Don’t clutter up your

 Here and Now with a

“What if” Dream Team
                                    

 At some time or another, every entrepreneur has a “Dream Team.” Very few, though, ever get the chance to activate it. Why? Because dreams–like hopes and wishes–are not reality.

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But we all carry images in our minds of who we’d love to have on payroll, running our operations, finances, personnel (oops sorry, human resources) and marketing, leaving ourselves free to concentrate on product, service, and idea development… and sales!   

Oh well, we entrepreneurs can’t dream about an All-Star business team because… we have made ourselves into: e-n-t-r-e-p-r-e-n-e-u-r-s, and entrepreneurs are business people who do it all, at least until things get up and running, which typically takes 5-6 years, and often longer. So what’s an entrepreneur to do with all this dream stuff?

Can it. Save it in case you have to take a government job! Put it on the shelf. But don’t clutter your “here-and-now” with “what ifs.” Contrary to popular opinion, fueled by uninformed mainstream media people, entrepreneurs are not dreamers. They are parttime planners and full time doers. And they don’t bet the farm or buy lottery tickets.

Entrepreneurs take only reasonable risks. And most entrepreneurs recognize that one solid business plan will take them farther than a year of nightly fantasies. If you’re not sure about how to best put one (a business plan) together and seek help from an expert, by the way, contact Tim Berry.

If you’re not a talented marketing writer, hire one. Find someone to write your business plan narrative section who can digest your company mission, vision, track-record, marketplace, competition, and uniquenesses, and present you in the best possible light. Be prepared to pay well. It’s an investment in yourself and your business.

If you’re not an accountant, hire a CPA to do your business plan financial projections, and certify your balance sheet and income statement. Expect to pay well. It’s an investment in yourself and your business.

If you’re not an attorney, hire one to review your plan and provide the legal statements you need to avoid problems. Pay well. It’s a safety net for you and your business.

These are real issues that require real dollars. (Hmmm, maybe that’s why we dream so much?)

So, enjoy tonight’s All-Star Game and start out tomorrow with your Dream Team in a closet while you roll up your sleeves and get some kind of business plan planned. Fantasy is for children, artists and politicians (and maybe some of your off-hours), but only reality thinking can survive and thrive in this economy.

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116 

  Open minds open doors. 

 Thanks for visiting and God bless you. 

   Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Don’t Blabber Your Goals!

     You probably just went through some wrenching exercises to create or recreate your business and/or personal goals. You defined your problem in writing. Then you turned your problem statement into a pursuit statement. 

     Perhaps, for example, you started with a problem statement like “Sales are down 20% last quarter” and took it to a goal statement like “We are increasing sales 20% next quarter by introducing a new revenue stream and reinforcing existing customer accounts with added support services.”

     Or maybe your goal is a personal one, and you took it from a problem statement like “I am feeling increasingly edgy around my family” to a goal statement like “I am learning and regularly practicing two new approaches to stress management so, by the end of next month, I can better control my upset feelings at family gatherings.”

     Next, you applied ALL fournecessary criteria to your goal statement to make sure it was/is: 1) Specific, 2) Realistic, 3) Flexible, and 4) Due-dated. You did this because you know that without ALL four criteria, you don’t have a goal; you have only a wish, and you know that wishes live only in nonproductive fantasyland. (Notice too the goal statement examples are in the present tense of you having already accomplished them to help visualize them in your mind as done deals.)

     And you’re on your way . . .

     Congratulations, but don’t blow it by blabbering to others about your goals! Most other people, first of all (and sadly) do not have real goals, do not understand goal-setting, and do not believe that having goals actually works. Most people would rather wallow in self-pity and go nowhere in life. So you know where it will get you to tell this sluggish majority what you are in pursuit of achieving.

     Second, keep in mind that even when you run across someone in your immediate life who does think goals can work, and perhaps has a few herself, you are putting your goals at risk by sharing them because that other person –even with all good intentions– simply does not walk in your shoes or live in your head, and your goals may seem intimidating, annoying, overbearing, ridiculous, threatening…no need to continue this. Just keep your goals to yourself!

     Your business goal of increasing sales can become a source of mockery to someone who feels threatened and that will roadblock your progress just because it will divert your energy. Your personal goal to improve family relations by learning stress management can have the same kind of distancing effect on the very people you’re hoping to get closer to.

     Don’t waste time and energy and defeat by testing this. I can give you 150 gazillion examples anytime you want. Call or email me. Keep your goals to yourself if you really want them to work! 

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Hal@Businessworks.US   931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Make today a GREAT day for someone!