Today I wanted to talk about quitting. There seems to have been quite a bit written about trying something and quitting quickly and often if it’s not working out. Even more so in a business setting.
That, my friends is a furphy! Succeeding in business, despite what you hear about ‘overnight successes’ is about having a goal, doing the work and staying the course.
The funny thing about overnight successes is that they usually take around 20 years for someone to notice and then they become successes overnight – but the work is usually there to begin with.
So how do you know you’re on the right course for your business?
Here are 6 tips to get you started.
1.Find A Hole In The Market
That doesn’t mean you have to find something no-one’s ever done before; it might just mean doing it in a way, with a service or delivery that no-one’s done before or done well enough before.
2.Do Your Research.
No, that doesn’t mean doing so much analysis that you never move forward. Do enough to satisfy the rational part of your brain that what you’re proposing is feasible.
3.Have Some Funding Available.
Someone once told me workout how much you think you need to survive to get your business up and running. Then triple it. Chances are you won’t need it, but better to have it available if you do, than be forced to quit the business out of necessity just when things are likely to be getting interesting.
4.Go With Your Gut.
If your gut is telling you that, despite what the research is telling you, this really is the way to go, go for it. Steve Jobs ignored consumer research on the ipod when it came back saying it would never fly and look how that turned out – there are literally hundreds of stories in just about every industry like this – find ones that are meaningful to you to give you the courage you need to kick off your dream.
5.Make Your Dream Come To Life.
So many times I hear of people who’ve had a great idea and hoped someone else would make it come alive. That’s the best path to disappointment ever! It’s your dream, make it happen. There is no shortcut, despite what regular media and social media hype would have us believe. There are no systems, formula, secrets, etc that really replace hard work. If there were, we’d all be rich and sitting on an island, frollicking in the sand (and really, as nice as that sounds, it would get awfully boring after a while – isn’t doing something we love the reason we started businesses in the first place??!!)
6.Keep Going.
Don’t give up too early. By all means tweak your plans, your activities and even your products or services – but don’t quit. All businesses have a moment in their history (or a regular time of the year) when it’s quieter than previously. Don’t panic! Things will return back to regular programming if you do the work. There is a wonderful book written quite some time ago by Wendy Evans called How to get New Business in 90 days and keep it forever (originally published by Millennium Books way back in 1993 – but now available in 2nd and 3rd editions via the usual online bookstores). Read it, put some of the strategies into play in your business and watch what happens. The number of times, I’ve seen people quit minutes or days before all their hard work comes to fruition is staggering and frankly rather saddening. The next person, if there is a next person, often swoops in to salvage the rewards from the previous person’s work – usually at bargain price.
Nothing inspiring or of any great worth was cobbled together in a fingers crossed, slap-happy, luck of the draw kind of way. Not great buildings, not great sporting careers, not great businesses, not great books. They’ve all been a labour of love, where human spirit has triumphed usually over adversity. Find someone who’s really succeeded and stayed their course and ask them what they had to overcome along the way. You might be surprised (and inspired).
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If we can help you get some of your admin set up and under control so that you can focus staying your course in business – we’d be delighted to talk to you. You can call me on +61 2 9994 8000 or visit us www.serviced.com.au
