FOCUS ON SUCCESS

FIGURE OUT HOW YOU CAN DO IT!

Don’t tell me why you can’t; instead tell me how you can.

In the world of small business obstacles are a part of the growth process. Obstacles come in many forms; a lack of time, a lack of knowledge, a lack of the necessary funds, a lack of a recognized target market; I can expand the “A lack of” and add many more situations where this term may seem applicable.

This is the critical stage in the life of a small business. Disillusionment and self-doubt can lead to: “I might as well give up; it wouldn’t have worked anyway” attitude.

There are very few instances where “A Lack of” cannot be solved. The secret is to step away from the issue and do some “out of the box” thinking. That may require a visit with a peer group or your mentor. If you have established your advisory committee, that is another great place to look for a solution.

The secret to small business success has to begin with an unbend-able belief on the part of the owner that this business has merit. It may require some tweaking, but the core vision of what the future could be is still strong and vibrant.

The “I know it all” mentality has to be put aside and pride may have to be swallowed as you reach out for support and acknowledge that you have a lot to learn.

One of the most frequent “A Lack of” things that I hear about has to do with working capital. My answer to that is to write a detailed plan for growing your business if you had unlimited funds to work with. The word, detailed, is the key word. For example, stating that you’ll be buying advertising or hiring sales people is a broad statement. Get into the details and determine what advertising you would buy? How much will it cost? What results do you expect and how did you determine what those results would be.

By itemizing the detail in each segment of what you would do with the funds, several things could happen. First, your plan may be so dynamic that an investor can be brought in or a loan can be obtained. Another possibility is that a part of the things you wanted to do CAN be done, not by the expenditure of funds, but by a re-arrangement of priorities which will allow the owner to generate quick cash by pre-selling services or products or finding a ready and willing target market that is in need of the benefits offered.

You’ve put in a lot of hard work. Don’t quit! Take a good look at other available options.

Advice and tips by Nick Petra – CFP, Mentor, and founder of BizQuack and StrategicDuck