LIVE LIFE UP HIGH

photo credit: chegs

In my last post I shared 3 modes of thought that help you succeed as an entrepreneur. In this short post I share 1 more important mode of thought for entrepreneurs.

Think Like a Customer- So many entrepreneurs have great product and service ideas for their customers but they don’t really know their customers. They don’t spend time really interacting with their customers so they don’t know how their customers think. This is tragic. This is why many of the product and service ideas they have for their customers fail to deliver real value to the client and real profit for the entrepreneur. 

Successful entrepreneurs know how their customers think and so they know how their customers will react to new products and services. Indeed they can think like their customers. How did they develop this skill? They developed this skill by spending lots of time interacting with their customers. Asking not only what their customers want and need but finding out why their customers have this need. Then they spend time thinking deeply about the implications of what they have heard from their clients. 

Which clients should you focus on? This is a good place to think about the 80/20 rule. Since 20% of your customers create 80% of your profits, thinking like these customers will give you your greatest return on investment.

Take time today to spend time with your customers. Learn from them and learn to think like them.

As always, I solicit your feedback and your thoughts. This site is for you and I want to know what you think. Thank you.

photo credit: milena mihaylova

How we think affects every aspect of our lives. This is no truer than it is in our businesses.  As entrepreneurs our habitual modes of thought shape what we accomplish in our business. If we learn how to think right we can accomplish great things.

In this post and the subsequent post, I will share with you 7 modes of thought that will lead you to entrepreneurial success. Here are the first 3:

Think Big – I am sure you have heard this before but it bears repeating. It is important to think big in terms of your entrepreneurial vision and the number of people you can serve. For example, you may be thinking about creating one location for your business. How about thinking about 10 locations or 100 locations? Remember you don’t have to do it by yourself nor do you have to do it all at once. People often overestimate what they can do in one year but grossly underestimate what they can do in 10 years. Thinking big serves you well because it will propel you past pettiness and small obstacles. I encourage you to look at your current business reach and multiply it by at least 100.

Think Small -This is not a contradiction to our other mode of thought. Thinking small is thinking about distinctions. What makes your business different from your competitors. What distinctions can you make in your business that would be hard to copy? Remember several small distinctions can make a huge difference.  Look at your business and your competition, what are 5 small distinctions that you can make to better serve your client base.

Think without Fear – Ask yourself this question- what would I do as an entrepreneur if I knew it was impossible for me to fail? This powerful question helps you think in terms of possibilities. Many entrepreneurs limit themselves with fear-based thinking. They focus on what they can’t do instead of what they can do. In your current business or in the one you are planning to start, answering the question presented above will take your business to a new dimension.

Please stay tuned for Part 2 of this series.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

photo credit: waffler

Is anyone else tired of hearing about how bad the economy is faring? I mean I know we as a country are having serious problems economically. I get it. The news media has made it abundantly clear that things are going really badly. I personally think the amount of negative rhetoric is helping to perpetuate this situation. It is like someone being sick and a crowd of people gathering around that person reminding him or her how sick they are and how bad they look. The crowd constantly reminds the person that no one knows whether they can ever recover from this sickness. It is no wonder that the economy is getting worse. It is almost as if the news media is deriving a morbid sense of pleasure from reporting this bad news.
Anyway, I believe that while the economy may be bad, you don’t have to do bad financially with it. Below are 3 things you can do to help you thrive in these economic bad times.

1. Look for opportunities within problems

“Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.” – James Francis Byrnes

Instead of being problem-focused be opportunity focused.  There are opportunities to prosper all around you.  Many times these opportunities are found in the problems others are having. There are answers that you have that no one else has.  Solve a problem and you will increase your value. Get in the opportunity mindset. Look for opportunities that only present themselves in a weak economy. Believe me, the opportunities are there if you look for them. Once you find the opportunity, go for it. Don’t let fear or doubt stop you. You can do it.

2. Get rid of unnecessary things in your life.

A lot of times people look at the negative side of what they feel they can’t do. I always look on the positive side of what I can do.
Chuck Norris

When times are tough it can be a great time to get rid of excess baggage. It is a great time to change. Here are some things you can do:

Review your mental attitude.

Get rid of attitudes and modes of thought that are negative and wasteful. This is also a time to get rid of your negative beliefs about yourself and your potential for success. You are successful. It is in you now.  Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You were designed to be great.

Review the people with whom you associate

Separate yourself from negative people. Get rid of people that suck energy out of you. These people are more expensive than you know. Let them go and get stronger. Stop hanging around the nay Sayers. Hang around people that believe they can succeed even in this economy.

Review your budget

 Are there things that you no longer need that you are paying for? Get rid of these things. Go line by line and eliminate wasteful spending in your budget.

Refuse to participate in the recession.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I have several stands around here.
James Brady

This has to do with attitude. We know the facts and the numbers about the economy. Let’s decide that our right attitude, faith, skills, ingenuity, determination and the great people around us will not only cause us to survive but to thrive in these times.  Let’s refuse to focus on all the negative things going on. We are aware of them but we know we have what it takes to make it. Don’t spend a lot of time talking about how bad things are. Expect to prosper.

Please share other things that we can do to thrive in this economy. I want to hear your thoughts.