Certainly, the human race can be fickle, and times do change, but overall, the barriers to bringing a product to market – and understanding what ‘the market’ wants – have remained unchanged.
Results transform the world, and a great dream creates results. That’s what this thing we call ‘business’ is really all about.
As the owner, you have to look into the mind of the customer and see and feel how their relationship to your product works – not just that the product works.
If you ever hope to get ahead as an entrepreneur, the answer is not becoming an effective juggler, but in understanding and designing the systems to keep your team, not you, busy, busy, busy.
If there is one thing that offers challenges to small companies as they start to grow and expand, it is the hiring process… every single area. The issues that can arise run the full spectrum, from ‘finding good help’ to that ubiquitous catch-all ‘training’ and everything in between.
No matter how you hire, ensuring the systems are in place to manage the process will be critical in allowing you to find the right people to carry the standards you set. Don’t neglect that duty!
Your success has to be measured against yourself – a decade ago, last year, or yesterday.
Opening a business is going to be hard work, no matter what choices you make. If you decide to fall on your sword and just slog through all the work as an operator instead of an owner, then you take responsibility for the entire operation and the actions of the business.
We all know that Ray Kroc founded the McDonald’s franchise back in the 1950s, and it then became the most successful business enterprise in history.
Most people view coffee and lunch as personal time, not deal-making time. Unless the person you’re meeting understands that this is a working lunch, then they may not even think that this is a serious business conversation.
How can you, as a small business owner, figure out what you are and, from there, begin to take action? Simple – you have to understand what part of the job you are doing and, if it isn’t fulfilling the role of the entrepreneur in your business, you must make the decision to take on that role.
Without concentration, a business will be ordinary in every respect, because it will have no presence, no inner force, no way to attract the people upon whom it depends for its very existence – employees, customers, suppliers, and lenders.
The world of the small business owner is all about moving multiple items forward at once, and it’s a fool’s errand to believe one person can do it all when the shift comes from linear to parallel.
Be honest: if your pitch is 90 minutes and you only have 60 set aside for a business lunch or a cup of coffee, there is no way that you can give an honest representation of your company or products. You’re lying to yourself and wasting your own time as well as that of your prospect or partner.
The challenge of any business owner is not only to keep the saw sharp, but also to know if you even have a need for such a tool.
If opening your own business is the dream, then it must start with a Dream – not only to understand what it is that you want to do, but also, how you are going to build something better than the same chaotic environment you just left.
Steve Jobs didn’t seek solace among minimum wage workers. He sought it from highly educated men and women who understood and shared his focus on growth, technology, and company-building.
If you are planning to start a business, and if you want that business to have a hope of succeeding, be sure you are approaching your venture from a true Entrepreneurial Perspective.
I’ve said it for four decades – work ‘on’ your business, not just ‘in’ your business!
Most entrepreneurs are merely technicians with an entrepreneurial seizure. Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working IN your business rather than ON your business.
Your target market and their demographics realistically need to be in alignment with your own beliefs and morals, or you may have trouble reaching out to them – or keep them once others have entered the market.
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