New Business Development – Page 25

Buying Equipment That Can Be Used For Any Business

I tend to build businesses
using very little initial funds
so I’m careful
about investing in equipment.

I’m extremely careful
about investing in equipment
that can only be used
for one specific business.

If I know I can use
that equipment
in multiple businesses,
I tend to invest in it
with less hesitation.

I have a small paper shredder
that I bought three decades ago,
for example.

I’ve used it
in dozens of my businesses.
And I still use it today.

I suspect, if I’m cash strapped,
I could sell it
for close to what
I originally paid for it.

It has been a great investment
for me.

Ask yourself
if you can use the piece
of equipment
in a variety of businesses.

If you can,
consider investing in it
(looking at the used options first).

Assume A Change In Leadership

My household is working
to install
solar this year.

Why this year?

Because the current government
provides HUGE incentives
to install solar.

And I can’t be certain
the current government
will remain in power.

I have to assume they won’t.

So I’m taking advantage
of all the programs
we currently have.

Assume your leadership
will change.

Ensure you maximize
your usage of current programs.

Your Goals ARE Important

The world is a f*cked up place
right now.

There’s talk of a world war.
The pandemic continues to disable
or kill
people around us.
There are fires and floods
and a gazillion other things
happening.

What is the point
of building our businesses?
Do those goals and other goals matter?

Yes, they matter.
They matter to US.

We’re building businesses
and working toward our goals
because that’s important to us.

That’s one of the ways we’re changing
the world for the better.

And we have some control
over
the building of our businesses
and the achieving of our goals.

We have very little control
over
the other sh*t that’s happening
in this world.

Your goals ARE important.
Allocate time and energy and other resources
to achieving them.

2024 Goal/Resolution Reminder

It is February 20th.
We’re approaching
the end of this short month.

Take action on
at least one
of your 2024 goals or resolutions.

The action can be big
or it can be small.

The important thing
is progression.

You’re moving toward
a goal that is important to you.

Take action on
a 2024 today.

Respect The Competition

I’ve talked about
how some business builders
are using AI
to ethically and legally
create many versions of the same book
and then sell those versions.

This activity,
of course,
decreases my book sales.
The market is being flooded
with books.
It is more challenging
for my books to be discovered.

I don’t LIKE the deluge
of AI books.

But I can still ADMIRE
the strategies
these book creators are using.

The competition
is valid competition
for a reason.
They’re doing something right.

Acknowledge that.
Respect them.
Learn from them.

There IS A Solution

One of the big issues
with using AI
to produce books
is it requires existing books
to guide or train it.

Using those books
is copyright infringement.

That’s a HUGE legal
and ethical problem.

So some clever business builders
now pay for a ghostwriter
to write a novel.

Then they use THAT original story
to create
5, 10, 30 AI copies.

And they publish those stories
under 5, 10, 30 pen names.

The copyright problem
is solved.

Right now, you are likely
struggling with a problem.

Know that there likely IS
a solution
for that problem.

Continue searching for it.

Advice Is Early

When I talk here
about things like
the pandemic
or climate change
or shifts in the workforce,
I am almost always
early
with any advice
I give.

This is intentional.

Because making changes
in our businesses
takes time,
especially if we want
to make them
in the most resource efficient way.

There is no point
advising you
to prepare
for something
and giving you
no time to prepare.

The best advice
is advice
given early.

Don’t expect
events
to immediately occur.

Knowing The Future

Some events in the future
are easy to predict.

Water will become
more valuable,
for example.

The number of disabled people
will increase,
as another example.

But the average person
doesn’t want to know
the future,
especially if it is bad
and
especially if they have
to change
to avoid that bad.

You and I
and other leaders
are different.

We’re building businesses
for the future.

We increase our probability
of success
if we know what that future
looks like.

Plan for the future.

COVID, Brain Damage And Business Building

COVID causes brain damage.
EVERY bout, no symptoms, mild, severe,
damages our brain.

If you haven’t noticed it,
well…that’s not great.

I HAVE noticed it.
I’ve had COVID
at least twice
and I suffered brain damage
after each bout.

The brain damage
was, thankfully, slight.
My writing ‘voice’ had changed.
My tempo, choice of words,
pace had shifted.

I added a couple steps
to my process after that.
I read a before-COVID-written story
and then the about-to-be-edited story
and I ensure the writing is consistent.

Consider putting processes
in place
to deal with your hopefully slight
after COVID
brain damage
also.

And if you’re saying to yourself
that you don’t need this,
that you won’t or don’t
suffer from brain damage,
then I suspect you REALLY need it.

That’s not a happy realization
but accepting that will help you
to not only cope
but also achieve the success
you want for yourself.