The Glitter Plan Summary

The Right Partnership from the book The Glitter Plan by Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor

"As an entrepreneur, finding the right partner gives you the opportunity to experience crazy things, and you've got someone to hug and cry and scream and laugh and love.  It's the same thing as any great relationship.  You have a partner in crime through everything--good, bad, or ugly, here we are.  Everything is better with two, whether you are moving in unison or one is pulling the other along.

Before you go into business with somebody, you have to be an archeologist.  Dig in there and investigate if it's the right person or not.  For us, it was intuition.  We knew we were birds of a feather.  So many partnerships fall apart because you get started and then realize you don't see eye to eye.  You have to find a like-minded person, somebody who you like to play in the sandbox with.  You spend more time with a business partner than almost anyone.  You don't need to have the same creative vision all the time, but you do need the same values and ethics.  It's like a marriage.  It's through sickness and health.  When things go well and you're happy, of course you love each other.  But when things don't turn out how you expect, can you weather the storm together?"

Chapter Summary

Tips on How to start a business:
2. Do what moves you and find your partner in crime

3. Learn from a starter experience (learn from your past experiences)
-Anything you need to know in a bigger pond we learned in a smaller pond
-Not every business is going to be a success, but that doesn't mean you don't learn from it.  Pick up and move onto the next one with even more focus on what you want.
-You have to be you own customer.  If you won't buy it, who will?

4.  The KFC Theory is NOt Just for chicken: Do One Thing and Do it Well

5. Competition Can Be healthy.  
-Bring it on! It means you're on to something. And it drives you to be better.  But it also means it's time to sound the rebel yell and up your game.

Build Your staff like a family
-Build a team based on your gut feeling about people.

6.  Taking it to the next level
-Brainstorm other categories that you could go into while still staying true to your brand DNA

7. Coping with growth, the problem you want to have.
- When something hits, up your game to meet the volume, or someone bigger and stronger will come in and steal your thunder.
-As you get bigger, don't forget where you started.  You are still the customer, and your product should still have your personal touch.

8.  Growing pains: what to expect
- If you are successful, you will hit a wall where you can no longer just trust your gut.  That's when corporate management comes in.
-How to Prepare your Business to Sell



8

Thankful

Wise words of the day:

"I am thankful to all those who said no to me. It's because of them I did it myself."

-Albert Einstein

We Build When We Break

We build when we break. It's true we do build when we break.  Everyday, our body is constantly degrading due to environmental and other factors and we cannot blame one factor, because the whole world system is involved in the act. But at the same time, our body is building itself. Our body is constantly healing itself and mending itself in any area that is damage. And our brain is constantly making neuron connection to help us thinking quicker. All this happens in us while other body parts are falling apart as we age.  So breaking and building are in our DNA and we cannot deny their existence.

I find recently that I find myself when I am at the lowest point in life. Whether that relationship did not work out, or that friendship comes to an end all of the sudden, or that one career did not work out, they are all experiences that we need to make us grow. We all have been there at some point and I find those lowest point are the time where we truly understand who we are and we can thrive in those situations if we take appropriate actions.

We build when we break. So falling apart is not a bad thing, it can be a way for us to see reality for what it is and to work toward being a better person. The important thing is to keep going, keep moving.

Hurting Someone

Recently I learned there will be times in our life where we hurt someone without having any intention to. It especially hurts the most to know we hurt someone who we care a lot about.  Sometimes it is hard to mend the friendship but if we try hard enough there are ways to work it out.  There is a chance we just have to let the friendship goes into oblivion for now and then come back later; that's what they teach in school right? If you are stuck with a problem on a test, move to the next one and eventually your brain will find the answer and we can apply the same rule to our daily problems.  More importantly, we cannot change people's mind about us, whether that is negative or positive. The important thing is we have to keep going and keep working on our goals because in the end that is all that matters.

Feelings come and go and we have to remember people change base on how they feel. One day they might be angry at you and the next day they might decide to forgive you. If we hurt someone, apologize and if the person accepts it then continue the friendship but if the person refuses the apology, maybe we should move on especially if we try everything we would to save the relationship and it still does not work out.

Whatever happens, we have to learn to take control of our lives and work on ourselves. Even if we have to jump from one failed relationship and friendship to another, we have to keep going, keep speeding to the goals. Because you never know, something great might land in front of our door one day without us ever expecting it.

Being Misunderstood

A guy friend once told me that it is easy for people to misunderstand me especially when they have no clue who I am.  Over the years, I learn to accept the fact. I learn to accept when people give me attitude or end his/her friendship with me because they do not see any point of being around me or that they see me as this unfriendly person. I don't know why people see me as disrespectful or rude but that is a general consensus from the people I meet and especially when I have no intention to. I used to cry over the fact because as humans we all want to belong and to fit in and to connect with other people and when someone rejects us, it is like all hell breaks loose and we find ourselves clueless on how to handle the situation.  I used to be upset with the fact that people view me that way and lately I  have tried to work on being softer and more people-conscious.

I don't want to blame anyone or myself for how I am today as blaming will not do me any good. The only solution is to constantly throw myself out there in social settings and to continually be more conscious of people and their needs.

One good thing about growing older is that we learn to accept ourselves. We learn to accept our flaws, our setbacks, our failures, and we are willing to work on being a better person.  It might take me months and even years to work on my interpersonal skills but I am willing to take that chance, even if I might fail at some point.  In the song "Happiness" by the Fray, it says, "Happiness is like the old man told me. Look for it, and you'll never find it all.  But let it go, live your life and leave it then one day, you'll wake up and she'll be home."  If I am good with people, then I will be happy. The problem is what if I never reach to that happy point? What if I stay the same and never get along with anyone? Like the song say, when we look for the happiness we will never find it and the only way for us to find is to live and one day we will find her. This means if I want to reach the goal of get along with people, I should not think and hope too much of it but rather I should live and work on myself and that happiness will come one day. People say patience pays off in the end and I am going to be patient with myself for now, because eventually happiness will come.

The Uncertainty

One of the hardest truth I always fail to acknowledge is there is uncertainty in everything in life.  There is no guarantee in success in a chosen career, a relationship, a friendship, etc.  We have to know there is a chance everything will work out the way we want and there is a chance it will not.  It is a 50/50 card deal that we are playing with.  We have to be open to opportunities and what is out there if our endeavors do not work out as planned and we have to constantly remind ourselves if one thing does not work out, then try another one. Take chances and make mistakes but always remember the world is big and has opportunities that we could never imagine, but this only happens if we move on after a setback and open ourselves up to them.

Happiness

I have been listening to the song "Happiness" by the Fray lately and every word in the lyrics whisper so much truth.

You can listen to the song on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgKslXz30U0

"Happiness" by the Fray

Happiness was just outside my window
I thought it'd crash blowing 80 miles an hour
But happiness—a little more like knocking
On your door, and you just let it in

Happiness feels a lot like sorrow
Let it be, you can’t make it come or go
But you are gone—not for good but for now
And gone for now feels a lot like gone for good

Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard
Happiness was never meant to hold
Be careful child, light the fuse and get away
‘Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks

Happiness damn near destroys you
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor
So you tell yourself, "That’s enough for now."
Happiness has a violent roar

Happiness is like the old man told me
Look for it, and you’ll never find it all
But let it go, live your life and leave it
Then one day, you'll wake up and she’ll be home
Home, she'll be
She'll be home
She will be home