Small Business Can Feel Like A Survival Of The Fittest – Or Toughest – Test!

Sometimes the easiest way to convey an idea is with a metaphor. (Sorry if I'm making you flash back to high school English class.) We do this all the time without even realizing it. "That's my life in a nutshell." Or "It's raining cats and dogs." I doubt anyone born after 1960 actually says that one anymore, but you get the idea. The language of business is full (to the brim) of metaphors too: rat race, climbing the corporate ladder, getting up to speed, leveling the playing field, rallying the troops, dropping the ball, glass ceiling, market crash, survival skills... etc. When someone uses one of these phrases, we know exactly what they're talking about, even though they're not being literal. Even when they say it's literally raining cats and dogs!

A couple weeks ago I was at happy hour (where else?) with a small business owner friend of mine. After dishing about her vacation and the cute bartender, our conversation shifted to what we always chat about: business ownership. As we talked about our approach to running a business (it's a marathon, not a sprint) and what it takes to be successful, we kept coming back to the same thing – certain survival skills are essential to make it through tough times. This notion of survival skills must've been what got me thinking about metaphors in general. Either that or the school dream I had recently where I forgot to go to English class all semester and realized it the day before the final. Ever had one of those?

The Survival Skills That Can Help You Stay In Business!

So what survival skills did we think are so important? We had a pretty long list going by the time our second round came, but I'll give you the highlights and some of my personal faves:

Perseverance. Business ownership is tough, sometimes not at all fun. Sales may slump, customers leave, your brilliant idea is a flop, you have to fire people, profits shrink, unexpected expenses happen. Ugh! See what I mean? It's not all fun and games. So a heavy dose of stick-at-it-ness will keep you going during tough times when you're tempted to close up shop.

Know what to charge. Being able to determine your pricing can make the difference between a profitable year and a "Are you freakin' kidding me? I lost how much?" kind of year. Btw... if you need help figuring out your pricing, that's what I do! Let me help you!

Don't do work that's not profitable. You're not in business to do charity work, you're doing it to make money. No shame in that! So make sure that you make money! This doesn't mean you can't be charitable, but be discerning when you are. Being profitable allows you the freedom to do what you want.

Do your research, have a plan, know thy customer. I'm sneaking in 3 things here, but they all kinda go together. Well-thought out planning will help you avoid costly mistakes – the kind that might be too hard to recover from – and will enable you to deliver the product or service your customers want.

Speaking of survival skills and metaphors, do you feel like you're too busy, that you're barely treading water? Always working, but not much is getting done? Turn that Chaos Into Cash! Your solution is right here and it's FREE!

Be Oh So Quotable This Week!

I always say running a business means the work never ends! Ain't that the truth? I bet your to-do list is a mile long! Make sure that the items at the top of your list are the things that relate to being more profitable. Everyone is so proud of being so "busy"...But Are You Making Any Money? Don't be too busy to focus!

Check out the summary of last week's business tips and motivational quotes from my Instagram page which you hopefully got to see in real time! If not, let's make sure we're following each other on Instagram!! So...here is this week's roundup of Instagram images of My Top Business Tips and Motivational Quotes.

Survival Skills – Tip #1:

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"Trying to do it all and expecting that it all can be done exactly right is a recipe for disappointment. Perfection is the enemy." – Sheryl Sandberg

Survival Skills – Tip #2:

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"A goal without a timeline is just a dream." – Robert Herjavec

Survival Skills – Tip #3:

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"I'm convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance." – Steve Jobs

Survival Skills – Tip #4:

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"If you're not a risk taker, you should get the hell out of business." – Ray Kroc

Survival Skills – Tip #5:

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"Always deliver more than expected." – Larry Page

Let's talk! I'd love to hear what survival skills you think are essential!

Small business ownership can be tough! What survival skills do you rely on to be successful? I would LOVE to hear from you! Anyhoo...I publish these business tips and motivational quotes to get you fired up for your work week!

Oh by the way, want to eliminate frustration and increase cash? Discover 8 simple ideas to get clients, identify the three types of clients and create your sales system. Get it here for FREE!

And, if you want more business tips, get my book, But Are You Making Any Money? or contact me to really take your business to the next level!

xoxo M

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