Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Andre Bell asked:
Donald Trump. Love Him. **** him. Feel indifferent. Either way you know who he is — and so does the rest of the informed world. “The Donald” has lost fortunes larger than most of us will gain in our entire lives of earning. How has Donald become a household name that is worth billions today? Two Words: Think Big.
That is where most small businesses fail. I don’t know why I do it. Maybe I’m a closet ********* or something. But a couple of times a year I target 25-50 small businesses and send a carefully sequenced and timed series of letters explaining the possibility of improving the marketing they are already doing or expanding their small business. Talk about an exercise in futility. Most small businesses do not think big.
They have somehow convinced themselves that success will eventually come from putting out daily fires, and then the business with eventually take care of itself. They’re wrong. According to the IRS, 9 of 10 business will go belly up within five years. There’s proof the take-care-of-itself mentality doesn’t work.
What if Trump had decided two decades ago to only focus on the daily fires of running his businesses, where would he be today? Bankrupt. Just another nameless real estate speculator in the crowd. He would not have the success he has today. And he would not be enjoying the freedoms and attention he’s gained along the way.
What about you? Do you own or operate a small business? Have you taken time to assess where you are now, where you want to be, and what steps you are going to take to get you there? If not, you are thinking small. You are hindering yourself from reaching the level of success that could be yours if you were only to think big.
Donald Trump. Love Him. **** him. Feel indifferent. Either way you know who he is — and so does the rest of the informed world. “The Donald” has lost fortunes larger than most of us will gain in our entire lives of earning. How has Donald become a household name that is worth billions today? Two Words: Think Big.
That is where most small businesses fail. I don’t know why I do it. Maybe I’m a closet ********* or something. But a couple of times a year I target 25-50 small businesses and send a carefully sequenced and timed series of letters explaining the possibility of improving the marketing they are already doing or expanding their small business. Talk about an exercise in futility. Most small businesses do not think big.
They have somehow convinced themselves that success will eventually come from putting out daily fires, and then the business with eventually take care of itself. They’re wrong. According to the IRS, 9 of 10 business will go belly up within five years. There’s proof the take-care-of-itself mentality doesn’t work.
What if Trump had decided two decades ago to only focus on the daily fires of running his businesses, where would he be today? Bankrupt. Just another nameless real estate speculator in the crowd. He would not have the success he has today. And he would not be enjoying the freedoms and attention he’s gained along the way.
What about you? Do you own or operate a small business? Have you taken time to assess where you are now, where you want to be, and what steps you are going to take to get you there? If not, you are thinking small. You are hindering yourself from reaching the level of success that could be yours if you were only to think big.