Thank you Alex P. Keaton

Thank you Alex P. Keaton for showing me that wanting to rule the world before I could rule a straight line wasn't completely bizzare.

Thank you to the writers of the character Alex P. Keaton for giving a young aspiring business person (me!) a multi-dimensional, completely flawed and yet totally fascinating character to watch on family television. He was my pin up boy - but not in the traditional sense!

Things you may not know about Alex P. Keaton:

• Producers originally wanted Mathew Broderick (aka Ferris Beuller) for the role!
• Michael J. Fox adlibbed the "P" in Alex P. Keaton in his audition
• According to a Spin City episode, Alex P. Keaton eventually went on to become a republican senator for Ohio
• Michael J. Fox almost didn't get the role because one of the TV execs found it hard to believe that his tall onscreen parents would have just a short son

Great Alex. P. Keaton moments

Alex P. Keaton: [Referring to a current infatuation] Of all the Basic Applied Economic Principles of Capitalism in the Post-Industrial Era Seminars in the world, you had to walk into mine.

Alex P. Keaton: Mallory, someone stupid called... sometime today... about something trivial.

Mallory Keaton: Alex you know that could be any one of my friends.

Alex P. Keaton: Remember when we were kids and I run you over with my bicycle?

Erwin 'Skippy' Handleman: Yes.

Alex P. Keaton: I have a car now.

Mallory Keaton: Dad, Alex, this is Jamie Carter.

Alex P. Keaton: Aaaaah!

[jumps into his father's arms]

Steven Keaton: It's okay, Alex. She said Jamie, not Jimmy.

For more check out: http://imdb.com/title/tt0083413/quotes

Kirsty Dunphey is one of Australia's most publicised young entrepreneurs and is the founder of www.reallysold.com - the ultimate tool to help real estate agents write amazing advertisements. The youngest ever winner of the Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year award, Kirsty started her first business at 15, her own real estate agency at 21, was a self-made millionaire at 23 and a self-made multi-millionaire at 25. For more information on Kirsty or either of her books - Advance to Go, Collect $1 Million and Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can, or to sign up to her weekly newsletter head to: www.kirstydunphey.com

See Mum, You can Learn Stuff from Television!

Feeling guilty and dejected, Homer opens his present from Marge only to find that below the wrapping paper is another round of wrapping paper, addressed with a card that says "To Marge".

You guessed it, Marge knew that Homer would forget her present and so she got him the best present she could possibly have given at that time, a present for him to give to her. Smiles all round… and fade out.

As the Christmas buying frenzy approaches, I like to take the lesson from The Simpsons into my business. How can I anticipate my customer's needs in a similar way to the way Marge anticipated Homer's so brilliantly?

Whether you're the hairdresser who calls a client a week after selling them a hair straightener (just to see how they're going with it), the real estate agent who forwards their clients a list of local services (when they move to a new area) or the doctor who calls a long term patient a week after placing them on a new medication (just to check on them), we all have the ability to anticipate needs and in doing so provide moments in our own businesses where there are smiles all round and… fade out.

Kirsty Dunphey is one of Australia's most publicised young entrepreneurs and is the founder of www.reallysold.com - the ultimate tool to help real estate agents write amazing advertisements. The youngest ever winner of the Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year award, Kirsty started her first business at 15, her own real estate agency at 21, was a self-made millionaire at 23 and a self-made multi-millionaire at 25. For more information on Kirsty or either of her books - Advance to Go, Collect $1 Million and Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can, or to sign up to her weekly newsletter head to: www.kirstydunphey.com

Do Uni Dropouts Rule the World?

As an entrepreneur, I don't desperately need a degree to enhance my career prospects, however I find it strangely fascinating that a small but persistent part of me still wants a degree. I don't know whether it's to fulfil some distant childhood ambition or if I just want to wear the long black gown and fancy hat!

When I look through the list of my business role models however, I'm comforted to see so many who are also in the dropout category: Bill Gates and Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founders), Ray Kroc (The man who took McDonalds to the world), Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Richard Branson, Larry Eillison (Oracle founder), Michael Dell, David Geffen (Dreamworks co-founder), Ted Turner (media giant), Blake Ross (Firefox co-creator) and Sean Parker (Napster co-founder). Not a lot of women on that list - but for the time being I'm happy to have my name in the same category - so long as I stick to my goal of being a life long learner.

Steve Jobs (Apple & Pixar co-founder) is a name glaringly missing from the above list. Having just finished reading iCon - a book all about Steve, I found his dropout story one of the most fascinating I've read. He dropped out after his first semester, managed to get a refund on the fees his parents had paid and still somehow managed to keep living on campus - only now he was attending the classes he was actually interested in (and not paying!). To learn more, check out the following:

Kirsty Dunphey is one of Australia's most publicised young entrepreneurs and is the founder of www.reallysold.com - the ultimate tool to help real estate agents write amazing advertisements. The youngest ever winner of the Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year award, Kirsty started her first business at 15, her own real estate agency at 21, was a self-made millionaire at 23 and a self-made multi-millionaire at 25. For more information on Kirsty or either of her books - Advance to Go, Collect $1 Million and Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can, or to sign up to her weekly newsletter head to: www.kirstydunphey.com

Christmas Cards – A waste of your time? Probably! Unless…

As I write this I've just received my first Christmas card of the season. It's from a fabulous lady called Namita I met maybe 3 years ago in Darwin, Australia and she's a prime example of how to ensure your Christmas cards aren't a waste of time.

What can we learn from Namita:

1. Leader of the pack

Namita's card arrived first. I remember the first card. I do not always remember the 200^th card arriving on the 19^th of December. When do you send your cards out? Are you first, or are you mixed in with the blur.

Tiny tip: set a diary note for the 14^th of November, 2008 (recurring each year) to remind you to prepare and send out your cards so that you can be first next year.

2. The thought and care was obvious

Namita's message inside the card was personalised and thoughtful. As a speaker and as someone who loves to give out a lot of business cards over the year I tend to get a lot of Christmas cards. This is lovely, but it also is a huge opportunity for me to see the absolute worst trends in sending out Christmas cards.

My least favourite Christmas card mistakes include:

3. She's a savvy business woman

Namita has just launched a new business: http://kidimpressions.com/ and she took the opportunity to send a letter about it, a brochure and to offer me a holiday gift of my own book! She doesn't know it, but I usually get a personalised book for newborns - and I had been using one of her competitors up until now. Not anymore!

Tiny tip: A little gift that promotes your business is ideal - but also consider small items that will give a big bang for a buck. One of my favourites is a scratchy lotto ticket, sure most people won't win up big time - but imagine if someone were win $10,000 - how much favourable word of mouth would you get then! (In fact - I'd give you great word of mouth if I won $10!)

4. Rocking the database

Namita also took the opportunity to congratulate me on my second wedding anniversary (this girl obviously knows how to database like a rockstar).

Tiny tip: Whenever anyone mentions a birthday, anniversary or significant event, jot it down, put it in your phone and database it. It's a small effort but one most people won't make.

Challenge for the week: See how many extra special dates (birthdays etc) you can gather for your database this week. My favourite tips include sneaking peeks at people's licences when checking onto planes, showing ID etc (thanks to my mentor Glen for this one!) and asking what star sign people are and working from there. You can be a bit cheeky with it or alternatively - you can just ask people!

So Namita get's an A+ on my Christmas card experience with her. To follow are some of the other tips I've learnt over the years.

5. Remember not everyone celebrates Christmas

I like a "Seasons Greetings" card myself purely for this reason.

6. Do them as you go

If the idea of hand writing all those Christmas cards at once is about as appealing as licking the underbelly of a sheep, consider writing them throughout the year. Real estate agents for example could write the cards as soon as a property they've sold settles when they add that client to their database. The Christmas card can then be thrown in a box and hey presto - when November comes around half your work may already be done.

7. Don't rely on your brain

I have a category in my database which tells me who I need to send Christmas cards to. When I add someone to my database I decide if they're getting a Christmas card and categorise them appropriately. It means come November, my cards are a no brainer. I print off my list, remove anyone, add any last minute people and write away to my heart's content. And don't think you need a database to do this - just keep a list as you write out this year's along with addresses and I promise you, next year you'll find it all the easier.

So there you go, 7 simple steps which, if implemented correctly, will make all that time, effort and stationery worthwhile. If you want to practice - I love a Christmas card: Kirsty Dunphey, PO BOX 7713, Launceston, TAS, 7250. Pop in a note if you'd like some feedback on your card!