Take your current yearly income and imagine for a moment that you were able to make that amount of money monthly. Would that shift how you felt about the economy?
I first encountered that concept when I met David Neagle, Income Acceleration Coach in Los Angeles a couple of years ago. He said it to me so matter-of-factly that I had no choice but to believe him. What if this were really true?
What I've seen of David's work with entrepreneurs that I personally know is that he's taken some from low five figure businesses to millionaires, in the past year.
Of course, it's the dream of financial independence that leads many would-be entrepreneurs to start a business in the first place. However, with the recession that currently seems to have so many in a strangle-hold, neither starting nor keeping a business seems to be a viable option.
'Not so' says Neagle - when I recently interviewed him he indicated that 'resources abound and are often right in front of us but if we are in the mindset of giving up, we're actually experiencing a state of lack of resourcefulness.' There's a distinction made here that is important to be aware of -- lack of resources vs. lack of resourcefulness. Put in another way, 'it's out there' (blame) vs. 'I'm responsible'. Or, as Joel Osteen so likes to say, would you be a 'victim' or a 'victor'?
I couldn't agree more, in my own work with entrepreneurs I have found that what stops business owners more from achieving their business goals lies in their actions or lack of actions based on their limiting beliefs rather than any economic limitation. I know, this is likely nothing new to the seasoned entrepreneur, we've all read (or least have been meaning to read) Napoleon Hill's classic, Think and Grow Rich. However, when the going gets tough -- somehow the tough throw the principles of how much our mindset and thoughts influence our outcomes - out the window! We've gotten into the fight or flight syndrome where all the blood rushes from our brains and into our limbs. C'mon, tell the truth, how often have you awoken at 3 a.m. wanting to flee?
We're in the midst of experiencing a very important Universal Law right now called the Law of Rhythm which indicates that there are seasons or rhythms to everything. We can think of this current economic season as a very cold and long winter, the likes we haven't seen since the 1920's. How does the business owner not only survive this turn in the season but thrive?
As part of his Recession Rescue with Rapid Results program that has just started, Neagle makes these recommendations for being resourceful that will increase our resources that will allow us to not quit our business:
1.Understand that this is a time of transition. Do you want to participate in a recession or participate in a transition? What you decide will help you to shift how you move forward. Remember, what and how we think guides our actions. If we're fearful of a recession, we'll act in fear and likely in a defensive manner. If we're open to a transition, we'll act in a manner of optimism and curiosity which will attract what? You guessed it, more resources. This is the stuff of - 'Right time, right place'.
2.Understand that your customer is thinking (and feeling) differently than they were a year ago. Think of how you feel about your circumstances - are you responding to marketing techniques the same way as you were a year ago? No - most people are focused on their problems and whether or not they're going to have an income next week. The feeling of security so many of us had a year ago because we could access credit and know our income is stable -- is all but gone. Does that mean people don't have money to spend? Of course not, people still need to buy things -- they're just being more cautious. David says that if we can find a way to know what our customer's trigger points are and insecurities are - we can start to develop different ways of marketing. More of what we used to do is just not going to work. Have you noticed that?
3.Understand that restructuring your business may be necessary. Okay, so this might not be a surprise but truly, doing more of the same, or an exaggerated version of the same thing isn't going to work. You have to be different than you were a year or two years ago.
Right now, many businesses are doing extraordinarily well. Why? Are they exploiting people's fears? Undoubtedly some are but because consumers have their 'spidey senses' on full force, it's harder to fool people. The threat of severe buyers remorse is keeping money in purses. It may be time to reevaluate how your buying process works - what worked last year may be keeping your customers from buying this year.
All in all, my own experiences with entrepreneurs along with my experiences with David Neagle indicate that these are some very key ways to keep us from quitting our business amidst this current economic transition.
Now, more than ever, we need to think differently and take different actions within our business in order not only survive, but thrive.