Are you and your business ready to move forward and expand moving into 2016?
I know I’m ready to push my way through the masses of other business owners in my niches and find my way (just a little) closer to the front of the line in 2015!
The following 4 “mantras” are sacred. Write them down, print them out. Recite them everyday.
Follow them and success is sure to follow you wherever you go this year.
1. Allow yourself to fall in love with solutions, not problems
Are you the business owner who has a massive freakout every time something doesn’t go as planned? When your web designer quits the day before the launch of your newest project, do you crawl in the office and cry like a little baby for the rest of the day, then go home and whine, moan and boo-hoo to your spouse about how you have this massive problem that you can’t fix?
If this sounds like a typical scenario in your business when things go awry, you’re in love with problems, and your blood pressure is likely dangerously high too!
When things go south, don’t mope. You’ll live longer and your staff will like you more. Each problem that arises is an opportunity to build your confidence and good reputation even stronger – by finding a solution where most other people in your situation would crawl under the nearest bridge and wait for the trouble-tornado to pass over!
2. Don’t wait for success to happen, force it to.
There’s an old saying that goes a little something like “sometimes the best way around the mountain is to go straight through it.” Such a profoundly true statement when it comes to achieving success in a world that’s shifting away from the worker mindset to an entrepreneurial one at an alarming pace.
Everyone is reaching for the top. You literally don’t have time to sit back and enjoy the little victories, resting on your laurels and waiting for your customer base to grow “naturally.” It’s 2015, get out there and make your business grow!
3. Transparency is king in customer service.
It really doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in, the more transparent you are the more your customers will respect and recommend you.
McDonalds is a great example of how transparency rules in customer service. When they were accused of owning 98% of the world’s worm farms and using said worms as fillers in their hamburgers nearly a quarter-century ago, they allowed anyone and everyone to go on a tour of their beef farming and manufacturing facilities, to show they had nothing to hide. Recently they were accused of using a strange pink goo to make their chicken nuggets, so they decided to film the entire manufacturing process for all the public to see in this YouTube video; they were the 4th most valuable brand on the planet as of 2013, so they must be doing something right.
Of course, if you’re not “on the up and up” transparency isn’t likely to be your friend. Maybe it’s time to change your current business model if that’s the case!
4. Cash is king in business, period!
You have to track your finances very carefully. Businesses that waste money unnecessarily don’t survive very long.
If you can spend a $1 to acquire $3 worth of business, that’s a pretty sound way to spend cash. If you run out and buy the latest and greatest Windows’ laptop because you’re bored with last year’s model – during a phase when you’re feeling a little uneasy about making payroll this week – then that’s what you call “uncontrolled spending!” What will you do when the money dries up, apply for a new line of credit?
Most business owners have no clue how to budget their money for either short or long term sustainability and growth of their business. That’s why one of the best ways to spend your money is on a qualified accountant, to make you “accountable” for every dime you bring in and every penny that goes out.
Bonus: Pay it Forward
People have surely helped you out along the way. Karma dictates that good deeds and good intent lead to future wealth and happiness.
Do you have any business mantras you’d like to share to give you and your business goals a little karmic boost?