The building of America — oops, our businesses

I’ve been watching a History Channel series recently called “The Men Who Built America.” It’s been a very interesting series so far. The first season was all about the Industrial Revolution in this country and looked at Paul like Henry Ford and other industrialists of early 20th century. This season it’s about the men of the frontier. So far, the only person the show has talked about was Daniel Boone. It also, however, talked about the beginning stages of the Revolutionary War and why the colonists were so determined to become their own country.

The overwhelming message that came through time and time again was how purposefully these men and women worked to get the life that they dreamed of having. Life was certainly difficult back then. Often it was literally life or death. In Daniel Boone’s case he faced starvation, Indian capture, the burning of his home, and much more. Yet, he did not say “Oh the heck with it, I’m going back east.” Instead, he became more determined than ever to build a life for himself, his family, and the many others who followed him west.

Without him, and all the many others who followed, we would today be living very different lives. Our lives as we know them now, while being filled with sometimes difficult, sometimes pleasurable situations, is certainly a much different world than back in the 1700s. All I can do is shake my head when thinking about how lucky I really have it and everyone around me too.

All this got me thinking about running my business and how many of us deal with running business in general these days. I know for myself that I really want to succeed, and that I’m willing to do a lot to make that happen. But given the circumstances faced by Daniel Boone (or any of the men featured in the segments on the Industrial Revolution) I’m not sure I would say it was worth it.

And therein lies a problem that I see with many small business owners today. Sure, we want to have successful businesses, but are we willing to put in the hard work and energy that it takes to get there? When asked why someone wants to start their own business often the answer is: 1) to be the boss of my own time, 2) do the things I like to do, 3) make as much money as I want, etc. all sounds good yes? Those are all things I wanted to do when I started my business too.

I truly believe that it is of utmost importance for us to have goals and next steps to accomplishing those goals. There needs to be timelines, and accountability, to move ourselves forward. I just don’t often see the drive to accomplish things the way they did historically. Even a simple task like making a loaf of bread was difficult back then. Today, go to the store and buy a loaf. Or if we’re industrious, we may buy a mix, and in a half hour we have a hot fresh loaf of bread. Unfortunately, the same should not said about our business. “The Four-Hour Work Week”, and other similar concepts, make it sound so simple. And it can be. But I think it portrays a very real danger for people contemplating starting a business and not understanding truly difficult and time-consuming work that one generally must put into a business startup.

My advice to anyone thinking about becoming a business owner is to know what their true intention is, and to have a plan – thought out and written – before even taking that first baby step. I don’t believe that a 120-page business plan (taught in business school) is necessarily needed. However, a simple business plan, with goals, steps to accomplish those goals, and understanding of the values and benefits provided the customer, a target market, as well as a series of other well thought out rationales and understandings, including financials, needs to be incorporated.

There still is no guarantee that your business will be successful: at least not initially. Yet, you are giving yourself a leg up if you can think of yourself as the modern-day Daniel Boone. Work your business as he did his life so many years ago and you will be much further along the road to success.

Courage, Brains and Heart

Most of you know that I love The Wizard of Oz. I was reading an article today that, while not about the Wizard, talked about having to have courage, brains, and a heart to be a successful business person. What an excellent opportunity to write a blog!!!!

As a 35+ year business owner and coach to over 1000 businesses throughout the years, I know for a fact how true that statement is. It takes more than a ton (no exaggeration) of courage to face the fears that everyone has when starting – and running – a business. I wake up every day and think what new fear will I face today? Traveling today for a meeting we had to drive through nearly non-visable conditions due to fog. And the idiots driving without headlights didn’t help either. Now that was scary. But it was a business meeting and we weren't about to miss it.

That’s just one little fear. I could go on and on but I think you get the idea.

Then there’s brains. What do brains have to do with anything? Well, let’s see. I think I want to sell air conditioners to Eskimos. That should be a good business, right? Probably better think about that idea before investing a whole lot of money. You might be bankrupt soon, otherwise. When you don’t think about things, learn things, ask questions, find out what your customers want, how do you deal with vendors, employees, etc. you probably will not have a successful business.

And then, what about heart? Unless it’s Valentine’s Day, what do hearts have to do with running a business. In today’s business world, it’s all about relationships. First, if you don’t have a heart for what you’re doing you might as well just have a job. You need passion and love for your business or else sooner or later either it will fail or you’ll tire of it and quit.

As well,  you have to treat your customers (and all who come in contact with you) with caring and consideration. People these days are smart and they are looking for authentic, real people who care about the world around them and the people they serve – yes, serve. How often do you hear about the heart-centered business? Often lately.

It took traveling to Oz for the lion, scarecrow and tinman to find their courage, brains and heart. Please don’t wait to go to Oz to find yours. It’s already inside you – just click your heels together 3 times and then put in the work to find them in yourself. I guarantee this will help your business grow.