Let’s face it, fellow entrepreneurs, everyone is dysfunctional. The experts (whoever they are) proclaim to the universe of both trained and self-designated shrinks out there that everyone comes from a dysfunctional family. Well? Has it ever occurred to you that if each of us has a dysfunctional family, then each of us must also be… hmm?

Okay, so the sanity playing field is now level. So, going forward, let’s just accept that every entrepreneur (us included) is at least in part a psychological mess. Could it be the reason we tend to be so compulsive about so many things? Could it be the reason we tend to be over-stressed and over-react?

Maybe it’s why we jump so abruptly from one thing to another (vs. corporate guys who take the opposite extreme approach of belaboring and analyzing every issue to death, proving their mettle by seeing it all the way through to completion).

Success though is very much about balance, about keeping the highs and lows and the jumping around and the analysis paralysis on an even keel. Moderation is the king of balance. If, for example. we respond instead of react to words, actions, people, ideas , and situations, then there is no possibility of ever OVER-reacting.

Well, that makes sense, but isn’ it easier said than done? How do we get ourselves to respond instead of react when our fuses get ignited? Maybe get a longer fuse. Maybe keep your fuse away from ignition switches and spontaneous combustion dynamics . . .  kind of like not putting yourself intentionally in harm’s way.

It’s a choice. Let’s try that once more with feeling:

IT’S A CHOICE! Choose how-to steps like these:

First aid techniques include cold water on your face (perhaps a cold shower, depending on circumstances), washing your hands, taking a couple of quick deep breaths, briskly rubbing your temples or the back of your neck, taking a walk around the block, or saying a prayer of thanks for what you have in your life today.

In police crisis intervention training, the number one objective of any “domestic call” (usually a family dispute, and the source of more police injuries and fatalities than any other type of call, including robberies and high speed chases!) is to physically separate the warring parties into different rooms or spaces.

A business derivative of this is to physically separate yourself from a conflict situation long enough to gain or re-gain composure. There is no purpose to be served by “toughing it out”. . . save that notion for your next movie script, or sports field heroics. Reacting and over-reacting have no place in business. None. Zero. Zip. Nada.

SHRINK YOURSELF OUT! Get in front of that mirror. Make an angry face and decide how that looks. Next, take a deep breath and briskly rub your cheeks and forehead for 5-10 seconds. Now smile your best, most genuine smile. How does that look and feel? How hard was to switch gears? You can do that whenever you want. Choice.  

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Channeling startup energy wisely is certainly a paradox. In fact, channeling startup energy wisely is an almost impossible task because the heat of the moment tends to override the rationality of the brain. Emotions, in other words, pack more punch than objectivity and a measured approach. Hmmm, remind you of dating days?

Isn’t this also the reason successful marketers always direct their sales messages to trigger emotional buying motives instead of rational ones? Benefits, not features. I mean, do you really care what’s under the hood if it gets you where you want to go, doesn’t break down, is snazzy, and you think it makes you look good driving it?

If a car turns the neighbor’s head every time you pull into the driveway, and jumpstarts your brain into dreaming of being a big-name, cross-country race car driver just as a result of you buckling up and adjusting the mirrors, you buy it. You may offer 101 other more rational, logical reasons, but that’s just a justification cover!

When an entrepreneur starts a business, she 0r he is typically filled with emotions that seem to run at cross-purposes. Money. Where will it come from? Where will I get the money I need? Will it be enough? Workspace. How much do I need now? Later? Where? What’s the deal? Insurance? Yikes! Equipment? Furnishings? Accountant? Lawyer? Advisory board? Employees? Benefit plans? Strategic plans? Business Plans? Hours of operation? Website? Pricing? What? Huh? Packaging? Promotions? PR? Advertising? Sales? Phone System? Reception? Presentations? Partners? Investors? Lenders? Logo?Suppliers? Branding?Memberships? Networks? Jeeze! Maintenance? Distribution? Referrers? Community? Titles? Whoa! Signage? Name? Mission statement? Elevator speech? Professional or industry relations? Goals? Target markets? And on and on . . .

According to the most recent SBA studies I could muster (the WH doesn’t want to publicize new small business data), 9 out of every 11 new businesses reportedly fail within the first 10 years, and it takes an average of 6 years just to break even financially. Pretty miserable odds for all that emotional and financial expenditure.

But –considering that your idea and your support systems are great, and the alternative is a secure go-nowhere job with the braindead government or some big corporate shabang position with nothing but ladders to climb before you sleep– entrepreneuring at least gives you adventure, challenge, opportunity, freedom, and fun.

So the answer IS: Channel all that explosive chain-reaction energy. (Try increased attention to deep breathing, yoga, exercise, power walks, eating and sleeping right.) Channel the energy into filling the gaps of business needs that you lack, so you can concentrate on what you like and do best, which will maximize your performance.

You’re lousy at writing or marketing or managing others? Hire someone with a proven track-record to step in and free you up. Sometimes just one or two people can fill all three of these for-example roles. See where and how to consolidate tasks and functions that you can pass along. (But remember responsibility cannot be delegated.)      

The point is that startup entrepreneurs need to jet down and focus their total energy on the “here-and-now” of what they’re doing: find the needs, determine the costs, fill the needs. Shop around for services. Be a detective. Line up at least 10 times the amount of money you think you’ll need. 10? Yup! Guaranteed! 

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

DID YOU KNOW THIS?

       [Source: www.cnsnews.com 11/17/11]                          

• Three weeks ago, the U.S. Treasury Dept. reported that the federal government’s debt had exceeded $15 Trillion for the first time in the history of America, hitting $15,033,607,255,920.32 and safe to assume that it’s higher yet as of today.

•  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just estimated that there were 93,641,000 full-time private sector workers in America in 2010 (and 18,073,000 full-time workers in federal, state, and local government.

• That means the $15.0336 Trillion federal debt equals approximately $160,545 per full-time private sector worker.

• Given that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were approximately 76,089,045 families in America in 2010, the federal debt equals approximately $197,579 for each and every American family. 

Besides your vote on November 6, 2012, is there no escape? Well, you could close up shop, grab your piggy bank, and head for some remote island, getting sunburn and mosquito bites and drinking piña coladas and coco locos until you can’t walk or talk — not to mention that there’s just so much coconut milk your system can take!

OR, you could –what did Grandpa used to say?– buckle up, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, put your shoulder to the wheel and your nose to the grindstone! Not a pretty picture. 

You COULD simply make productive use of this traditionally slow business time (unless you’re in retailing, in which case you’re not taking time to read anything right now, least of all a blog post) by doing a little introspection and a quick reassessment of your year-end and new-year goals. Are your goals ALL 6 OF THESE? . . .

Realistic? Specific?

Flexible? Due-Dated?

Written on paper?

In your pocket?

If your goals don’t meet ALL of these criteria, they are the stuff of wishlists and fantasyland. Don’t kid yourself into thinking they’ll work if you skip a couple. But if you follow all six, and keep adjusting them as you go (Flexible, remember?), you will have insured yourself of the best possible outcome. Why settle for less? It’s a choice.

What’s the single most important thing you learned about your SELF in 2011? What’s the single most important thing you learned about your BUSINESS in 2011? How can you combine these two revelations to do a better job of protecting your self and your business in 2012? Roadblocks? What? Detours? Where? Solutions?

Why all the hoopla on goals? Because we’re all in debt up to our ears and there are no miracle prospects on the horizon, so the best solution is to take what you have and work your butt off to make it better, to make it work in spite of what union/government/corporate giant muckity-mucks do or don’t do. It’s all about YOU.

With 30 million small businesses in America, and you as part of that universe, there is untold opportunity for moving forward as a free spirit entrepreneur, and there is untold opportunity for moving forward by working in concert with other like-minded small businesses. Call it collaboration, strategic alliance, whatever works.

In the end, Business Works. Does yours?

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!