Here’s an unusual way to grow your business

Much has been said about the value of learning from the success of others. Rightly so. If someone has already achieved something, which you want to achieve, there are surely things you can learn from their journey.

However, there is another way to learn. In many ways it’s more powerful too.

Learning from the failure of others

The average small business owner is, by default, average. They work hard, but fail to achieve meaningful success. If you want to avoid offering average services to average people for average fees – study the average business…. then don’t do what they do!

Use their month to month struggle as motivation to succeed. Use their mistakes as a powerful warning of what to avoid.

Here’s what we know about the average small business owner:

• They have a business that is largely indistinguishable from their competitors.
• They attract far fewer word of mouth referrals than successful business owners.
• They think poor cash flow and over demanding clients are just part of being in business, rather than a sign of amateur marketing.
• They wish things would improve, rather than investing in progress.
• They complain about their situation… but refuse to do what’s needed, to turn things around.
• They are able to name the stars of their favourite TV show, but can’t name who their best prospective clients are.
• They dabble with areas of their business, where they clearly need expert help.

If you are tired of working hard and making too little progress, stop! Ask yourself why you are working hard, using an approach that isn’t generating the results you want.

If you have lots of time and lots of money, you can do this yourself over a period of years, through trial and error. If you aren’t that wealthy or you value your time, invest in the expert help you need and get on target immediately.

Remember: Hard work alone is not the secret of success. If it was, our grandparents would have been millionaires.