Top Carolina Companies... [YOUR NAME HERE] continued..

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It is amazing how the holidays always take up more time than expected. Thus, my posts have been slow. This entry will close up the general takings a small business owner should follow/the mindset to begin to forge a successful business.

So, the last post touched upon the passion, goals, ability to look forward, and creativity all required to move the business in the right direction. Here are some other traits and practices to embrace:

1) Focus and Discipline
A driven small business owner who yearns to be successful has to have the focus and discipline to remain on course. There are thousands of distractions that we face everyday and you have to have your filters on. Stop checking your email every 10 seconds, turn off your blackberry, or your "crackberry", stop taking the 2 hour lunch. While these mediums do help remain in touch, they are distractions. When you are designing the newest product, drawing up budgets, reflecting on the business, or trying to devise the newest strategy, having distractions ruin the thought process. Know when to say enough is enough. Stay on course.

2) Write It Down
Our minds are beautiful mechanisms. We can remember experiences, information, and a plethora of other things, but always seem to forget that hot idea we had a few minutes ago or that we had last week. Do what I do, the moment something pops in my head, I write it down. You may think it is silly what you jot down, but upon reflecting on it or seeing how it fits in with other aspects of the business, you may be surprised. Even if it is absolutely nuts, write it down. Where do you think creativity comes from? You may think its nuts solely because it has never been done before.... how about you bring it to life?!!

3) Hire an Employee or Employees
After the business gains a little momentum, hire someone. Yes, it can be a financial undertaking, but do a cost-benefit analysis. A small business owner needs to focus his/her efforts on the bigger tasks, stop manning the phones or filing papers away. By having another body to help with the workload work can be done much faster and one can continue to drive the business to new heights. Why waste time sorting through junk mail when you could be reacting to the newest trends?

4) Put in the Effort
I cannot stress this enough. You reap what you sow. If you do not put in the time, you will not see the benefits. Be willing to try something new. Be willing to ask for help. Never let pride get in the way of trying to learn something new. There are times when I have been reluctant to ask a question because I thought everyone else knew it and I would look stupid and uneducated. But, I quickly learned, other people had the same questions, and I benefited from either clarifying the subject matter or learning something new. You do not know everything. As soon as you know that, and

learn to ask questions, and lots of them, you will learn a lot.

Talk to your associates who have business sense. Where have they faltered? Where have they found success? Read literature about starting businesses and how people before you have been successful. Immerse yourself and become a Guru in what you do!

Now, the most important advice I can bestow upon you....

5) HAVE FUN!!
Think about it... You are creating something no one has ever created before. Yes, there are businesses similar to yours, but not run the exact same way you run things. This business is your baby. It has your genes. You raise it the way you want to. But, never lose sight of why started it. Whether it is to make millions of dollars, make a name for yourself, or simply help provide a service to better consumers, have fun with it. Life is too short to make the business a drag and downer. Here is what you are apart of:

Small Business Effects on the Economy
-The estimated 25.8 million small businesses in the United States:
-Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade
-Employ 50.6 percent of the country’s private sector workforce
-Represent 97 percent of all the exporters of goods
-Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms
-Generate a majority of the innovations that come from United States companies
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, June 2006.


In closing, a perfect analogy is the following commercial:


Replace the word "body" with "business" and it comes full circle. Listen to this commercial. Every word means something. Make your business a finely tuned machine. You can do whatever you want with your business. But, I already know you have the passion and drive to continue to grow and nurture your business even more because you kept reading my words to this point. Now, let's you and I act...


~The GURU