Favourite Business Quotes

On the heels of another wonderful holiday long weekend I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my favourite quotes.  The truth is these long weekends often times are more tiring than relaxing and lightening up the weekly blog seems to be the appropriate thing to do. 

Enjoy, and I would love to hear some of your favourites…

·         “The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place”. – Orison Swett Marden

·         “The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thoughts on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.” – Dennis Waitley

·         “A man should never neglect his family for business.” – Walt Disney

·         “When I asked my accountant if anything could get me out of this mess I am in with my business, he thought for a long time and said, ‘Yes, death would help’” – Robert Morley

·         “Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it’s about trading: buying and selling.” – Anita Roddick

·         “The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” – Henry Ford

·         “You’ve got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It’s called perseverance.” – Lee Iacocca

·         “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” – Babe Ruth

And my current favourite…

“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.” – Peter F. Drucker

Do you have a small business question you would like answered about this article or others?

Bill Sivell is a salesperson with VR Windsor Inc. [www.vrwindsor.com] 519-903-7807, which sells businesses to buyers across Canada and around the world. His 14-year career includes diverse senior management positions in marketing, advertising, sales management and operations management. His blog appears every Tuesday.

 

Who will survive?

Business owners have to be strong, optimistic and provide leadership in difficult times.

Many businesses are going through very tough times with no end in sight.  But as we know, as bad a situation as people may be in, it can always be worse – much worse. 

Business owners who are…

Strong:  Have a solid balance sheet and manageable debt.  They have reinvested in their business, equipment, technology and they have planned in advance to weather economic downturns.

Optimistic:  Have continued to search for new opportunities.  They realize what has worked in the past may not work in the future, but are confident they will find a way to succeed.  They are willing to bet on themselves.

Leaders:  Have strong relationships with employees and managers.  They lead by example and people are willing to trust their guidance, and vision for the future. 

Business owners also need to seek good advice and make smart decisions to keep their businesses surviving until things improve. 

Or, in some cases, they might have to consider selling their company before the situation gets even worse.

Do you have a small business question you would like answered about this article or others?

Bill Sivell is a salesperson with VR Windsor Inc. [www.vrwindsor.com] 519-903-7807, which sells businesses to buyers across Canada and around the world. His 14-year career includes diverse senior management positions in marketing, advertising, sales management and operations management. His blog appears every Tuesday.

 

Fresh Ideas Necessary

Unfortunately, there are businesses whose market has changed so drastically that their products or services now have limited demand.  And it might not be the slow economy!

Those business owners may have to consider a whole new business model and get into research and creative thinking mode.

There are a couple of places a business owner could start:

·         Internet – probably the easiest and fastest way to get creative.

·         Peer groups – every local municipality have networking groups filled with like-minded entrepreneurs.  Sharing your challenges and thoughts will surely produces a different ideas.

·         Competition – there is no shame in copying a good idea.  I didn’t invent blogging; I copied the idea and made it personal to me.

·         Provincial/Regional Economic Development offices (also the Chamber of Commerce) – often times they have people on staff specifically there to help you.  In a way you are already paying for the service, you should use it.

·         Customers – ask the people that use your product or service, they are the ones that can give you the most info and ideas.

·         Employees – create an environment that fosters ideas is great, but take the next step ask outright.  You might be surprised with what you get.

Spending the time using some or all of the above resources will help ensure you never find your business’ products or services redundant.

Do you have small business questions you would like answered about this article or others?  Please visit www.VRWindsor.com or call 519-903-7807. 

William Sivell is a sales representative of VR Windsor Inc., Business Brokerage; his blog appears every Tuesday.

Being a Leader is more than just being in Charge

Being a business owner is no easy tasks.  Yes, the rewards can be great, but there are many sacrifices made along the way to achieve those rewards.  It’s not for everyone, but those business owners who do succeed and those aspiring entrepreneurs who will become masters of their own destiny all must become great leaders in their own way.

Recently, I found some interesting information I wanted to share with you.  I cannot take credit for the information, as it’s coming to you 3^rd hand (and I don’t know it’s original source), but it was shared with me very early in my business career and I think very relevant to small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs:

1)   Understand that, at the end of the day, leadership is all about relationship: 

People will not follow you if they don’t trust you.  Showing leadership in your work means that building high-trust relationships is Job#1.  To cultivate these bonds, peak performing leaders remember that the little things are the big things when it comes to building loyalty.  Here’s the key: if you simply fill the needs of your staff, they will remain with you until someone who can do it better comes along.  But if you deeply connect with them as an individual, they just might remain with you for life.

2)   Remember leaders strive for mastery over mediocrity.

The quality of your professional life ultimately comes down to the quality of the choices that you make every minute of every hour of every day.  Our highest personal endowment is the ability to choose our response to a given event.  We can choose to get angry with a difficult staffer, or we can see this as an opportunity to deepen the relationship by dealing with the problem in a creative, effective way so that the staffer is impressed enough to tell the world, positively, about your management style, and you.

3)   Stop doing what is easy, and focus on doing what is right.

Weak performers spend their time taking the path of least resistance.  Bold leaders are different.  They know that the tougher you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you.  When you have the courage to do what your heart tells you is the right thing to do in every instance, rather than doing what is easy, you will raise the quality of your professional life to a whole new level.

4)   Smart leaders know that the time is now.

If you don’t act on life.  Life has a habit of acting on you.  The days slip into weeks, the weeks slip into months, and the months slip into years.    You can, most assuredly, influence today and in turn tomorrow.  Those who act now, find their way to success.

Do you… or can you… master 1 through 4?  Everyone can be a good leader, and be successful in business with a little drive and perseverance. The answer ultimately rests on how committed and focused you are at achieving you goals. 

Do you have small business questions you would like answered about this article or others?  Please visit www.VRWindsor.com or call 519-903-7807. 

William Sivell is a sales representative of VR Windsor Inc., Business Brokerage; his blog appears every Tuesday.