Jeffrey Hayzlett
Think Big, Act Bigger
Marketing Magazine had the opportunity to talk with Jeffrey Hayzlett, Author of the Book Think
SBigtrictly
Act Bigger. He shared some great advice and lessons for Marketers and Entrepreneurs about his Book
and lessons learned over th e years.
SMM: Our readers would love to know how you got started in business.
JH: I’ve always been very active in business since I was a kid. I started my first business, a lawn mowing
service and I used to deliver flyers in a local community where I lived. I’d always make money getting on
my bike delivering flyers for the local property management group. I remember getting my first big check
for $7 that put me over the moon. I’ve always had a yearning to start new things, then I get them to a
certain level and I either sell them off or turn them over to somebody else to run and it’s just always been
a thing for me to do that. I have three conditions of satisfaction for my life. One is to build wealth because
that’s how we keep score. I want to leave a legacy for my children. The second one is I like to do things
that I think are truly interesting, that I can learn from. Lastly, I want to have fun. Those are the three things
that I try to do every single day.
SMM: Adopting to change, especially with marketing efforts, is a challenge for many Entrepreneurs.
How do you avoid getting stuck in a rut?
JH: Here’s the rule for business today – adapt,
change or die. That’s it. If you keep doing things
the same way you’ve always been doing them,
someone’s going to beat you because they will
come up with something better, faster, cheaper,
or of greater value. If you don’t adapt to change,
if that isn’t part of your mantra, if you’re not
looking at continuous improvement of quality, of
market share, of margins, of price or clause, and
all the things that go into the delivering of a
product or service or into the satisfaction of your
customer, because that’s really what we’re trying
to do, is satisfy our customer. Everything in the
world around us changes every single day. The
seasons, the weather, trees, grass. There’s a time
for improvement in all things, Darwin taught us
that a long time ago, but we seem to have
forgotten along the way. If species can evolve,
why can’t businesses?
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Strictly Marketing Magazine March/April 2016