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Article Check - Entrepreneurial Emotions or It Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time
I find myself dining more and more often in fast-casual restaurants instead of ones that offers full service (and I use that term loosely). Why? In addition to being more in control of the timing of my experience, I find the level of hospitality in many fast-casual chains equal to or better than many of the casual full-service restaurants - for less money. What can you learn from a CASE (copy and steal everything) study of today's successful concepts? Think hospitality instead of service.On a recent visit to Pei Wei, PF Chang's fast-casual concept, with a colleague of mine (his first time to eat there), he was impressed with the friendly food delivery and offer to get drink refills for us. Drink refills? Most of us could offer that little dose of hospitality in our restaurants. Heck, at most full-service restaurants today, you're lucky if you get a refill in a timely manner. Will that build your sales? Certainly!The Golden Corral in my
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of kn
In many countries around the globe, people are born into their station in life and hence their professions. It is unnecessary for them to plan a career as they are expected to perform one specific job their entire lives. These cultures do not consider personal growth or the possibility of choosing one’s profession.America, on the other hand, was built on self-reinvention, and today’s economy demands it. Those born before 1946 are less likely to have changed careers or even worked for more than one employer during their lifetimes.Today, many employees outlive the lifespan of the companies they work for, and the average worker can now expect to have at least three or more careers, with up to six different positions within each of those careers.Hardly a week goes by without hearing of corporate takeovers, mergers and corporate downsizing. As a result, thousands of seasoned employees are facing burnout from increased responsibilities
Then comes implementing the idea. The rubber meets the road. One great entrepreneurial joy is having a terrific idea in the shower, and implementing it by noon. The pieces of The Great Idea flow over you like warm water in the shower, feeling just as wonderful, inviting you to stay in that delicious place forever.
WHAT’S NEXT
This is the first place that makes or breaks you -- moving forward from idea to implementation, identifying elements necessary from start to finish. Nothing stops you, until you start thinking about what is involved. Or you stay in process, and never reach the goal. You might enjoy process more than results, or be fearful about reaching results you envision. What stops you and what moves you forward? Depending on self-confidence, the support you have, the homework you do, those steps are easy, or not. Notice no mention of resources. Many great ideas develop on sheer grit and determination, with little else going for the person. It’s more than positive outlook, too. It’s how you view yourself, how clearly you picture the end result, who you include in your process, and overall attitude about getting from Point A to Point Z.
Once you’ve identified the details, look at each task honestly. Ask yourself:
• Which tasks do I love?
• What do I know nothing about and am willing to learn?
• Which things make me want to run away faster than I thought possible?
• Who can do what I don’t want to do or feel incapable of doing?
• When can I offload tasks to someone better suited to do them?
Considering these questions increases your success and enjoyment of the process, taking you to happier emotions. You spread happiness to others by giving them tasks they do well, including them in your process, and leaving you happier because of this. There are always challenges. At least you tipped the scales in your favor. Re-evaluate task assignments throughout your journey since things are forever changing.
During my dozen years in the tips booklets business, thousands of author clients worldwide have written tips booklets on some topic that interests them. Their booklet is based on expertise, experiences, or passion they want to share. Some have a wealth of information, confidence, ability, resources, and encouragement. Others are missing some or all of those characteristics, yet find the idea appealing. Some love writing and others detest it. Each has a Great Idea to get out into the world. Booklets are done in days or weeks, or stretched over months and years. Emotions play a part in the process, outcome, and overall results.
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of kno
Payroll check fraud came calling four days before Christmas. A branch of our main bank called and wanted to verify a check. The young lady who took the call in our office quickly realized that the check was out of sequence and for a person not on the client's payroll. The check was cut on our trust account. I spoke to the bank employee who had called us. They were stalling the person by having then fill out an account application, more about that later. I took the location of the bank and called the local police department. Of course I didn't have the right exact city and had to make an additional call. The police finally were dispatched to the grocery store where the branch bank was. The woman trying to cash the check was gone. But the police were fairly sure that they would apprehend her soon. Next day she tried to pass a check on someone else at a different bank. The police were called and she was arrested and turned over on a filed war
WHAT’S NEXT
This is the first place that makes or breaks you -- moving forward from idea to implementation, identifying elements necessary from start to finish. Nothing stops you, until you start thinking about what is involved. Or you stay in process, and never reach the goal. You might enjoy process more than results, or be fearful about reaching results you envision. What stops you and what moves you forward? Depending on self-confidence, the support you have, the homework you do, those steps are easy, or not. Notice no mention of resources. Many great ideas develop on sheer grit and determination, with little else going for the person. It’s more than positive outlook, too. It’s how you view yourself, how clearly you picture the end result, who you include in your process, and overall attitude about getting from Point A to Point Z.
Once you’ve identified the details, look at each task honestly. Ask yourself:
• Which tasks do I love?
• What do I know nothing about and am willing to learn?
• Which things make me want to run away faster than I thought possible?
• Who can do what I don’t want to do or feel incapable of doing?
• When can I offload tasks to someone better suited to do them?
Considering these questions increases your success and enjoyment of the process, taking you to happier emotions. You spread happiness to others by giving them tasks they do well, including them in your process, and leaving you happier because of this. There are always challenges. At least you tipped the scales in your favor. Re-evaluate task assignments throughout your journey since things are forever changing.
During my dozen years in the tips booklets business, thousands of author clients worldwide have written tips booklets on some topic that interests them. Their booklet is based on expertise, experiences, or passion they want to share. Some have a wealth of information, confidence, ability, resources, and encouragement. Others are missing some or all of those characteristics, yet find the idea appealing. Some love writing and others detest it. Each has a Great Idea to get out into the world. Booklets are done in days or weeks, or stretched over months and years. Emotions play a part in the process, outcome, and overall results.
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of kn
To keep your suppliers on their toes, try this smart tip I learned from the Group Purchasing Manager of Asia Pacific Breweries.Whenever he contracts to purchase items from more than one supplier, he gives one vendor 70% of the total purchase, while a second vendor gets 30%. And he tells them both exactly what he is doing.Why this unequal split? And why tell the two suppliers about it? Here’s why:If the first vendor does a good job, she knows she is keeping well over half the total purchase volume. But if she does a poor job, she knows she stands to lose more than half of what she is currently supplying.On the other hand, if the second vendor does a great job, he knows he could more than double his orders if he takes over from the first vendor. However, if he does a poor job, he knows he is dispensable as he supplies less than half the company’s required volume.This is an interesting technique for motivating supplier
Once you’ve identified the details, look at each task honestly. Ask yourself:
• Which tasks do I love?
• What do I know nothing about and am willing to learn?
• Which things make me want to run away faster than I thought possible?
• Who can do what I don’t want to do or feel incapable of doing?
• When can I offload tasks to someone better suited to do them?
Considering these questions increases your success and enjoyment of the process, taking you to happier emotions. You spread happiness to others by giving them tasks they do well, including them in your process, and leaving you happier because of this. There are always challenges. At least you tipped the scales in your favor. Re-evaluate task assignments throughout your journey since things are forever changing.
During my dozen years in the tips booklets business, thousands of author clients worldwide have written tips booklets on some topic that interests them. Their booklet is based on expertise, experiences, or passion they want to share. Some have a wealth of information, confidence, ability, resources, and encouragement. Others are missing some or all of those characteristics, yet find the idea appealing. Some love writing and others detest it. Each has a Great Idea to get out into the world. Booklets are done in days or weeks, or stretched over months and years. Emotions play a part in the process, outcome, and overall results.
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of kn
We meet people face-to-face, at counters, in meetings, in writing and over the phone. Often our moments of contact are brief, fragmented, and mere snapshots in the longer movie of their lives.We form impressions based upon these moments, and act upon those feelings. But we may never know what’s really going on.The next time you encounter someone who triggers a negative reaction by their tone of voice, body posture, odd request or persistent misunderstanding, take a moment to pause and consider.This other person may have health or financial difficulties you will never know about. This other person may be in the middle of a crisis or some unanticipated trouble. This other person has a life that is not revealed by your short moment together. This other person may be a lot like you.Given that I may never know ‘what’s really going on’ with those who trigger my negative emotions, I’ve adopted two principles that serve me (and th
During my dozen years in the tips booklets business, thousands of author clients worldwide have written tips booklets on some topic that interests them. Their booklet is based on expertise, experiences, or passion they want to share. Some have a wealth of information, confidence, ability, resources, and encouragement. Others are missing some or all of those characteristics, yet find the idea appealing. Some love writing and others detest it. Each has a Great Idea to get out into the world. Booklets are done in days or weeks, or stretched over months and years. Emotions play a part in the process, outcome, and overall results.
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of kn
Before you can decide how much to spend on your advertising and marketing campaign, you must decide on how often you plan to advertise. Many experts say the best time to advertise is all the time. When business is really good, advertise for even more business, but even more important, so that business doesn’t get bad. After all, every business has it’s down times, so help to eliminate or shorten them by advertising during the good times. When business is really bad, or a startup business, since you need to increase your profits, and usually the two best ways to do so is the control your expenses and to increase your customers.Before going any further, I must address one of the many things in life that amazes me. Many businesses, in their wisdom, budget their advertising dollars and stay on budget year after year. Although, I can understand their thinking, I can never understand when a business comes across a method of advertising that is
My booklet journey started with eight years’ of experiences in one business, and a checkbook slim on financial resources. In the early 1990’s, few were online, fax machines were more common than computers, and hard drives were not in every computer sold. Dream-killers surrounded me, doing whatever possible, both subtly and blatantly, to belittle creating a booklet as a new income source and a way to market my business. Necessity motivated me, forcing me beyond deficits of knowledge and money, and certainly beyond other people’s opinions.
THE GLOW IN REAL TIME
Selling almost a million copies of that booklet without spending a penny on advertising gave me real-life business tools and first-hand understanding to assist others in their business development. The exhilaration I felt the day that first box of booklets arrived -- I, too, had arrived, along with that box of booklets. Seeing my name on the cover made it seem like I was A Somebody at a challenging time in my business. It was an oasis coming out of the desert. The next step was to convert that feeling and those booklets into cash. Ego wouldn’t pay the bills. Then came validation accompanying the first check. I hear this repeatedly from my booklet author clients. That blends into the Bigger Picture – of making more sales, creating new products, developing more markets and opportunities, being sure this first experience wasn’t a fluke or a flash in the pan, that there was staying power.
You may be like authors and business owners I know. You may minimize your expertise, product, or service. Many examples support forging ahead and writing your booklet or developing your product or promoting your services anyway. The hoola hoop, Pet Rock, Rubik’s’ Cube, and Chia Pet each show how these product inventors probably had the last laugh, all the way to the bank, in spite of dream-killers in their lives. You may have no encouragement from family and friends. Ignore those voices. Follow your heart, like those product inventors did. Your Great Idea is yours. Do with it as you choose. Your writing, marketing, product development, or other business skills may be lacking. Find ways to take one step at a time, experience one success at a time, do things you don’t know and want to learn. Resources range from volunteer mentors to high priced consultants, to courses, books, CD’s, tapes, and publications like this one you are reading.
WHO OWNS THE POWER
It is and always will be up to you to decide how much power to give your emotions. Your vulnerability, strength, and clarity change, rendering you more in charge in one moment, and more overwhelmed in another. The ups and downs are there and always will be. It is part of being an entrepreneur, part of being alive. Whether you are a new or veteran business owner, emotions present themselves throughout your journey.
When emotions take over and stifle or cripple forward motion, take a step back, assess things, make decisions for yourself based on what is best for you, and then do it. That sounds simple, doesn’t it? As simple as that is, it is not always easy. Notice your feelings. Pull them apart to look at from different angles. Leave time and space whenever possible to allow intensity to diffuse, to analyze the situation and consider realistic solutions. Chat with trusted colleagues or fa
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