Last week I read a blog post regarding wantrepreneurs. In case you don’t know, wantrepreneurs are people who want to be entrepreneurs but never really go anywhere with it, or don’t succeed at it. We live in a business economy that has produced MANY successful entrepreneurs, which means it has produced even more wantrepreneurs. It is kind of sad to see people trying to mimic success without a clue as to how to achieve it. The blog went on to share 5 things to avoid remaining a wantrepreneur. I felt those were appropriate for any business today, even many of my friends and colleagues so I wanted to share their points along with my thoughts.
- Quit sitting on ideas. As small business owners, or even outside sales people that work independently, the “failure to launch” mantra is all too present. I hear people all the time tell me that they have been meaning to call a prospect, or get their marketing off the ground, or are going to clean up their inbox, but never do. Quit sitting on an idea, or a future task, and JUST DO IT!
- Quit worrying about money. All the worrying in the world will not produce more money, or change any situation for that matter, so just quit it! I started my business with $500.00 in the bank and though I am no multi-millionaire, I have done pretty well while others in my similar position are draining large amounts of savings and retirement to stay afloat. Find creative ways to do business, do things you’d typically hire out until you can get ahead and then hire out, use every free and inexpensive way to market yourself, and most importantly, get off your butt and SELL. More sales = more money. Simple right?
- Quit procrastinating. Seriously, like right now, quit putting off the things you need to do today. Do you have calls to make? MAKE THEM! Is your inbox bigger than your bank account? CLEAN IT UP! Putting things off just means another day with stress and without success. If you’re like the rest of the population, you spend way too much time on social media and not enough time being productive. That time alone could change your life! And because of #2, you can’t afford to put things off. Find an accountability partner to make sure you are on top off the important things in your business.
- Quit fearing failure. Failure is bound to happen. In my business of sales, the failure rate is somewhere in the 90%+ range. I’ve had to get over it, learn from it, and move on. You should too! And if you need a little motivation about what to do when you face failure, watch this video (Barbara Corcoran TEDx). It is one of the best messages on failure I have EVER heard, and I watch it at least once a week to put things in perspective (I’m gonna watch it right now). Ok, I’m back and inspired all over again. Destroy that junk and succeed!
- Quit setting ridiculous goals. Money is a terrible goal. So is market domination. Though money may come, it should never be a driving factor. Set goals that inspire a customer-centric culture. These include value for your customers and benefits to THEIR businesses. When your customers believe that you care, they will begin to ask for your products and services instead of you asking for their business. This will also make them more likely to refer business to you, which can grow your business exponentially without any additional financial investment (see #2).
Quit wanting to succeed and just do it. If you need help in any one of these areas, find someone who is able and ask.