Why many start-ups fail?

If you have ever gambled you know the feeling when its time to take your winnings and go home.

Staying at the table any longer will only cost you money. There is a point where luck and timing played its role leading to a profit and you take that profit and walk away. There is no guarantee this "new found gambling skill" will translate to the roulette wheel. 

In business we can play too many hands with "emotion, guts & intuition." I believe all these are traits a good entrepreneur has but these are normally initial triggers not deciders. You get a good feeling this is a profitable opportunity but you still do the due diligence required to validate the idea. Is there a market for your product or service? Will you have a competitive advantage? What is your value proposition? You get the idea?  Emotion is a great igniter but should not be the decider.

I CAN'T HELP WITH STUBBORN OR STUPID

Has your business improved lately? No, seriously has it? I was consulting a client recently who is so reluctant to make any changes that I finally said  "listen I cannot help with stupid or stubborn. If you flat out don't want to grow or make changes even though good information has come to your attention (internet, websites, quickbooks, etc). Yet you refuse to accept it. The fact is we must critically analyze our business periodically. Is our profit margins growing or shrinking? Is there a new competitor that is taking more and more market share?  What are your sales staffs closing ratios?  The list of questions are endless but I find most small business owners are afraid to ask them. Why, because change may be needed and change costs time and money.

How Persistent Are You Toward Reaching Your Dream?

I am amazed how little it for people to give up on their dreams. They know what they want in that this one thing (dream) if achieved would dramatically change their life but they persist little towards its reality.
A few no's and they give up.

I have recently written a book and within the next 6 weeks it will be published but that is not my dream (just a piece of it). We can all write books if we take the time. What I did however was secure endorsements from 3 N.Y. Times Bestselling authors and multiple esteemed educators who I had no relationship with and had nothing to gain by endorsing my book.

The formula was persistence. I simply wrote strategic emails with a persistence but polite request regularly to these people requesting they read one page and see if it was worth reading more. Yes there is a secret to reaching them but that is for another blog.

Good news, they loved it and gave it some amazing endorsements. Keep on the look out for 8 UNBREAKABLE RULES FOR SUCCESS  which Brian Tracy says "Will Change Your Life".

One Reason Why You Continue to Fail

Legendary basketball Coach Bobby Knight said something to the effect of "Everybody's got the will to win, but it's only those with the will to prepare that actually do win."

Malcolm Gladwell in his book "Outliers" brought forth the fact that leaders and legends in their fields of endeavor simply out prepared their counter parts.  In short high achievers work, prepare and practice significantly more then under achievers.

What action will you take today that will prepare you for the success you are trying to achieve? I coach countless people on how to achieve more in their lives and business and it is early on that the lack of preparation for success is obvious. They simply are not doing anything on a regular basis that leads to success in the area they most want success.

Write your number one goal at the top of a spiral bound notebook today with 3 action steps you will take today to achieve this. Continue to do this each and every day and you will discover that more then 1000 action steps you will have taken a year from now. This daily exercise will have brought you towards that big goal. Maybe it takes 5 years and 5,000 action steps, but if that goal is a life changer every step is worth it.

This One Secret Will Get More Production From Your Employees and Costs Nothing

Everyone is trying to get the most out of people who work for them. I recently read where people in sales spend more then 1/3 of an 8 hour workday wasting time and being un-productive. How you can you get more from your staff? The secret is what you say to them. Do you encourage them?

I read in John Maxwell’s 25 Ways To Win With People that Psychologist Henry H. Goddard conducted a study on energy levels in children using an instrument called the “engograph.” His findings are fascinating as he learned that tired children when given a word of encouragement/ praise or commendation – the engrgraph would show an immediate surge of energy. What was also concluded was that when children received criticism or discouragement this same instrument showed their energy took an immediate nosedive.

What does it take to encourage? Nothing more then words that compliment, affirm someone’s good work or qualities or maybe a physical pat on the back with nothing more than “it is great having you here today”.  How expensive is the words “good job” or ‘that was great input”. Yes, these words cost nothing but gives energy and with energy more production and an atmosphere that creates group momentum.

We all know Henry Ford, but we may have never heard of him had it not been for the encouraging words of Thomas Edison, who when he heard of Ford’s plan to build a car with a gasoline engine remarked with enthusiasm while hitting his fists on a table in excitement. “You’ve got it. A car that has its own power plant; that’s a BRILLIANT idea.” Up to this point Ford had only been told it could not be done but the great inventor with his simple encouragement energized Henry Ford who would later remark, “I thought I had a good idea but started to doubt myself. Them came along one ofthe greatest minds that’s ever lived and gave me his complete approval.”

Let’s encourage TODAY!

I am average but rich and these 2 habits worked for me

We make getting rich way to hard. Forbes Magazine recently released its annual list of the “400 Wealthiest Americans.” It’s quite an impressive list. It takes a minimum of $1.1 billion in personal wealth to be included. Collectively, these 400 people have more than $1 trillion in total assets. But the most impressive thing about the list is that 70% of those on it created their own wealth. That’s right they started with nothing more than an idea that they took action on.

Ideas flow from input and silence. Input meaning what you are exposing your mind to. Are you reading great books, meeting new people with fresh views or taking classes that give greater knowledge?

Ideas grow out a stimulated mind. Your intuition or “still small voice” speaks and is heard in silence. When is your world silent? Set aside time daily to expose your mind to idea starters -then put you mind in a quite place so it can hear and respond.  Keep a journal where you write ideas down. These ideas if looked at often will grow with many sub points of support bringing the idea into reality. Sometimes the ideas will also just go away with no follow up insights which is also helpful.

Think 70% of America’s wealthiest people had an idea that they took action on. Yes the next step is action.  When a great idea has presented itself write it at the top of a sheet of paper then list everything that would have to take place for it to become a reality. You will find it typically shows many steps -but all doable. Good news, even if you don’t end up in the Forbes 400 ,you will be far ahead of where you are today.

GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN BUSINESS

Good is fools gold in business! It is the week before the Super Bowl, so I am being bombarded with feel good stories of the player and coaches for this weeks game. What is not getting the attention is how these team got to the Super Bowl. Both team’s coaches, at a pivotal point in the season, chose to be great and not settle for just being good. I watched the Baltimore Ravens lose to my beloved Redskins in overtime as a good team but not a great team. San Francisco too was a good team but with a couple losses their coach knew they were not great.

Jim Collin’s in his now legendary book Good To Great punctuates the importance of seeking to be great with his famous quote “Good is the Enemy of Great.”

Baltimore let go of their offensive coordinator late in the season to give the play calling duties Jim Caldwell a rare and un-heard of move. San Francisco benched their quarterback who was 3^rd in the NFL in passer rating but lacked the X Factor. Why did these coaches take this risk? They knew they had good team, play off team, but not great teams defined as a Super Bowl Championship Team.

Does your business settle for good but not great? Are their changes you know you need to be made but would be un-confortable? Letting go of an offensive coordinator who was your close friend and on your staff for years was uncomfortable for Ravens coach John Harbaugh but he wanted GREAT. His brother Jim, who coaches the 49ers had a veteran quarterback, who though sufficient, could not do the exceptional.

TAKEAWAY:          Do not settle for good.