If You Want To Create Your Own Opportunities, Don’t Ignore These Sayings

Do not limit yourself. You have what it takes to create your own opportunities. If you don’t, no one is going to do it for you.

If you are serious about it, then let us get started.

According to Brandi Temple, ‘… if something doesn’t exist on the market, why not make it yourself? If it’s missing, it may be an opportunity.’

‘…the good news is that you are never out of options and you don’t have to stay stuck in one identity, because there is no limit to the number of do-overs you can have.’

The thing about having your back against a wall is that there’s no time to check items off your wish list or linger over past regrets. You just do what you must to get your life back on track.’

Look around you and use whatever you’ve got.’

You have to be willing to pivot and adapt to whatever challenges get thrown on your path.’

‘… Hitting reset doesn’t erase everything. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to deal with all the difficulties of your life anymore. It means that you make a conscious decision to start over, even if that means cleaning up pieces of what you’re leaving behind, or recycling them in a whole new way.’

Connections, even if it’s a friend of a friend of a friend, are okay. You’d be surprised who you can find when you ask around.’

What matters most is the idea, the grit to get it done, and the self-confidence to know that every experience in life has value, especially when you are building a business that deals in customers who are just like you.’

No matter how much people love what you are selling, there is only so much they are willing to pay for something that is not a necessity.’

It takes grit to know when to put yourself and your family first. Prioritizing is another form of being scrappy.’

The school of life has many teachers, and they can be right under your nose.’

Just as it is important to get too caught up in expertise or the textbook way of doing things when you are in the start-up phase of a business and creating something new, it’s essential to educate yourself if you ever hope to grow.’

These days, once you are made aware of what you don’t know, there’s no excuse to stay uninformed.’

You always need someone to raise the bar for you and make you better.’

Every piece of information someone picks up along the way can have value.’

‘… if you want something badly enough, ask for it.’

A good gardener knows when to pull the weeds. If she doesn’t, they’ll spread and choke out the rest of the flowers.’

When you are successful, imitation is a fact of life.’

When you pour heart and soul into what you do, you don’t need to obsess about being the first or the only person to do something.’

Don’t watch what anybody else is doing too closely. You can get be inspired by great work, but never consciously imitate.’

Worry less about being original and more about being authentic.’

Keep your eyes open and your camera phone ready. Great ideas can come from anywhere.’

You have to know when to grow.’

When you are just putting one foot in front of the other, doing whatever is necessary, take a moment to lift up your head and see where you are. It can be enlightening to step back and see your situation from a broader perspective.’

Whether you are inventing something completely new, creating a revolutionary business model, or merely ruffling the status quo, an expert from the traditional trenches may not be the perfect fit for an entrepreneurial company like yours.’

Never compromise or second-guess yourself. It’s all too easy to be dazzled by the promise of experience, but tread carefully.’

Don’t give up before you have done all you can to make your case bulletproof.’

All those little failures along the way teach us something. The mistakes we make can turn into a reawakening.’

Be you and don’t compromise. Do it unapologetically. Don’t be discouraged by criticism or doubt. You likely know the outcome, but pay no attention to the fear of failure. Failure is far more valuable than success. Take ownership and control. And no matter what, never stop fighting for what you believe in. And have fun!’

If you wait for the perfect moment to do something, it may never happen.’

When a miracle happens, be prepared for it.’

When things go wrong and you make mistakes, or circumstances get out of control, it’s not failure. It’s experience. It’s a chance to learn another lesson, even if that is something as simple as acceptance.’

Be true to yourself, but realize that a business is a living, breathing thing that needs to be nurtured in order to be sustained. Your customer’s lives and needs constantly change, especially when they have children.’

Source:

Brandi Temple (2017). Scrappy: Use Everything You Have, Trust Yourself, and Press the Reset Button for Success, the Lolly Wolly Doodle Way

Why You Should Focus On Your Business Growth

‘Your business is a living organism.’ If you want it to thrive, you must take care of it.

According to Kevin Cope, ‘Companies either continue to grow or risk dying. Companies growing profitably tend to be more energized, innovate products and services, expand market share, attract motivated top talent.’

Companies not growing can enter a ‘downward decline and die.’ cycle of higher costs, lower sales, lost market share, lower share price, cost cutting, reduction in force, demoralized employees, lost productivity. lost customers, more loss market share, and so on. The competition will take over their markets, customers, brand positioning, and even their best people.’

Organic growth means internal expansion- opening new stores, selling more products, and entering new demographic or geographic markets. Inorganic growth means merging with acquiring new business to increase revenue.’

Growth expectations may change based on a company’s stage of development. High growth may be realistic in the early years but may be less sustainable as the company matures and becomes larger and more complex.’

Risks of high growth include expenses that grow faster than sales revenue, a decline in quality, and burnout among employees. Many companies grow sales rapidly but lose money and go out of business.’

People are the most important resource for any company. Employees and customers are two important stakeholders to your business.’

Successful companies usually have a history of strong employee satisfaction and longer employee tenure, so companies work hard to keep employees satisfied and to attract top talent.’

Your customers are the lifeblood of your business. You should focus on your customers more than on your competitors.’

Employees can improve asset ultilization by eliminating inefficient or nonproductive assets, getting more productivity from existing assets, making business processess more efficient, and by working to use personal time more effectively.’

The productivity of employees reflects how much work employees can accomplishand is often affected by the tools and technology they have and the training and education they receive.’

Employees can impact asset strength by doing anything that benefits cash position.’

Investors evaluate the worth of companies in large measure by their potential to consistently increase profits from their core business over time.’

‘Cash is the fuel of business. All companies require cash to operate, pay bills, and invest for the future. Lack of cash is a primary reason businesses fail.’

Finally, ‘Everything you do to impact cash, profits, and assets influences your balance sheet.’

Source:

Kevin Cope (2012). Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company