What I thought it took and what it takes to be successful in my micro business.

Here’s what I thought it took to beat the odds and succeed:

·      Passion, Motivation or Desire

·      Grace & Gentility, and Gratitude

·      Fair Products, Services, or Commodities

·      Cash, lines of Credit, and personal Credit Cards.

Here’s what I learned it really takes to be successful in business:

o   An Impersonal Business Plan (IBP) and an Insensitive Accountant (IA)

o   Sales. Sales.  And more Sales. (No sales = No Income.)

o   No strategy.  No success!

o   Guts, Grit, and Discipline

o   Thick skin, big ears (active listening) and a small mouth.

How much time do you spend each week working “in your business?” 

o   Prospecting? 

o   Writing proposals?

o   Engaging on Social Media?

o   Client work. Production.  Delivery.

o   Handling customer service questions

o   Preparing invoices

o   Collecting money

o   Assessing your Aging Report?

o   Staying in touch with former customers?  Prospective buyers through newsletters, e-blasts, or direct mail campaigns.

How much time do you spend each week, “working on your business?”

Circle your favorite activities about working “on your business.”

o   Reducing expenses to increase your profit margins?

o   Implementing quarterly sales strategies?

o   Generating new leads,

o   Maintaining customer loyalty

o   Becoming a thought leader in your industry?

o   Developing your year-long objectives (month-over-month, year-over-year?)

o   Establishing a consistent brand?

o   Maximizing PR & advertising opportunities?

o   Analyzing your Profit/Loss Statement & Balance Sheet?

o   Creating new products. 

o   Balancing your checkbook, managing cash flow, and turning your inventory?

o   Expanding your customer journey so current buyers spend, more tell more, and keep coming back for more?

What differences did you find between what you thought it would take to be successful and what it actually took?

Strive to be a millionaire

My dad was a salesman and when my husband left the military, I wanted to buy his food brokerage business and move back to Oregon.  My dad told me, “No. Sales are too tricky for girls.” 

So my husband took a job in Wisconsin, and I set out, determined to prove my dad wrong.  I started my first business in 1986 after being completely inspired by at a conference titled, “Uncommon Women on Common Ground.” What I lacked in capital, I made up in passion and partnerships. 

I started out as a motivation speaker but eventually made more money networking for more famous and successful speakers and authors. Some of them were celebrities.  Many of them were business gurus.  One was an expert on Romance.  Many of them made more money in an hour than I’d make in a year.  I was captivated by the words of 

Jim Rohn, “Become a millionaire not for the million dollars, but for what it will make of you to achieve it.” 

So I sought off to become a millionaire. I thought that hanging around wealthy people would make me rich.  But I learned a very valuable lesson. The appearance of wealth does not guarantee a positive net worth (All assets – All liabilities.) My husband was a financial analyst and I knew that income – expenses = profits.  I learned first hand that if earning  $10,000 in a day, and spending $12,000 the same day is not good business. This flew right in the face of everything I had learned that, “You have to spend money to make money.”

After my children grew up and left the house, I became as the General Manager of a distribution center, I spent that majority of my days pouring over balance sheets, calculating profit margins, analyzing Aging Reports, and putting out “fires” (customers, vendors, and staff.)

According to Investopedia, General Managers commonly rank about most employees but below corporate-level executives.

But…I was lucky. I had an Assistant GM that handled inside sales, purchasing, and general accounting; an inside sales rep that took orders and handled in-house and online purchases; a warehouse team that picked and delivered orders, and a small, but mighty, sales team.  Even with access to a parent company including full-time accounting and HR department; marketing director, and IT; it was still an ongoing challenge to build the sales strategy, cultivate a customer loyalty program, and motivate staff to exceed the companies financial objectives.

Our job, the only reason any of us were hired by the owner, was to make money;  maximize profits, reduce expenses, and justify our bi-weekly paychecks.

And yet, people continue to start micro businesses at twice the rate of

80% of Americans are employed by companies employing 15 employees or less and 90% of the Gross National Product is generated by small businesses.

But here’s what I’ve learned:

It takes more than:

A great product

Motivation

Or seed money to succeed.

Starting a business is like birthing a baby, the fun has only just begun!!!!