What is your intention for your business? One could say to be successful and make money of course. How do you intend to do this? How does it happen? How much time will it take?
Who will you become in the process of building your business? This is the important question and the answer.
Let’s assume you have never owned a business yet, you really have this burning desire to work for yourself. You have done your research and decided on a business to build, yes build.
You get started and the first 25 people you talk to about your business are not interested or will not meet with you. You are depressed and immediately begin to wonder what is wrong with me? Are you ready to handle rejection?
You place an ad in your local news media and get zero responses. You make an appointment to meet with several local business owners whose enterprise would be a great fit for your business. They did not keep their scheduled appointments and will not speak with you to reschedule.
You blast your new business all over the Internet and get a weak response. The few calls you get are from people who are not serious.
You pass out business cards, join networking groups and speak to anyone within 3 feet of you. Finally, exhausted, drained and disappointed you ask a successful business owner for assistance and he asks you a series of questions?
- Do you have any money saved for your business?
- Do you have experience with this type business?
- Have you done sales before? Sales is another word for relationship.
- What are your earnings expectations for your new business?
- Are you willing to work hard and make the sacrifices starting a new business entails?
- Do you have self-confidence?
- Do you have self discipline that allow you to persevere through the hard times that will surely come?
- Do you know how to attract customers to your business?
- Do you treat your business in your mind like a small enterprise?
- Do you have a training and education platform with your business?
- Do you have mentors and coaches?
You realize you really need structure; training and most of all you need personal development.
Personal development can be the solution to most of the questions asked. You decide to engage in personal development and steadily grow your business along the way. You begin buying and reading books and listening to cd’s in your spare time.
To improve your skills you attend training meetings and seminars. You have found a mentor and you meet regularly.
As you move along this journey you gradually gain self-confidence and begin to attract customers. You have had set backs and growth spurts. You have used all of these as learning experiences. You have not taken rejection as a personal attack on you or your character.
You look back at the journey you have taken to build, yes build your business and you are amazed at the person you have become. You look, talk and feel different. You have learned that it is the journey that builds the person not arriving at the destination.
There is a Chinese proverb that says: “The journey is the reward.”
Your destination was to have a successful business but look at the trip you took to get there. You got much more than you asked for. Fascinating.
Enjoy the trip and where you are now is where you need to be on your road to self-development. If you want to speed up your growth, speed up your personal development.
It is simple and it works!
Honor yourself