I promise you that if you do these 12 steps you will radically increase your chances of success over everyone else around you.
By the way, they’re only secret because they’re so obvious that very few people notice them, let alone follow them.
1. Discover what types of activities and situations encourage and energize you.
You can go a long way on your own happiness.
2. Look at what kinds of small businesses have those types of activities and situations.
Look hard. There is a business for every type of person because there is every type of customer.
3. Learn everything you can about that industry and learn all the time.
The more you understand your businesses landscape the better you can solve the right problems in a way that is sustainable for that environment.
4. Learn the fundamentals of small business.
Hard work is better than talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Fundamentals get you in the door as the entry fee. A man or woman who is skilled in their work will stand before Kings. They will not stand before obscure people.
5. Do the fundamentals of small business.
Knowing about something is not the same as knowing how to do it and doing it. This will kill a business before it gets started.
6. Be a good person not a shmuck.
People may buy from you because you have a good deal but they will keep buying if they like you.
7. Find counsel you can trust.
Wise people can help you see things that you will miss. Fools will only give you their opinion with no wisdom or understanding.
8. Learn who your company is and tell people clearly all the time and tell them so they can hear it.
It’s not what you say that counts; it’s what they hear.
9. Learn about Paradox.
In small business it is rarely, “Either/Or.” It is way more often, “Both/And.” This can save you a lot of trouble and a lot of wrong turns but it requires a good sense of balance.
10. Be Patient.
Timing is important. You cannot rush anything and come out with anything great. A good wine takes time to develop and mature. If you open the bottle too soon it’s bad and if you open it too late it’s bad. Have the courage to be patient and watch for the right timing for everything in your small business. It is what separates the masters from the novices.
11. Above all else Persevere.
Perseverance is the biggest, most hugest piece of the entire puzzle. Never give up, never surrender and then
know when to move on.
12. Finally, do it again.
Always go back to the beginning and relearn. Study, work, love people and persevere. If you think you’ve learned it all the first time you are missing out on the finest of lessons. You and your business are just like gold. Gold is heated to a melting point and then the impurities are skimmed off the top. This is elementary but by doing it over and over again the purest of form of gold is left behind and has had unparalleled value for ten thousand years.
Don’t be afraid of doing it all again. Find the gold in YOUR small business.