25 free lessons for small businesses
1. Get up while climbing and stay up
You need balance. Don’t get so involved with volunteering to get your foot in the door that you neglect your cash flow. Also, as you help others, be sure to do whatever it takes to stay positive, smiling, and uplifted in spirit.
2. “The more you reason, the less you believe” – Raymond Chandler
Make sure you don’t spend your days with busy work. For example, don’t spend most of your time filing, direct mailing, or social media marketing. Automate and outsource. Make sure you spend the majority of your day serving customers and generating new business. This means cold calling, emailing, scheduling visits, attending events, etc.
3. You need Gumption!
You need a quick and ready disposition to take the initiative and astute common sense.
4. Stay away from dysfunctional people. Surround yourself with people who support you.
5. Don’t go day by day.
You need vision to see the week, month, year, and years at a glance. Make a list of goals you want to accomplish by the end of the week. Imagine getting a nice reward for doing it all. This could be a fine dining experience and spa treatment. You can also get vision checkups and pay bills.
6. It’s showtime! Always be on and ready to deliver a winning pitch.
Guard your spirit and disposition. Take care of your outer appearance. You never know who you’ll run into and opportunities are everywhere if you choose to see things that way.
7. No matter how hard you work, you can work harder!
8. You are the brand!
I know a business owner who refuses to put her face on anything. She will not use social media marketing. She has a pit bull as a business mascot and will wear that image. I explained that the pitbull does not attend pre-bid meetings, elevator speeches, and cannot network. She is the brand whether she likes it or not. Therefore, it is her personality, her knowledge, skills, abilities and her appearance that makes the difference for her, not the pitbull.
9. Stay awake! Always have a bright and positive outlook!
10. Your business will take off when you “have” to.
11. Build a network of connections; and work your network.
12. Help a reporter.
Get to know your local reporters, especially those covering local small businesses. I am very lucky connecting on Twitter. Also, study statistics. Being able to share trends in their industries and how their event, award, or news press is relevant to what’s happening in their industries.
13. Go from bottom to top and from top to bottom.
Get in the trenches and craft proposals, attend events, and network with middle managers and gatekeepers. Also, be sure to go straight to the top and find out how to address the needs of top decision makers and influencers.
14. Be persistent.
15. It’s okay to wish for riches!
One of my favorite books is “Overcoming Underearning” by Barbara Stanny.
16. Ask for references.
My favorite author here is Bob Burg and his “Endless References”.
17. Don’t let your education hold you back.
I have three (3) college degrees and am working on a fourth and fifth. I also have various licenses and certificates. I love, love, love to learn. There is a place for all of this. At the end of the day, humility goes a long way. Stay on land.
18. Get out of your comfort zone.
19. Get to “really, really” know your connections.
Use social media engagement to meet people and share stories about your life. Keep it professional. People enjoy peeking into your world. Take a real interest in others; show your support; and know them before you need them.
20. Get in good physical shape and have fun.
Give yourself a minimum of ten (10) minutes a day. I make a one minute chart; 15 minutes on the stair climber; and I walk. I also take aerobics classes for free.
21. Say daily affirmations and pray to stay aligned and focused.
22. Have teammates.
Take advantage of larger organizations like trade associations and chambers of commerce. Give some thought to the providers of complementary services and products that you can work with as a team. Gather competitive intelligence and be careful when working with competitors. Sometimes the competition is disguised.
23. Again, help others.
24. Study the people you follow and the people who follow you; and make the necessary adjustments.
25. Don’t rest on your laurels. Have a strategic plan.
Have a strategic plan that includes multiple streams of income. May include blue and white collar work. You can include face-to-face and online sales. Mingle.
