Manage Success and Manage Failure as a Business Owner

Success and failure can both happen to you in your small business. Sometimes it feels like you are constantly flipping back and forth from one to the other. It's stressful at the top – and when you're in the dumps at the bottom – so here are some tips, ideas, and information to help you out.

Yes, I know everyone says that success is in the eye of the beholder. But that doesn't mean that you don't feel the stress. Stress and feelings and perceptions are all linked together, you know. Pay attention. Your mind and body are trying to get a message through. Just because something is positive does not mean it can't hurt you.

Step One:  Learn to Manage Success

Understanding the Meaning of Success
Success has a lot of different meanings, so I'm going to start out with a couple of definitions of success to help you better understand where we're going in this article. Success is the achievement of a goal, and success is the feeling you allow yourself to have when you've met a goal. As in, "I am a success."

The first definition is a little dry, and can be wide open to interpretation. The second definition is narrower, but potentially even more dangerous than the first. Most people don't start tossing the word success around until you have a habit of meeting lots of goals in a particularly obvious manner. Then you start feeling like success is headed your way. And that's when the second definition gets in your way.

Success is meeting goals

We often make success a black and white proposition. Either you meet your goal completely, or you are not a success. This is far too dangerous a proposition to make with such a powerful word as success. Every time you meet any stage of a goal, you are succeeding. And even if you only achieve part of your goal, you are a success for that item. It is critical to remember that success comes in small steps, and each success builds on the previous one, until you've created a mountain of success. That's what people usually use as their measure for calling something successful - that mountain.
But not everyone climbs, or creates, mountains of success. Are they all failures? I don't think so, and neither should you. Success is a path to follow, not an end result. Each success opens the door to another goal, and its inherent success or failure. You're never done with your path to success - you will walk it from now until the day you die.
"I am a success."

Remember that I mentioned above that this phrase is truly dangerous to those walking the success path. Think about it a bit. It's a declarative sentence. I have "reached success" and I don't have any further to go. Nothing left to do. I've made it. We all need resting points in our goals - a place where we can stop and relax for a little bit, pat ourselves on the back, and prepare for the next stage.
It's okay to do that, to tell yourself that you have been a success at reaching a particular goal. You won your tennis match today, you completed your exercise program this week, you met your sales goals for this quarter. Those are milestones in your goals, and you should be proud when you meet them. But you need to remember that a rest stop is not the end of the road. If you spend too long at the way point, you may lose your path to the next success.

Step Two:  Hold Your Success Lightly

Holding on to Success

The first lesson here is learning to hold on to your success. Failure is a big word, as you have read in the article about managing failure. As such, it can hold great power over your feelings and your goals. It's easy to substitute a failure thought for a success thought if you're not paying attention, so keeping success foremost in your mind is critical.

You may have heard this idea a number of other ways in self-help and success books. Probably because it is such an important key to managing your successful life and business. Take each success and wrap it up with pretty bows and wrapping paper, and store it carefully away in your long-term memory. Not too far away, though, because you'll want to take it out periodically and marvel in the beauty of your success.

When you're feeling down from missing a particularly important goal or milestone, use your past successes as levers into your mind to remind yourself of all of those successes upon successes. This helps you to focus on the positive elements of your goals and plans, and not get hung up with negative emotions.

Holding Success Lightly

This is where it gets tricky. We've all met egotists before. And probably a few super-egotists as well. People who are so saturated with their own success that you can barely stand to be around them. All you hear about is their latest wonderful success, how fantastic a person they are, how easily success jumps into their hat, and so forth.

Very few of us like people like that. Oh, yes, we might envy them, we might try to emulate them, or we might ask for their help if we are particularly brave, but few of us can bear to spend large amounts of time in their company.

Yes, I know that success books say that you should spend your time around successful people so you absorb all those successful vibes. But there are successes, and there are successes. The kind of person you should seek out are those who hold carefully but with a light hand on their success. These are the people to emulate.

Successes are just milestones in your goals. Everyone always has another one coming up, another goal to pursue, another success to measure up against. You want to have a few successes tucked away nearby so you can draw them out at will to help you bolster yourself in a particularly tough moment, but when you clutch them tightly to your chest, you risk paying so much attention to your current successes that you fail to pay proper attention to the path you are walking right now.

So am I a success or not?

If you're like me, you've asked that question quite a few times of yourself. Maybe even asked others whom you respect for an opinion. It's hard to measure an absolute "success" when so many of your successes are specific in nature. Does it take 10 successes, or 100? Do you have to meet X number of goals, or Y number of milestones? Instead of asking yourself these questions, trying to nail down success so tightly, consider this question instead.

Am I happy with where I currently stand?

Happy is much easier to measure than success. Are you feeling good about where you currently sit with your goals? Have you met enough milestones to pat yourself on the back and relax in the moment?

Happiness may seem elusive to you, but when you try to define success, you're really just looking for another word that says you can be happy with where you're at right now. Maybe even have a few bragging rights for your current goals. Take my advice - measure happy instead. If nothing else, it'll keep you from going overboard on the bragging so you don't turn into one of those people I described above.

 Information for Managing Failure

Yes, I know everyone says that failure is in the eye of the beholder. But that doesn't mean that you don't feel the stress. Stress and feelings and perceptions are all linked together, you know. Pay attention. Your mind and body are trying to get a message through. You can cope with the stress, and the problem. You just need some tips and tools for keeping things manageable.

Learn to manage failure

Defining Failure

Some people are optimists; some people are pessimists. Both have definitions for success and for failure. Properly defining failure is the first step to turning it into a success.

So what exactly is failure? Everybody has things that they call failures. Diets, goals, businesses - it doesn't matter what it is, but how you define your success and failure. A failure is not a bad thing - it simply is. Once you recognize that failure is just the fact that you fell short of a goal, you begin to remove the awful sting that comes when you think or say this nasty word.

I used to be dreadfully afraid of failures - saying it, doing it, admitting it. It hurt. And I did quite a number on my confidence and my ego until I learned to recognize the value of failure.

The Positive Definition of Failure

The first thing you need to realize is that failing to reach a goal is like a signpost along the road. It says, "Sharp turn ahead. Slow down and take a look at where you are, where you are going, and what choices you are making." Notice that it doesn't say "WRONG turn." It doesn't tell you that you are a bad person, a failure, or anything else with negative connotations. All it does is remind you that you haven't made it to your goal yet, and maybe you need to make some adjustments.

Failure as a Means to Making an Adjustment

If you are the kind of person who needs concrete goals in order to keep yourself moving and on track, then you're bound to run into a few failure points along the way. Minor ones, or maybe even major ones. The size of the goal often determines just how much pain you burden yourself with along with that word "failure".

The trick is learning to put the spin on the word failure, using it as a roadsign to redefining your current goals and plans, rather than treating it like an endpoint, as so many of us do. Failures hurt because we think that we've reached the end of an idea, a goal or a plan. But plans and goals are ongoing, always changing and growing as life adds its complexity to our plans. So if your goals are always changing, why should failure be the end-all-be-all to them? Quite simply, it shouldn't, if you are keeping the definition of failure close at hand.

Remember that failures are simply warnings of a plan that needs an adjustment. Don't take it to heart, just take it to mind. Weigh it, think it through, and revise your plans if you feel that is going to help you better reach your ultimate goal. Just keep in mind that without those failures to help you guide your way through the minefield, life would be a lot trickier. I use failures to help me plan and re-plan my short-terms goals in pursuit of my long-term goals. Nothing less, and nothing more. Do that, and you rob the word "failure" of 99% of its ability to hurt you.

Starting a Small Business Guide Part 2

OK time for Part 2 ..... You ready ? 

Q5 
Do you ever have problems staying focused on a task without help from someone else?

If you're like me and you obsess over every little detail, you can't imagine anyone suggesting this little failing. Of course, too much focus is as deadly as not enough. And both extremes can drive your business into oblivion very fast.
From question 2 you already realize that you may have limited time to pursue your business and still keep the rest of your life moving along.
Because of this, time is an extremely precious commodity for you. If you are the kind of person who leaps from great idea to great idea, from task to task, like a bouncy rubber ball, you may have a problem here. If (like me) you have a hard time pulling away from a task until every T is crossed and every I is dotted, you may have a problem.
You need to have a plan for your time, and make sure to allocate enough of it to all of the tasks you need to complete. If you've got bills to pay, customers to invoice, products to ship, and a web site to update, then you can't spend all of your time allotment on making new widgets.
One client of mine nearly drove herself into bankruptcy, despite having an incredibly good product, lots of customers, and good general business skills. You see, she kept getting distracted – by her new product ideas, by the calls from customers wanting to buy something, from her trips to the Post Office to ship things, and every other little task that needed doing. She jumped from one thing to the next, and inevitably, some things started getting missed. Her near catastrophe occurred because the one thing she kept putting off and forgetting was to bill her customers. And with a 30 to 45 day payment cycle, skipping a few billing months can drain your cash reserves faster than even the IRS coming by!
When we realized what was going on, we marched over to her office, sat her down in a chair, and explained the realities of life to her. Luckily, she regained her focus pretty quickly! She's still in business, still doing well, and happily not forgetting to collect her fees any more.
Focus is really a combination of balance, mild obsession, and mild relaxation. Without the ability to use all three talents together, you may find it hard to stay focused on the necessary tasks without losing sight of the big picture. Whatever you do, keep practicing.
If you have a good sense of focus, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about this one. You can learn to focus your energies wisely. This potential pitfall is really about knowing yourself and knowing how to adapt.

Q6 
Do you believe in your product or service passionately enough to stand up in front of strangers and explain why they should buy from you? 

Not all of us are born salespeople. I'm certainly not. I used to be scared to death about standing up in front of strangers. I realized a few months after I started that first business that you can't sell your widgets if you don't talk to people.
Luckily, for those of us who are not naturally outgoing, there are lots of ways to "talk" to people - flyers, web sites, phone calls, sales letters, hiring a sales staff. Ultimately, though, somebody has to promote your product.
If you don't believe so strongly in your product that you can shout it to the world, get another product. If you aren't 100% proud of what you are offering, people can tell. And the only people who won't tell you what's going wrong with your sales are your friends and family, because they don't want to hurt your feelings. Sometimes you have to be ruthless with a product.
If you don't believe it in, you can't sell it. Sure, those professional sales folks can sell ice to Eskimos. But unless you're one of them, don't try to sell something you wouldn't buy – yes, buy! – for yourself.
If you love your product enough to shout it to the world, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about your product. Why waste all of your time setting up a company to sell something you might not be able to stand in 6 months? Invest the time now in finding a product you believe in.

Q7
 Will you have to train or retrain in order to run your business without employees?

Do you have the skills you need to run your business?
If you're planning on running an office supplies franchise, have you ever sold retail? Have you ever sold office supplies? Have you ever managed employees? If you're opening a restaurant, have you ever cooked? Or done all of the other jobs involved in a restaurant? You won't be the first owner to suddenly realize you have to play chef because your last chef quit in a huff right before Friday night's crowd comes in.
If you don't have the skills to pursue your dream business, you'll need to list and research the various jobs that you will need to learn or hire for. Those expenses will need to be budgeted, and you'll need to have or hire the expertise to manage employees.
If you need retraining, be sure to factor this into your startup costs and timeline. Moving too quickly could cause you problems down the road.
If you're equipped with all of the necessary skills, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about what skills you'll need to add to your toolbox.

Q8 
Do you have a written plan that outlines your product, your potential customers, the cost of creating your product, an idea of your pricing, and a cost analysis for keeping your business running?

The business experts are always spouting off about business plans. Business plan this, and business plan that. Yes, you do need a plan, but many small businesses aren't ready for the big-time business plans that the consultants want you to pay them for.
If you can't map out the necessary plans for your business by this stage, you need to do some more planning. However, that doesn't mean that you can't move forward, it just means that you need to move carefully.
You need a plan for your product or service. What are you going to sell? How are you going to produce it? Who is going to do the assembly? How much will it cost to make? How long will it take to produce each unit?
You need a plan for selling. Who is your target customer? Where will you find them? How will you tell them about your product? Will you offer special deals or discounts? How will you turn customers into repeat customers?
You need a plan for your finances. What are your costs for your products? What are your overhead costs - rent, utilities, supplies, employees, taxes, equipment, phones, business cards, advertising, etc.? Who will you purchase your supplies and equipment from? How often will you bill your customers? How will you organize paying your bills and keeping your books? How much do you have for cash reserves in case of unexpected costs, or late-paying customers?
You need a plan for your marketing. What kind of marketing materials do you need? How will you create them? Does your product need packaging?
You need a plan for growth. What if orders pick up quickly? How will you plan for expansion?
If you've got some concrete notes and ideas (or better yet, a written plan) for these areas, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about the answers to these questions. Good planning up front can save you a lot of frustration later.

Q9 
If you don't make any sales for the first six months, how long can you afford to keep the business running given your other finances?

What happens if you don't make any serious sales for the first month, or the second, or the third?
It can happen, easily. Product production delays, problems with your marketing materials, delays with advertising, a bad economy. Lots of reasons that people don't buy – or don't buy from you.
Planning for the worst, and enjoying the best, is the best way to approach any new business. Don't let your love of the idea drag you into a financial headache.
Take the results of Question 8 and do some calculations. How much do you need to make to keep your family's bills paid? How much money will your business require each month to keep running? Squeeze those numbers as tight as you can, eliminating or reducing unnecessary expenses or expenses that are based on higher production of products or services (like supplies for making a product), and then figure out your monthly expenses.
Once you know your monthly cash drain, divide that number into the total amount of money you've got saved or coming in each month. That result is the number of months you can survive with no sales. If that number is really low, you'll need to do two things right away.
First, have a backup plan to earn some money – working a second job, taking on odd jobs, or possibly bartering your services for other necessary services for your business or family.
Secondly, have a backup plan or two on how to increase your sales, and be ready to implement them if sales are particularly low. Remember, any sale that makes a profit is better than no sales with a higher profit margin. Don't bargain away the value of your product by randomly lowering the price, but you can use ideas like "One-Time Specials" or "Product of the Month" or other clearly-marked limited-time offers to keep your product or services moving.
If you've figured out your cash reserves, and are prepared to act within the limitations that these numbers provide, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about cash flow very seriously. Good planning up front can save your business down the road.

These questions aren't meant to discourage you from pursuing your dream for your new business. They are merely designed to nudge your thinking into areas where you may not be prepared.

So where are you at are you ready to start your own business

If you missed part one you can check it out here

Starting a Small Business Guide Part 1

Starting a
 Small Business Guide

It can be confusing, and a bit scary, to start a new business.

What if you:
    •    Don't know where to start?
    •    Forget to fill out some government form?
    •    Are afraid you don't have all of the skills necessary?
    •    Don't want to fail?

Like any new direction in your life, starting a business is a big step. We at Talking business have started our share of businesses – some are successes, and (we'll be honest) some of them have failed. Some we just closed to move on to opportunities that suited our talents better.

If you don't love what you do, your business will always be a drain on your energies. Do what you love, and it's like being paid to chase your dreams. If you want to cut lawns and work out side, or you just love being outside and need some outdoor business ideas. http://thebusinesshq.com should be able to help you out.

When you start your business, it may very well feel like a child to you. It's your dream, your hope, and your fear, all wrapped into one.

At some point, though, you need to step back and take a careful look at your dream child.
You need to weigh, and analyze, and judge, or you will miss those turning points so critical to the success of your business.

Are you ready for the journey of starting a new business?

Ask yourself the following questions.

Q1
 Do you have other ongoing financial resources in your household besides the income generated by your new business? 

If you don't have an ongoing source of income other than your new business, you need to take a hard look at the fixed costs for your new business and your minimum fixed monthly expenses. You can't count on a new business to rack up sales quickly. It sometimes takes 6 months or more before the momentum picks up. If you have another source of income that can keep your mortgage paid and food on the table in the interim, you'll be less stressed if things take longer than they should. And they usually do.
If you have savings or a second income coming into the household to cover your minimum fixed living expenses, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think first.

Q2
 Do you have enough free time in your life to commit to a regular schedule for your business efforts? 

We all think we have more time than we do. By the time we add up household chores and errands, sleep, eating, paying the bills, and working (if you are working as well as starting your business), there often isn't much time left.
However, quantity of time is not as important as a regular commitment to time, and the discipline to stick to it.
You may not have a lot of time in your life, and because of that you may not be able to take advantage of all of the opportunities for your business. But that just means you may grow a little slower; it doesn't stop you from taking the plunge.
However, if you can't make a regular commitment on a daily, three times a week, or weekly basis at the minimum, your business may never get off the ground.
If you have a full-time job, that will eat up 10 to 11 hours of your day between working, commuting, lunch, and preparing to go to work in the mornings. If you have child-care responsibilities, that chews up a lot of time, too. Same with elder-care. Families take a lot of time and care, and you don't want to sacrifice your relationship with your family for your business. At least make sure you sit down and explain your new commitment to your family, so they understand that you love them and are not deserting them.
If you can commit to a regular amount of time each week, every week, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think if your current commitments are extensive. You might need to do some reorganizing before you take on more at this stage in your life.

Q3 
Have you ever managed a business or helped run a business before this one? 

We've all heard about the 15-year-old whiz kid who started his own business and was a millionaire by 20. Or the little old lady across town who became a quilting tycoon.
It does happen. But not often. And you never hear about all of the little factors that gathered together to make that happen. You didn't know that the whiz kid's father was a CEO for a Fortune 500 company and gave him advice, or that Grandma Tycoon had been the Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Marketing for a big clothing company.
It takes more than a great product, some passion, and some startup money to make a company grow and thrive. You've got to run the company while you're making sales. You have to hire vendors, set up phones, buy office supplies, create letterhead and business cards, pay your bills, invoice your customers, and file your government forms and taxes.
That doesn't mean you have to do these things all yourself. But most new businesses are not rolling in cash reserves, so the more things you can do yourself instead of hiring them out, the better. Also, even if you can't do these things yourself, you have to know enough about them to make sure that the people you hire get the job done.
The Small Business Administration, your state business registration agencies, your local Chamber of Commerce, and many other organizations offer start-up advice in these and many other areas. Take advantage of them. They know all those niggling little things you can't afford to forget.
If you have some managerial experience, or know someone who does and is willing to help, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think whether or not you can afford to hire someone to help. You might need to do some creative financing and planning to trade with another business for help until you learn how to manage these areas on your own. You also might want to consider a mentoring program. Local Chambers often have these for their members.

Q4
 Have you ever managed the finances for your family, a company you worked for, or a small business before? 

If you've never done small business accounting before, this could be a real challenge for you.
You can learn, and there are programs like QuickBooks from Intuit that can help you learn to manage the finances for your company. If you've ever used a program like Quicken or Microsoft Money to handle your personal finances, you're part way there already.
We recommend QuickBooks accounting products for both new and experienced business people looking for an easy-to-use yet powerful software program for tracking your finances.
You'll need to manage your business bills and payments from customers, and you'll have to file reports to your State and Federal agencies every quarter or so. There will be tax deposits to make, and paperwork to keep track of. A lot of small business owners think they don't have to worry about these things until they are making lots of sales. Wrong!
You should develop good habits right from the start, and the learning curve is much shorter if you practice while you're still getting started. That's the best time to make the little mistakes and learn from them.
This doesn't mean you have to do these things all yourself. But most new businesses are not rolling in cash reserves, so the more things you can do yourself instead of hiring them out, the better. Also, even if you can't do these things yourself, you have to know enough about them to make sure that the people you hire get the job done.
The Small Business Administration, your state business registration agencies, your local Chamber of Commerce, and many other organizations offer start-up advice in these and many other areas. Take advantage of them. They know all those niggling little things you can't afford to forget.
If you've managed money for a company before, or know someone who has and who is willing to help you get started, then Go for It! Otherwise, Stop and Think about this one. You don't want to get into a cash flow bind or potentially even drive yourself out of business because you weren't able to manage your finances. With a little practice, it isn't hard, but don't leave this off the To-Do list.

Alot to think about ? It certainly is Check back in the next few days for Part 2

Rules for Success - Steve Jobs - How to build a Business Network

The late great Steve Jobs with some Great networking tips and advice.

Avoiding Start-Up Business Potholes on the Road to Success

Expecting Success Right Away

We all love success. Fame, fortune, happiness, right? The problem is that most small businesses don't make a profit right away. Many don't even make many sales right away. Hope for success, but plan for 6 months to a year – minimum – of no profits.
Better yet, expect to have to put more money into the business than you already have. Then if you succeed more quickly, you'll be pleasantly surprised. That's better than the alternative.

Not planning for growth

This is the opposite – and equally deadly – problem from the one above. Don't expect success, don't count on it, but don't let it trip you from behind, either.
At least do some projections on a sudden, rapid growth spurt. Will you be able to finance the extra cost of producing those widgets, or be able to afford to hire help to provide your services? Do you have someone you can contract work out to on a temporary basis? Will you have enough time and energy to handle the extra business without sacrificing quality and performance? Don't expect, but always plan.

Not all customers pay on time

It's not a perfect world, and they never do. Live with it. Don't let things creep out too far – accounts receivable management is important. But don't expect them all to pay without a few timely reminders.
A few will pay early, just to be done with it. Some pay the same time every month, so you have to get used to the cash flow pattern. Others will intend to pay in 30 days, as they promised, but somehow it is always 40 to 50 days before you see the check.
And the rest will hold off as long as they can, so these customers should always be on your watch list. Figure out the best motivation for them, because they'll have the worst impact on your cash flow. Will they pay early for a small discount? If so, give it to them. It's worth the time, hassle, and energy you won't lose to get the money faster.

Subcontractors do not always share your ethics

You do quality work. Your customers may demand it. Your contractors do not necessarily share this ethic. Better to grill them, check their references thoroughly, and do everything you can to ensure they share your work ethic – before you hire them to provide services or goods to your valuable customers.
If a subcontractor offends your customer, work it out with the contractor later. In the meantime, abase yourself before your client. They trust you, and if they lose that trust because of a contractor failure, you have to take responsibility, be humble, and assure them it will never happen again.

Double your time estimates

It doesn't matter what it is, it usually takes longer than you think, one way or another. Double the time you think it will take and you won't be caught off guard.

Payroll Expenses

You aren't an hourly employee any more. Payroll costs a lot – usually at least 30% more than you are actually paying out in wages. Don't underestimate this cost.
Likewise, don't underestimate your overhead costs when figuring out your billing rate. You have to make enough not just to meet your former employer's equivalent salary, but also the extra costs for the company's portion of payroll taxes (10-15% at least), the cost of your own health care insurance, costs for business insurance, overhead costs for your business (utilities, rent, advertising, marketing, supplies, car costs, tools, legal and accounting costs, and much more). That's why that budget – and a conservative one – is so important.

Business Insurance

I'm not talking about health care here, but insurance for your business. Property insurance for your tools and office space, liability insurance if a customer or vendor or employee gets hurt at your location, worker's compensation insurance, disability insurance in case you can't work, errors and omissions protection, general business liability insurance in case of lawsuits, and so on.
Lots of businesses cut costs by avoiding insurance. And lots of businesses fail in the first couple of years because a small bit of insurance would have protected them from that big loss that destroyed their business – and if they were a sole proprietorship, maybe their home and personal assets too! Insurance is important.

The Seven Virtues of the Enlightened Marketeer

Just as I have seen most small business owners allow their personal shortcomings interfere with their success, I have known a number of entrepreneurs whose success has been enormous. And I have distilled their personal attributes down into what I call:

                                        The Seven Virtues of the Enlightened Marketeer

    1.    Personal Growth: 
As smart as these people are, they are humble enough to recognize their shortcomings and realize that the only way to improve over time is through learning. As a result, they never stop asking questions, attending seminars, role-modeling after other successful people and reading everything they can get their hands on.


    2.    Fearlessness: 
Everyone experiences fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD), but the Enlightened Marketeer never lets the knot in their stomach stop them from trying or doing what they feel is right. They know that, even if they "fail," they will learn lessons that will help them succeed the next time.


    3.    Generosity: 
Successful small business marketers cast their bread upon the waters and know that the value will be returned to them many times over. They treat their partners, vendors, employees, salespeople and customers with respect and deliver overwhelming value - even if they might not make a profit on that one deal.


    4.    Industriousness: 
You will never find a successful small business person who is not a hard worker. Because they believe in and enjoy what they do, the hours they spend hardly resemble what most people think of as "work," and their unspoken example is followed by everyone they touch.


    5.    Commitment:
 The Enlightened Marketeer is in it for the long haul. They develop marketing programs which they intend to work and improve over time. You will see them doing the same things - only better - for many years.


    6.    Abundance Mentality:
Your glass must be half-full or your life will never be fulfilled. Enlightened Marketeers never dwell too long on a rejected proposal or lost customer because they see their world as full of business and the next great opportunity as just around the corner.


    7.    Calculated Risk Engagement: 
Successful small business owners understand the risk-reward relationship. But they hedge their bets by following the example of successful people who have gone before them and they carefully track the results of their marketing investments to increase their returns over time.