Are you interested in a better future for your business?
OR a better future for you?
Far too often we see people striving for success in their business only to find that this does not necessarily translate to a better life them.
Are you assuming better business results will automatically translate to
a better future for you?
The first step in getting better results is to be clear about what you want to achieve from one or more businesses
- At one end of the scale, you may be looking to “buy yourself a job”
- At the other end of the scale, you may be looking for more lifestyle
The Entrepreneurial Myth
How often have we seen some work hard to create a successful business only to find that they feel their business owns them rather than the other way around?
The risks they took, the sweat equity they put in did not result in fulfilling the dream they had when they started. They are stuck struggling to survive – feeling the burden of their debt and the need to put bread on the table – and asking: when is this going to change?
Too often, we consider business success without considering whether this is taking the owner of the business closer to the life they’d really like to be living.
Change is relentless
New technology constantly and rapidly out dates existing industries and paves the way for new industries. Unforeseen events such as COVID can decimate the wealth invested in industries such as travel and deprive many of the livelihood they previously enjoyed.
Who wants to take the risk of going into business?
What safe return can you expect on your investments?
For those lucky enough to exit a successful business with cash in hand, what kind of safe return can be expected on that cash (compare that with the case that existed 20-30 years ago)?
So what is the answer?
Start with Why
That sounds trite, but it really is the most important (often ignored) first step – because in life you tend to get what you focus on.
Ask yourself WHY am I doing what I am doing?
And How could I set up the future I would really like?
The Bottom Line
Decide how you’d like to live and then think about the strategies that could help you to achieve that lifestyle!
Think about what you’d like to be able to do more of
For example
- How can you set yourself up so that you can create more great memories, relationships and experiences with those you care about?
- How can you make a greater difference in the lives of others
Begin with the End in Mind
Assuming you do want to achieve this seemingly Utopian “better future”, in most cases you will be currently stuck struggling to put bread on the table and not completely confident about what the future holds – right?
The key here is not to let the short-term urgent prevent you from devoting a small part of your day working to your longer-term important.
So, what strategy will most predictably & safely produce the results you desire?
It’s tempting to think that it’s going to be a killer idea that you invent.
Or that you require some incredible talent to make it happen.
Experience has shown over and over that truly great ideas fail more often than they succeed – often after considerable investment of time and money.
Consider an alternative
Build a team of team building advocates
That is a network of Know Like & Trusted relationships that will advocate for you not just your business.
Say what? ‘A team of team building advocates’. That’s a big mouthful!
When you build a team of team building advocates
- An ever-increasing number of influential others will advocate for you to help you succeed in whatever endeavour you discover and choose to pursue (this could even be an enhancement to what you are currently doing)
- Change your thinking (better results usually requires different thinking)
- Network first, expecting to discover great ideas. Rather than starting with an idea you think ‘can’t fail’ and building a network to support that idea
- When you build your network and in the process look for ideas that must tick certain personal end result boxes, you will be surprised what ideas you discover, discard and pursue
- Imagine having an increasing number of people advocating for you (rather than your business). These people find it easy to advocate for you because they have seen you build your network. In particular, they have seen
- You adopt the motto: “Advocate for others first” thereby building trusted relationships
- You have integrity – you do what you say you are going to do!
- You have proven that you have the ability to put in consistent effort
Understand the difference between Networking and Network Building
How do you see networking?
- Building an ever-increasing number of “connections” on LinkedIn?
- How well does that strategy work to build Know Like and Trust relationships with people who will advocate for you?
- Attending (virtual or physical) networking events
- If so are you attending with a once-off intention – out of curiosity or hoping to meet an ideal contact?
- Are you content if the network to which you belong remains relatively stagnant – in other words, you can only build relationships with the same old people who attend every week/month?
- Or are you hoping others will expand the network so you have more people to meet (just so long as you don’t have to do that yourself)?
- How would you see such a network as helping you achieve a better future?
- Is building long-term relationships a natural part of what you do?
- In other words, over many years you have built many know like and trust relationships?
- If you are honest, how many of these close relationships actually proactively advocate for you on a regular basis?
- Or do they help only when you ask them to?
- Building a team of team building advocates?
- As you gain more experience in the culture of the Connect Collaborative, the power of this approach will become increasingly clear & exciting in terms of helping you achieve the future you desire in just a few years
The post-COVID environment provides the opportunity to see things differently!