small business – Brenda Everson-Shaw

Determination

Without determination none of your goals as a business owner will be achieved.

What is determination?

a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult, the act of finding out or calculating something, the act of officially deciding something.

As a small business owner you must maintain that level of determination you had when first you made the leap to running your own business.

With ownership comes complications, frustrations and often set~backs. Your level of determination will dictate how you work through such issues.

Are you adjusted to the long, long hours you are putting in? No 9~5 these days! No long weekends. Most likely you are working longer hours than you had anticipated and (hopefully) enjoying it. After all, you ARE the boss!

Winners are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.

Determination will get you through. But you must also take a break, get some fresh air, run to the gym to get those endorphins pumping! Keep your eye on the goal.

“A failure establishes only this, that our determination to succeed was not strong enough.”
John Christian Bovee

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”
Colin Powell

If determination is not one of your strong suits, perhaps you need to rethink your desire to start your own small business. Not everyone has the degree of perseverance it takes to continue in the hard times…and they ARE inevitable!

TODAY IS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

VISIT LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPING

Be sure to visit you local merchants today for Small Business Saturday Shopping. You will find those unique gifts that eluded you when you were fighting off the crowds on Black Friday in the huge department stores!

New England is full of beautiful villages and local “downtown” areas where you will find fabulous gift ideas and some fantastic business owners. Drop by the local cafe` for a snack, that fabulous bakery for those homemade donuts and breads or grab dinner at that small seafood place you have always told yourself you would visit. Looking for that unique, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry for someone special? Ask your local merchant not the high cost jewelry chain store who mass-produce a piece which they tell you is “made for you alone.”

How about that gorgeous scarf made from wool on a Vermont farm and not from some country you cannot spell or pronounce.

When you patronize a small business, you will find outstanding customer service from associates who know each product and who are also friendly, gracious and appreciative of your business. Plus, chances are you will find someone you actually know who works at the small business, enjoys their job and is not there “just to make a dollar”!

Can’t do it this weekend? There are many more weekends ahead before Christmas……..

Many of the New England small businesses have been family owned for generations, specializing in making certain each customer is satisfied. The small business owner is not there just to make a quick sale or fill some quota set by three managers in a huge corporation who dictate whom to sell to, how to get the sale and get them out the door!

Your neighbor, best friend’s aunt or your fellow high school graduate has worked tirelessly to make their shop the sort of place in which you want to linger, a place where you will return to again.

Statistics from the SBA:

~ The 28 million small businesses in America account for 54% of all U.S. sales.

~ Small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs since the 1970s.

~ The 600,000 plus franchised small businesses in the U.S. account for 40% of all retail sales and provide jobs for some 8 million people.

~ The small business sector in America occupies 30-50% of all commercial space, an estimated 20-34 billion square feet.

What Are You Telling People?

When you meet people, what do you tell them about your small business?

It’s always quite simple to strike up a conversation with anyone if you are confident in what you are saying.

Who in this picture do you think is actually “introducing” the small business that they own?

When you own a small business you may be the only one who can get the word out about how great a service or product you provide.

Most likely you have heard the phrase “elevator pitch”. Personally, I’m not a fan of that term, but it means having a quick definition for your business you would give someone if you were riding an elevator with them: 6-8 seconds worth! Just try out a few until you find the one that works.

Who in the elevator is actually giving their 6-8 second pitch?

The next person you meet in the proverbial elevator or in line at the store or even the great waitress at dinner, any one of them could be your next customer. Just be ready to answer any question they may have without giving an entire marketing presentation! You don’t want to scare them off. You want to make them curious.