Friendships are an important part of business!! We may not think of that often but I am not sure you can actually survive without them. And I am not just talking about the business surviving. We pay attention to marketing, finance, management, distribution, and other business issues. And for sure, any entrepreneurial endeavor is a challenge with frequent ups and downs and setbacks. Friends are critical to weather the storm (and grow, learn, have fun, be a better human, etc. etc.) And as we learned from youth, you have to be a friend to have a friend. Do not overlook the all important human side of the equation for success - both in business and our personal life. To my friends, I thank you for who you are and participating in life with me, both business and personal.
When it comes right down to it - it is all about people in business. We use terms like B2B, B2C to signify a customer market but in reality there is no B2B. It is always P2P. People to People. And those people are different than you are in marginal ways or in very significant ways. So we need to understand them. We need to figure out there needs. And they may be totally different than ours. I am amazed by the complexity of human beings. 6.8 billion of us and we are changing every day. This is true as individuals and it is true corporately. Every day we change as individuals for good or ill. Every day the pool of people in our world changes by hundreds of thousands with births and deaths, job changes, location changes and much more. No day is like another with humanity. And in that constant change is the opportunity to try and create a life and make a living. Simple thoughts - complex execution!
Recent stats indicate that more than 50% of new businesses started are done so by women. As a father of two daughters, I am very pleased by this. It means that they will have the potential for opportunity of their own making. Is a business started by women any different than one started by a man? I don't know. I am going to run a poll on my linked in site to get people's take. Are there different goals, different motivations, different ways of doing things? What do you think?
I recently put out a poll on my Linkedin site asking "what is the most important factor to business success." It came down to "Leadership" and "great people or teams" with Leadership winning. The poll is still open ... feel free to add your opinion and thoughts. Poll Leadership is a key ingredient, there is no doubt about it. But what does that mean? Is leadership for the 21st Century different than leadership was in the 20th Century? Are there new skills needed, new information applied and taken into account, a new culture to be considered, and really a new way of doing things? I would have to say "yes." It is a very dynamic and changing world. Leadership models are changing as well. Things like integrity, trust, and committment don't go away for leaders. Those need to remain no matter the times. But a number of other factors do potentially change - and that change may be for the good and create significant opportunity. How are you at creating a vision, using socail networking tools, creating a "tribe," taking into account a workplace that is not based on an industrial model but on the value and engagement of the individual? Do you have the information available to leverage and lead your team in the best possible way? You can. The opportunity exists. And I would argue this is just not for large businesses. In fact, this is what can give small business a huge competitive advantage. What can stop good leadership with a great functioning team with a well defined and useful product or service? Sounds like a winning combination to me whether the company is three people or one hundred. If you want to talk about this, happy to chat.
I have been reading the economic predictions for the future. It appears challenges continue to lie ahead. A jobless recovery and even "the recovery" itself is going to be flat or a bit of a continuing roller coaster. So what is - may remain for sometime to come (years). What are we to do? Giving up is not an option. We have got to figure out how to make this work in spite of the challenges. Certainly there will be pockets of growth. Other sectors will feel a continuing decline. If there ever was a time to be thinking - now is the time. It won't be easy. Capital will be very difficult to come by. But everyone is really in the same boat. And most boats have been battered and have taken on water. So think and do. This is probably the economic world we have for some time to come. Let's make the best of it. Think and do!
I often think that businesses could be started a lot faster than what they are. But it does take time and for a while you are dancing all alone. And people watch. And you wonder and then the temptation is there to quit. Finally someone joins the dance but others don't seem to follow - a good time to think quitting again. But just maybe it will catch on. Watch the three minute video. There is something to be learned from this about human behavior (and business).
If you are considering starting a business, do you need a website? If you have a business, do you need a better website? Of course, it depends. What is your product or service? Who is your market? How do you communicate now? Are you simply trying to push a message or are you looking to have a conversation? Do you have repeat customers and the potential to form a "tribe" or is your business purely transactional with no thought of ongoing relationships? What is the competition doing? Is your business totally local or do you have the potential to have a broader reach? What are customer expectations for your industry or niche? These and many more are the factors you should weigh to come to a decision about this issue. Know that websites can be inexpensive for some types as compared to the past. Last question - can your business afford not to have one?
You are a unique human who has a unique compilation of gifts and abilities. There is a good chance you have not fully identified those yet. Many (most?) never do. I am convinced it takes a whole lot of experimenting, challenges, failure, perseverance, desire, collaboration, conflict, frustration, time and energy to figure it out. I do believe there are assessment tools that can be helpful with the identification process as well. Certainly some are much more helpful than others.
This is worth figuring out. Symptoms of not figuring it out are: boredom, frustration, feeling out of place, lots of energy with little results, hating what you do, well we all know what this feels and looks like don't we.
But what if you do figure it out? What if you know what your strengths, gifts and abilities are and you choose to use them and apply them? And what if on the other hand you know what your weaknesses are and you choose to do less of that and let others who are good at it do it? What if you started a business using your strengths? What would that look like? It is no guarantee of success. But it certainly moves you down a path of being more useful to yourself and society. Find your strengths (over the years). Take the risk! We all benefit from you pursuing those and letting others pursue theirs. Take the risk!
A great product or service are important to the success of a business. As vital are the human components. You. Your partners. Your employees. What can happen in a business? Leadership stagnation, Business Drift, Partnership Failure, Team Dysfunction and Leadership Misalignment - all of these can kill a business as quick as a bad product or service. We can help you with these challenges. Don't be a stagnant leader! Don't let your business drift without focus! Don't let your business suffer because of partnership challenges! Don't let your teams suffer with dysfunction! Don't put leaders or others in roles that they are not "wired" for. All of these "don'ts" can be turned into positives. On this one (this blog), drop me an e-mail. We can help. phil@BuildingMyCompany.com
So you have a business or are thinking of starting one. Great! It is or will be one of the great challenges in life that you may undertake. As I tell my kids, "keep your thinking cap on!" One way to keep the cap on is to read, read and read some more. There are a lot of smart people out there. Some of them write books and pass on their knowledge and wisdom. And if you buy their books, they write more and pass on more of what they know.
I can't encourage you enough to be a reader. I am amazed on how many business owners never seem to pick up a good book to read. It is their loss and ours. And for some of you, perhaps you should be writing one for the rest of us!
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