To succeed, you have to prepare
Thanks, H.L.
The formula — if there is such a thing — is preparedness. You must carefully prepare to reach success both mentally and technically. This is one of the reasons for writing a business plan. However, I prefer to think in terms of mapping an informal success guide before you write a formal business plan. Your success guide need not be a formal plan; but it should be a guide to lead you to where you want to go.
Mental preparation is the first and most important step in succeeding. The reason for this is because you will need to face and get beyond your fears and the fears that other people try to give you. Yes, you can be affected by other people’s fears if you are not careful.
My father labored on a job all of his life and never thought he could successfully form his own business. Although he was a friendly man, he never had the nerve to approach a stranger with much more than a “hello.” His southern upbringing had exposed him to more than his share of racial hatred. His concern for me led him to telling and retelling me all of his worst racial stories in an effort to keep me from starting my own business and dealing with strangers.
Fortunately, my naiveté told me that all of his horror stories were from the rural community where he was born in Alabama and not here in the big city of Pittsburgh. Considering that I was 15 years old at the time, Alabama was on another planet; therefore it was safe for me to proceed.
I had to get beyond my father’s fears for me. I had to address my own concerns of how to begin and carry out a business.
To mentally prepare for business, face all fears and everything else that concerns you. Write it out and work through it until you have resolved each issue. One trick that I have practiced since my very first business is to write out a problem that concerns me and then write beside it what the worst outcome could be. The rest of the page I spend writing out various solutions to avoid the problem. And then I imagine the worst-case scenario: I write out several ways to resolve a problem should the worst occur.
Don’t underestimate the advantage of surrounding yourself with successful business people. There’s an old saying “success breeds success.” Join organizations where you can locate these folks. Do whatever you have to do to keep your confidence up and your entrepreneurial spirit high.
The next step in preparing for success is technical knowledge. Do you know all of the ins and outs of the technical side of the business that you are entering? If not, are you prepared to hire someone who has the knowledge while you take training? Are your verbal and written communication skills up to speed? Are you clear and concise when explaining or writing something? Each week I get hundreds of e-mails from readers asking questions, yet many are not easy to understand. The writer’s point for writing is not always clear.
Read full article by Gladys Edmunds from USAToday.com
