Whilst there are many factors which will drive your success, there are five in particular which will have a big impact on you achieving your goals:
Success Mindset
How many times have you heard of someone who is flat broke yet goes on to turn their life around and, in many cases, become a self made millionaire?
Yes, they may have a good idea or product or happen to be in the right place at the right time. These are very important, but they won’t bring you success unless you have a WINNING MINDSET.
There are many elements to a winning mindset – self belief, commitment, not being afraid of failure, taking action, and more as outlined in Characteristics of a Winner.
These are qualities you need as an individual / entrepreneur … and they are qualities you need to encourage in all the people staff who work with you.
If you have or place roadblocks within your mind, then success will elude you.
Planning, Strategies And Processes
Ever wondered why there are so many failures in business?
More often than not, it’s because the business owner has assumed that by simply “hanging out a shingle” – i.e. a website, a business card, and even a physical location – is enough to get the money rolling in.
That may work for a while, but it generally doesn’t producesustainable and repeatable incomewhich should be your goal in any venture you start or are in involved in.
To achieve this, you need a plan, you need strategies … and you MUST have processes which take you from A-to-Z.
There are two things your Plan, Strategies and Processes take into account…
- you MUST have something which people want and need, and
- since people prefer to do business with those they know, like and trust, you MUST have a way of building relationships
If you can’t come up with a way to address these, then step back until you have them sorted out.
Implement Your Plan
Got a great idea you think will make money? If the answer is yes, then what are you doing about it?
If you aren’t taking action and implementing your ideas, then nothing will happen, no income will flow … and more than likely someone else will do what you are considering and the opportunity is lost forever.
Procrastinators are NOT winners!
You must take TAKE ACTION, develop a plan and then IMPLEMENT it.
That means you have to “work your business” – and aim to get to the point where you are “working ON the business” rather than “IN the business”. Only then can you can consider yourself as having made it.
Don’t Take Anything For Granted
Don’t assume that your friends and colleagues are going to support you, that having a great product is enough, that joining an association / networking group will deliver results, or that success is guaranteed.
Markets change every day … and your suppliers, marketing channels, and customers are a lot more fickle than they have ever been. Gone are the days when a handshake was enough!
To minimize problems, practice TRANSPARENCY in everything you do, avoid “smoke and mirrors” and, most importantly, formalize all your business arrangements so all parties know where they stand.
Expand your Capabilities
So you’ve got a great plan, you’ve implemented it and things are happening. You’re on cloud 9!<
Well your competitors could quite possibly be enjoying similar success as well – and pretty soon they could do something which erodes your hard fought success.
Expanding your capabilities is therefore paramount. Invest in yourself and your staff through training … and expand your operations so you can help your clients in more ways.
This is something you need to be doing non-stop. As you grow, so will your business and income.
Step back for 15 minutes and do a self assessment of whether you are addressing each of the above adequately. I certainly hope you are … and if you’re not, then you have some work to do!