Book Cover The Winning Streak: 40 Proven Secrets On How I Raise Money For My Business And How You Can Do The Same

In The Winning Streak, international multi-award winner and author,

Mene Blessing, reveals the following secrets:

• Steps to successfully raising money for your ideas and projects;
• How to win intentionally;
• The winning process that generates predictable financial outcomes;
• The art of discovering and solving real-world problems for a living;
• Mastering the art of preparation and never losing a pitch or grant anymore.

Implementing your initiatives or programs requires substantial capital. Using a storytelling method laced with tons of practical insights and lessons that will guarantee your success, this book shows you how to mobilize the financial and human resources you need to establish you products and implement your innovations.

 At its best, “The Winning Streak” presents practical wisdom and step on how to transition from the camp of businesses that die out for lack of funding into the league of change-makers who have successfully raised money and alongside developed great products and built the winning team that will transform nations. Enjoy every bit of the process and begin your own winning streak journey.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction

Secret 1: My Story of Grace

“When I took full responsibility for the success or failure of my life and business. A new season opened up to me – the season of grace. My creative eyes became open to the vast ocean of resources from which others were silently drinking.”

CHAPTER 1.

PROBLEM-SOLVING: THE BREAKFAST OF WINNERS

“The formulation of the problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.”

Albert Einstein

“if I had to solve a problem I’d spend 55minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”

Albert Einstein

Secret 2: Good things happen to these type of people

“Good things happen to people who are intentional problem solvers. Good things happen to people who are servant leaders and headache solvers. People who act were others wish. Good things happen to entrepreneurs.”

Secret 3: How to Sell Anything

“When you solve real problems people crowd your product or services just like ants crowd around a cube of sugar. It’s almost magical, except that it isn’t.”

Secret 4: Why Many Entrepreneurs Fail

“When people sell ‘placebo’ products, the marketplace rewards them with low sales which eventually leads to business failure.”

Secret 5:  Why Few Entrepreneurs Succeed

“As an entrepreneur, your most fundamental job is to produce and sell a truly great product or service that solves a real problem for real people.”

Secret 6: Why Entrepreneurs Are Vital to Our World

“Succeeding as an entrepreneur is one of the greatest acts of community development, patriotism and nation-building.”

Secret 7: Mene’s wisdom: How to Develop New Eyes for Opportunities

“Surely we need new eyes more than we need new opportunities. These ‘new eyes’ will make you interpret situations differently and hear business ideas where others hear complaints.”

CHAPTER 2:

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: THE ENERGY DRINK OF WINNERS

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”

Muhammed

“All the business from the beginning of history have struggled with product development (assuming there is a market, doing the market testing and so on). But now they start with customer development. Get the customer who says, “Yes. I want that. I need it. I wanna use it. I’ll pay for it.” And then you go back and work with your engineers. It is changing the world!”

Brian Tracy

Secret 8: Great Products and Great Swimmers share a Common Trait

“Great products are like great swimmers; they are both a product of a clear process leading to a predictable outcome.”

Secret 9: Every Great Product Requires This to Succeed

“Great products are like great swimmers; they are both a product of a clear process leading to a predictable outcome.”

Secret 10: What is the Best Form of Thinking?

“Doing is the best form of thinking.”

Tom Chi

Secret 11: Mene’s wisdom: How to Build something that Works

CHAPTER 3:

PREYING ON THE FEAR: THE PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT OF WINNERS

“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.”

1. Clement Stone

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.”

Secret 12: The Story of Pipes and Buckets

(Adapted from The Parable Of The Pipeline by Burke Hedges)

Secret 13: How to Overcome the Fear of Critics

“Progress is the best salary to pay your critics.”

Secret 14: How to Defeat the Fear of People who ‘Steal’ Ideas

“People may steal your ideas, but they cannot steal how you execute your ideas.”

Secret 15: How to Outwit the Fear of Competitors

“Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth.”

Secret 16: Wounds versus Attacks

“Competition is for losers If you want to create and capture lasting value, look to build a monopoly.”

Peter Thiel

Secret 17: A Healthy Way to Think of Your Competitors

“See competitors as inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.”

Secret 18: How to Conquer the Fear of Leadership

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Michael Jordan

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

Phil Jackson

Secret 19: How to Crush the Fear of Focusing Introducing TReTSS – “The 5 Simple Tool to HelpYou Select YourBest Idea Among Many.”

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”

Secret 20: How Mark Used the TReTSSTool to Build a Successful Business

Secret 21: Mene’s wisdom: A friendly reminder

CHAPTER 4:

PREPARATION: THE KITCHEN OF WINNERS

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

                     My story of winning

Secret 22: Positioning.

“The art of being at the right place at the right time.”

Secret 23: Piloting

“The art of getting things done instead of talking about what you want to do.”

Secret 24: Proof

“A proof is a fact, evidence or piece of information that shows that something exists or is true.”

Secret 25: Providers

“You must develop a comprehensive list of funders, and past awardees.”

Secret 26: Pathways

“Understand the eligibility criteria and selection.”

Secret 27: Past Winners

“Stand on the shoulders of those ahead of you.”

Secret 28: Plans

“Develop a clear outline and plan for raising money.”

Secret 29: Prategy

“Prategy is born when a simple plan is guided by a great strategy.”

Secret 30: Practical Targets

“In fundraising always target a 20% success rate.”

Secret 31: Pitching

“Your opportunity to sell and defend your business proposal.”

Secret 32: Professionals

“The art of hiring pro.”

Secret 33: Precautions

“Things to keep in mind”

Secret 34: Practicals

“Be a master of writing and submitting grant applications.”

Secret 35: Mene’s Wisdom: Hit the Bulls Eye

CHAPTER 5

PUBLIC MANIFESTO: THE SENTIMENT OF WINNERS

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson, Author.

Secret 36: My Story of Courage

“Many young people are working hard to get a good-paying job instead of working hard to create good-

Secret 37: Break Free fromPeople’s Expectations

“Whatever your reason for failing to pursue your dreams and areas of giftedness or strength, always remember that your choice to be true to yourself will matter more to you than your choice to conform to other people’s expectations.”

Secret 38: Take the Leap and Be True to Yourself

Secret 39: Consider working for an Early-stage business

Secret 40: Mene’s wisdom: Keeping a Balanced Perspective