How to zig when others are zagging [CHEAT SHEET]

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
1ENTREPORNOGRAPHY.com
ENTREPORNOGRAPHY.com
5
WAYS TO
zigWHEN
EVERYONE
ELSE IS
zaggingJULIO DE LAFFITTE
WITH

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
5 WAYS TO ZIG WHEN
EVERYONE ELSE IS ZAGGING
with JULIO DE LAFFITTE
Why is it that some business owners appear impervious to business obstacles
and upsets? In some cases, it seems that it’s the obstacles that drive certain
personality types to success.
Julio De Laffitte came to Australia when he was 19 and has since built a real estate
investing business worth around $40 million, called JDL. His life story is littered with
instances when the market zigged yet Julio zagged.
Inthis,CHEATSHEET,wesharefivewaysofthinkingtorespondtoINDUSTRY,ECONOMIC,
BRAND, SOCIETAL and PERSONAL shifts.

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
What is ENTREPORNOGRAPHY and the
NOT-SO-FREAKY UNIVERSITY?
Entrepornography.com was created to encourage entrepreneurship.
It does this by providing news, views and inspiration. It helps budding and
aspirational entrepreneurs find motivation in the experiences of others.
But the Rah-Rah stops there.
Without action, the consumption of entrepornography becomes little more than an
exercise in self-deception. That’s why we created the Not-So-Freaky University.
That’s our premium membership service and it’s all about providing instruction. It’s
for serious business operators who understand the difference between watching
and doing. We take the freaky parts of business and un-freakify them.
CLICK HERE TO TAKE OUR MEMBERSHIP TEST. DO YOU QUALIFY? >>
ENTREPORNOGRAPHY.com

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
WHAT
YOU WILL
LEARN
HERE ARE FIVE TOPICS WE WILL COVER:
1. Don’t be afraid to tip over the sacred cow
2. Don’t follow the economic herd
3. Play the “Why Game”
4. Know your superpower
5. Change your attitude
So grab a pencil and let’s get started!
Watch the video

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
01.
DON’T BE
AFRAID
TO TIP
OVER THE
SACRED
COW
[INDUSTRY]
The first way to zig is to take a hard look at industry practices and evaluate them
critically.
Just because a certain convention has persisted for decades in your industry -- or
just because one particular school of thought prevails -- that does not mean that it is
necessarily right for your business.
In fact, what we like to call “sacred cows” might be standing between you and your
goals. Sacred cows are long-held practices or conventional wisdom that everyone
follows, without question.
This presents an opportunity to zig. Here is an example that you can draw from:
Transparency in business is a frequent topic these days but that has not always been
the case. Until recently, businesses across the board operated on the notion that “the
margin is in the mystery.”
A few years ago, if a business were to operate with transparency in terms of pricing,
environmental impact or ethical positioning, it would have been operating against
established practices.
The sacred cow (the conventional wisdom) was that the more you could hide from
your customers, the money you could make.
The current economic climate demands transparency, having forsaken that former
sacred cow of operating in shadows. The early adopters of transparency (like Julio’s
JLD) went against the grain and disclosed their commissions, and saw great success
for their transparency.
In fact, the rest of the world has since had to catch up!

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
01.
DON’T BE
AFRAID
TO TIP
OVER THE
SACRED
COW
[INDUSTRY]
CASE STUDY:
For most of the past century, if you ran a Circus, conventional
thinking was that performing, exotic animals brought crowds.
Cirque du Soleil has certainly proved that theory wrong, while
eliminating an expensive overhead in the process.
ACTION:
Ask yourself, “What is the sacred cow? What is the
opportunity here?” How can you take an established
industry practice and give it a twist?
Watch the video

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
02.
DON’T
FOLLOW
THE HERD
[ECONOMIC]
If you want to know when to zig, watch the direction everyone else is heading in.
As an example, in an economic downturn, when your competitors are bailing, you
might identify an opportunity to fill the void they leave.
You have heard the expression “buyer’s market,” right? Economic shifts create a
chance to react in the opposite direction. Economics are cyclical. The conditions that
drive the housing market into a buyer’s market affect all sectors of business, but
recessions do not last forever.
As surely as there is an economic downturn, there will eventually be an economic
uptick. See also: the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and compare with the uptick currently
underway.
When the GFC hit, Julio saw an opportunity, investing in construction. “Even when 5%
of people are unemployed, the remaining 95% are still getting up every morning and
going to work!
Always be prepared to deal with ups and downs.
HOT TIP:
What is the greatest economic threat to your industry?
Whentimesarebadfromamarket(orglobal)perspective,
ask yourself “Oh, wait! How can I zig?”

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
03.
PLAY THE
“WHY
GAME”
[BRAND]
What industry do you work in? No – what industry do you really work in?
Look at your business and compare its core mission to its industry. Think about
Disney. Is Disney a company that makes cartoons or is it a company that provides
good clean family fun?
Clearly, Disney does much more than animation.
Most businesses unintentionally give themselves irrational limits. They pigeon-hole
their activities into the perceived purpose of their sector. But what service is your
industry really providing? What problem are you really solving?
CASE STUDY:
Anthill is an Australian business magazine. But when the GFC hit, it ditched
print to pursue a future online. So, was it still a magazine? The purpose
of this enterprise was to educate. This is its industry, irrespective of the
package. It was never in the industry of magazines. Rather, it is in the
industry of instruction, inspiration and hope.
ACTION:
Ask yourself (3 times), “Why would someone choose to work
with me?” The reason we urge you to ask yourself this question
three times is because that is how long it takes to uncover the
real answer. (i.e. Assume you are a financial wizard. Why would
someone need you? “Because they need an accountant.” But why?
“Because they need someone to give them clarity?” But why?
“So, that they can focus on the rest of the business, like building
cashflow.” Bingo!

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
04.
KNOW YOUR
SUPERPOWER
Embrace your awesomeness – your personal superpower. Moreover, in recruiting, expect
this of each member of your team.
Everyone has his or her personal strengths or superpowers, as we like to call them.
Knowing and understanding those strengths makes it easy to put them to good use.
Knowing your superpower also helps you dodge a potentially damaging bout of something
Australians call “tall poppy syndrome.”
Tall poppy syndrome refers to the stigma that, if you do something well and people notice,
someone will inevitably come along and chop down “the tall poppy.”
Understanding your strengths helps you dodge hesitation in business.
Most importantly, it helps you define how you are different. And, knowing how you are
different, will help you identify opportunities to zig when others are zagging.
ACTION:
Take out a sheet of paper and write down your superpower. How
many great ideas have gone to waste because of thinking “it’s just
not good enough,” or “someone else can do it better?” Knowing
your strengths can help you negate that feeling and overcome
your doubts. You are different. Embrace your differences.

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
05.
CHANGE
YOUR
ATTITUDE
One of the most destructive sentences in the English language is, “That’s just the
way I am.”
That is an attitude that you simply must zig away from.
Simply saying, “I’m not financially minded” or “I don’t have a marketing bone in my
body” is a sure path to business obsolescence. Excuses like these blind business
operators into dependence.
Sure, it’s great to outsource. But it pays to know your business too.
Are you a cog in the machine that is actually someone else’s economy?
Or is it time to reject the limitations you set and skill up?
ACTION:
Take out a sheet of paper and create two columns with a line
right down the middle of the page. Write down your top two
weaknesses in the left column. Now, write down the cost of those
weaknesses in the right column. Then, skill up!
If you think education is expensive,
try ignorance!“
”

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
Click to watch the video

JULIO DE LAFFITTE
Julio De Laffitte was born into a prominent
Brazilian family with a rich business heritage and
began learning the principles of wealth creation
when most children his age were still learning to
ride a bicycle. By his late teens, he had established
several thriving enterprises in his home town of Rio
de Janeiro, including a clothing manufacturer and
food retail business. At the age of 19, he migrated
to Australia and has since built a real estate
investing business worth over $40 million, called
JDL Strategies. His life story is littered with instances
when the market zigged yet Julio zagged.
James Tuckerman is widely recognised as one of
Australia’s most successful digital publishers. He’s
an entrepreneur, angel investor, growth hacker for
hire and professional speaker. He is best known
for launching Anthill Magazine, in 2003, from the
spare bedroom of his par ents’ home. He was
then 26 years of age. In early 2009, he reinvented
the Anthill business model, abandoning its print
origins in favour of a 100% digital product. Within
six-months, AnthillOnline.com was listed by Nielsen
Online Ratings among the Top 50 Business &
Finance websites in Australia. Since then, he has
launched numerous digital ventures, including
entrepornograohy.com.

How to zig when others are zagging [CHEAT SHEET]

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How to zig when others are zagging [CHEAT SHEET]