As a CEO, president or business owner, do you have a formula for business success?
How many times have you heard one of these statements:
- Find out what your passion is.
- Do what you enjoy.
- Do what you excel at and are talented in.
Then you will be very successful in business.
Is this the formula to your business success?
Yes.
And… No.
On the surface, it sounds like a great philosophy. It makes sense in many ways, doesn’t it? If you enjoy it; if you are good at it, then you should follow your dreams to be successful in business. You’ll be less stressed. Have more balance. And life will be a bowl of cherries!
What people, in general, including yourself do whether as an employee or as the company CEO, president or business owner is to focus on what is enjoyable to do. What you are good at. Then tend to push other things aside. It’s human nature.
That’s just not going to make it in today’s competitive marketplace. If you want to be truly successful then you need to face the things you find unpleasant, mundane or boring that are as important to your business success as those you like and excel at.
You need to stay focused on the big picture of what you really want to achieve in business and in your life. Because this is the pathway of business success to get you to where you want to be.
For example: Do you like to do paperwork? Most businesspeople don’t like paperwork. Put it off till it piles up on the desk or a deadline needs to be met. If you saw a cartoon of a businessperson with stacks of paper where you could only see the top of their head this may seem funny only because it is merely exaggerated reality. In fact, the paperwork continues to pile up not only on the desk but all over the office. Yet paperwork and reports can supply critical data and knowledge for your business success. On the other hand, you don’t want to get so caught up in the paperwork that you lose sight of what else needs to be accomplished for true business success.
Another example is sales. It would be great if the leads for qualified prospects would just come in. Then follow up on those leads, breeze through the sales process and soon those prospects become customers. It would be great if you or the sales, marketing or the customer service team didn’t need to work very hard at acquiring new customers and keeping customers long term. The reality is if you and everyone in the company aren’t proactive and willing to do the necessary work the business will not prosper.
Perhaps you’re lucky enough to have work just rolling into your company or you are working on a “very big project” bringing in significant revenue. Ask yourself: What happens if the work suddenly runs dry, when you unexpectedly lose a major customer or when the one big project is finished? Then what? Will you be scrambling for new business?
Having work you enjoy and being busy is no doubt more fun than looking for business. I have often said that businesspeople would rather go to the dentist for a root canal than to prospect for new business or to do paperwork.
Remember: No matter how much work your company may have always plan to spend a percentage of your daily/weekly time prospecting and marketing. Providing the customer or potential customer what they need to keep doing business with you. Never stop. Then the business coming in the door shouldn’t stop either.
Tackle the things you don’t want to do first in your business day and get them out of the way. Set aside specific time. Even schedule it on your calendar.
Have you thought about what the goal of your business is?
Is the goal of your business somewhat like going to summer camp – singing camp songs and having a good time? Do you think of yourself more as simply an employee or as a leader? Or is your company’s goal to be profitable for yourself, your employees and being able to pay your bills?
If your business goal is success and profit then everyone around you including yourself need to face the reality of getting to work, getting things done, getting those sales made and learning new skills.
It’s about getting out of your comfort zone. Doing the things you don’t want to do but are really necessary for business success.
That’s a formula for your business success. Starting NOW!
To your success!
Ready to improve and grow your business? Business problems or business issues to resolve? Need to talk strategy about business decisions? Talk with Howard! – 888-738-1855- Howard Lewinter guides – focuses – advises CEOs, presidents and business owners to MORE success – MORE profit – less stress. Get MORE from your business! Talk with Howard: 888-738-1855.