Here is a tough question that may take a bit of thought. Why did you go into business? . . . .I’m waiting. Okay, long enough. There is no right or wrong answer. However, if you dig deep enough you will probably agree find an answer that somehow relates to 1) “I wanted freedom from the daily grind,” 2) “I wanted to control my own destiny,” or 3) “I think I can make a good deal of money doing this.” Stated simply, PROFITS and FREEDOM. Maybe not in that order. If you have some other motivation, great. I am not sure what that motivation might be, but I did once hear of a business that really did not want to make money. Huh, go figure!
Is being in busines all its cracked up to be? Well, even the best laid plans go awry from time to time. I personally have started multiple business endeavors that went nowhere. But, a few did and I have learned a bit from each success and failure. When we start our profit making endeavor, we have on a pair of “happy goggles” which allow us to focus on how much money we can make. However, these “happy goggles” filter out the details of operating our business day to day.
It is these details that often impede our progress toward the ultimate goals of freedom and profits. Who would have thought that instead of making important, deal making phone calls, you would be spending time unclogging the toilet, counseling and employee that is going through a divorce, or taking packages to the post office? The point is, there are a million plus distractions in our day that keep us from focusing on the revenue building side of our business.
The Hardest Lesson
Okay. Take a deep breath because of I have some good news and some bad news. Because we always like to start off with our best foot forward, lets cover the Good News first.
Good News Flash – YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS! To many, this is a complete and utter surprise. In fact, many business owners often get confused. They believe the world around them has locked them into a certain way of conducting business. In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. We – or should I say YOU – chose the way your business operates. Think about it:
- You chose the hours.
- You choose your location.
- You choose to accept credit/Debit cards.
- You choose your employees.
- You choose your bank.
- You are the one who writes the checks.
- You chose . . .
Your business is yours and nobody else’s. Okay, now on to the bad news. And, really, its not all that bad.
Bad News Flash - YOU HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS!
See, I told you it wasn’t so bad. But, on the other hand – WOW! The simple fact that you are the only one that can make your business succeed is pretty overwhelming. You cannot make excuses when things don’t go right. You can’t complain about somebody not doing something to build your business. That someone is YOU! You are the one that let the employees slide by on customer service or communication. You are the one that may need to open early or stay late. You are the one that puts the money on the table for successful advertising campaigns. And, at the end of the day, you are the only one that can be blamed not getting done what needs to be done.
Okay, its not all that bad, so don’t work yourself into a panic. The basic point is that YOU and only you can take action and can make decisions about your business. Good decisions lead to success (S), poor decisions lead to . . .well, let’s just call this “less than optimal results” or LTOR for short. While we all want to avoid LTOR, we are often not sure how to achieve SUCCESS and don’t really know when we are there.
