BIG FOUR Reasons to Change and Make Success

When I started my career, I thought I would work for as long as I wanted to for one (maybe two) companies and retire as I was told growing up. My elders, always said: “get a good job and stay loyal, then retire with that pension.” I started working at my post graduate school job in 1998. It was a great place, I had great colleagues and we worked hard. I routinely woke at 4am, drove to the gym and then to work. I also believe that Protestant work ethic: “Hard work pays off.” I made a good living and never genuinely wanted for anything. In 2003, my organization lost a landmark case which triggered downsizing and coupled with the emergence of technical out-sourcing. And I was one the list.

The world has changed and it continues to change at an ever increasing rate. The day’s of working for one company your entire life and retiring or working one job and being able to live the life you want as opposed to living the you can afford may be over. Even now, where my family also believe that “government jobs” were safe, they hire on a contract basis. There is no guarantee of hitting a full pension.

A year and half ago my wife and partner told me about an eCommerce business idea that she had and wanted to get my opinion. I immediately was receptive due to several items:

• Time: I only have so much time that I can physically be productive and that number declines as you layer on family obligations, commutes, etc.  so the opportunity to earn money while I slept was a compelling item.
• Finances: Outsourcing work and the use of contract labor has made a significant transference of financial cost to individuals such as benefit cost. No longer are the days of sick leave, paid vacation and benefits – those are all out of pocket for many.
• Competition: As an ex-collegiate athlete but it is still in me. I love to compete but when you talk about competing for jobs the selection process is very subjective. Also, I find work isn’t competitive anymore. I know my job and try to learn new things, but am even limited there. This would ignite that in me again- how do I win at this?
• Earning: Your ability to earn greater and greater amounts is limited not only by your skills but the politics, and various other social economic factors that are outside of your control. Once we talked through the business opportunity and the only thing stopping us form earning was us -it was obvious to me that we should do it.

There is a lot that goes into starting and running a business. There is tons of paperwork, meetings, cold calls, prospecting and business development, just to name a few. Part of the attraction to this business is it is turnkey so the administrative paperwork, and overhead was handled by the hosting group. The reduction in the administrative burden allows us to focus on the substantive which was business development, advertisement, lead generation, sale’s pipeline management, etc.

I’ve learned a lot and continue to learn daily in this endeavor. Four big things I have learned:

1. Be a better listener. There is a lot of noise in the world. People will talk which may give you the illusion that they want to do business with you and your ability to listen and quiet the noise and will go a long way in possibly closing a transaction or finding an ideal teammate that will duplicate what you do.
2. Always be in business mode. No matter the time or place you should always be ready to do business.  Social situation or social media an opportunity may arise to do business and you must be ready. Doesn’t matter how tired I am.
3. Adapt to a changing landscape. This is important with the advent of social media as people are paying less attention to their phones (especially unknown numbers) and email. In addition people’s attention is captured by video, fame, and social media platforms so you have to flow like water and find away to achieve your goal.
4. Lastly, business development is a lot like courting. You see a beautiful woman but you have to put yourself and what you have to offer on the line. Ok, masculine example, but I am a man! Point is you have to put yourself out there. You may win or loss but you have to take action.

If you want to live your dream you must take actions and do thing that will facilitate your dream. That means constantly tending and helping it reach its fullest potential. Often we get in the rut of work hard and stay loyal. Now the only people I am passionate about and working for is us. That’s why I said yes to this great opportunity.