New Business Development – Page 12

Failure Isn’t The End

For every plant
I wish to grow,
I plant three seeds.

In nature,
failure is often
the default.
It is natural,
the way of things.

In business,
unfortunately,
failure is also often
the default.

More businesses fail
than succeed.

MANY more.

Because we often don’t see
the businesses that failed
before they were opened.

And EVERY successful business builder
has failed at a business,
usually at more than one business.

I’ve failed at hundreds
of businesses
from the vegetable selling business
I started when I was eight
to the Romance Novel business
I’m closing due to low sales
next year.

But that’s okay
because I kept trying
and eventually
I was successful with a couple
of businesses.

And that success made
my investment in and learning from
the failures
worthwhile.

Failure is part of
an entrepreneur’s journey.
It isn’t the end of it.

Keep going.

Just In Case

I watered the garden
last evening.

Today, it rained.

I suspected it might rain.
The forecasts said it might.
But there was a chance
it wouldn’t rain.

And I knew
another day without water
would hurt,
perhaps even kill
some of the plants.

So I ‘wasted’ that water
(not really as it was
taken from a rain barrel
that refilled with the rain)
and I wasted my time.

Because that ‘cost’
was less than
the cost of killing my plants.

There are some events
in our future
that might, if they happen,
severely impact our businesses,
perhaps even kill them.

Act as though
they will happen.

Yes, that means
you’ll waste resources
if they don’t happen,
but the cost of not doing anything
far outweighs
the cost of doing something
for no reason.

Prepare for these events.

There Will ALWAYS Be ‘Businesses’ To Build

Yesterday,
I mentioned I planned to
build businesses
and manage projects
until I’m dead.

In the past,
I’ve also talked about
how climate change,
various pandemics,
fascism
and other events
will kick our a$$es.

You might be thinking
these two stances
contradict each other.
We can’t build businesses
during an apocalyptic-like event.

Actually, yes,
yes, we CAN build ‘businesses’
during an apocalyptic-like event.

These ‘businesses’ won’t likely
have financial profit
as their goals.
The goal will likely be
survival.

But organizing people
toward reaching a common goal
will be necessary.

Managing people
will be necessary.

Motivating people
will be necessary.

Innovation will be necessary.

Then more than ever.

Because our survival will be
at stake.

There will always be
a ‘business’ to build.

The skills and experience
you’re gaining
are invaluable.

Put Memory Prompting Systems In Place Now

A loved one
is getting to the age
where she forgets a lot of things.

This is extremely
distressing to her.

I suggested she maintain
a to do list.

She told me
she tried that.

The issue was…
she always forgot
to craft the to do list.

In contrast,
I’ve had a to do list
since I was a child.

I don’t feel right
if I don’t have one.

I doubt I’ll ever forget
to craft a to do list.

Put your memory prompting systems
in place NOW,
long before you ever need them

Create and maintain
those habits.

We’re business builders.
We’ll likely build businesses
and manage projects
until we’re dead.

Set up systems
now
to make that easier.

Entrepreneurs Never Truly Retire

I told a buddy
I was winding down
the romance novel business.

She asked me,
“What business
are you starting next?”

I grinned.
Because the odds are good
I WILL be starting
another venture,
whether it is for profit
or as a total give back
to the world.

Because that is what
entrepreneurs
and other business builders
do
– we build businesses.

And that doesn’t stop
at a certain age.

Keeping Happiness To Yourself

I’ve been doing something
healthy AND fun
for myself
every day.

I’m excited about
this change.
It fills me
with joy.

I’ve only told
one other person
about it.

Why?

Because most people
can’t resist
decimating other people’s happiness.

They offer suggestions
on how to make that happy thing
‘better.’

They tell us
everything wrong
with that happy thing.

If that happy thing
is a goal
like starting an exciting new business,
they tell us
why it will fail.

They might believe
they’re ‘helping.’
They might believe
they’re being supportive.

They aren’t.
They’re destroying our happiness.

Only tell people
you absolutely trust
with your joy
about the wonderful changes
you’re making
in your life.

This includes
the business
you’re starting.

Protect your happiness.

The Speed Of Change

A buddy said to me,
yesterday,
“The world is changing
so f*cking fast.
I can’t keep up.”

The world IS changing
more quicky
than it has in the past.

But that change
is still very, very slow.

The reason it seems
like it is changing
so f*cking fast
is because
we HAVEN’T been keeping up.

We haven’t been
paying attention
or taking the previous changes
seriously.

Experts have been warning
about the US
falling to fascism
for decades.

We simply didn’t pay attention
to them
until the Supreme Court
gave the US President
King-like powers.

Scientists have been warning
about climate change
for over a century.

We mocked and derided them
until we got a monster hurricane
in the same day
as widespread floods
and fires.

Even the pandemic was predicted.
Experts warned we were due
for a world-wide pandemic.

If we want our businesses
to survive
and flourish
in the future,
we have to pay attention
to experts
and to the less-impactful changes
happening all around us.

The signs are there.
Heed them.

Write It Down

With repeated COVID infections
all damaging the brain
combined
with all the disasters
worrying and distracting us,
the world is getting
stupider.

We have to offset
that stupid.

How?

One solid tactic
is to write down everything
and to force those around us
– employees, partners, suppliers –
to write things down also.

Document systems,
strategies, customer interactions,
cold calling scripts,
everything that is important
to the running of our businesses.

Then make it easy
for people to access
that information.
Ensure databases are accessible
and searchable.

Write everything critical
down.
You’ll need that documentation.

Taylor Swift And Living Life Your Way

Newsweek published an article
about Taylor Swift
in which they said,

“At 34, Swift remains
unmarried and childless,
a fact that some might argue
is irrelevant to her status
as a role model.
But, I suggest,
it’s crucial to consider
what kind of example
this sets for young girls.”

They would never
write that
about a male performer.
(Though they might
be driven to write one
to offset the bad publicity
over this article.)

If Taylor Swift
was married and had kids,
they would criticize
her for going on tour
and ‘neglecting’ her family.

If she produced music
while being at home
with a spouse and kids,
they would criticize that decision
for the same reason.

Women can’t win
over everyone.

We’ll always have someone
(usually a white man)
criticizing what we’re doing.

So live the life
YOU want.

Build your business
the way YOU want
to build it.

Find your own happiness
and stop listening
to small-minded,
insecure people.

Be free.

Plan For Political Change

Trump will likely
be elected
in the US.

PP will likely
be elected
in Canada.

The big media,
in both countries,
are trying their
d@mnedst
to make that happen.

The big media
is controlled
by the billionaires
and big business.

The changes
won’t be pleasant
for non-billionaire entrepreneurs
or for small to mid-sized business.

But we WILL survive
those changes,
especially if we plan
for them.

Look at what
those two candidates
and those two parties
are proposing.

Take those proposals
seriously.

And devise plans
to deal with those changes.

Prepare for change.