Short & Sweet and to the point that deserves a reminder!

The other day I was reviewed  a list I have of motivational business quotes and this is the one that struck me as being important considering all of us are building our future business in challenging times, wondering will it work?  Is the business out there?  Are we crazy???  The following quote summed up what I think are the most important points we need to remember:

"Success in business requires training and discipline and hard work.  But if you're not frightened b these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were."

David Rockefeller

Anyone who has reached any level of success has had to become good at all three parts.  Learning a skill, trade or profession takes training...be it on-the-job, school or the hard knocks of life but becoming an individual who is trained at something is the first step. 

Next is discipline.  I have almost had a romantic notion about writing and how wonderful a life it would be to be an author.  But when I've read interviews with successful authors what stood out was the discipline by which they met each day.  Write write write...each day, every day.  And finally, hard work.  There are those people who think that success just happens.  Let me correct that thought...success does happen after hard work that is consistent, focused and disciplined.

If you can integrate these three ideas into your goal of building a business the odds are with you that you will be successful...why?  Because most people give up too easily; too quickly and find success much to "hard" to achieve.  You know differently so go for it!

Tracking your Progress

How do you keep yourself motivated?  How do you link your marketing efforts to results? 

Without thinking we are always working to build our business.  When you are relaxing or cycling, taking a walk or even watching your favorite TV program...your mind is probably drifting to thoughts on how to get more business and create more success.  I don't know about any of you but I am always thinking about how to build my business.  Sometimes I wish I could shut my brain off and stop the process but right now it is so important to me to make ends meet that I am almost obsessed with the idea.

One thing I have done from the very beginning is to keep a journal of everything I do.  If I send out marketing letters I write down how many and to whom they went.  If I put an ad on Craigslist I write it down.  If I call someone and have a conversation about business...I write it down.  If I am actually working for a client I write it down.  Writing it down is important for me.

Why???  Because I review constantly what I've done and where I need to follow-up.  As I've said before and stressed over and over following up is key to getting to where you want to go.  If you have no record of all the effort you've made to get clients, there will be days when you feel like you're going nowhere...spinning your wheels and it "just ain't so!" 

So to stay motivated and feeling good about moving forward find a way that works for you.  Track your progress so you can evaluate results.  What did you do that got you a client?  What did you do that provided nothing towards your effort?  Did the cold calling prove to be a good investment of time?  Did you follow up with these people?  Continue to search your book and you'll find the questions that are specific to your efforts and they will show you that you're working hard to build your business...and that will get you up and working each and every day!

Today is always the day to begin!

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.