Fans First Approach to Business – #87

About Self-Efficacy

I’m in the middle of reading “Fans First” by Jesse Cole, the founder of the Savannah Bananas independent baseball team.

The story is truly unbelievable…how he turned an idea that everyone thought was terrible into what ESPN calls “the greatest show in baseball.” From the Banana Nanas (their senior citizen dance team) to throwing out the first banana (instead of the first pitch) to all-you-can-eat tickets (all tickets are the same price and they all include food/drinks).

The Bananas have more social media followers than many Major League Baseball teams. They also just announced a new special series on ESPN+. Here’s a video of their players dancing during the game to give you an idea of their antics.

I became a fan a few years ago. My wife and I have looked into going to a game. Tickets are very hard to come by (they’ve sold out every game since 2016).

I could talk forever about what they are doing, but just read the book. So far it’s amazing and I’m learning quite a bit.

But mostly, I’m learning about self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is someone’s belief that they can accomplish something. Noom, the weight-loss company, says that self-efficacy is the number one reason why people will or will not accomplish their goals. They promote this concept in a ton of their marketing.

Jesse accomplished his goal because he believed he and his team could do it. Everything else is in the details.

I’m working on some new things myself. Here is how I’m breaking it down to find success.

First, I’m writing down the big goal. Before we sold our company in 2016, I wrote down how much I was going to sell for and by when. I reviewed this goal every day.

Then create small daily habits. For example, I’m trying to lose a few pounds and get in shape. I track how much water I drink per day and how many times I run per week. For you, this will be whatever daily habits get you to your larger goal.

Track everything. If you set a large goal that can’t be tracked, you’re going to have a difficult time. Make sure whatever you do can be measured. If you want to be a successful content entrepreneur, what does that mean for you? Is that the number of subscribers? Or perhaps a revenue or profit goal per month? Then mark it down and track it like crazy.

Get feedback. Now, I don’t mean you have to share what you are doing with the world every minute on social media, but having a few mentors and supporters is critical. They will keep you accountable and give you honest feedback during your journey.

So, keep it simple.

Create the goal and write it down.

Develop small daily habits that define the goal’s success.

Track your progress every day.

Create a feedback team to keep you accountable and to help adjust your goals as you learn more.

Let’s make 2022 an amazing year of positive change for all of us.

Buying a Round of Cheer

My wife and I went to see Top Gun: Maverick this week. We loved it. The perfect sequel.

In the movie there is a Navy bar called The Hard Deck, which is based on a real bar…the I-Bar. The I-Bar has several traditions, but they all seem to revolve around customers buying a round of drinks for the house.

I-bar house rules sign

The one featured in the movie (see image above) is if you leave your phone on the bar, you buy a round of drinks. When it happens, a bell is wrung by the bartender and the wrong doer must pay up. Everyone cheers.

Oh, how I want this rule at every establishment.

The point of all this? Beside the fact that people are on their phones WAY too much and missing what is happening IN FRONT of them, this one little thing differentiates the I-Bar.

My cousin Ben Pruitt runs a restaurant in Sandusky, Ohio called Zuppaman. I’ve never asked him directly, but I know his differentiation area – he puts an entire meal inside a sandwich. Want Spaghetti and Meatballs? You can have it in a sandwich? How about an Asian Chicken Salad? You can have that in a sandwich as well.

These sandwiches are HUGE and delicious (yes, I’m biased but it’s true).

Here’s the question. What is your differentiation area? This could be in your business, for how you work, for who you are?

When I first started in business, everything was about fitting in and towing the line.

The Bananas. I-Bar. Zuppaman. They all have something that differentiates…that stands apart.

Today, success is built on differentiation.

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