Category: Uncategorized

There comes a time in your new business when the plans are complete, all the thought of what and how is complete and it’s time to move it forward and make a profit.

There is nothing else needed but to step into the leadership roll and move it forward.

In my line of work, it’s easy to stay busy; unfortunately, while staying busy may pay the bills, it’s often a long distance from making a profit. So the obvious question is how do we profit in addition to paying the bills.

When things are difficult, there’s an issue to resolve or something is beyond our control and it could harm us, it’s our nature to move away or run and hide. To succeed at any worthwhile undertaking, instead of running, we must learn to Deal With It!

Dealing with it will take time, energy and focus and a resolve that most of us simply don’t have. It’s much easier to pick up and move over, go down the road and start over or to change your life completely thinking this will provide a tranquility where things don’t happen around us that cause pain. This dreamworld does not exist. We will all have issues and difficulties to face, let’s resolve to deal with them!

Identify the issue, let’s call it a problem. Then realize it may take time to handle this problem so lay out a strategy and time frame to get it resolved. Then get to work on ways to solve this problem and find solutions. Some problems can be left alone and time alone will take care of them. Others need focus and a solution to keep additional pain from coming our way.

When dealing with them, learn to find answers and possible ways to handle them and move quickly setting your strategy in motion. If it’s not working pivot, change course, find a better way or find multiple ways that resolve the problem! Most importantly, don’t back off or look the other way, go through the struggle of solving problems, that is life itself. Learn to Deal With It!

Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 shortly after in an interview he was asked what’s wrong with men today and after a brief pause, he replied, Men Simply Don’t Think!

Things haven’t changed much; I find that we rarely take time to think.  Having written a few blogs prior to this I find that writing them with the purpose of thinking about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it brings incredible clarity to my day and yet, getting up an hour early to do it, well, let’s just say, it’s easy not to do!

In the beginning, any and most shoestring business start-ups look overwhelmingly impossible.  It’s like watching a movie all at once, taking it all in, seeing every scene all at the same time; it won’t work, that’s not the way business, movies or life works.  The number of things in your mind will bog you down.

Know the big picture, how it will all work, accept the shortage of players and get the essential parts moving and working together.  Don’t ignore the other things but don’t bring them to the front of your mind daily they will haunt your brain into inaction on everything.  Decide the critical stuff and put the lesser on the shelf to be reprioritized in a day, week or month.

Make a game of it.  What will be easier next week or next month if, if you get this done this week, if you set this up this month?  Example; If you were to increase cash flow this month through your efforts that are sustainable, next month that’s no longer on your list.  More time is now available to take another project off the shelf and reprioritize.

Now your business is moving forward, things are happening, and in a few more productive months like this, you will be able to hire the right person, purchase the needed time-saving equipment or attract the support you need.

It Get’s Easier!

What could you accomplish if you pushed yourself for a year?  Starting a business on a shoestring may not afford the luxury of hiring all the players, you may have to force yourself to wear a lot of hats at first, so get prepared.

Make a list of all the actions needed for your business to operate on a regular basis to grow.  Make lists of daily functions, every other day, every week and every month, and so on.  Create actions schedules based on these vital activities and plan your days to meet the challenge.

If the list is too large find better ways to get some of the tasks completed by outside services.  Here’s an example of creative thinking that was applied by Colonel Sanders, the creative mind behind Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Colonel Sanders knew he could not own, run and operate multiple restaurant locations; he did not have the resources to do that.  That’s why he shared his idea with others so he and they could make money selling his delicious recipe.  His genius was creating a sellable product, but now he needed outlets so by going to existing restaurants, adding  KFC to the menus, he started a food empire.

With a pressure cooker and a hand full of kitchen tools loaded in his car, he drove across the country; Colonel Sanders pushed himself to find people who would see the opportunity and sell his recipe, Kentucky Fried Chicken.

What could you do with your business if you were to . . .

Push for One Year?

There will be times when building a business that you feel stuck, that’s wrong.  You’re not stuck, some part of your business may be, but you’re not!  There are times when the funds are not available, the right person for the job is not yet in place, the line of credit is not big enough, but that’s just a part of your business.  It’s called the future.

Now is the time to focus on all the things you can do and decide what actions will get you there and move it forward.  If you get 1% closer to your goals every day, that’s 365% closer in a year or consider five day work weeks; it’s still 250% closer.  With your business moved forward 250%, what would that change in your business and in your life?

Yesterday while traveling home from West Texas, there was a roadblock in a small town.  Quickly I saw an option to move on without using that main road.  My journey did not stop, I took an alternate route.  That’s what we need to do in business, no matter what, Move It Forward.

Persistent, excessive worry is one of the definitions of anxiety.  It’s a feeling lead by our thoughts, so why not think excited instead of anxious?  As I thought about this I was on my way to Starbucks to enjoy a cup of coffee while writing today.  Upon arrival first thing this morning I saw the same guy I saw yesterday.  (I’m out of town this week!)  Already having turned my anxiety of the day ahead into excitement I said hi, mentioned that we were both early birds.  The next thing I knew my morning coffee was on him!  Wow!

Excitement is contagious even if it’s low key, it’s so much better than anxiety.  Both can be noticed by those around us and everyone likes to be excited and when they pick up on that feeling they feel good and yes I believe good things happen when we control our feelings and emotions!

They just do!

Stay Excited My Friend!

Goal setting is one thing, keeping our priorities moving is quite another.  It’s important to know that the goals we’ve set are doable and even more important to understand the priorities and keep them front and center.

Take your business, for example, will the cash flow you need to operate be there if you meet your weekly, bi-weekly and monthly goals?  If not, the goals are unrealistic, if so, it’s important to make them happen so there’s no sidetracking or derailing forcing the need to head in another direction for cash flow from alternate choices.  This usually leads to disaster or at least a larger struggle and is not part of the plan, so don’t do it.

As a small business owner, there are often so many things to do, each potentially taking focus away from the priorities and none that can be let go.  It is, however, extremely important to keep the priority goals moving and more importantly, moving on schedule.

This juggling act may take time and a lot of practice to perfect!  If you, like me started a business on a shoestring, you can’t take too long.  Having a business with any employees or overhead starts eating away all the savings you may have quickly so it’s paramount to know what’s needed, what the goals are and clearly understand the priorities and practice until all those needs are met.  That was the plan, that’s how the goal comes about and that’s what separates us from all the rest.

It’s already been said if it were easy, everyone would do it!

Keep Priorities Front & Center!

Sometimes we all struggle with getting up early to do a project that is less appealing than we’d like to do.  Getting up can be difficult, I know, I’m sitting here at 2:56 a.m. writing this about to leave Austin where it will be in the 60s today to head out to a project in Midland where the temperature is 30 degrees.  Not fun!

So what do we do, it’s a project that has ties to an important client, so the only real choice is to get up and get going!  Once you take the first step, it becomes easier.   It’s the first steps that are so difficult.

Make this a habit and others will be amazed at your abilities.  In their eyes, you are extraordinary.

Get Up and Get Going!