Business Insights

I love the Olympics for many reasons. The sheer fun, joy and spirit we get to participate in while watching the athletes, their stories, their families, and the highs and lows – it all makes for a great way to invest time in observing others pursue their dreams partly for their country, partly for themselves.

I can’t help but ask myself what these athletes did to prepare for the Olympics. What physical workouts, diets, practice and dreaming did they do? What doubts, fears anxieties, lack of confidence, certainties and feelings did they experience on their journey to Vancouver? Mostly, what did they do to overcome these feelings that each one of us has at one time or another in pursuit of our goals and dreams?

The Olympics, I believe, gives us a chance to live vicariously through the participants, be it athlete or coach, spectator or staff member. In asking myself these questions and watching the games, I realized that I want to be on the field playing my heart out regardless of whether I win or lose. What about you? Do you want to be playing or watching? Cheering or checking?  Feeling the exhilaration of the game on the track or from the stands?

Either way, business is a game that you can either play or watch, enjoy or not. It’s your choice. Either way, the game is very short when you are playing full out or very long when all you do is find what’s wrong with it.

As I observed the games, I felt a sense of pride and joy and a sense of sadness. In every sporting event someone won the gold, silver or bronze. Many of the athletes didn’t win a medal. Were they losers?  I prefer to think of all of them as winners, just in varying degrees based on their own set of circumstances.

If they showed up, did their best and felt and knew that they did…isn’t that a win? I say yes!

Life is not about winning medals. Life is about showing up ready to play full out and doing the best YOU can do. Competition helps each of us see what is possible by pushing or pulling us to meet our potential and our goals.

Every one of the athletes came to the Olympic Games with a goal. A goal that they committed to, trained for physically and mentally and then went after with all their heart.

What are your business and personal goals? Have you committed to them and are you playing full out? Like the Olympic Games, your flame will burn out. My hope and wish for you is that you have no more game left in you because you left it all on the field, doing and knowing you did your very best!

Business ownership is the 21st century version of the American Dream. But of the millions of people taking the leap into entrepreneurship, about 50% of them will fail within five years.

That is a staggering number of casualties, and the ironic part is that not one person thinks they will be one of the many who fail. Even when they do fail, they will blame it on almost anything else but themselves. This doesn’t have to happen.

In working with thousands of small business owners worldwide, I will share with you a few of the classical errors we consistently see business owners make. Avoid these mistakes and you’ll share some of the big bucks.

Mistake #1: Not knowing exactly who your customer is.

This is what we refer to at OneCoach as your “Ideal Client Profile.” If you are thinking that anyone and everyone is your client, stop immediately and get real. For every product or service, there is a very specific personality that is just right for it. As a business owner, your job is to identify the characteristics of your perfect buyer and then craft all your marketing and sales efforts to meet their needs. Do not try to be everything to everybody.

Mistake #2: “The Vanilla Syndrome.”

What this means is that you must discover as soon as possible how to separate and differentiate yourself from your competition. It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer, dentist, direct sales expert, or a dry cleaner. If you look and feel like everyone else, that is what your potential customers will think. Set aside some time and figure out if you are faster, cheaper, environmentally safer, more knowledgeable, etc., until you determine how you can be and feel different to potential and existing clients. Think about the reasons you choose companies’ products or services to use, and then create compelling reasons that appeal to your ideal customer.

Mistake #3: “Money Matters!”

It never ceases to amaze us how many small-business owners operate their business without having an understanding of their cash flow (or lack thereof). The days of running “by the seat of your pants” are over. It is imperative to know exactly how much is coming in, how much needs to go out for basic operation costs, and how much is needed to invest in the growth of your business. Each expenditure needs to have with it an anticipated return of investment (ROI). You must understand the financial details in your business or they will bite you in the bum before you know it!

Follow these three simple suggestions and you’ll shave a bunch of percentage points off your chances of being a negative statistic.

I recently recorded this video about The Power of Setting Goals for people interested in achieving the life of their dreams. I wanted to share this with you since being able to set and achieve goals is such an important part of running a business as well.

If you watch this and want to know more about how to achieve all your business goals, then I recommend you sign up for a complimentary business assessment with one of our certified OneCoach advisors. During this one-on-one session, they will guide you on how you can take your business from where you are to where you want to be.

Enjoy and feel free to share this with others! To sign up for that complimentary business assessment, go to www.OneCoach.com/grow.

John Assaraf

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My dear friend Steven E is opening up a very interesting and very exciting opportunity for a few people associated with me. I think you’ll find this idea to be very intriguing — especially if you have a business.

If you want to be flooded with new customers and clients already sold on you as the expert in your industry, let him help you.

You have been invited to be in a book with me along with Brian Tracy, Gregory Scott Reid, co-author of ‘Three Feet from Gold’, Steven E, and Lee Beard, along with other world class leaders in a very special exciting book “Wake Up…Live the Life You Love.”

Click here to learn more about the publicity this opportunity could bring you and your business!

How does this affect you?

You can join some best-selling authors, speakers, trainers, mentors and world class business leaders in an amazing book project that will give you instant credibility and certain bragging rights. You will become a best-selling co-author in this amazing series.

Steven E, and Lee Beard, the brainchild of this series have a few openings in the book for those who would like to write their own story about “living the life they love” and be a co-author in this book.

And don’t worry, if you aren’t a professional writer, they have professional editors who will give you guidelines and some tips to help you get started writing your story. All you need to do is submit a 1,200 word story ready to print and they do the rest!

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Click here to learn more about the publicity this opportunity could bring you and your business!

P.S. If you have a challenge accessing the Web site or wish to contact “Wake Up…Live the Life You Love” directly, you may call Steven E direct at: 562-884-0062 Pacific time, USA or the editorial office at: 270-753-5225 Central time, USA.