Makes You Think…

Why is it so hard to go into business with friends? I have somewhat mixed feelings when it comes to going into working business relationships with friends and family.

I’m convinced that it is somewhat reminiscent of the whole “pride” element that families and friends share and in a lot of cases stubbornness and unwillingness to concede to someone they consider direct competition, either physically or intellectually.

I’ve had the opportunity to work on the grounds floor of one of the largest limo companies in Scottsdale, AZ as well as a privately owned small business in Grand Haven, MI. I have also worked on the corporate level for large companies. So, I have a broad range of experience in the world of business. Corporations can go to hell for all I care. The business structure of corporations, while efficiently run in most cases, are far too nuanced and their focus is too convoluted, and as a business structure they are far more concerned with adhering to a code of ethics that is intended to avoid possible liabilities and resulting law suits they always assume are impending.

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There are so many people in our current modern day society that are just okay with their jobs of servitude to big corporations and businesses and have just succumbed to the idea that “this is it for me”. I call this sort of apathetic ideology as “working on someone else’s goals and dreams”. While this may work for these people, and it has obviously been accepted by the vast majority of people out there, there happen to be plenty of others that have a higher level of expectation set for themselves and these people have an insatiable drive to reach those expectations and to exceed the goals they set for themselves…and to do it how THEY see fit!

With technology growing by leaps and bounds every day, anyone with the kind of drive that these people possess has all the tools they need to succeed in a competitive marketplace. I personally have a lot of business owner friends that have utilized the tools available to them to gain great success. They started out with rather marginal results, but they stuck with it because they continued to work at it and all that time and effort, all those “little” things added up to massive success. They have every faith in their ability to succeed with the use of these tools. One of my closest friends owns a window tinting service and he has very effectively employed the use of social media marketing to gain exposure and recognition in his particular niche. He has seen amazing results, and all because he was determined to do it for himself; to achieve HIS dreams, not someone else’s dream.

Talk about EMPOWERMENT! Entrepreneurship is all about empowering the individual to achieve their own goals and have their own success.  For the persistent individuals with a burning, insatiable drive within them for success, the results are nothing short of RICH. In this day and age, there is most certainly a far greater amount of indicators pointing people to achieve their own success. To have a high standard of merit and to achieve that high standard and to see the rewards that follow should be motivation enough! Knowing your dream and having a clear sight of your goals and possessing the determination to outlast any adversity it how you succeed! I personally love that I do what I WANT to do and not what someone ELSE wants me to do for THEM. And if I’m going to be completely honest and blunt, screw punching a clock! I am highly productive and have MY routine solidly in place. I set weekly goals and it doesn’t matter how I achieve them or on what day of the week I do, as long as I do. That requires a lot of self-starting and discipline, which I have, but some people just don’t have. I do believe it can be taught though, so there’s still hope for you undisciplined saps.

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It goes without saying that delivering a better value or service at a higher price is better than delivering a cheap one at a higher price.

You want to stand out from what others are doing in your industry. The trend is commonly to make a cheap product and sell it for as much as possible.

Boo this model. Boo it.

Make the best quality product you can and sell it for as much as possible. Quality makes people come back over and over and over again.

What do you, or can you, provide better than your local competitors?

Start locally, for sure. Focus on who and what’s around you for now.

This allows you to insulate yourself from your competitors. Because the way competition works is this… if you and your competitors are both selling the same thing, the only factors that can differentiate you are A) Service and B) Price.

So you either operate at a better price or improve your service to set yourself apart.

Orrr… or you make your own superior, higher quality product or service to offer to the marketplace in order to differentiate yourself.

This will allow you to insulate yourself from the competition.

Because, then, because your customers will like your product/service better than the others. Quality naturally stands apart from the rest.

Those that love what you have to offer must come to you to purchase what they want… because they can’t get it anywhere else!

This gets you out of the price war with your competition. You then are insulated. Owning your own superior product or service is simply the best! This is how you can dominate your market. This is how you win.

Take for instance a five-star carpet cleaning company. How does a company like this set themselves apart from their competition? How do they get noticed and have people come to them again and again.

In this case, it really is superior service. These guys have a whole slew of repeat business, both corporate and residential, because they do a great job.

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What’s one of the best things you can do to enjoy success as you’re building a business?

Enjoy the process. Don’t be in such a hurry to get through the process.

I know you’ve heard this a million and one times, but it’s true.

Think about it… what are your other options?

Digging holes? Waiting tables?

Spending years and throwing a ton of money to go to college? Again?

Or to get what kind of a job?

Self ownership is the ONLY way to go, but you gotta stick with it. What are the alternatives?

Embrace suffering. Embrace suffering in the name of doing what you’re doing and producing what you’re producing.

Here’s a big paradox, though, because I’m of two minds about it: Don’t be in a hurry, yet money loves speed. The faster you work, the better.

But the big difference is… don’t get anxious if you’re not getting results from your big, consistent efforts. Patience is as important as working hard, working big and moving fast. It’s a vital ingredient.

But enjoying the process is vital. Everything takes time.

It’s a great paradox… everything takes time yet the moment is the only thing you have… it’s always the eternal now.

Interesting, eh?

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