Wouldn’t it be nice if business success was easy? If there was a formula for success, like all the self-help gurus would have us believe?
My answer to those questions is no. I think it’s good that business is challenging and difficult at times.
It’s only through fighting past the tough times — and puzzling through the online business challenges — that we learn. And once we’ve put the effort in, we appreciate the success we’re able to create more than if it was handed to us.
Sometimes I think a business plan is the biggest obstacle to actually getting things done.
And I realize that sounds strange coming from someone who has offered a webinar on productivity.
But it’s not the day-to-day to-do list type planning I’m referring to here. It’s the long-term forecast-type planning I mean.
Spending too much time trying to figure out how the future will play out might be the worst thing you can do for your business.
“… in my brain I had five years to get a staff together and be able to take some time off and be able to kind of enjoy things.” – Andy King, co-owner of A&J King Artisan Bakers
What is it that you really want from your business?
Where is it that you’d like to be?
Are you on the path to getting to that point?
What is it that you need to do to move forward with your business and attain a certain lifestyle?
I’ve had the privilege of speaking with many successful small business owners over the last few months as host of a new podcast, Small Biz Stories. These are small businesses that have made it past that five year mark when more than 50 percent fail. Some have been around more than 30 years.
If you’re in the early days of your business, you can skip this post. It’s not for you.
In the early days, you don’t need to learn how to say no. In the early days of your business, it’s important — for survival’s sake — to say “yes” more often than “no.”
But give it a year or two, and you’ll discover that mastering how to say no — carefully and strategically — can be the best move you can make for your business.
There’s a blatant lack of information about one crucial ingredient to successful marketing that no one seems to want to talk about. You know what that means, right?
I’m going to write about it, of course.
The secret marketing ingredient no one ever seems to mention is …
To be nobody but myself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting. –e.e. cummings, poet (1894-1962)
This is such a sweet time of year. The hectic days leading up to the major December holidays are over. We’ve celebrated, relaxed, and are turning our gazes toward the year ahead.
I have a tradition I like to keep. During this last week I spend some time looking back at the year that’s done, and looking ahead at the year to come. These slower days provide an opportunity to reflect, plan and make adjustments.
