I attended Sage Summit last month. Sage Software is attempting to change this event from being a software training event to focusing on small businesses. There were a number of programs that had nothing to do with Sage Software, but were very useful for small business owners. 
Magic Johnson was part of one of the keynote panel discussions and he discussed his life after basketball. Magic Johnson is the second richest basketball star worth about $500 million dollars. He has many good ideas, but I will list only a few that stayed with me.
First, the secret to success is “Passion & Love.” If you do not have a passion for your job you will never be truly great at it.
Second, we need to keep reinventing ourselves. The ability to adapt and adjust will serve you greatly as your market place changes.
Third, look for people who are hungry to grow. The best person for the job is not always the person with the best resume. Sometimes it is the person who has the skills to do the job, but a hunger to get better.
Fourth, hire people smart in people skills. It doesn’t matter how smart a person is, if they cannot get along with customers or other employees they may be better off working somewhere else.
Fifth, always make the business about the customer and not yourself. This may be a bigger issue for celebrities, but there are many business owners with big egos. Make sure your business has the right focus.
Sixth, make sure that there is a demand for your product. It is very difficult to create demand. Magic owns over 100 Starbucks coffee houses. All of them in the inner cities. There is a large demand in those locations and they are under served.
Seven, surround yourself with people smarter than yourself. You don’t have to be the smartest person in your company; in fact you shouldn’t be…
Finally, Magic suggested doing a SWOT analysis twice a year. SWOT is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Overall, Sage Summit was very successful in its attempt to provide useful information to small business owners and not just information about their products. If you use any Sage products you may want to attend Sage Summit next year in New Orleans.
– Michael Ericksen, WAC Solution Partners-Midwest
If you would like to watch the keynotes including Magic Johnson please check them out here: Sage Summit 2014 Keynote
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