You seized your dream and started your own business, but unfortunately
your “baby” is losing altitude fast. No matter how much you scour
profit-and-loss statements, analyze your data, tweak your advertising,
encourage your employees, or suck up to potential clients, you can’t
move the needle. If you’re looking around wildly for the problem,
Suzanne Evans says it’s time to redirect your focus—to the mirror.
“Your problem isn’t bad luck, bad breaks, bad people, or even a bad
economy. It’s you,” says Evans, author of The Way You Do
Anything Is the Way You Do Everything: The Why of Why Your Business
Isn’t Making More Money (Wiley, February 2014, ISBN:
978-1-118-71426-3, $22.00, www.SuzanneEvans.org).
“Business acumen doesn’t matter as much as who you are and how you play
the game.”
Evans should know. In just five years, she transformed herself from
dissatisfied secretary to owner of a business-coaching firm that has
surpassed the seven-figure mark and is on the Inc. 500 list of
fastest-growing companies. And she did it without any new degrees,
infusions of cash, brilliant partners, or hot new business strategies.
All she had to do was take a good hard look at herself, ferret out her
own mistakes, and pay unrelenting attention to Every. Single. Detail.
“I realized if I changed the way I did things, those things would
inevitably change,” Evans recounts. “It’s true for you, too. Your
profits mirror your choices. Your success mirrors your commitment. Your
cash flow is a reflection of the consistency in everything in your life.”
Here, she shares ten truths to help you get started:
The way you do anything is the way you do everything. “Stop
telling yourself that ‘good enough’ is acceptable or that the little
things don’t matter,” Evans comments. “It’s not and they do. All those
little details add up to make you you.”
Emotions are worthless. If your motivation and enthusiasm are tied to
feeling the warm-and-fuzzies, you’re dead in the water. “You don’t have
time to mope all afternoon when you receive an email from an unhappy
customer, for example,” points out Evans. “You have to keep moving
forward and making smart decisions—and to do that, you need to stop
giving your energy to unhelpful emotions.”
You only think you’re a special snowflake (and that belief is
why you’re failing). If you believe you’re different because of
circumstances that set you apart (health problems, debt, family issues,
a lack of education, etc.), think again. “Problems don’t make you
different; they make you the same as everyone else!” Evans says. “So
stop using your ‘differences’ to justify your lack of money, clients,
growth, etc.”
Playing it safe is for wimps. A lot of entrepreneurs aren’t
willing to gamble the way things are for the way they’d like them
to be. It’s just too scary. “Hello! That’s why you aren’t getting
ahead!” Evans points out. “There is no such thing as wild success
without going out on some shaky-looking limbs. Ask yourself: To get
what I really want, what am I willing to fail at?”
You don’t have what it takes to do it all. Entrepreneurs can be
the ultimate narcissists: No one can pitch to clients as effectively
as I can you think. Or No one is as meticulous with accounts as I
am. But guess what? You don’t have what it takes to run a
business singlehandedly, says Evans. “Ultimately, you have to take a
leap of faith. Hire the smartest, most capable people you can (even if
you’re convinced they aren’t as smart as you!) and trust them to support
you.”
There is no such thing as “right” and “wrong.” Thinkingabout your
business in terms of right/wrong, good/bad, pass/fail isn’t helpful. “In
the real world, outside of the classroom, tests exist to help us
grow—not to determine whether or not we know the right answer,” Evans
points out. “And anyway, what’s right for someone else may not be right
for you and vice versa. Throw the rules out the window, and do what you
think is best for your business.”
Yes, you can spend your way to success. Cover your
financial planner’s ears:Sometimes, money—more than you’re comfortable
spending—is what it takes to jolt your business out of the mediocrity
rut. “I’ve overinvested and overspent on my business many times over the
years,” Evans admits. “When I saw opportunities, I grabbed them,
regardless of whether the expense was ‘prudent’ or success was
guaranteed. And I’ve rarely had any regrets.”
The world needs to know your ugly stepsister story. Many people
believe their personal lives and mistakes don’t have a place in their
businesses. But Evans says the fascinating stuff—the stuff that enables
you to connect—comes when you know someone’s real story. “Don’t
tell the Cinderella version of your story,” she urges. “Tell the ugly
stepsister, warped version. People will connect to your mess and your
pain, and they’ll want to do business with you.”
You don’t know as much as you think you do. When you believe that
you know it all (or most of it), you don’t leave much room for learning
more. And in an age where competency is no longer enough, that’s the
kiss of death. “You can’t be merely good at what you do; you need to be
excellent and maintain your excellence by continuously studying
your craft,” says Evans. “If you don’t actively seek to develop and
deepen your skill set—and many entrepreneurs don’t—you are severely
limiting yourself. Remember, reaching excellence is a choice.”
Goofing off will help you succeed. When you’re bootstrapping a
business, taking a break or (brace yourself) a vacation seems like
outright blasphemy. Do it anyway. “On a daily basis, I recommend closing
your email and doing something fun, like playing Candy Crush or tossing
a football in the hall,” says Evans. “And every three to four months,
you should take entire days off to do something you love. You’ll
always do your best work when you’re relaxed, happy, and experiencing
new things, not when you’re exhausted and stressed.”
“Every success I have had, and every success you will have, is a
reflection of your ability to expand your knowledge, to change your
approach, and to adapt,” concludes Evans. “In other words, your business
is you. So it’s time to face the truth and get on track.”
