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7 ways to keep your business and trade
skills ahead of the pack Avoid stagnation as your business grows; learn how to change as your business grows When you start a business, it is easy to be pulled in different directions. One of the fundamental strategies of keeping your trade skills ahead of the game is to have an insatiable desire to learn. If you want your business to be profitable, learn the acquisition of wealth. It’s important to know that those who achieved success did not do it by accident. You owe it to yourself to take time to reflect on your work and do yourself an appraisal, or else there is no HR department to make you. It’s easy to focus on many other aspects of your business but yourself. This could be because things are going well or you are trying to figure out where you are going wrong but don’t seem to be able to identify the problem. Instead of worrying about personal development, aren’t you just better tackling that pile of unpaid-invoices? You need to know that you are the most important resource your business will ever need. Neglecting your own personal development is like failing to service a vital piece of machinery that your business can’t operate without. It’s a sure setup for failure in the long run as this machine will break or stop working at some time and point. Failing to keep up to speed with the latest development in your industry will result in frustration, loss of enthusiasm, stress and even depression, affecting the way you run your business in a negative way. So as well as pulling together a business plan or marketing plan for your new business, you should also learn to work hard on yourself even more than you work on your business. Discipline is the master key If there is one critical ingredient for your business success it is discipline. Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment . . . the glue that binds inspiration to achievement. You should learn from other people’s success as well as their failures. We are now in the information age where trends are changing at a tremendous pace than ever before. There are various ways you can learn from others including published literature such as books, cd’s and videos (both physical and streaming). Constantly seek new ways to become better by listening to the wisdom of others. You can learn from others by simply observing them, because success leaves clues as they say. Set yourself goals Determine what you want within the next 12 months even more, but 12 months is a good place to start. Ask yourself as an individual, not a business – what do I want to have achieved this time next year? What do I want to be? What do I want to see? What do I want to have? Got the idea? What particular skills do you want to acquire; lessons you want to learn or experiences you want to have? Perhaps you want to learn online marketing, or how to build your own website. It is likely to be a mixture of different things and the answers may be thrown up by the skills audit you should do when you first consider setting up your business. Break your goals down You see, what you want is a powerful motivator. Once you have settled your goals, it makes it easier to work out how you can actually do it. Review them once a week to see if they are still realistic and if you are taking active steps toward their realisation. You will probably see goal setting is not a one-time task with the results set in concrete. Instead, its’ a continuous process and you should be able to analyse and refine what you are subsequently doing. Be a student of personal development Acquiring new skills doesn’t just give you more practical abilities. This is what will keep you going, each time you feel discouraged, listen to or watch some motivational message. The process of learning boosts self- esteem increases your confidence and stimulates the mind. Whether you choose distance learning; online training, life long learning sector courses or training seminars you and your business will benefit if you put aside time for training. Rely on your networks When you run your own business there is no one to share the pain with when things go wrong. You will suffer setbacks. But know this, a setback is only a set up for a come back. You will get frustrated. And when this happens, fear grips you and you start to doubt your own abilities. All you need to do is plug into online forums, online social networks and live networking events and meet with other like minded people. Building a support network of like-minded business owners will give you access to the support you need. Establish mentor relationships You can take this one step further by establishing a close relationship with a mentor. He or she will meet up with you every so often to sharing ideas or paradigms with you, enabling you to see new possibilities and new ways to look at things. Teaching you new things people do to become successful by tapping into new attitudes and strategies. Mentors can be an invaluable source of objective advice and act as your best critic, helping you to avoid mistakes and save you time. Take time to put yourself first The busier you are, the more important it is to do all of this regularly. Fail to do so and you will ultimately run out of steam, enthusiasm or the desire to keep working. Remember, you wanted to be your own boss, so don’t make the mistake of working for your business, instead, let your business work for you. |
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