution is an app called Cyber Dust, and the idea is that every message delivered by the app disappears forever a short time after it has been sent.
It’s a great illustration of how some of the biggest challenges we face are also some of the best business opportunities. After all, Cuban is far from the only person worried about protecting his private details – as many Hollywood celebrities would certainly attest.
This idea of problems leading to opportunity isn’t the only business lesson that Cuban has to impart. In fact, the vocal entrepreneur has been more than happy to share his ideas about what leads to entrepreneurial success…
A Great Idea Isn’t Enough
While Cuban is obviously fascinated by “big opportunities” like Cyber Dust, he doesn’t believe that having a great idea is enough on its own…
He says:
“It’s not about the idea, it’s about how prepared you are. Everyone has ideas, most don’t do the work required to get the job done.”
For a business to be successful, you simply have to be willing to put in the work…
There are plenty of examples that show just how true this is. iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone on the market, Facebook wasn’t the first social network, and Virgin didn’t invent the idea of a music store or discount airline…
It’s executing the great idea that counts – not necessarily being the first to market.
Help Yourself By Helping Others
Success for Cuban is fundamentally about helping people to achieve their ultimate result. In Cubans words:
“You are not trying to convince them of anything… You’re trying to show them how you are going to make their lives easier… There are no favors involved. It’s a win-win for everybody”
When you are focused on achieving the greatest possible benefit for your customers – and delivering on that promise – there’s no need to hard sell your customers.
However… Even if you have the best product on the market, it won’t be successful if nobody knows about it…
Don’t Be Afraid To Make Noise
Just having a great product for sale isn’t enough… There is so much “noise” in the modern marketplace, you can’t be afraid to stand out and get attention. Cuban says that, while he is sometimes considered something a “loud mouth,” the opportunities that have opened up for him as a result of his self-promotion have been more than worthwhile.
For Cuban, this has meant appearances on TV shows like Entourage and the Simpsons, as well as being a regular “talking head” on the news…
We may not all be able to appear on network television (or can we?), but there are plenty of other ways for small businesses to get attention – you’ll find some of my favorites in The Predictable Profits Playbook…
Find Your Unique Advantage Point
Finally, Cuban stresses is the importance of differentiating yourself…
Finding those unique characteristics that set you apart from the competition is integral to commanding higher prices for your products and services. As Cuban states:
“Wherever I see people doing something the way it’s always been done, the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be done, following the same old trends… Well, that’s just a big red flag to me to go look somewhere else.”
I call this your UAP, or Unique Advantage Point™. It’s what your business does better, the thing that you do that no one else can. In today’s competitive market, if you don’t have a UAP… You’re in trouble!
As Cuban demonstrates, great entrepreneurs know how to turn even the most troubling situations into business opportunities.
What challenges have you transformed into marketable solutions?
In your corner,
Charlie