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!

The name of my youngest granddaughter’s favorite store and brand of clothing she can’t do without. Doled out daily by Judge Joe and Judge Judy (“WANT JUSTICE? www.JudgeJudy.com” is the TV screen message). It keeps The Lady Of’s scale balanced (an important thing in the face of such a mentally UNbalanced community as lawyers). We see the rich and privileged sidestep it, and the oppressed often get less of it.  

~ ~ ~

In small business, justice is a slippery bar of soap. To most business owners and managers, justice is a less embracing concept than the 30 million of us would like. This is true primarily because UNjust decisions, taxes, regulations, and burdens of every description originate with and are doled out by government control-freaks.

Rising from the muck of federal and state political septic systems,those we ineptly seem to elect to office, quickly demonstrate that after speech-making and hand-shaking are done, just enough brain power remains to justify pre-occupation with getting re-elected, instead of with leadership over that which they’ve been chosen to govern.

Should we expect more? Not from those presently in office. From the White House on down, how can business owners and managers have hope where there’s no trust? How can there be trust where there’s no (zero) business experience or respect for entrepreneurial spirit and free market competition? But down the road? That’s your call!

What justice is there when a consultant and business owner sign a contract guaranteeing $500,000, in fees spread over three consecutive years of delivering mutually-agree-to deliverables, ends up with nothing (after making good on what’s promised to the client’s satisfaction)… because government strips the client bare with huge fines for following faulty government regulations? That’s called “Lose-Lose.”

Oh, contest it? A $15,000 legal fee escalated to $35,000 produces a favorable ruling for the consultant to be paid $60,000 because an intimidating, manipulative lawyer (there’s some other kind?) pushed the unsuspecting consultant into categorizing the contract as a “may” pay deal rather than a “will” pay one.

Well, $60,000 doesn’t even cover expenses, but, hey, it’s better than nothing, right? Wrong. Because to get a judgtement for the $60,000 means going to a different state and starting over with a new $40,000-fee law firm. Do the math. [Yes, this example is fictionalized to make a point, but it's one that's based on true events].

The message here is that justice is what you make of it for yourself by paying close(r) attention to everyday issues, by using inordinate care in those you choose to do business with, and –like those in the building trades– by always getting paid enough (typically one-third) up front to cover expenses (materials).

When the market is strong, construction guys rarely lose their businesses. After the one-third up front, they charge the second third halfway through the job (to cover salaries) and the last third on completion with satisfaction (to cover profit). Many top B to B services and creative service providers use the same formula.

When markets are NOT strong (which, since 2008, we all know all about), the exercising of increased attentiveness and due diligence before contracting outside services or purchasing from new suppliers is not just sound advice. It’s the way of capturing that often-elusive ingredient that will keep your scale of justice balanced.

Bottom line: Justice is rarely served in business by those outside of business. If you want that to change so you can spend more energy with your business and less with your stress, do something about it. November 6, 2012.

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FREE blog subscription: Posts RSS Feed

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!