You can chop down a 30 foot oak tree, using a hammer, however, it will take you months or maybe years.
Alternatively, you can get a professional tree feller in and they will have that tree down in a matter of hours.
Small business owners and hammers
Most small business owners work hard, putting in lots of hours, trying to chop down their commercial trees with a hammer. They make little progress and feel frustrated, because they know they work just as hard, or harder, than those achieving great success in their industry. Yet, they still insist on using that hammer. They refuse to invest in the key areas of their business, then waste years, looking for free advice on how to use their hammer more effectively.
An alternative approach
The successful minority of small business owners have a 180 degree different attitude, to all the others. Here are just a few very common differences:
- They are guided by what they want, not what they fear.
- They don’t major in minor things.
- They value their time above everything, which is why they refuse to waste it using a hammer.
- They take full responsibility for their business.
- They take action to put things right, rather than bitch about what’s wrong.
- They understand the difference between an investment and a cost, unlike the struggling majority. For example, many small business owners think nothing of spending a grand every year in their local coffee shop, yet refuse to invest in the books or training they need.
Einstein once said; insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. If you want better results, you need to take better actions. I call this doing the right things correctly. Either learn how to identify what you need to change or find someone who already knows, then set to work on putting it right.
Anything else is a waste of your time and less than you deserve.
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Great points you have Jim. So true that people will spend money at their local coffee shops but not think about educational material. I wonder if it is because there is a lot of “gurus” that are looking to make a quick buck and not offer anything of value. It may make people a little concerned to purchase anything even when there are many books that are a valuable asset to their business.
Hi Dawn. In my experience, the decision to choose coffee over essential business development is all about fear.
Those who invest in their businesses and those who don’t, are often not divided by money. They are divided by what they focus on.
One sees investment in important commercial knowledge as risky.
One sees failing to invest as risky.
The same is true of those business owners, who go broke “saving money” by refusing to hire the expert help they need.
Thanks for such a wonderful comment.
I can see it being about fear. I know in the beginning for me, I bought too many guru books that really didn’t get me any closer. That was when I was learning. Then I had the fear of buying stuff (and yes chose the coffee) because I had purchased useless stuff at first. I then realized that I needed to invest in business or I would not grow.
I have learned now how to spot the difference between the supposed gurus looking to make a quick buck and real valuable information.
I guess you can say at one point I was in the first classification and then now I am in the second. Live and learn, sometimes it is fail then succeed!
I think part of developing the business acumen required to thrive (or even survive today) is learning who is worth listening too.
The best filter I discovered is to never forget: Anyone making claims that you can achieve a lot, by doing a little, is full of shit.
Jim,
I think so many business owners are creatures of habit just like the rest of the world. Doing things a certain way for so long brings comfort and familiarity. Any deviance from that brings anxiety and worry into their lives even if its the better way of doing things.
I often consult with a systems expert and he finds it the most difficult part of his job. Even after demonstrating the benefits of doing things in a different way the change is hard to accept.
I hear that a lot too, Tommy.
Fear of change and/or refusal to leave your various comfort zones – VERY bad mix for a business owner.
Jim, my business is in the tech industry, so it’s always about changing and adapting and then teaching others hwo to do the same. But, as Tommy mentioned, I can be a real creature of habit about the actual running of my business. I believe that I can fall prey to the notion that “I do things in a way that makes perfect sense to me and gets the to do list checked off, so why should I change?” mindset and that’s when my business starts to sag. A biz coach becomes invaluable at that point to help me see what I can’t see because I’m too wrapped up in getting things done.
And just to prove the truth behind your metaphor, I have watched a guy with an 18″ handsaw, no ropes and no helmet take 4 days to remove maybe half of a 50 foot tree in a garden I can see from my office window. You’d really think, wouldn’t you?