: Ron Cutler
: How I Turned $15,000 to $10,000,000 and You Can Too Business Lessons That Can Enrich Your Life
: EZ Editions
: 9780982677797
: 1
: CHF 7.70
:
: Management
: English
: 144
: kein Kopierschutz
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Imagine an entertaining business book full of wild and informative stories and a sense of humor. Now add 39 years of entrepreneurial experiences covering multiple entertainment and leisure ventures, loaded with business instructions and life lessons from Cutler's successes (and failures). Welcome to the world of HOW I TURNED $15,000 INTO $10,000,000...and you can too. (Otherwise known as HIT) HIT is a rare glimpse inside the workings of a successful business mind, who shares how he thinks, strategizes, creates and how to creatively solve problems, overcome obstacles, and develop confidence and resiliency. This is a perfect BOOK for these challenging economic times. It is never dry or boring, but an enjoyable read designed to give readers hope and inspiration.

CHAPTER 2

Developing a Personal Brand

In this Chapter:

•   How to develop your own personal brand

•   Persevere

•   Watch me fail

•   Not let failure stop you

•   Overcome Obstacles

June 1962

Hy Lit, the top AM radio DJ in Philadelphia at the time, had left the Playland Roller Skating Rink in the Port Richmond section of Philly to run a dance at suburban Willow Grove Amusement Park.

Vince, the owner of Playland, didn’t know what to do. His dance attendance had fallen from 1000 teenagers down to 232. It was summertime and teens had headed for the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey or street corners to hang out. Vince knew about me from his friend Peter, who also owned a skating rink. Peter knew I was a go-getter—I made extra bucks booking skating parties for him and he knew I loved dances. I had no experiences as a dance DJ. I never did it before, but I was eager to try. I danced at many record hops, knew the type of kids who attended them and the songs teens loved to dance to. I was lucky; Vince had no other alternative but to give me a chance. He hired me for one week and if I didn’t work out, I’d be out the door. You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, even if it seems lame at the time. I remembered the name I used when I worked at American Finance—Ron Diamond. I created the moniker“the rock in rock’n roll is a diamond” and jumped at the opportunity.

When Saturday arrived, the usual 200 teens showed up along with the chance to prove myself. As soon as I took the stage and looked out over the crowd below, I transcended from a 19 yearold nobody into a celebrity in the eyes of the kids. I danced on stage and pleased the crowd by playing song requests and taking dedications. They responded by spreading the word, creating a buzz that the new disc jockey at Playland was cool. Attendance began creeping up.

After the first night of the Playland dance, I felt different about myself. I grew up being just one of the crowd. But that night was momentous. I underwent a transformation that led to a better self-image. On the stage at Playland, I became special, a feeling I had rarely experienced before. I never had a desire to be a disc jockey, but in a flash I became one.

Life is full of unexpected surprises and events; they happened to me and I’m sure they’ve happened to you.

Now, I was determined to build the crowd. I decided on a strategy and the tactics that would execute that strategy. I was like a politician running a campaign, going from one teen hangout to another and encouraging kids to dance at Playland. But this time I wasn’t collecting debts, I was collecting customers. I gave out flyers and hung posters on telephone poles. It was grassroots, personal street-level marketing. Today it’s called guerilla marketing. I had started at Playland the last Saturday in June and by the end of August the crowd had risen to over 1200. Still, I took home just $25 dollars a night. Should I have demanded more? In today’s world of short-term goals with short-term gains, it might seem like the