I talk to a lot of people about a lot of things. I just got back from an event where I spoke to a large group of people. It was a little intimidating; there were hundreds of people there. Most of them were highly educated professionals. They were the tops in their industry.

I got off stage and was greeted by their positive feedback, requests for personal consultations with their companies and general adoration of my grasp of the subject matter. I was feeling pretty good.

It took me almost two years to get that speaking gig. Since then (about two weeks ago) I have been offered two more bookings to speak – paid, all expenses covered for travel to cool locations. I have been offered a few paid consultation projects and even an offer to be a consulting partner on a new business venture.

I am not saying this to brag. Truly I am not. I am saying this because I have been organizing this hustle for two years. It started with establishing myself as an expert in this particular field. I read everything I could get my hands on. I started talking to others in this field. I worked my ass off to be taken seriously. I took on small projects, anything, that would allow me to gain credibility, no matter how small the projects were. Some of those projects got bigger as I finished the smaller ones. I used those small projects to meet more people.

I looked at each small project, connection, conversation and exercise as a small step up to the next level.
And now, I see it beginning to pay off.

Along the way, those in my employ questioned if I was making the right moves. My wife and I even talked about changing strategies. There were plenty of reasons to give up, but you see, I was moving. I was moving forward. I was moving up. I was building a platform from which I would launch my next business. Each small success was a brick, mortared into place.

In the process, I have met two other influential individuals who want to hook their wagons (and resources) up to my train. They know I will do the work. They know that I will bring the money. They know that with their money and resources, they can keep me moving forward and upward. I have proven it. They have seen what I have been able to do so far on my own. They want to stand next to me with buckets as the money rains down.

So why am I telling you all of this?

Too often I hear about people who set goals and spend their time trying to jump up and catch them. I used to do it myself. Almost like I expected success to fall on top of me and knock me on my ass.

I would envision it like winning the lottery. No one plays the lottery without thinking that they are going to win. It is ridiculous to pay for the ticket without thinking you are going to win right?

Odds are you are not going to win, but you buy the ticket again next week.

But the same people will not put $10 into a savings account or spend 1 hour a day developing a business strategy or educating themselves. They will spend $3 or $4 on cigarettes but not $5 on a used book on something that would make them $500 in a year. The big goals are too huge and too high to reach by jumping.

What I am telling you is, you can do it. Obviously you are motivated. If you weren’t motivated you wouldn’t be reading this. So you have the most important part of making that goal, that dream, a reality – motivation.

Now you have only to define your goal and take that first step.

Even if that first step is to read a book, or a blog or a video on youtube, that will move you forward. That step will move you upward. The next step is to get off your ass and meet someone. It could be someone interested in the same thing that will help you start your crew or a new customer or client.

Just keep moving forward and keep hustling.

One thing that is pretty much available to anyone in the United States is Internet access. Coffee shops, libraries, Internet cafes, schools are all potential sources of computers with cheap or free internet access.

Now, you might not be able to charge folks to use these free computers (but if you can, I might have a job for you because that would mean you are on top of your sales hustle). Anyway, so you now have this incredible resource. Every day, people like you are making a few dollars to a few thousand dollars using the Internet. I have. I was making a few hundred dollars a month on eBay about 8 years ago spending about 4 hours a month posting items and mailing them out. I didn’t do anything special. I could probably start it up again if I wanted too, but it was boring. I make better money now doing things that are more fun for me – and isn’t that the real hustle?

Now this doesn’t mean that I don’t still spend time online. I spend time for fun and I spend time for work. I visit a lot of different sites but most recently I have noticed a trend. Some call it social media, some call it social networking and some call it online “friending”. Whatever you call it, it is this century’s way of pooling your resources to get your hustle off the ground.

I am putting out a list here of sites that I visit and use on the daily basis. Some of these I may only use a few times a week because they don’t require my constant attention. Others I use when I have questions or feel the need to reach out a little. Some help me maintain my “real world” contacts and other help me meet new people who help me grow my personal empire.

These are sites that you can use to build your hustle, your crew, or plan your organization.

Money

You may know from a previous post that there are a lot of places online to find some seed capital. Here are just a few.

• Prosper
• Zopa
• Lending Club
• Kiva (for our international readers)
• Loanio
• Virgin Money

Personal Networking

Networking is important. It is really how you build your crew. When I used to run around in the streets, people knew me. I had a reputation. People knew that they could come to me to find some hard to find items or to find a deal. When I grew up, got straight and wanted to expand my hustle, I realized that I needed to create a NEW network. That guy who can get you car stereos on the cheap isn’t going to help much when you want to land that million-dollar contract. This is what you need to do – make new contacts. Each of these sites can help.

• Tribe find people in your area working their own hustles.
• Myspace the easiest to get going because you already know someone on MySpace. Yeah, you really do.
• Facebook This site used to be invite only. It is basically a MySpace knock off for the college set. Now, it is the “friendly” equivalent to LinkedIn.
• LinkedIn I have clients, colleagues and friends who contact me through LinkedIn. It is strictly business oriented. And when I get a new business card, this is the first place I go to see if we are going to hook up.
• MeetUp this site helps you find and meet people in person. My only warning here is that the entrepreneur groups have a lot of MLM salespeople. MLM is not my kind of hustle, if you can hump it out, more power to you.

Business Communities

Business Communities can be networking resources, but I find them more of a collaborative tool. This is where like minded people get together and expose each other to industry related news, advice and tips. I probably use these sites as much as the networking sites.

• Bank of America Small Business Online Community is a pretty cool site where you can get some advice.
• Microsoft Startup Center
• American Express Open Forum is a place where small business owners get together to share tips and ideas.
• Advisor Garage is a site where business pros ca offer help to those coming up. It is still in Beta phase now but looks promising.
• Entrepreneur.com Another resource site for you know who
• Small Business Wiki is a dumb name for a site like the others above. Dumb name, but a good resource.

Web Resources

• Google Analytics if your business has a website, then you need this. On one of my businesses, I track visitors, get their network location and call them up. I tell them “Thanks for visiting my website, I am calling to see if you had any questions not answered by my site.” This site is also cool if you do any marketing. You can watch your visitors spike when a new ad or marketing campaign launches and know what works.
• Google Alerts I get emails every day of my name popping up online or one of my businesses or competitors showing up in the news. This is how I do it. It gives you an excellent competitive advantage.

Money Services

Everyone needs some help figuring out their money. It is easier when all your money fits in your pockets, but when you start pulling in a little extra, things get complicated. It is better to learn good habits now.

• Mint.com is a free money management site. It has a lot of cool features including letting you know when your credit card payments and bills are due via email (mine go to my cell phone). It is like a free version of quicken but a lot easier to use.
• Geezeo.com another money management site. This one has a forum called “Money Confessions” where people anonymously post how they are spending their money.
• Wesabe Another online money management site worth mentioning.
• CreditKarma is a site that lets you monitor your credit score any time you want. This site is FREE and legit.
• PayPal – Love it or hate it, Paypal is the leading way to exchange money between individuals online. Owned by eBay.
• Google Checkout – Google’s service for buying items in online stores without giving your credit card details to the merchant. No person-to-person exchanges.
• MoneyBookers – a popular alternative to PayPal, especially in countries where PayPal still doesn’t let users receive funds.
• Billster allows you to track your bills as well as helps you figure out how to split shared bills with your friends, partners or roommates.
• Annual Credit Report The government offers this site so you can get a free copy of your credit reports. It’s free, once a year.

Information and Resources

There is a lot of information out there. Here is a good start to get you rolling. This is one list that I will keep updating so check back.

• SlideShare is a site where business pros upload their PowerPoint presentations. Now you can see how the big rollers are getting the job done. This helps for that first time you have to give a presentation to a room full of suits.
• DocStoc.com There are a lot of free and downloadable documents including Non-Disclosure Agreements and Independent Contractor Agreements. It doesn’t beat a lawyer – but it is cheaper.
• SBA Small Business Planner more business help from the government
• SCORE is a site to find a mentor to give you a hand up.
• IdeaBlob is a place where people throw out ideas for new businesses or products. You never know where that next idea will come from.
• EntreWiki same thing as IdeaBlob.

So obviously this isn’t every site out there. It isn’t even a complete list of the best sites out there. It is just a list of good sites that I visit. If you are reading this post, and you run a valuable site like these, post a comment. If it looks good, I will allow it through so others can check it out. If you have a site that you don’t run but you know is cool, post it and I will set it up for others too. Also, check back because I will be updating this post as better sites show up.

Keep Hustling

If you want to be rich, you need a crew
How to pick your million dollar crew
Starting a business is like robbing a bank - organize your crew 

You need a plan – Fail to plan and plan to fail. That is the facts jack. The more time you spend on the plan and the more time you spend on putting together your crew, the better your chances of pulling it off. BUT! If you spend too much time planning and organizing, you crew will get restless. You run the risk of your team spilling your plan to someone else or going rogue. You will wake up one day and read in the paper how the whole thing went down without you. It has happened to me. It eats you up inside when you see your big idea in the newspapers. What do you need for a plan?

Goal Strategy – You want to get in and out with bags of cash and not go to jail right? Well right that down. You need to know what you are going to do. You need a direction, a general layout of what you are trying to accomplish. It doesn’t need to be detailed, it needs to be specific.

Plan the Details – Now you know what you are going to do, you have to figure out the best way to do it. There are a hundred ways to skin a cat (so I am told). There are equally as many ways to pull a job. Usually 95% of those ways will get you pinched. As for the other 5% – well that leaves you with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately, as you increase your chances of success, you increase your investment into the caper. Making things safe takes money and planning.

Lucky (Stupid) – I call this Lucky and Stupid. This is where you have little planning. You pick a place because you have a “Gut Feeling”. You may or may not know the area. You may not know the people in the crowd. Your plan is to walk in, flash the teller and get a little bit of cash and walk out. Maybe you use a disguise, maybe not. Maybe you think no one will recognize you if you keep your head down or wear a hat. That’s why you are stupid. Wigs, hats and sunglasses may make you feel safe, but they actually make you look suspicious. If you don’t get caught – you are lucky. Unless you have been touched by God – this business will not work. You are under-prepared. What happens when things go bad?
Possible Earnings: $0 to $5,000
Flaw in Plan: Too many variables and not enough planning – beware the die pack

Fast – This is a little better than Lucky and Stupid, but not by much. This is where you run in with your piece in your hand and just start grabbing cash and running out. This is only better because you have the element of surprise and fear. People take a few minutes to acclimate to new situations. You might get out with a little more money – but what happens if you bump into an armed guard or a cop? Things can still go bad because your planning sucks. You think that you are safe because people may not be able to recognize you because they will be looking at your hands more than your face. In business you will hear this tactic referred to as “Selling the Sizzle”. Selling the Sizzle means that there is no steak to be had. You are all flash and no substance. This is no way to start a business.
Possible Earnings: $0,000 to $10,000
Flaw in Plan: Moving fast is good, moving fast while alone is bad.

Bold – Bold is when you have a plan but need to rely on teamwork and muscle to achieve your objective. A bold plan is the first level of real success planning. You have a plan with key selected players. Each player has a job. Each player has their own expertise. One guy picks the location. Another guy researches the security measures. Another guy looks into the employees to find out who is in charge and who can get you the most money. The strategy behind this plan is that you actually have a strategy! You go in. There are 2 or 3 people from your crew in place. Maybe you even have someone on the inside. You have someone make sure the cameras are off. You have someone disarm the guards. You have 1 or 2 guys cover the crowds to make sure there are no heroes that get in the way. Once you get the cash, and make sure no one gets hurt, you have to get out. The smart business person has an escape route planned in advance. You have your first car pick the money carriers up and move. If you want to split this into three cars – you increase your chances of the money getting out – even if one car gets caught. You drive those cars to another location where the money is dropped off in a safe spot – usually a car with a driver and a rider (neither know each other so they keep each other honest). These two drive the cash to a third location where they meet someone who takes the cash off their hands. This person holds the money until the team leader shows up to divide the profits. No one gets caught – everyone gets paid. This is bold, but calculating. There is some risk and a lot of players. You can’t do it all yourself and you don’t have the money to do it smarter. This is your first real business plan.
Possible Earnings: $0 to $50,000
Flaw in Plan: Too many players makes execution of plan hard to control.

Strategic –Instead of going for the cash, you go after the people. Study all the employees. Who is dirty? Who has been cheating on their spouse? Who has access to the money and who has kids? Now obviously I am not suggesting you kidnap anyone in real life. This is purely academic. If you haven’t figured this out by now, you are an idiot. Get off this site and go read the funny papers, moron. This plan probably wouldn’t work in real life anyway – it is just an example of how to think like a Hustler. Anyway, back to the plan. Strategy means using your head more than your back. It means not being seen. It means getting other people to do the work for you.

Get yourself an off-shore account. If you don’t know what that is – Google it. It is usually easy to find out who a bank manager is. Follow them home. Find out where they live. Watch them drive away. Get out of your white van painted with “Roto-Rooter” on the side with a blue jumpsuit. Walk around to the back of the house, put on your mask and sit down with the bank manager’s family. Call the manager from his own house and let him know that he has 30 minutes to wire $10,000 to 10 different accounts. Stay on the phone with him while he does it.
Walk away $100,000 richer.
Flaw in Plan: It takes research, steady nerves and killer instinct to pull this off.

Smart – This is the one that will blow your mind. Not because of how brilliant it is, because it’s not what you expect. You want to know how a Hustler robs a bank? He steals a bank. He starts 10 businesses and raises the money to open his own bank. Do you feel let down? Don’t be. If you do feel let down, it’s because you don’t get it. A bank is nothing but a business. It is a business that makes money, lending money to people like you. It isn’t even lending its own money! It lends the money it borrows from bigger banks for a commission. It provides services like checking and savings accounts that it buys from another bank and resells to people like you. A bank is no different than a coffee shop or a shoe store except that it carries no inventory.

There are a lot of different kinds of banks. You have traditional banks, you have credit unions and you have check cashing or money turning businesses. It is possible for any one individual to start any of these kinds of businesses. Read this to learn how easy it is to start a credit union. If you can pull this off, then laughing all the way to the bank is a short trip.
Possible Earnings: UNLIMITED
Flaw in Plan: The most difficult to pull off – but you likely won’t go to jail if you fail.

One thing I haven’t really focused on here is that while you are trying to make your money, there are other forces working against you. Some of those forces are planned like cameras, teller training, armed guards and things called Bandit Barriers and so on. Then you have what I call natural forces – things that happen by chance. This could be anything from a flat tire to an off-duty but armed cop in the bank. You could trip on the way out. You might get hit with a die packet.

You have the same obstacles in business. Look at Krispy Kreme donuts. They were HUGE. They were opening a couple of stores every month. People loved the donuts. They got a ton of press when they would come into a new town. People would camp out to get the first donuts off the conveyor belts. They had good management, good marketing and a loyal customer base. They were on top of the world. What happened? A doctor came out with a new diet that said you could lose a pound a day – you just had to give up sugar and bread. Within two years Krispy Kreme stores started closing all over the country as everyone went South Beach and Atkins crazy. That is death by natural forces. Krispy Kreme couldn’t forecast that this would happen. How could they have known? That’s where planning comes in. They were opening far faster than they really should have (See plan “Fast”). They had a decent product but they wanted to dominate the market too quickly and get out with the cash. It is a flawed strategy for long term success.

What is the point of this post? Easy – You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s it. Before you start any business or project – you need to step back and ask yourself “How can I accomplish the same thing, using a different tactic?” Why rob a bank when you can STEAL a bank? Education is a key – but not the only key. You don’t have to be educated if you can see things happening before they happen. It is called “Trendspotting” and I am pretty good at it. If you know what is going to sell before people know that they want to buy it – then you can be a millionaire.

Unfortunately they don’t teach trendspotting in school. It is something you are either born with or you develop over time with experience. But it still remains that you have to learn to earn. If you can’t learn from a school or a book – find someone smarter than you. If you can’t find someone smarter than you, find someone who is an expert in what you want to learn, and work for him or her. No one can walk into the game. To learn it you have to earn it. When you can think like this – you will be a Hustler.

So, how do you plan a bank robbery (start a business)? Well this will assume that you have read the first two articles on this multi-part series – If you want to be rich then you need a crew and How to pick your million dollar crew. If you haven’t read these then you aren’t ready to read this. The first thing you need to pull off a successful job is the right crew.

1. You need a crew – You could go solo. I know there are lone wolves out there robbing banks or pulling off jobs every day. It is hard to control a large area with a lot of variables by yourself. The problem with going “Lone Wolf” that you are more likely to get caught. Solo artists get in and out with only the money that the teller that they are dealing with, have in their drawer. That is a lot of risk for for a few thousand dollars. If you want to clean out the vault and get away with it, you need a crew of people who know what they are doing.
   1. The Leader – we talked about this already so I am not going to rehash it. Someone has to be in charge – that’s just the way it is. Likely that person will be you.
   2. The Brains - This person will figure out where the deed will be done. It is always about location. Can you get in and out and get on the freeway in time? The Brains will work with you to figure out the right plan. The brain will help you organize your team and let you know what you will need.
   3. The Anchor – The plan has to go by The Anchor. This person will punch holes in your plans. The Anchor may have pulled off a caper like this before or may work in the industry and know about countermeasures. The Anchor is worried about their own ass. The Leader and The Brains are thinking about the money. In their heads the caper is already a success. The Anchor is thinking about the day after – they want an exit and cover strategy.
   4. The Money – You need tools. You need supplies. You need money. This is the person you go to when things need to be bought. This guy can be hard to find at first. But once you have a relationship, this guy can save your life. Many times The Money will be a retired hustler that can also offer some advice. Advice can be worth its weight in gold. Don’t screw this guy. The Money is often a leader who just doesn’t want to deal with the headaches of leadership. Never forget, you need him more than he needs you. The Money will want the biggest chunk of the take. He should probably get it.
   5. The Soldier – this person is down for whatever you need. They don’t have the juice to pull this off on their own but they need someone to put it together for them. Once the plan is laid down, sit back and watch this maniac work. The Soldier may be able to find you some freelancers like a Getaway Driver or some additional Muscle. They can usually manage and organize these people too giving you the additional protection. If the Driver or the Muscle goes down, there is no connection to you directly.
   6. Freelancer #1 – The Muscle – You need backup. There are a lot of variables when you start a caper. There are people who don’t want you to get your money. There are obstacles, annoyances, people crying – just a lot of things that will slow you down. The Muscle should help you stop that from happening. Think of The Muscle as The Soldier with less leadership skills and almost no loyalty. Cannon fodder. If someone has to be sacrificed – it starts with The Muscle.
   7. Freelancer #2 – The Getaway Driver – When you go into a place, you had better know how you are getting out. Only a fool walks in, stirs up a ruckus and THEN tries to figure out how they are getting out. The more getaway drivers you have, the better. You can have one at each exit or have them set up in tandem so you can dump one vehicle for another until you are out clean. Remember, they work for The Soldier so you have nothing to worry about. If they get caught up or they need to be dumped – it is The Soldier’s problem.
   8. Freelancer #3 – The Expert – You need someone with expert knowledge of the tools of the trade. The Leader can’t know everything about everything. Do you need specialty tools? Electronic countermeasures? Hackers? Phone Experts? Inside information? Demolitions expert? Chemical expert? You need an expert. If you are going to half-ass it then you are going to fail. No matter what you want to get into – find someone who knows more than you. You will need that help.

Here is a word of caution. Anyone not part of your primary team will want to get paid. They may even have ambitions and want a cut in the action. Don’t get mad. Everyone thinks that they are important. Every employee thinks that the whole plan will fail without them. This is common. You have to negotiate up front what you are willing to pay for their services. Feel free to come in cheap. Many people do. However, when the news hits the streets that you came out on top with millions, these people will show up looking for their cut of the action. Make sure you cover your ass in this case. Make it absolutely clear that the freelancers know that what they get is all they get. Feel free to offer a bonus or a cut of the action if everything goes off smoothly – that’s up to you. If some freelancer comes up with some new ideas or a unique strategy that makes everything go smoothly, then reward them. You might even consider making them a player in the next job. Good help is hard to find.

Don’t forget… if everything goes south – these people are still going to want their money. And ultimately, the law is on their side so you had better prepare yourself to pay up, even if you aren’t successful.

So now you have a team. Understand that this is not set in stone. These are simply players in YOUR game. You can trade players at any time. However, if you are planning to switch out players, make sure that no one player has enough of the plan to pull it off on their own or sell the information to some other interested party. I got burned once by a player. He had 3/4 of the plan. He burned me and took the rest of the team with him. That missing 1/4 of the plan… yeah he lost his house, his cars and almost his marriage. It wasn’t my fault. He was the leader – but I was the brains. He ended up coming back with a new plan and made his money. I don’t hate him. I learned a lot from that mistake. It likely cost me at least a million dollars so I hope I learned something. I will probably talk about that whole story later.

I have to admit that this whole thing was a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. So, see you later for another thrilling chapter. Stay tuned for “Starting a business is like robbing a bank -create a plan“

We understood him better than she thought.

Thats the problem with picking the people around you. Sometimes your heart gets in the way of your brain. My first real crew got together when I was about 6 years old. We ran a little syndicate at the elementary school. We sold a product that had universal appeal and cost us nothing to get. We could have put any price on it because we cornered the market – but we wanted to make money, so we priced it at what would generate the most sales.

I was The Leader. I could get the product and I put the distribution plan together. I hired 3rd graders to guard the door to the boys room. They were the muscle. They worked for 25 cents a recess period. I had a lookout and a guy to keep the merchandise in case the teachers showed up – we could all split. That crew worked well – until a teacher noticed that every recess there were two older boys guarding the boys room. The lookout opened the door to whistle – our signal to clean up. However, in all my planning I forgot a very important detail. Make sure your lookout can whistle.

This taught me a few very important lessons:

1. Your greatest plan is only as strong as your weakest link.
2. You don’t know what you don’t know

I know you are dying to know what we were selling. We were selling cut up pages of nudie magazines. I grew up in a “Foster Home” environment and I used to steal the magazines of the “Dad” and sell them in pieces. When I got expelled from the first grade – I had $30 in quarters nickels and dimes in a sock. That is a lot of money for a 6 year old in 1980.

Now I am not telling you this suggesting that you get into the porn business. Even now I don’t touch that industry (even though I have been approached at least a hundred times). What I am saying is that I have been doing this my whole life and I have learned a few things. Plus it is always good to know a little about the person that you are choosing to listen to.

Now, on to paying the bills.

You will notice that every successful team has at least 4 core players. Think about movies. If there are 5 team members, likely one is a traitor or cannon fodder (getaway driver). The reason is, large groups are hard to manage. If there are too many players, the plans get complicated.

So who do you look for? I’m not psychic. I don’t know who you hang out with. But I can tell you what kinds of people you need to look for. Obviously, if you fit into one of these descriptions, you don’t have to find someone else like you.

• The Leader – Your leader (and it may not be you – but since you are reading this, it probably is) Leaders love to come up with ideas. They are “Big Picture” people. They want to set up a plan and pull together the other players. They’re creative. Others may complain that they don’t do enough work once the plan is in progress. But this is likely because they are already on to the second part of the master plan.
• The Brain – The Leader and The Brain aren’t necessarily the same person. These people are brilliant in their geekiness. They love to take your ideas and create a plan or strategy for success. When you tell them an idea, they instantly tell you the next steps to make it happen. They are go-getters who like to make connections and create action plans. The leader and the brain need to be tight. Trust is important with this relationship. The brain may be very friendly and have a large network of friends and contacts or they could be a loner. The Brain may get caught up in the details and argue with you on specific points. Be aware of this. This is where team leadership comes into play. Be fair, but be sure all players know this is your operation.
• The Anchor – The Anchor is suspicious of new ideas. They believe in proven solutions and not doing anything too risky. They are good at pointing out problems and seeing around corners to know what might go wrong. When presented with a new project or plan – they can immediately rattle off all the reasons why it won’t work. This is critical for effective planning. If all you have are a bunch of people in lock-step with you, you will not be properly prepared for when things go bad. And they always go bad at some point (see lesson #2 above). The Anchor allows the team to simulate all the possible failures at the concept stage. This saves time, money and possible jail time. Without an Anchor – your team will be convinced that your plan is foolproof.
• The Soldier – If you need someone to execute your plan effectively – you can count on your Soldier. These are detail-oriented people are great at step-by-step work. They keep things organized and running smoothly. Give them their exact steps and expectations and they perform beautifully. The Soldier is different than “The Muscle”. You can usually recognize a Soldier as someone with ambition and determination – but no direction. They are usually fiercely loyal (in the beginning) as you are offering them a hand up. But if you have a project with them that is successful – The Soldier may feel like they have contributed more sweat to the project (even though that is their function – they didn’t come up with any ideas after all). The Soldier – after learning your system, is the most likely to “Go It Alone” and steal your clients, customers, secrets or ideas. So keep this one close.

Now I have left out what I call “Freelancers”. These are people with specific skills. A person with specific industry insight or connections is a freelancer. A salesperson is a freelancer. Hired muscle is a freelancer. They can either get paid up front or vest in for a piece of the project. But they are not part of the crew. The crew runs the show and calls the shots. Freelancers are told how they play their part.

I will say that I have had a freelancer or two replace a member of my crew before. This will happen. Remember – it’s business, its not personal. As long as you abide by your legal agreements or moral agreements – you should be good.

I will be adding to the list of players in your hustle later on. The next part of this will be what you do once you have your crew. I am calling it “Starting a business is like robbing a bank.“