To grow your small business and be successful you must expand your thinking.  After all, if your thinking never changes, then you will not be in control of creating your future.  Think about it.  If you don’t change then you will be constantly reacting to the changing business climate. 

That’s a tough way to do business.  You are always one step behind.  General Douglas McArthur, the famous World War II general once said that all defeat can be explained by two words, “too late.”  Too late in anticipating the problem.  Too late in preparing a plan of action.  And, too late in executing the plan. 

To have your small business successful you must embrace change.  If you don’t then it will run over you.  To this point I have talked about external success.  That is how success may appear to others.  Yet, true success is an inside job.  It starts within you, the business owner.  Embracing change is a successful performance strategy. 

Whether you are starting up your own business or running your own business all success starts within you, the business owner.  Here are four points to remember.

1. Your past shapes, to an extent, who you are. 

1. You determine who you become…..not circumstances, people or things.

1. The best helping hand you have is at the end of your arm.

1. Listen and learn  to focus

Here’s wishing you success and all the freedom and abundance life has to offer.

A parasite is an organism that invades the body of the host organism and ultimately sucks the life out the host, in most cases, causing it to die.  Too often, I have worked with business owners and professionals who have a good business but at the same time are stuck, overwhelmed or just plain unhappy. 

What’s holding them back?  You would think that it would be obvious.  It’s the parasites and they are not obvious.  If they were, we would never let them enter.  Whether you are starting up your own business or running your own business here are some things to look for. 

1. Process parasites
2. Relational parasites
3. Thought parasites
4. Client parasites

For this post let’s look at the first one, process parasites.  This refers to your process of doing business and the parasites are the things that need to be eliminated from your process to improve your business.  Are any of your methods causing you to have higher costs, greater inconvenience or adversely affecting your product or service?  Most of the time in small business there are things we can improve in the process. 

But to improve the process means to embrace change.  After all, the old way is the way things have always been done around here.  Why change?  As is said, “Don’t fix what isn’t broke”.  Sadly, the parasites in a business process have become tolerations. 

And, if you don’t develop the discipline of eliminating tolerations then guess what, you will keep adding them.  This is not a process for growing small business.  And, you will add them to the point where your business process and you will be a mess.  The small business growth and success you desire will be unattainable.

Look at your business process now.  Or, get someone to look at it for you.  To have the success you desire you must minimize or eliminate the tolerations.  After all, in owning your own business you have a choice when it comes to change.  You can either let it run over you or you can embrace it. 

Be in the habit of embracing change and you will be successful.   

After all if you have a good marketing business plan or a successful performance strategy for small business growth you should be doing well.  Maybe?

In the last post we looked at the “people plan” and how a lack of it can be an “elephant under the carpet” that could cause a successful business to fail.  Making your small business successful has several components.  Not only must you have a people plan but you must have “good processes”.

You may be saying at this point, this doesn’t sound very interesting.  I have watched small businesses grow, be successful and fail because the processes for doing business or how to approach business for continued growth were never addressed. 

 Lack of good processes is the second “elephant under the carpet.”How come they were never addressed?

You will hear phrases such as, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.  That’s the way it’s always been done around here.”  There is one constant and that is change.  You either must embrace it, or it will run over you. 

A good example is a business that starts out using contract labor.  It needs help periodically with certain jobs or tasks.  Independent contractors are a great way to do this.  The business grows and now it is demanding most, if not all of the working time of an independent contractor.  In fact, it is dictating hours and other things. 

Much as you may not want to, it is time to switch these people to employees.  Yes, it is more costly.  But, I can assure you, the cost is much higher if you don’t switch.  Yes, there are industries where independent contractors are standard practice.  But, there are many where they are not and I have watched many businesses operate under the illusion that somehow they will fly under the radar.

To have your small business successful, it is important that you get into the right process for doing things.  Pay your people as they should be paid.  You may save money in the present by treating them as contractors but you can easily lose your business in the end when the IR S comes knocking on your door. 

All it takes is one disgruntled independent contractor to start the process that could do you in.  In owning your own business and running your own business having good processes is critical to your success. 

Think about this.  You have good people.  You put them in a bad process or one that makes the business extremely vulnerable and what do you get?  You get bad or disastrous results.  To have a successful performance strategy address those “elephants under the carpet” that have to do with your processes. 

Do that and do it regularly and you will have a greater likelihood of having a more secure and prosperous business.

One of the concerns of most small businesses for the first few years is failure.  One of the interesting things is, even if a business is successful, the fear of failure can be huge.  Why is it when things are going well and cash flow is good would you be concerned about failure?

There are many answers but I would like to focus on one of the things I see in my practice as relates to failure.  In running your own business you can get caught up in the “doing” and let some “elephants under the carpet” develop.  A good example of an elephant under the carpet would be starting a business with partners and not having a buy-sell agreement and/or key man insurance.

When a person who is a significant contributor or a necessary part of the foundation of a business dies or suddenly becomes disabled it can be disastrous for the the business.  One of the keys to success in owning your own business is to make the business bigger than you or the key people.  The sooner you do that the better off you and the business will be.  If something happens to you where you are sick for and extended period of time, or disabled, then at least your business will be able to provide for you and those who are involved with it.

How come business owners put themselves in this situation?  They never get a vision of the business being bigger than themselves.  Somehow everything is going to work out.  Unfortunately, life has a way of throwing us some pretty big challenges.  Challenges that are unexpected.

The first step to small business growth and having a successful performance strategy is to have a clear vision and plan when it comes to people.  Be ready for the unexpected.  If you have a corporation make sure you have an exit strategy.  If someone isn’t working out and wants out it is best to have an agreement up front as to what the terms are. 

If you do that then you won’t, as a rule, be subject to expensive litigation.  And, I can assure you, litigation is one of the quickest ways to kill a small business.  Regardless of where your business is now it is critical to  create a “people plan” and address those “elephants under the carpet”. 

When you have your people plan not only will you feel better, but your business will be more secure.  You will give the gift of certainty to the people who work with you and support you.  And, you will be demonstrating leadership by showing you are concerned about their welfare by creating a more stable and predictable environment in case life does throw one of those big challenges your way.

All of us need water to survive and to thrive.  But, the quality of the water you are drinking will determine your success or failure.  The water, in this case, is what you choose to let your mind drink in.  Are you drinking in thoughts of success?  

Years ago in Africa there was this tribe.  They were healthy and prosperous.    All their water came from a beautiful spring that supposedly had medicinal and healing properties. 

Suddenly, people started to die or get very sick for no apparent reason.  Experts were called in to determine what was causing the problem.  Here’s what they found.

The experts went back up the mountain to the origin of the spring.  It turned out that a mother pig and her piglets had drowned and were stuck in the opening where the spring came out.  The water was contaminated. 

The mother pig and her piglets were removed and the water was once again pure and the health of the people of the tribe was restored. 

The key to having the success you desire in business and personally rests on your ability to keep your water as pure as possible.  Be careful about what you let your mind drink in. We all have bad things that happen to us.  Starting your own business or running your own business is about challenges and overcoming them.

The problem is that too many business owners will hold onto the negative.  They will keep drinking in defeating thoughts.  They will remember the negative customer or they will not forgive and employee.  Over time the anger that they carry simmers.  It becomes the fertilizer in which the root of bitterness takes hold. 

There are many keys to having small business growth and to taking future steps to have your business successful.  But, to truly move forward you cannot let the root of bitterness take hold.  It may sound trite but it is true. 

First, forgive yourself.  Stop using the past as a weapon on yourself.  The past is past.  There isn’t anything you can do about it.  Secondly, you must forgive others.  Without forgiveness you set up an invisible wall that may protect your anger but at the same time it will keep opportunity from coming in. 

Develop a successful performance strategy.  Get clear of your past and uproot any bitterness you may have.  Focus on keeping your mind as free as possible of the negative.  When you do, you are more likely to attract the success you desire.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m practical.”  Or, they say, “I’m pragmatic.”  They both sound good.  A practical person does sensible things within a set of moral values.  A pragmatic person does whatever makes sense at the time.  

In today’s world the line gets blurred between the two.  For this post I am going to put them together although there are differences. 

Be very careful when you hear someone say they are pragmatic or practical.  What they may be saying is that they will do whatever they think is right.  And what they think is right can change from one day to the next. 

To have successful small business growth you must have a strong moral philosophy.  You must know what is right and what is wrong.   Pragmatism and practicality, more often than not, are about a “me first” philosophy. 

For example, a business owner takes steps to make his business successful and then changes his mind.  When asked about changing his mind he may say, ” I was just being practical.”  Or, he could say he was being pragmatic.  Of course his change of mind disrupted the lives of people.  But hey, he was just being practical or pragmatic.  In his mind, what’s the big deal?

Here’s the big deal.  People are counting on him keeping his word.  Yet, what he promises doesn’t happen.  The reason for not doing what he said he was going to do may be, “I changed my mind.”  If this happens regularly this is a problem. 

“Changing one’s mind” regularly is not good.  Very often you will hear along with “changing my mind” that “I was just being practical”, or “I am being pragmatic.”  And you are supposed to accept that as a legitimate excuse.

If you hear these phrases too often from people it is a warning sign.  It is a warning sign that they have no coherent philosophy to guide them.  Their philosophy and how they are going to act is, more often than not, subject to change.  Changing philosophy is not a foundation when building the steps to business success.

The pragmatist or practical person is always changing their philosophy because they are more concerned about what is right for them at the moment than adhering to any principles.  The only principle they adhere to is what is in their best interests.  Self-centeredness, more often than not, is their philosophy. 

Here’s what’s dangerous.  They cannot be trusted.  Business success and life is all about them.  One day you may feel close to them.  And, the next day you may feel as if they deserted you. 

You will find that most successful people make their decisions very quickly and change them very slowly.  They have a philosophy of right, wrong and good human relations that is bigger than them.

Inflexibility is one of the deadly mistakes that can prevent small business growth or to cause a small business to fail.  A successful performance strategy for growing small business must include flexibility.  After all, if you don’t embrace change you will be run over by it. 

I came across this solution for dealing with inflexibility.  It comes from one of my favorite authors, John Maxwell.  Go to www.JohnMaxwell.com and find a book of his to read.  It will be well worth your time.  The following shows the humorous, and often truthful responses, that come when people are inflexible. 

Inflexibility is the enemy of personal growth, success and achievement. 

The Top Ten Strategies For Dealing With A Dead Horse

1.  Buy a stronger whip.

2.  Change riders

3.  Appoint a committee to study the horse.

4.  Appoint a team to revive the horse.

5.  Send out a memo declaring the horse isn’t really dead.

6.  Hire an expensive consultant to find “the real problem.”

7.  Harness several dead horses together for increased speed and efficiency.

8.  Rewrite the standard definition of a live horse.

9.  Declare the horse to be better, faster, and cheaper when dead.

10.  Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Most of you have probably seen these solutions enacted at some point in your business career or life. 

So, how do you deal with the challenge of inflexibility.  When your horse is dead and your inflexibility is causing you to hold onto something that isn’t working, dismount. 

Small business coaching is about helping people to learn how to dismount, let go of thoughts and processes that aren’t working and to bury them.  Only once the things that don’t work are buried or put in a safe place, may you move forward. 

And, the way to move forward is to come up with a new performance strategy. Embrace change.  Embrace flexibility.  When you do, you will be able to mount a live horse and gallop forward to the success you desire.

Talking about your goals should inspire you.  If your goals don’t inspire you, then don’t expect any one else to get excited, let alone support you.  Whether your goal is small business growth, losing weight or earning more money you must be inspired to increase the probability of achieving your goals.

To create a vision of the future you want, whether it be in owning your own business or your life follow these simple steps when it comes to goals setting.

1.  You must be excited and inspired by a majority of your goals.  If you aren’t then you are not headed in a good direction.

2.  Write down your goals.  This increases your chances of attaining them by 60%. 

3.  Prioritize which ones are most important and simplify your list.  If you have too many goals, your chances of overwhelm and not being successful increase.

4.  Write goals that are more attached to a process rather than an outcome.  For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds, you want to include in your goal the process of how you are going to go about doing it.

5.  Read your goals at least three times per week.  Get them fixed in your mind.  Each time visualize yourself achieving them. 

6.  Accountability.  This is the most important step.  Share your goals with someone.  It can be a friend, a coach or a trusted worker.  Regardless, when you are held accountable by others you greatly increase your odds of success.

The formula for growth and success in owning your own business is writing down your goals and then having your priorities and accountability in place to implement them.

Have you ever heard someone say or said it your self, “It’s just not a priority.”  In and of itself, this statement is not bad.  But, when it is referring to something that you know you should do either to help you or your small business, then it becomes a negative. 

Very often people set goals and somehow not much happens.  Maybe, if you own your own business you have goals for growing your small business.  Whatever your goals are, you are much more likely to achieve them if you set priorities. 

In owning your own business, there can be a great number of things coming at you to the point where you have many goals but you don’t have an order for them to be accomplished.  I know this may sound dry but it is critical to know your priorities. 

Without priorities you may accomplish a goal that could actually cause more work in accomplishing another goal.  Yes, for small business growth and personal growth, order is important. 

In owning your own business, when you establish priorities and stick to them it becomes easier on you and everyone associated with your business to perform to a higher level.  With priorities you have direction.  Direction provides focus.  And, it increases your odds of having the success you desire.

To have success in growing your small business you must have movement by design.  I believe that this concept is best summed up by Zig Ziglar when he asks if you are leading your life as a “wandering generality” or as “a meaningful specific. ”

Small business growth and personal growth are not accidents.  They are intentional.  You may say, wait a minute.  Things just happen.  Think about it.  Things happen to all of us.  Yet, you choose how you are going to respond.  You are subjected to opportunities.  Sometimes they come clothed as problems.

Regardless, if you are a meaningful specific, or a person who has goals, then you will make your decisions about what comes your way on whether or not it fits with your goals.

To be successful in owning your own business you must have a design.  You must have vibrant, exciting goals.  You must have a vision of the future that excites you.

Think about this.  Goals are dreams with deadlines.  And, if they are written down, you are much more likely to attain them.

Dream about your goals for a moment.  Do you want small business growth?  Do you want more money?  Whatever it is you want, if you set goals you will start a process that will increase the odds of you attaining the outcome you want.

Create movement by design. Dream and visualize what you want.  And, even better write down your vision of the future you want.  When you do, your odds of success have increased by over 50%. Be a “meaningful specific” and increase the probability of your success.