Accepting Responsibility for Your Business

Have you ever wondered why business … and life … can be so tough?

Good question and one that can be answered very easily. It all has to do with you. You are fully responsible for the result in your business and life, whether you like it or not.

So, let’s look down to the basics to find the fundamental solution for this problem.

When you own and run your own business, you have two primary objectives:

1. Profit: Make lots of money.
2. Cash Flow: Collect the money so you can keep things moving according to your plan.

The truth is, the majority of small-business owners will do anything in their power to avoid employing the sound fundamental operations systems, methods and plans of action that lead successful companies to achieving their plan.

Instead, they allow their business to run them.

As a result here is a short list of some of the silly “things” that small-business owners do that result in subsequently much grief, aggravation and frustration in their business and personal life.

• They fail to plan.
• They fail to understand their numbers.
• They fail to create opportunities.
• They fail to sell value.
• They fail to walk away from the jobs they don’t need.
• They fail to manage their cash flow.
• They fail to collect what is owed to them.
• They fail to train and motivate employees.
• They fail to systemize their business.
• They fail to optimize every aspect of their business.
• They fail to get the help and training they need.

Then they wonder why business – and life – is so tough.

In running your own business, your goal and objective are to operate your business as effective and efficient as likely and as cost-effective as imaginable. This is what I refer to as “optimizing” every aspect of your business for full return on effort. That means developing a strategic plan for accomplishing all of this and keeping your focus on the activities, tasks, and work that give you the greatest results.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Since none of us own a time machine, there is absolutely no way we can go back and correct our mistakes. The only real thing we can do is come to terms with what is causing us so many problems and start doing the right things. In other words, STOP doing the things that are causing you so much frustration. To accomplish this, this means two things must happen first:

1. You must come to terms with your mistakes.
2. You must build a plan to overcome them.

It’s all about FOCUS VS. DISTRACTION.

Have you ever notices that a lot of racehorses wear blinders to keep them from getting distracted during the race? Some contractors are also wearing blinders that keep them from properly learning and applying sound, effective business practices that will help them build a better business.

Building a better business starts with these proven practices. It takes time to learn them, initiate them and monitor them. It is this initial, up-front effort, along with that fear of the unknown or that overabundance of just plain old mule stubbornness that prevents even the smartest from improving his or her business or building a business that works for them. They would much rather spend countless hours, day-in and day-out, wasting thousands of dollars, working hard for their business taking on tons or risk and uncertainty.

If distraction is the biggest enemy of the racehorse, then it is even a bigger enemy of the small-business owner. Keeping focused means understanding what it is you need to have “in-place” to begin with. Then focusing on your primary targets, re-calibrating quickly and re-focusing on those targets is the key success element. Even so, again, the key element understands what it is you need to focus on.

To get started, I suggest that you first come to terms with your strengths and weaknesses in managing your business. Next, seek help from a reliable source of expert knowledge. Once you’ve armed yourself with the right knowledge, after that set some time aside, find a quiet place, lock and bolt the door, and get those targets in focus. Understand it is all about focus vs. distraction.