Seth Godin writes about three things you need for small business success:
- The ability to abandon a plan
- The confidence to do the right thing
- The belief in other people
I would have to add two more to the list:
- Vision
- The ability to dream
Vision in Small Business
From my experience, in order to succeed in business, you have to have some sort of vision. It doesn’t matter whether you are the stock room clerk or the president of a company, as long as you can make an impact on your surroundings you will effect the company in some way.
All the time you hear stories about the part time cook who ended up the head chef, or the bagger at the grocery store who turned into the district manager. I can guarantee one thing – they wouldn’t have got there if they didn’t have some sort of vision!
The Power of Dreams
Dreaming is another thing that I think small business successes stem from. I am a firm believer in self-fulfilling prophecy. Self fulfilling prophecy is when you think something will happen, so it ends up happening.
Self fulfilling prophecy is a whole blog post in itself, but i will get into it a bit. Let’s say I want a Corvette. That Corvette is going to cost me $800 a month, but my budget only allows for $300 a month. If I believe that I will be sitting behind the wheel of the sports car in six months, then I will make all the decisions possible to get there. I might forgo eating lunch out everyday, or I could cut out my subscriptions to HBO and World of Warcraft. In essence, I will do everything I can to get that Corvette.
So when a small business person dreams of doing $600,000 in revenue out of their little boutique shop, they will make the choices necessary to get there. Through marketing, inventory, employees… Their dreams slowly become a reality.
Dreams and Visions
There really isn’t much difference between dreams and vision. In fact, we might be able list them together. But I wanted to make the point that you might have all the business sense in the world, but if you don’t dream or think big thoughts, you won’t be going anywhere – fast.
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Great Article!
I have one element to add.
http://elementaltruths.com/?p=622
Very well put Reg! You always have to move forward to be successful… Even when you sell antiques :0)
An interesting additional to Seth’s points.
I agree entirely about the vision/dreams issue and is something that I find missing in too many small businesses.
Too often the emphasis is on making enough money to live.
It is also an area that Michael Gerber is now concentrating on with his Dreaming Rooms.
I was lucky enough to go to one in London in October 2006 and it was fascinating to hear how his thinking has developed.
Despite all the success of the E Myth (books and coaching firm), Michael Gerber believes that too many businesses are effectively running on empty.
There is no overwhelming dream or vision.
A key to small business success is to have the knowledge and skills in the relavant areas. It is suggested to complete studies such as a distance learning course provided by Thomson Education http://www.thomson.edu.au/ in areas such as in business and marketing or accounting and finance. This will make you understand and give you the confidence in running a successful business.
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe
) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
Great post, thanks! It is something to think about
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