Tony had a terrific interview last week, talking on The Next Level, with Anthony Gemma. Here’s a link to the 790 Business website!
In the interview, Tony expands on exactly how he got started, talking about the beginnings of Planet Tan and the road he took to expanding the company to 17 locations, then ultimately selling it.
Here’s a direct link to the interview: http://podcasting.fia.net/5946/4857605.mp3
Blaine Greenfield, one of Amazon.com’s top 500 reviewers, recently read Tony’s book and gave it five stars out of five; see what she had to say right here, or check out the Amazon.com review page.
I admit to being a sucker for books that indicate they will give you 75 TIPS, TOOLS, AND TACTICS FOR BECOMING A WIDELY SUCCESSUFUL ENTREPRENEUR–to quote the subtitle of Tony Hartl’s excellent book, SELLING SUNSHINE (Greenleaf Book Group).
Hartl founded Planet Tan in 1995 with three locations in the Dallas area . . . by 2008, the companies had 17 locations, employed 160 staff members and generated average sales of $1 million per location . . . he then sold his company and began writing this book.
I’m glad he did, too; i.e., share his ideas . . . in doing so, I also got to know more about Hartl–and that added to my enjoyment of his story.
In addition, I liked reading about how he described the way his company operates:
* Success is a choice. Hard work is a choice. Doing the right thing and doing right by others is a choice. The internal mantra for the company I founded sums it up nicely: “Work hard. Have fun. Make history.” It’s also the battle cry for successful entrepreneurship and how I got to where I am today.
Hartl also presents many suggestions for ways his company operated that could be used by just about any other company or organization:
* For example, if we’d just reached a certain milestone or if the team had hit a big goal, I’d call a meeting for all the employees in the support center, at the end of the day on a certain Friday, and tell them I had some important things to discuss. Once everyone arrived at the meeting, I’d announce that it was $100 Dollar Friday” and hand out $100 bills to all the staff. That’s a great way to start a weekend, and a great way to keep your team motivated and excited after they’ve reached a milestone. We used spontaneous and unexpected incentives and rewards like this as a teaching tool to reinforce positive behavior and exceptional performance. I preferred using these types of bonuses and unanticipated rewards over things like traditional Christmas bonuses because the spontaneous extras had far more impact and emphasized our values.
Lastly, he shared this valuable insight for the way to run a business:
* As intriguing and thought provoking as those initial offers were, some of the best business advice I ever received was to run my business as if I were going to run it forever. This is a very wise philosophy, because the minute you start thinking like a seller instead of an owner, you begin making decisions differently.
If you’re interested in starting a business . . . or if you currently own one . . . SELLING SUNSHINE is definitely a book you should read . . . also, it would make a great gift for any would-be entrepreneurs you know who are in school or about to graduate in the near future.
Jay Petervary, who has trained with Tony in Jackson Hole, is concerned about America’s carbon footprint — and he’s doing something about it, riding across the country to spread awareness of some of the downright easy steps that can be taken to help protect our environment.
From his site:
Americans idling their vehicles waste nearly 3.8 million gallons of gasoline each day while putting 40,000 pounds of CO2 into the air. This equates to $11,780,000 of burned fuel each day at the current price of regular unleaded gasoline ($3.10).
All proceeds of The No Idle Tour will be donated to the Willie Neal Environmental Awareness Fund. To make a tax free donation you may visit the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. In the comments box during check out please include that the donation is for to the Willie Neal Environmental Awareness Fund in honor of the No Idle Tour.
If you would like to make a non tax deductible donation you may send a check payable to Jay Petervary at PO Box 281, Victor, ID 83455
An excerpt from Jay’s note about the trip:
The No Idle Tour is about more than just riding my bike and driving less; In cooperation and support of the Willie Neal Environmental Awareness Fund I will be raising money and awareness as I travel the country in 2011. No Idle campaigns are designed to help communities reduce their carbon emissions by passing laws against idling cars. Willie Neal managed to achieve more in his 18 years of life than most people do in their lifetime. Willie’s belief that “change begins with an individual” has led me to do my part by educating people across the U.S. during all three of my challenges. I will be educating people about environmental stewardship, no idle initiatives and helping raise funds to further Willie’s dreams.
I have a lot of passion for the challenges I take on, but I cannot do it all on my own. I am requesting monetary or in-kind donations so that I can attempt to complete the three challenges I have planned. Please see the attached sponsorship page for further details on how to make contributions and donations. If it were not for the support of friends, family, sponsors and generous donors I could not live out these dreams. Drive less, commute more!
