Act Now by Kevin Harrington is the ninth book I read in the Digest 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge.
Book Bite: ‘No’ doesn’t mean never. It means that you haven’t yet offered the person something valuable to him or her. Prepare to spring into action when opportunities arise – to act quickly. Work out every detail of the business and always have an exit strategy.
What is Act Now by Kevin Harrington About?
I loved this book and really enjoyed Kevin Harrington’s story. He’s one of the Sharks on Shark Tank. Besides that though, he popularized Infomercials. Harrington is a serial entrepreneur starting from a very young age. Like many of the books I’ve written about so far during the Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge he has a strong work ethic, works hard and knows how to persevere during a crisis.
In Act Now, Kevin Harrington outlines his incredible path to success. He inherited his father's love for business. From a young age, he embraced making money and had a passion for doing a job well. Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of talk about hustle, but this man has lived it many times over. Harrington developed discipline from playing sports. He tells you to keep on setting higher goals to push yourself beyond what you think was possible for you. At the beginning of his journey, he read several books to learn about salesmanship and he has mastered the art of handling objections.
One of the reasons why I loved Act Now so much is because the author is so knowledgeable. Harrington has diverse business experiences and the information that he shares, he does it in such a way that you believe that you can achieve what he has.
One of the things he said in the book that stood out for me was that ‘no’ doesn’t mean never. It means that you haven’t yet offered the person something valuable to him or her. You learn that you need to be a salesperson and must master the art of pitching. Here are some key lessons from the book. He learned from the many mistakes that he made while in business.
- Learn from your mistakes.
- Work out every detail of the business and always have an exit strategy.
- Understand the product you’re selling.
- Negotiate a better paycheck.
- Prepare to spring into action when opportunities arise – to act quickly.
- Explain what you do and what you’re looking for to potential clients.
- Be governed by intellect instead of your gut.
- Sell the story and not the product. Sell the sizzle and not the steak.
- Successful people are problem solvers.
- You can only stay in the front if you generate new ideas.
- When you’re operating a business, you can’t do everything.
- A good partner will sit down with you to look for common ground to solve problems.
- Pick the right partner. However there’ll be times when it’s impossible to see the pitfalls. For instance he chose a President for his company who came highly recommended, except the person was a star only in good times.
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Read trade publications including those outside of your niche and industry. What can you learn from other industries that you can apply to your business?
- Come up with ideas that your competitors are not thinking of. One way is to read across industries and synthesize the information.
- Learn about cultural nuances.
- Cultivate the art of networking.
- In changing times your business model will change.
- Need to work with professionals.
- Have the right people in the right positions in your business and keep your hands on the pulse.
- A business needs structure. Have a framework in place.
- Spell out corporate governance and never give up complete operational control.
- Act on sudden opportunities.
- Sometimes opportunities come out of nowhere.
- Setbacks open the doors of opportunities.
- If you have something of value you can get to nearly anyone.
- You’ll have to reinvent yourself a few times.
- If someone is going to be a spokesperson for a product, make sure that they’ve actually used it.
- It takes more than a celebrity endorsement to achieve success.
- Celebrities can break the bank of your business.
- There are times when you’ll have to “snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”
Framework to Introduce New Products or Services
- Product Development
- Due Diligence
- Creative Phase
- Production Phase
- Operational Phase
- Creative Tweaking
- Roll-out
- Marketing
Final Thoughts: Act Now: Are You Someone Who Acts Quickly Or Do You Take Your Time
Act Now
by Kevin Harrington is definitely worth the read. You’ll find many lessons to apply to your business. Because he is a serial entrepreneur and willing to try different things, there is something for every business owner in the book.
Have you read?
Confident Career Woman Book 1: Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge
Why Not You Book 2: Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge
Own a Business? You Don’t Need Everyone, You Need 1000 True Fans
You’re Unstoppable: Learn How to Be a No-Limit Person
Start Taking Steps Now to Crush It Post Isolation
Go Suck a Lemon: How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?
Way of the Athlete: Learn the Art of Focus, Discipline and Achievement from Professional Athletes
Next Steps
Wondering what to do next, you can do all or some of:
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Buy my new book, Leadership Reading: Spilling the Tea on How Top Leaders Read
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Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
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Join the Art of Learning Membership Site
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Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet
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Buy me a cup of coffee!
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