Question: Do you REALLY want your business to be successful?

Or are you just telling yourself that you do?

If you believe that you REALLY want to be successful, but are not as successful as you would like to be, then it is very likely that the reason for your lack of success is YOU!

I have met many people (myself included) who have blamed their lack of success on external factors such as government, competition, economy, etc., etc.

In reality the reason for your lack of success lies in how you react to the circumstances you find yourself in with your business and, I believe that for many entrepreneurs this lack of success stems from the entrepreneur, not the environment.

• How are you reacting to your competition?

Believe it or not, many small business owners become so engrossed on what the competition is doing that they forget to actually do something with their products which their competition hasn’t thought of, something that would give them the edge, but they can’t see it. We become so focused on ‘the competition’ that we don’t see our market.

Here’s a cold hard fact; the reason your competition is successful is not because they are better than you, it’s because they aren’t focused on you! They are focused on their customers and meeting their customer’s requirements. I remember many years ago watching a documentary on training captains for Nuclear submarines. At one point while on exercise, the trainee became too focused on a trawler that was innocently fishing in the exercise area that he neglected to spot the whopping great battle cruiser which was bearing down on him. Needless to say, he was removed from the test. It’s the very same for business people; if you focus on the competition, you are not focussing on your customers. So how can you possibly attract customers let alone meet their requirements (or know what they want)?

• Do you really have the passion and determination to succeed?

Some business owners believe they have the passion to succeed, yet fail to take any action to drive their business forward. Instead they continue to look for the ‘magic formula’ that will make them “the next big thing”.

Big shock!…There is no secret formula!

Someone once said “there is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.” Success takes hard work. No short cuts allowed. So let’s think about this. mBIT (multiple Brain Integration Techniques) notes that, in order to be successful and effective, we must align our three intelligences; Gut, Heart and Head.

I believe we establish our businesses through our Heart Intelligence (the seat of values, beliefs and passion). However, we find it hard to align the other intelligences of the Head (logic, thought, creativity, etc.) and Gut (drive, action, etc.)

The result? We think we have the passion and determination to succeed, but fail to engage completely in our business. When things don’t work out, we blame out products, the economy, our family, etc. etc. In fact, we rationalise the lack of success on external factors instead of ourselves.

Have you ever wondered how some businesses in your sector are performing well (or at least, seem to be), while your business is struggling? Believe me when I tell you, that it IS NOT because you are bad and they are good. It’s more likely to be because they have managed to align their passion with creativity and action AND focus all of that on the customer rather than anything else, including you.

• Do you have a fear of success?

Hard to believe but some business owners like playing ‘the victim’. They are empowered by negativity. They like to complain about all of the things that are affecting their success. Of course they never complain about the real cause for the lack of their success; themselves.

Boil it all down, many business owners are afraid of being successful. They don’t know what they would do if their business became successful. In fact, they don’t know how they will recognise when they have achieved success.

Being successful would mean that their business has attracted clients. It means that the business owner will have to raise their game and actually deliver their promise to customers while their competitors try to challenge them. It may mean the business will have to expand and, what was once a one-person operation will now need to hire staff. In reality, being successful is a very exposed position to be in. It can be a terrifying experience. Realising your success and taking your business to a new level means, in many cases, that you are leaving the one-person control environment and really stepping into the business world. At least that’s the perception. Can you handle it?

What does success mean to you? Specifically!

Have you ever written it down? Why not?

If you don’t know what success means to you, how can you possibly know when you have achieved it?

Maybe you are already successful but because you haven’t worked out what success is for you, you haven’t realised it. So you continue to stress and worry while dreaming of the success you already have.

So here’s my challenge to you;

• Get a sheet of paper and a pen
• Write down these questions:
  • “What does Success mean to ME?
  • How will I know when I have achieved it?
• Now write down your answers to these questions.
• Pin the sheet to a wall where you work and refer to them regularly.

If you cannot achieve success, consider some coaching to align your three intelligences through mBIT Coaching (contact info@innochansol.com for more information).

Success has to start with the self! There is nothing to stop you.