You’re at a networking group and people are doing their 60 second elevator speeches. Laurie begins by saying, “Hi, I’m Laurie and I ‘m a graphic artist and I can design your marketing materials.

A few minutes later Jennifer introduces herself and says, “Hi I’m Jennifer and I own ABC graphic arts and we provide for all of your marketing needs”.

What’s the biggest difference you notice between these two speeches? One person is a graphic artist and the other owns a graphic arts business.  How does it feel different when someone says “I,” as opposed to “we”? It feels like Laurie does everything herself  whereas it sounds like Jennifer has a staff and a team.

Laurie is likely to accept jobs based on what she can do herself; her skill level and her time. Jennifer may not even be an artist herself. Maybe she is a manager and hires people to do all the work. Who is likely to say  yes more often?  Jennifer will,  because she’ll find someone who knows how to do the job even if she can’t herself.

I order to move from self-employment to business you need to let go of the idea that you do everything yourself. You can hire someone, contract with someone or develop an allaince with somone, but whatever your choice, say yes whenever you can and then find a way to meet the needs of your clients.

Are you tired of struggling, wondering why people are not beating down your door to buy your wonderful services or products?

Maybe you have done heaps of networking and you feel you have put a lot of energy into your marketing but it still isn’t bringing in the number of customers you need to have a prosperous business.

You may be like many service based business owners who are struggling to get people to hear about you and to hire you for your services.  You know you offer amazing products and services,  so why isn’t your office flooded with new people who would benefit?  Why isn’t your phone ringing off the wall?

You think that by specializing you will be narrowing your market too small and other people won’t hire you. This fear is normal, however it  is also  a gross thinking error. In fact the opposite is true. When you market yourself as a specialist your potential clients will actually assume:

1.  You are an expert in your field. People will always choose to work with an expert if they have the choice.

2.  You carry a greater authority in your profession. You are the one that people look to for answers in your area if expertise

3. You have more proficiency and skill as people assume that  it takes extra training to specialize.

4.  You have more knowledge and learning and this can instill greater confidence in your customers who want to feel safe and assured.

5.  You have a more distinct profile in your community and people will see you as more of a leader.

Specialists earn more money, they get asked to present more often and they have greater esteem.  Get past your fear and begin to develop a marketing plan based on your specialty. Make sense?

The most important and essential trait of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to face problems.  You might think, “well, this doesn’t sound like much fun.”  You’re right. Dealing with problems is not much fun but there isn’t a day goes by that there aren’t multiple issues to deal with and problems to overcome.  It’s part of being a business owner.

My business has been like a full-time professional growth seminar. I am forced to look at my fears and insecurities everyday and face the demons inside. It would be so much easier to just have a job and collect a pay check, however we are a different stock of people. We thrive on the challenge of solving problems. A really successful entrepreneur says, “Bring them on!”

When a particularly hard problem comes up sometimes it can feel like just too much to deal with. Money stress is my biggest demon. I can handle everything else much easier. When that one hits I feel like I’m being pulled into a vortex and can lose my equilibrium.  There are actually three choices when faced with this level of challenge.

1. You can quit. No one says you have to stay in business. You have free choice to sell out or close up shop and get a job.

2. Climb in bed and pull down the shades.  Do nothing and avoid the issue. Not a great choice but we all do this every so often.

3. Take action and do whatever it takes to face the challenge, overcome the problem and be the success you are meant to be.

Remembering these three choices makes it easier. My committment is to choose number three and do whatever it takes, get up, make a plan and overcoming whatever obstacle seems to be in my way.

I came very close to canceling my subscription to the newspaper this past week. Too many stories of fear and failure and not enough about people who are doing well. Not sure what makes the public enjoy reading all those hard luck stories but people do seem to be attracted to it.  Maybe people keep their own fears shoved down somewhere and  so reading about someone else losing their job or becoming homeless makes them feel relieved that it’s not them.  I don’t know, but it isn’t inspiring that’s for sure. My favorite part of the paper is Stone Soup and the crossword puzzle and I am not willing to give up either of those yet!

The truth is that some business owners are doing very well these days. What makes one business do well and another go belly up? There can be many reasons but here are a few thoughts on this mysterious question.

1.  Some businesses get attached to their products or services  and keep trying to figure out how to sell them even when it seems apparent that people don’t want them. They may be really good and amazing but that doesn’t mean people will reach their hand into their wallet and buy. The key is to have a variety of wares and not put all your eggs in one basket. Be willing to change your offering and/or add embellishments to attract more attention.

2.  Investing in your own business will keep it fresh and alive. I read an article recently about a woman who owns a little bookshop and made herself distinctive by having live music on Saturday nights. As soon as her sales began to drop she cut out the Saturday night music. This was a mistake because it was one thing that was working. Constricting and cutting too much can cut the heart out of your business. Investing in getting help, re-freshing and taking risks in  your own behalf is one thing that can make your business do well even in so called hard times.

3. Strengthen the weakest part of your business. It could be that you are focusing all your attention on  the areas you feel comfortable with and you are ignoring the areas you don’t enjoy. A web builder I worked with recently was spending all of her time on learning new skills and polishing her technical expertise. Her office was a mess, however, and her invoices were scattered. Once she tidied her office and put in organizational systems  that she could follow, her whole business began to pick up and she got so busy she had to hire an assistant.

Those are a few of my ideas.  All good businesses have strong vision and goals but it also is important to know how to overcome obstacles.  Maybe you have some of your own ideas that you could share.