The Key to Business Success
What is the most important determinant of a business's success?
o A Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
o Having the lowest prices?
o Great sales people?
o The best location?
o The best products?
o Good customer service?
o A strong local economy?
While these are all factors, based on our experience working with all kinds of different businesses, the most important determinant is you - the business owner. History is riddled with examples of successful businesses that have failed with a new owner and lackluster businesses that have flourished under new ownership.
As a result, YOU are your most important business project. As such, you should be investing significantly in yourself. This includes reading books, examining your strengths and weaknesses, setting development goals for yourself, seeking outside advice, tracking your own personal development and getting a mentor to keep you on track. You probably spend plenty developing and maintaining your business's physical assets. How much time and money do you spend on developing yourself?
The great motivator and speaker E. James Rohn advises: "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job ". In my opinion, if you are serious about your business and what you want to get out of life, you simply must dedicate 5-10% of your time to self-development. And, yes, you must set aside some money to pay for it. But rest assured, this money will likely give you the highest ROI (return on investment) possible. After all, you are the person that can increase your profits by 50% or more.
There is no better time than now to make a commitment to yourself. Get out your calendar right now and block off 30-60 minutes every day for self development, for the next 12 months. Next, write down specifically what you are going to do with this time for the next two weeks. At the end of two weeks, you should be in a position to detail your development plan for the next month, then the next quarter.
If you are not sure where to begin, or you are not sure how you are actually going to make this work, email us at coaches@actionbusinessdevelopment.com.
A corollary quote that I like, also from Jim Rohn: "Never wish your job were easier, wish you were better". Think about it. If you are better, you will get better results. If you wish for it then you are more likely to find a way to make it happen. If, on the other hand, your job were to be easier, then everyone would want to do it and you would be back to square one.
Since YOU are your business project, in our experience, a lot of your success will emanate from your own attitudes.
There is nothing more fundamental to the success of a business than the attitudes of the business owner. The attitudes and beliefs of the owner become reflected and often magnified by the business. Attitudes impact all the decisions the owner makes; the type of people who get hired (and fired); the way staff treat customers and suppliers. The first is:
1. The Winning Attitude
The journey towards extraordinary profits begins here. There is no greater factor responsible for success, or failure, than your own mental attitude! As a result, it is imperative that you begin by preparing your mind with the attitudes and perspectives that will set you free to achieve your business goals. I am not talking about psyching yourself with positive thoughts, although at times this can help. What I am talking about is adopting ways of thinking that will free your mind to find the solutions to your business challenges.
You see, how you think and what you believe to be true about how you do business is what brought you to where you are right now. Before you can find a better way of doing business, you must learn a new way of thinking about business.
It is a simple truth that it does not matter if you think you can, or you think you cannot, either way you will be right!
Every day I meet people that are just getting by, living largely unhappy lives. Fortunately, I also meet many successful, high-energy people. What is the main difference between these two groups? The first group tends to exhibit a Victim's mentality. They tend to Blame others for their problems. They make Excuses for why things never seem to work out. They often Deny that they might have been able to alter the outcome. These people are going nowhere. To paraphrase the lyrics of the popular musical group The Bare Naked Ladies, they are effectively "lying in BED , just like Brian Wilson did".
The second group, the successful people, tends to have a Victor mentality. They take Ownership of their challenges. They are Accountable for their actions and Responsible for their results. These people are in charge of their own ship and they use attitudes of Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility as an OAR to propel them on their way to success.
Click here to download your free copy of 24 Key Attitudes to Bring Freedom Beyond Your Wildest Dreams . (It may take a couple of minutes to download.)
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