Archive for January, 2009

Smartest Entrepreneurs Take Little Risk!!

Maybe we’re stretching our title just a little. Many Entrepreneurs take major risks in starting a new business. However, there are others who find a way to touch into government funds i.e. SBA and actually end up with a minor financial risk to themselves. They may also touch your funds if you let them.

This is NOT all bad! Our government is an encourager to the individual who desires to start a new business. Many of our finest firms began in someone’s garage or basement. It could have been in a corner of the bedroom. Doesn’t matter!

Our country needs the RISK taker. The Entrepreneur. Most business successes are 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. If you are willing to put your shoulder to the wheel and work hard….you have a good possibility of success.

Seek out other successful businesspersons to learn how they have managed to build their business. What were the challenges? Difficulties? Financial resources? Government programs? Ask for helpful suggestions. Recommendations. Guidance.

An old saying is very true…..YOU can IF you think you can! Believe in yourself, even when others are negative. The world is full of Nay sayers…so don’t associate with those who are in the crowd of throwing cold water on your dreams. Go for it!

Today, if I were to start a new business, I would go to work for someone already doing the same kind of business. Even in another city if necessary. I would avoid having a problem with non-compete contracts in my own city. Offer to work for FREE! It’s the best investment you can make in your own business.

In my working career, I did exactly as I am suggesting to you. It happened just slightly under different circumstances, but basically the same results. A national firm hired me to begin and build temporary help services on the East Coast. I did. Became a Regional Manager. Times got tough for the company and they decided to eliminate my salary.

It seemed like a bad decision. No job. No salary. What a lousy thing to do after four years of my time invested for this firm. You can see what’s coming already! THEY (the company) had PAID me a nice salary with benefits to TEACH me the business. Now they had FORCED me out….into my own business!

In my case, the company had PAID me to develop my clientele. You have to work really hard to find a better deal. I recommend it to you. We were back in business in six (6) weeks. I already knew the business was right for me. That’s my point in suggesting that you work IN the same kind of business.

You will learn two things very quickly. You’ll either love the business or hate it! A great way to spend YOUR vacation time. Keep your day job! You’ll get a college education about the business and know if you want to pursue it further. You may just learn enough to KNOW this business IS NOT FOR YOU!

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BUSINESS TIP: Avoid the NaySayers! Believe in YOURself. Learn the business for FREE! Work for someone else IN the same kind of business. LOVE IT and DO IT for yourself or leave it alone.

Most things in life are simple. Unfortunately, so much so that many of us fail to take advantage of our opportunities. New ones come our way everyday.  What do we do? Turn our heads and get back on the same old track.

If you keep doing the same old things over and over again…what do you get?  The very same results as before. Nothing will change UNTIL you decide to change.  You have to change the habit to change the result.

People go to “hip/hip” hooray seminars and get all excited. Speakers get folks all pumped up with enthusiasm. You can do it! In a crowd, with lots of others around us, it just seems so easy.  We tell ourselves…I’m going to make a real change in my life.

We leave the arena ready to change the world. A week later, someone asks … what happened? I thought you were going to make some real changes in your life.  Get a positive attitude.  Work smarter, not harder.  Do more business.

Your INTENTIONS were right on track. It’s just that NOTHING has changed in the way you do things. You are in the 95% group. Your old ways are just too comfortable. We easily fall back into the same old rut as before.

If you honestly expect to see a difference…then you will have to make some adjustments to your daily routine. It’s really not so difficult after you have taken the first step toward your goal.

An IMPERATIVE!! WRITE IT DOWN!

Do you have goals? Things you want to achieve? Next week? Month? Year? 5 years from now? Think about the process as a road map to your destination. The journey. The trip. Steps to reach next and next and next…..until you arrive at “the place” you want to reach. Those who write it all down get to the destination sooner.

All of us need a guide.  A roadmap. Where are you trying to go? Is your goal to make a lot of money?  Own a business? Take a vacation?  Raise a family? Get married? Be President of your club? Buy a boat? A new car? On and on the list can stretch with our wants and desires.

WRITE IT DOWN WITH EXPECTATION . . . .

A Personal Experience ….. if you will bear with me. It really does work!  I decided one year that it was time for me to be President of my National (independent) staffing organization (approx. 100 firms) and I threw in my local Rotary Club (65 members) at the same time. I wrote it down!  Be President!! BOTH groups came and asked me to be President the SAME year. Wow! It certainly made a believer out of me. YES!  I accepted both and lived to enjoy the challenge.

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Would you try to take a trip to California from the East Coast by car without a roadmap? Obviously not…unless you have made the trip before. Even then, most of us need a guide. How far would you get before the road map was an imperative for you to reach your destination? 50 miles?  Maybe a 100 miles?  However, somewhere along the way you will be LOST unless you have a roadmap.

Do you get my drift? If you have a destination to reach, then you need a WRITTEN DOWN map to arrive safely. A study was done many years ago on a group of college graduates from an Ivy League school. In a nutshell, the 3 students who wrote down their goals made more money than the 26 other students (combined) in the class. Not a bad result for such a simple ACTION.

My point ….. it is very important to spend the necessary amount of time THINKING about the direction that you wish to go. Next, transfer your thoughts to paper. Review the plan daily. Distraction is a waster. Focus is the key.

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BUSINESS  TIP:   Write down your GOALS!  It may seem a waste of time, but history has proven its VALUE.  From the brain … down the arm … out the fingers onto paper.  Review it regularly.  Think about your destination.  It gets the adrenaline pumping toward success.

Create an Environment to Succeed…..

Are you ready for a little positive thinking? You can appoint yourself to be the lead person. Set a GOAL to put a positive tone in your voice. Walk like you are going somewhere! Move quickly. Look ahead of you, not down at your feet. Let everything about your presence radiate an upbeat aura around you.

You can start this action at home with your family. Next, take it to the office where you work. On Sunday, take it with you to church. Infect your children with an upbeat attitude. There is an old saying….smile and the world smiles with you. Frown and you frown alone (this is my version!).

Do you set the pace? What are the others around you doing? Are they sending out waves (vibrations) of happiness and good thoughts? Unfortunately, too many folks are walking around with their head down and sending out the wrong message.

You and I cannot change the world….but we can certainly change things right where we are today. It begins one step at a time. Set out to give everyone you meet a good feeling. About everything! About YOU! Their work. Many folks just need a firm handshake and a smile from those around them.

Our Environment has to be nurtured with positive reinforcement. All of us have been around a negative person. Brings every one of us down to their level if we let them. You can be the light and lift others to new heights. Try it!
Each of us needs to take responsibility for ourselves. Be an upbeat person. Lift others along with yourself. Be and become the person God created you to be. Not a sourpuss, but one with vibrations of success.

Touch others you meet along the way with your enthusiasm and love of life.

None of us enjoy being around a negative person. All of us know that some folks enjoy poor health, but we don’t have to encourage them or join their down in the mouth attitude. It is our challenge to bring them UP!

Help dispel the gloom in their life. It may be real, but we can try to lift them up with our positive outlook on the future as well as today.

Nothing can be as bad as it seems at the moment. Tomorrow will be a better day. Read the newspaper and you’ll find someone worse off. Bad news sells newspapers, but you and I don’t have to join them with more bad news. Let our news be God centered, upbeat, all the time.

Sometimes I just get excited about LIFE!! God gives us every minute of every day and I don’t want to waste any of it. Precious are you in His sight! He wants the very best for you. So do I!

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BUSINESS  TIP: See the good in everyone. Be POSITIVE. Life is waiting to be discovered. Open yourself up and SEEK the best there is. Get UP every morning and THANK GOD for a NEW day. It’s a gift. Cherish it. USE it. Realize that YOU are in control of YOUR THOUGHTS!