Don’t Ignore The Fundamentals

Whether you are a small business owner or still working a 9 to 5, there are certain things that are required for success. You may have read or heard this advice from other people, and there is a reason why you will keep hearing it. BECAUSE IT HELPS. You can either heed the advice or ignore it and later wish you would have.

The fundamentals that are important:

HAVE A PLAN
KNOW THE RULES
HAVE A MENTOR

HAVE A PLAN – For a business owner, that plan is a business plan. For the worker, that plan is not as straight forward. Either way, these plans outline the actions. If you have no idea on how to create a plan, visit your local Small Business Development Center, Career Counselor or business coach. Yeah, it takes time to complete a plan. Yep, its tedious work. But the benefit of having a plan isn’t just for the sake of the outlined approach. An even bigger benefit of the plan is the THINKING required to go it to it. Also, in writing the plan, you now have something tangible. You have a tangible guide of your goals. It makes it that much more real.

KNOW THE RULES – Some of the rules of the game are changing, both in corporate America and in small business, however there are fundamental things that wont. The problems that we are facing as a nation, from the issuance of credit, to the collapse of the lenders, are because people ignored the rules. I’m not saying to follow all the rules (most successful people I know have broken some rules), but know them so you can make an informed decision whether to adhere to them or to break them. Ignorance is not an excuse and can cause you a lot of money and heartache.

HAVE A MENTOR – Everyone needs a mentor. This doesn’t have to be a formal relationship, but someone that you have identified as being “mentor worthy.” I have a few mentors, some whom I have relationships with and some who are mentors from a far. Some of the activities include someone to bounce ideas off of, getting feedback for major decisions, or just studying decisions and strategic actions. This relationship will impact you more than you can know. You will gain advise from someone who may have gone through some of the things you have, as well as help you to avoid some pitfalls that they encountered. In essence, you should be able to live vicariously through this person, in order to avoid mistakes and duplicate success. Pay attention to the leaders in your proposed industry or just the movers and shakers in general. Remember this: A good idea is transferable and the success is a process.

If you need more insight about how to do any of the above, please message me directly.