Small business information and resources for business owners and entrepreneurs
About being an Entrepreneur
It is an incredibly rewarding experience, involving never ending challenges and opportunities. It's this great ongoing game. Each person searching for ways to get ahead. If you are an entrepreneur remember to appreciate what you have.
Random Quote
“Failure is our most important product.” — R.W. Johnson Jr., Former CEO, Johnson & Johnson, 1954
well I must say it has been awhile since I’ve gotten around to posting on my blog. In all honesty I always seem to have a lot on my plate. Which means typically something has to give. This is something many small business owners face each and every day. They take on too many tasks and cannot get everything done. This can cause an area of their business to suffer. Whether it is something like paperwork that doesn’t get done or a meeting that they’re late for. Business owners not only need to be able to delegate tasks but they need to prioritize their tasks as well. They need to keep detailed schedules but make time to fight the fires that inevitably come along during the day. Keep this in mind the next time you say yes to doing something.
The beautiful thing about being an entrepreneur is the wealth of opportunity that exists for someone willing to go out and seize those opportunities. They’re there wthout a doubt. But there is a real difference in the individual person that is willing to take the bull by the horns and someone that would rather sit in the stands and watch the show. Most people are content to talk about what it is they would do if they had the opportunity. But entrepreneurs seize the opportunities they see and create opportunities when none are readily apparent.
Look around you and you’ll see that there are endless possibilities and ideas in which businesses can be built upon. They may be existing ideas and businesses that can be improved upon, they may also be totally new ideas that come about because of an existing business. And an opportunity may exist because of the next great invention. Again the key is to look around you with your eyes wide open and your mind open to new possibilities. The phrase “Thinking outside the box” is one that has without a doubt become fairly worn out and cliche but it still does and always will apply to what a successful entrepreneur has the ability to do. If you are looking for your next great idea be open and “Think outside the box.” More than likely you’ll find what you are seeking.
Businesses are built upon a foundation of different ideas. One idea leads to another and another and so on. Developing a good environment for ideas to flow throughout your organization is important. Whether you are pursuing new ideas for products, marketing, business growth, or employee programs. Ideas do not just come from the top of an organization. Instead they have the potential to come from all the employees within a business. It is up to the management and ownership of a company to provide that atmosphere.
The potential for great ideas and new discoveries is one of the things I personally like best about being an entrepreneur. It has always given me the opportunity to explore new ideas and as a consequence learn many new things that I would have otherwise not known. I’ve found that search for new ideas and information a very satisfying experience.
As entrepreneurs we have a great opportunity to pursue new ideas and develop organizations that are geared towards coming up with and developing new ideas. New ideas will keep you ahead of you competition and keep your organization viable and productive well into the future. So embrace your ideas and those of the people that work for you.
Business owners everywhere spend lots of time going to networking events in the often vain hope of making contacts that might make a difference to their business. But the place that they should be looking for new contacts is their own backyard.
Two of the best places you have for developing new contacts are your existing customers and your own supplier networks.
Your customers can be a huge source of new contacts assuming of course that they are in a position to rave about the product or service you are providing them. If that is the case then they should be more than willing to help you develop new contacts and add to your customer list.
Your suppliers on the other hand can often help you in developing your supplier network. Often you will need products or services that one supplier cannot offer but often they will know of another supplier that can.
Business is about the people you know and you probably know more people than you realize.
Ok well to talk about BHAG’s I guess it’s best if you first know what one is. BHAG is an acronym that stands for BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS. It’s a term that Jerry Porras and Jim Collins use in their book “Built to Last.” This is the book I am currently reading. A BHAG is something that many companies fail to set. It’s a goal that most people would think impossible to accomplish but as a company they go for it anyway. Sometimes to the extent that they are willing to bet the company to reach it. The book talks about visionary companies versus ordinary companies. And one of the difference makers is that visionary companies are willing to establish a BHAG and then give it everything they’ve got to achieve that goal.
I mention BHAG’s because they are not just for big businesses. Small companies can establish BHAG’s as well. There is no rule saying that shooting for the moon is just for the big boys. Establishing an audacious goal for a small company can give it a sense of purpose and drive that can become an unbelievable competative advantage. If you run a small business maybe you should consider what large and audacious goals are out there that you would like to achieve. You might be surprised at the reaction of your employees when you show to them what you think they can accomplish.
Recently I was browsing through my collection of as yet unread business books looking for something that would be able to stimulate my mind. While doing so I ran across my copy of the book “Built to Last” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. A few years ago they came out with the book “Good to Great” which talks about how good companies can be turned into great companies. I read the book back when it was first released and found it to be truly excellent. And afterwards I searched for and found a copy of “Built to Last” which was actually written before “Good to Great”. Anyway I pulled out this book and took some time to start reading it. Neadless to say it really is an impressive piece of work.
So what is it about? Well in a nutshell it talks about the differences between truly visionary companies and companies that are mearly good at what they do. The book was actually put together over the course of 5 years and used an avalanche of material to prove its point. What the authors did was offered up a comparison set of companies. One example of a visionary company is Marriott to Howard Johnson. Both are companies with long histories but the authors go out and prove how Marriott can be considered a truly visionary company. How they are about more than just making money. The best way to explain it might be that Howard Johnson’s just exists to make money but Marriott exists to make people happy when they are away from home.
The authors also make a point of mentioning that even the smallest companies can be about more than just making money. And in fact they can be about more than a founders legacy as well. The company can create its own legacy if a set of core beliefs are developed and through time are actually adhered to. Size doesn’t matter for such a philosophy.
For entrepreneurs it really is something to consider as you go into the future.
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