Do you ever wonder why some people seem to succeed at a business while others seem to fade away and one day their business is no more? Recently I went to an old coffee shop that I used to love to visit. It was always quiet in there. When I went in they were able to make my favorite drink and I had no waiting in line to get it, unlike Starbucks where I always had to wait for my drink. So I go to visit this great little coffee shop and guess what? It’s not there anymore.
Now, why is that?
They were the best kept secret in coffee shops. Maybe that was the problem. They were so secret that no one knew they were there.
We all love quick service, great attention, no waiting. Well did you stop to think that if no one is there that business won’t be around long? A big reason businesses fail is no one knows about them. And why does no one know about them? Because they haven’t been properly promoted. You need to always be promoting your business.
I love what Gene Simmons said: “If you don’t promote your business, you’ll end up promoting someone else’s business, as in ‘Can I super-size that for you?’” No matter what you are doing in life, you need to promote yourself. Always, always promote.
When you become a good promoter of what you undertake, you will end up becoming the Rockstar at what you do. That is a fact. And the reverse is also true: if you stop promoting, it is hard to get started again and make up that lost ground. I work all the time with people who have a dream, but never learned how to promote themselves to get what they want.
Another reason businesses fail is they either don’t know how to or don’t want to take on all the challenges that pop up all the time. Have you found in your business that you are solving a current challenge, knowing that there is probably another one on the way? Too many businesses want to get to that point where they can just sit back and take it easy – have no more problems. I’m sorry, but if that is your idea of being in business close your doors now and get a job working for someone else.
Other than Rocker Life Coach, my partner and I have another business that we started first, and it helped to launch my life coaching business. We have a real estate and investment company. We own some rental condos, and always look at small businesses that we can invest in to grow our money for retirement someday. But before that day comes, we will continue to have challenges – keeping the properties rented, finding good tenants, making needed repairs. These are things that go on and on in this business and, as properties get older, the challenges seem to come more frequently.
Before we started the rental businesses, I was told about all these problems from those people who I said earlier should get a job instead of working for themselves because they didn’t like dealing with challenge after challenge. That is because they were all looking for that easy road and they figured I was, too. Their idea of having a business was sitting back and relaxing – no problems. Well it takes work to have a successful business. It will always be a challenge to keep our business making a profit but this is part of what we love about it.
So in your business, what is the challenge you are facing now? Do you have a defined strategy to get through this challenge? What are you doing in your life to prepare for the next challenge? I use this line in my personal life all the time: “Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” You need to start preparing yourself for those things that you can’t completely plan for; be ready to face challenges you hadn’t imagined because if you don’t, no one else will. A big part of facing challenges successfully is knowing they are part of doing business, part of life, and meeting them head-on with determination.
So I hope you see it takes work for you to make any business successful. If you want to turn your life around and start pursuing that dream but know you need some coaching from someone who’s been there and has first-hand experience, then it’s time to hire the Rocker Life Coach to help you make it happen.
We have a great week of blogs planned next week so check out the posts on Hope and Change. These are devoted to how to change your life and have hope in a better tomorrow.
Until then, I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. Live the life you always wanted, Love everything you do. Become the Rockstar in your world.
