Remaining Green
When you work for yourself and by yourself, there is an awful lot of time for reflection. You can reflect on the good things or you can reflect on the bad things. You can be positive and upbeat, or you can become negative and get into a depressive downward cycle. In my opinion, reflection is a good thing that gets you into thinking about what has gone right and what has gone wrong. As long as you don't get into a negative spiral, you can use the reflection to learn what you need to do to be successful and then apply that new knowledge.
If you don't know what to do about the things that are going wrong, the trick is not to let this get you down but rather to seek out a way to solve the problem. This may be seeking the advice of your franchisor (if you're a franchisee) seeking the advice of a colleague, a friend, a professional body to which you may be affiliated, a networking group, or seeking out appropriate literature that has the advice you're looking for.
I'm constantly reflecting on my business and my approach to the business. I constantly question whether I'm doing it correctly and I use the success of my ERA colleagues as a benchmark for how well I am or am not doing. Yes, I go through my ups and downs, but I'm sure that most people go through their ups and downs, even in an established business. My friends at Franchise New Zealand assured me that what I am going through is quite normal and pointed me to an article called The E Factor. This is well worth reading as an analysis of how franchisees develop - at the very least, you will realise that you are not alone in your ups and downs.
What I'm really trying to say is that to be successful one needs to be constantly learning - learning what works and what doesn't work. One must put systems into place to enable the business to adjust and change to the prevailing circumstances. One must build a learning organisation. There are many good books on this subject, some more difficult to read than others. I found The Fifth Discipline - The Art & Practice of The Learning Organisation by Peter M. Senge to be a very worthwhile read - give it a try. Another fantastic source of information and guidance, particularly in selling yourself and your business, is Toastmasters. My wife belongs to Toastmasters so I get to read all the magazines and learn tips from her.
At a network meeting I attended a few days ago, one of the speakers said, 'I want to be always learning, I want to remain green. Because once I'm ripe, the only place left is to rot.' This came from a man running his own business who is already well into retirement age. That says it all!
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