Half the year has gone!

 

 

 

 

Thursday 17^th June 2010

Well, were half way through 2010; how have your predictions been since the beginning of the year?  My target was to have 4000 followers on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Plaxo and of course my WebLog, well I can honestly say I’m closer to 10,000 which makes me very pleased indeed; especially as its only part-time for me, because of my health issues.

Going through life just hoping things will get better is what a lot of people think and indeed do!  Unfortunately, this is not the way things happen, business does not just drop into your lap, it requires work, very hard-work.  I know there are a few people out there that say; business will come in but honestly it doesn’t; I’m sure that you already know that without me saying it.

We are now coming to the end of June 2010, one that I think, as most free thinking individuals will agree, so far, for a lot of people has not been the for the business world as well as for us a good half year.  We have faced so many businesses in crises, with more businesses going under in the United Kingdom and personal bankruptcies,  going up higher than ever before, in a single year.  With a new coalition government working hard to sort out the mess we as a Country are in, knowing this we must understand it’s going to take some time to sort it out and we all need to play are part

So what are you going to do about it? 

We need generally to start thinking about what we are doing and how we will survive; DON’T we?   This is when those of us with a very “Positive Attitude”, those of us that wake up in the mornings saying; great I’m alive, I’m feeling on top of the world I only have positive “vibes” let me loose, let me get going, these are the people who are going to survive, these are the entrepreneurs.  I personally feel now, more than ever, that there are four words come to my mind every day that kick start my way of for the day:

Confidence – Commitment – Communication – Control

 

• Confidence: - As my “Thoughts for the Day”, are always trying to portrait; “If you think you can, you will but if you think you’re beaten; YOU ARE.”  So combat that by bringing back that original confidence you had when you first started out in business, that same confidence that turned those visions and dreams into the reality of today.  Any mistakes or failures made so far this year, take them on the chin, except them, learn by them and better them; behind every failure is the opportunity of success.  Remember, without making mistakes and having failures you don’t learn, so, have the confidence to carry on.

 

• Commitment: - What have you committed to so far to get where you are now?  You’ve probably been working very long hours, not been there to see the children off to bed, given up family weekends and holidays, for what; to make sure your business survives.  You’ve probably had many sleepless nights worrying about where the energy and money will come from to survive.  One thing that has always been with you has been your commitment to what you’re doing, a very commendable attribute that you have and should be proud off. 

 

• Communication: -   One of the failings of a lot of small businesses and therefore budding entrepreneurs is the lack of communication.  What do I mean?  Well firstly our family, they take the brunt day-in day-out and yet we don’t keep them informed as to problems facing us on a daily basis.  We are frightened to admit to our loved ones that we are having problems.  That we are not coming up to the standards we set them when we first had this business venture.  We don’t want them to think, we’re a failure.  Well that’s wrong, communicating with your family is one of the keys, remember they have put up with everything so far, they have stuck with you so far.  Give them the satisfaction of helping you NOW.  I know that sometimes it is very difficult, I’ve been there.

 

• Control: - This is when you have to really dig very deep into your mental reserves, to say to yourself that you still have the confidence, the confidence in the business your running but more importantly the confidence in yourself.  You have the control in your commitment the commitment to the business and again the commitment to yourself and family in what you’re doing and the decisions you’re making are.  You should control the way you communicate  in your business making sure that all the people, e.g. employees and customers know what you’re doing and what you stand for, more importantly the culture in your portraying  You have managed to keep control up to now, possibly with difficulty but you’ve managed, so don’t give in now. 

 

What should I do now?

Prioritise what YOUR requirements are for the rest of 2010, breaking them down over the next six months, then having done that, look at prioritising what your business needs month on month, don’t focus on sales; focus on the activity required to create those sales. 

By focusing on the activity in a prioritised manner you’re going to let your employees know and more importantly understand what you’re doing, therefore they will want to stand Full Square behind you.  Take it from me, it will mean that things will be easier for them later in the year.

I said in December 2009; is your business over staffed?  I also said, you should looking after “You and your family’s survival first”, looking at reducing your overheads further, carrying too much raw material?  Are you carrying too much finished product?  Are you giving your debtors too long to pay you? 

These are just a few things that you should be looking at going into the rest of the Year; there will be many more when you start looking into your business dealings.

Have you stuck to your Business-plan during the first half of 2010, or have you left it in the bottom draw of the filing cabinet gathering dust?  

Remember I have been through all the above at different stages of my life and am only trying to give you a few warning signals.

Keep looking at my WebLog for more tips.  Sign in for my newsletters and place your name on the Business Directory to build more contacts.