Yesterday I had such a motivating experience when I was meeting with businessman I had worked with for a long time. He has his own printing business, Prodigy Press and as someone who now has both feet in the self-employment pool I wanted to find out how he built his business from scratch.
He was very encouraging and because he has known me for so long he knows my talents and capabilities so he had no problem telling me that success would come...but the key was persistence. We discussed how to get clients, how to stay on top of the search but what he learned over the years and witnessed in other people in business was a key point. I guess you'd say if I learned one thing...it was persistence & follow-up. We both had experienced receiving mailers from individuals trying to get our time...yet, did we receive anything after that first inquiry? Rarely. Yep, somehow people think that the first query is all they need and success will be knocking at their door. Unfortunately that's not what it takes.
People need to see your name over and over and over before they will be willing to check for more information. Once they see that you are there, over and over, that is when your chances of entry are beginning to open. Have a plan, a "campaign" as he called it and never stop. Even when your business starts increasing don't stop letting the world know you are there.
I'm telling you, after our talk I was on fire because it was clear to me that having 'staying power' alone would put me ahead of others in my field who just stay at home, waiting for the business to come to them. Believe me it just doesn't happen and that lack of a long term vision is what kills so many businesses.
So stay in there...keep going...and have your horizon set...but don't give up! Business is just around the corner and if you stick with it...you will get there.
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