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Joining us today is an entrepreneurial legend, Kevin Harrington, the inventor of TV infomercials and a “Shark” from TV’s Shark Tank!
In his 30 years of marketing, Kevin has done over 4 billion dollars in sales through being the first to mass market products like Ginsu knives, the Jack Lalane Juicer, Tony Little’s Gazelle fitness machine, and many, many more.
Not every product Kevin touched turned to gold, he notes that there were many failures along the way.
But, at every opportunity, even with things that didn’t work, he learned more and more about what did work.
In fact, only one out of every 3 or 4 ideas he attempts is a success, which means he sees much more failure than success.
His secret is to fail fast and fail cheap. He tests ideas on a smaller level to determine their viability, makes changes if they don’t succeed, and he’s able to cut his relatively small losses if the project doesn’t work out.
As entrepreneurs, we have to condition ourselves to be able to expect and handle failure without emotionally crumbling every time it happens.
One of the major pillars to Kevin’s success is networking and relationships.
The first ever informercial product he brought to market was as a result of attending a trade show. He has partnered with competitors to form non-profit organizations and has constantly put himself in the types of places that create opportunities for himself.
In addition to knowing and learning how to sell the products he creates and discovers, Kevin also has to know how to sell himself to potential investors and partner.
He shares a few steps of his 10-step system…
The first step is, you have to have the perfect pitch for your audience. Kevin advises, “You have 7 seconds to get someone’s attention.”
Particularly with seeking investors, Kevin points out that you have to know what that investors sweet spot is. For example, some don’t like start ups, others may be more concerned about growth vs. profits.
So, we ask Kevin, when should a business consider raising capital?
Kevin says, there are at least 3 reasons to raise capital:
1. To start a business
2. To expand a business
3. To leverage the risk of the business and “cash in” on some of the business equity, such as creating an IPO
That capital can come from savvy investors who can also bring their knowledge and contacts to the table, or from more “silent” investors.
Kevin suggests that you don’t need to hold out for the investors with experience and connections because you can acquire those things if you have enough capital.
Next we ask how a person begins to network and become connected.
Kevin’s recommendation is to become a “Key Person of Influence”, (KPI, as he calls it).
His “guru” status started with writing a book, which lead to speaking engagements, interviews, podcasts, TV appearances and more. Pretty soon Kevin was everywhere and his authority was evident.
One massive tip that Kevin imparts is, that every business owner should be thinking, planning and preparing for raising capital.
If you run your business in a way that you’re positioning yourself to become attractive to investors, chances are, you’re going to have a much more successful business.
Your financials will be more organized, your research and competitive analysis more thorough, and so on.
When speaking to potential investors, your investor wants to know that you are focused on them and concerned about their interest.
One strategy Kevin has used is to agree that his investor will receive 100% of the profits from their investment until the full amount they’ve invested has been paid back to them.
Wow!
What an absolutely jam-packed interview with the one and only Kevin Harrington!
To learn straight from Kevin, his step-by-step system on how to position yourself and your business to raise capital from investors, make sure to check out his Maverick training at LifeOnFire.com/Maverick!
His 28-part guide will have you primed and ready to start seeking willing investors!
If you thought Kevin CRUSHED this session, please leave a comment below!
Episode Resources
Kevin’s Raising Capital Training
