We are in a depression, probably one that will out-rival the last one of 1929. Unemployment is at its highest, some say around 50% when you count the people no longer on unemployment, small business owners not making enough to pay themselves a paycheck . . . let alone their bills, and recently graduated students who can't get a job!

People are overcome by fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of what is happening around them. Fear of past sins.

Some take relief in pointing the fingers at big business, the banks and anyone else but themselves. The truth is, in a way, we are all to blame. The real blame might just be greed.

We are at an important junction of our economy. If we are not at the bottom, we must be pretty damn close because a lot of us can feel our butts scraping it. The real problem is how long will we hang here? Will recovery come this fall or will it come later? No one knows, we can just speculate and that speculation is also contributing to our fears.

I do know this. As bad as this economy is, some people are still spending. Not as many as we would like, but I suspect it will be sometime before we ever see those days again.

With that thought in mind, each and everyone of us should take a step back and examine what they are doing, and what they should be doing in regard to their businesses and lives. Change is here and change is inevitable.

The world and our economy doesn't have the time and money for those who will do nothing to position themselves properly. In order to survive and thrive, we need to re-examine our business models. If it is broken it needs to be fixed. If it is working can it be tuned to work even better? A company's long-term survive and thrive mode will be the result of the customer's it attracts to do business with it and your marketing will play a major role in producing your customers.

Why? Because no one can expect an overabundance of customers anymore. The majority of people aren't spending.

So choose your next step wisely in this new economy. Your newly attracted customers will talk about you. They will do the selling for you. If you neglect them or the right approach that will produce them for you, you could end up in a host of trouble.

Labels: builders, business skills, contractors, economy, reality, sub-contractors

The Ultimate Realty:
"Hoping for the best"
Is Not An Option!
8 Steps to Creating Success In Your Business

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein

So, right now you are probably getting hit real badly in this economy, right?

It's real and lot's of folks made really stupid decisions (like spending 3X what they make) and are now paying for those decisions - but contrary to the popular belief, the end of the world is not here.

Not even close!

Sure, some people haven't got any money. Some people are losing their jobs. Some businesses are hurting.

But not everyone!

You see . . . If you focus on "no money! no money! no money!!!", guess what you get?

You get no money!!!

You need to focus your energy and resources on what you want, not what you fear.

If you want success, you need to sharpen your skills and focus on making success happen.

So, with that thought in mind.

Turn off the T.V. and for heaven's sake quit reading the newspaper! It's all pumped-up negative B.S. anyway.

There is money everywhere. Do not believe the broke people who try to tell you otherwise.

Money doesn't go away, money doesn't disappear. It simply changes hands and multiplies.

The problem with most contractors is that they are looking for work with those who are broke, their old customer type. Why? Because that is what they know.

They are also listening so much to the negative crap that they are starting to believe it themselves. They are so use to the 'good ole days' when work fell into their lap, that they still think that is how you manage your business.

Things have changed, the 'good ole days' are gone and if you want a business that will survive and thrive you need to sharpen your business skills or the bottom-feeders will chew you up and spit you put.

Let me share with you what I mean, . . .

If you keep doing what you've been doing all along and it is no longer working, what do you suppose is likely to happen?

Repeating the successes of the past, preserving tradition, doing things as they are "supposed" to be done, will- at best - produce results like those you had before. Except that in this new future - our present - those results can't possibly be as good, as productive, or as powerful as they once were. And probably not as much fun, either.

Unreasonable success requires unreasonable approaches to the future. Especially in this future that is coming at us full speed. It requires a "change" in the way you are accustom to doing things, such as, conducting business.

Waiting for breakthroughs is not an option. You need to adapt, you need to create. You can create them at will. It is called "taking positive action."

Breakthroughs are great leaps forward, and while they can happen by accident, they can also happen by design.

Here are principles of "Taking Positive Action!"

1. Invest in expanding your business-building skill sets

You need a new set of skill sets in order to successfully circumnavigate your way in this changing economy. The past is gone and only the future lies ahead. It will NEVER be like it was 3 or 4 years ago. It will be more difficult, requiring a better business-building tool set of skills than you've ever had to have before. Start gathering the knowledge and building your tool chest of business-building skills, it is an investment in the success of your future
strong

2. Expect the best

Make a commitment to yourself to be the best you can be. Then, do the same with those around you, expect the best from them also. Expect them to be successful. Count on it. Plan for it. Budget for it. Expecting the best gives you the highest likelihood of getting whatever IT is. Start with the best case scenario and figure out how insure it. By the way, expecting the worst has a similar, but opposite, effect.

3. Be Positive! Don't think, "Can I accomplish it?" Think, "How can I get
this done?"

If it is worth doing, and you have strong reasons for doing it, you'll find a way. Stop worrying if it is possible. Trust me, it is. Focus your deepest mind on how to make it happen. Remember, the best answer to "How...?" is "Yes."

4. Back yourself into a corner, so the only place you can go is forward.

Warrior-sage Sun Tzu wrote that nothing is as dangerous as an enemy backed into a corner. They will fight to the death for the have nowhere else to run. Don't think about "enemies," declare war on yourself.

5. Don't be afraid to ask people for a lot. They just may give you what you need.

Not asking accomplishes nothing, and asking for what you want will often get it for you. People like to serve. People like to accomplish. People like to win against great odds. Why not ask them for everything.

6. Avoid the "Dream Slayers" and "Negative Addicts" around you.

When people say, "You can't" tell them you can! Can't is the road to mediocrity. "I can", is the first step towards majesty.

7. If you're not scared, you're not doing anything worthy.

All great ventures things in life contain elements of profound risk, and the promise of failure as well as success. Courage isn't acting without fear, it is being afraid, and acting anyway. If you are not at least a little afraid, you are probably not doing anything worthy of the name great. Unreasonable people are often afraid. So what, just be sure you are afraid of the right thing.

8. Don't worry about getting it just right.

Perfection prevents progress. New ideas must be tested against human beings. If you wait until you get it perfect, it may be too late. It may be never. Think functionality and workability. Experiment in the chaos of the real world, and fix the problems that arise later.

I hope these 8 points will help you.

Labels: business skills, economy, reality