Posted by Sundi Hayes in I’m in the middle of a book with a group of Virtual Assistants I have phone chats with semi-weekly…9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back…And The Truth That Will Set It Free by Steve Chandler and Sam Beckford is our current read.
I just finished up Chapter 6 and it contains a section which cracks me up! Chandler and Beckford found a small business article that rubbed them so far the wrong way they disputed it right there in the book. Granted there was no give away of the authors or the newspaper it ran in and the details were tactfully written. This section still made me wonder…would I have followed the advice in the article?
5 Ideas You Should NOT Follow
#1 Keep costs and spending down. Businesses fail because they have too much overhead. Truth: This is negative and reactive. You can’t save your way to a successful business.
#2 Take the time to create a business plan. A marketing study, the competition, costs and prices. Truth: Don’t let the marketer and competition dictate your vision. Let the market and the competition respond to you!
#3 Theory is valuable but you have to adapt it. Truth: Find a theory of business proven to work and then use as directed!
#4 Persevere and talk to other business owners. Truth: If you persevere in the wrong direction you are still, um, going in the wrong direction! And, when 4 out of 5 business fail what are the chances you’ll get good advice from people who are also starting their business?
#5 Keep believing. Truth: Be willing to drop your beliefs. What you really need is a plan!
My thoughts on the Truths…
1) I’ll admit it. I bootstrapped my business. I’m a Virtual Assistant, not a manufacturer. I don’t think this particular tip is directed at me. I gradually put into place the things I knew I needed and was underway in less than 3 months. I think I did just fine.
2) Yes, I have a business plan. It is more full of hopes and dreams rather than marketing studies. You’ll definitely find some research on competition in there because I did that to set my pricing. You’ll even find some expense planning because I needed a new laptop.
3) Well, I guess I’m still working on this one. I’ve found theories that don’t work and stopped using them. Do I think I’ve found the perfect one for me? Not yet. I’m I disappointed? No. There are plenty out there to try and when I get the right one I will know it. (See more on #5.)
4) I definitely talked to other business owners. I was picky about who I talked to though. I didn’t want people who painted a rosy picture. I wanted raw, thought-provoking answers and honest feedback. The business owners I talked to were established in the Virtual Assistant industry, not people who had launched in the last three years.
5) This is a fuzzy one for me. When I read it I think of the Little Engine that could and how if he had sat at the station during the entire story chanting, “I think I can, I think I can!” then he certainly wouldn’t have. Do I sit around praying to the new business gods that my biz will suddenly take off. Uh, no. Do I believe in myself and the services I offer? Most definitely!
So, where are you in all this? If you are launching your coaching, training or speaking business do you fall entirely on the Truth side of the list? Would you have believed this article as it was originally printed?
Nibbling away -
Sundi