I spend a lot of time speaking to business owners, individually and in large forums, and the one question I’ll often ask is  “How many of them  consider themselves to be not only a business owner but an Entrepreneur?”. No doubt 100% of their hands will go up. Then their eyes widen with confusion as to why I would be asking them such a question. But I have found over the many discussions, coaching sessions, and speeches with them, that what they thought they were and what they acted as in their business was two completely different roles, and in most cases their business owner role was not delivering them the results they expected or wanted from business ownership.

I go on to provide them a typical definition of an entrepreneur and allow them to initially assess for themselves as to whether or not they would characterize themselves as an entrepreneur.

So first is the standard definition: “An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability to the inherent risks and the outcome“.

As we dissect the definition and they begin to assess themselves on just that, a number of the hands go down.
Why? The key part of that definition where many fall short on is the ‘accountability to the inherent risk and outcome”. Many of them admit to falling short in the risk and accountability area. Yes, there is risk in starting a business, however often times their tolerance for risk and even accountability stops there. Once started up, and now executing and being on their own (literally) they begin to take little risk (especially as the economy slides). More importantly because they no longer have someone to report to they also slip in taking accountability for their actions or lack there of. Both lack of risk and accountability causes them to slow in execution, falter on critical follow-up, lax in getting out and getting the sale, and in other areas of their business.

Does this at all sound like you? Are you sure you are doing the entrepreneurial things in your business that will help you to succeed and grow. Not saying that there won’t be tough times and challenges, but entrepreneurs are adaptive, flexible and able to adjust to change.

CALL TO ACTION: See the attached Self-Assessment and if for only yourself, take it and see where you fall. And now that you know, you can learn, delegate or hire the skills needed. Then assess yourself in 6 months after you have worked on those skills. You will be surprised at the improvement you and your business can make. Creation-of-Entrepreneur-Assessment

I myself would add a couple of my own key differentiators between business owners (who react) to entrepreneurs (who plan and look forward):

• Entrepreneurs generate great value for their business
• Entrepreneurs focus on growth versus survival
• Entrepreneurs innovate as opposed to stagnate
• Entrepreneurs know you have to spend money to make money (no cutting off of marketing/sales efforts)
• Entrepreneurs set goals and plan each and every day

Whether you are a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur, you you can make small changes today that will amount to big gains tomorrow, by working ON your business, rather than working IN the business.

Attached is also a brief Summary of the Challenges with Tips and Call to Actions you can consider. Creation-of-the-Entrepreneur-Challenges

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Have you read this book?
E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.

If you are a new business owner or a long term one and have not read this book, it has to be the first thing you buy and read once you have finished reading this newsletter:)

It is one of the simplest but most impactful guides for any small business; including yours.

Here is Michael’s take and categorization of Business Owners - which one are you?

“The Entrepreneur is the visionary….The Entrepreneur lives in the future, rarely in the present. The Entrepreneur is the innovator, the grand strategist, the creator of new methods…. The entrepreneurial personality turns the most trivial condition into an exceptional opportunity.”

“The Manager lives in the past…The Manager craves order…The Manager invariably sees the problems. The Manager builds a house and then lives in it, forever.The managerial personality is pragmatic.”

“The Technician is the doer…  “If you want it done right, do it yourself” is the Technicians credo. To the Technician, thinking is unproductive… The Technician isn’t interested in ideas, he is interested in “how to do it.”"

My Summary -
Reality is as you start your business you will play the Technician and even the other two roles. The key is to work yourself UP the chain from working IN your business as a technician, to working ON your business as an Entrepreneur. At that point you will be planning, mitigating, strategizing, and positioning yourself to grow and prosper no matter what the economic climate.

Check out this book, you can even buy it from the below. It is an easy read and even more valuable tool for your business. I GUARANTEE you that you will see changes in your business immediately! Let me know and hold me to it.
Bernadette

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“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.” Jim Rohn

To date through this last month we worked on defining your Strategic Plan. Our focus was on defining your Vision for your business and life, the Mission or Purpose you have for your life, and the Values that are important to you and your business acumen that would be key to the success of your business.

The purpose of doing that is it helps you understand:

• Where are you heading for your business and life
• When do you want get there
• Why is it important to you
• Who will benefit from the product or services and business you provide

Now you want to lay out  What value, reward, or result will it bring to you and How are you going to get there. It is time to clearly and specifically state the Goals you have for yourself, your business/career, your financial freedom, your family and personal life, and as important your Health and Fitness.

All of those factors play a major role in your overall productivity, focus, energy, and ultimately success. When one is out of balance the rest of the areas of your life suffers. Think about it:

• When you do not feel good your productivity drops, your family is impacted by it, and new or continued business is at risk.
• When your business is slow or declining, it impacts your energy, stability, and confidence, which impacts your health, interactions with folks, etc.
• We could go on, but try it yourself….. if only one of those factors are skewed the others will be impacted negatively

So, when laying out your goals, do not just consider Revenue, Income, Profit, Customers and other business goals. Ensure you set goals for your Family/Relationships, Health/Fitness, and Personal Life. Even your spiritual life should be considered.

This will be so much easier to do now that you have a clear idea of your Vision, Mission and Values for your business and life. BUT the goals will give you the  road map for realizing those things. Your goals will tell you what your result and reward will be, as well what then you need to do to accomplish those goals.

Call to Action:

• Define 1 major goal for each of the areas above (and 1 year goals - for focus and practice)
• Once you have those, outline what you need to accomplish tactically in order to accomplish those goals
• Then of course you will need to even prioritize those lists of tasks and activities, as you will have many.
• Lastly, focus ONLY on those top tasks that will get you to your 1 year goal. All others can wait!

Having this laid out will provide you energy, focus, clarity, excitement, and overall motivation to pursue your goals with confidence.

You are on your way with a great simple Strategic Plan……

In the month of October we will discuss tools, forums, techniques, and tips for optimizing your productivity toward accomplishing your goals, so you can achieve your dreams.

Have fun, and best of luck

Bernadette

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