Date July 28th 2003
Volume 1
Issue #18
Mal Keenan
publisher@home-business-tips-newsletter.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> A note from Mal Keenan (Newsletter publisher)
=> This Issue's Sponsor
=> Feature Article
=> Tidbit of the Week
=> Home Business Blog Musings
=> Free Products, Services, Downloads
=> Guest Article
=> Words of Wisdom
=> Classified Ads
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information

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A Note from Mal Keenan
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Greetings friends,
As always a warm welcome to all our new subscribers since our last issue.

Why is it that some people in life find it very easy to become successful while for others, myself included, it becomes a hard slog? Why is it that some people get all the lucky breaks while us mere mortals trip up at every stage?

I have come to the conclusion that there is something within myself that is actually frightened of the responsiblity of being very very rich or even rich for that matter. Wealth brings with it responsibility.

I have found myself at times making a fair amount of money weekly and then for some unknown glitch, at the time I put it down to bad luck, my spiralling fortunes come toppling down around me and I'm back to square one.

What are your thought on this? Do you have similar experiences? I'd like to hear about them.

The thing is, I'll get to the bottom of this even if I die trying;-)

Til next time

Your friend in success

Mal Keenan
http://www.freeadvertz.com

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P.P.S
Please pass this newsletter on to everyone you know;-).

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FEATURE ARTICLE - Starting a small business is just like running the Peachtree. Only tougher
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By
Tim Fulton

I started jogging several years ago. It was a New Year's resolution. Like most of my New Year's resolutions, I was confident at the time that the euphoria of the holiday season would end soon and so would my brief encounter with running. Unfortunately, that was not the case this time.

Six months into the year, I was still running several times a week and had even extended my endurance to about two miles a run. It was at that time that a good friend of mine suggested that I enter the Atlanta Peachtree Road Race. What a ludicrous idea! The "Peachtree" was a 10K (6.2 Mile) run. This was way beyond my running capabilities. Besides, there would be 50,000 other runners and several hundred thousand spectators. Not a chance.

As I considered this "opportunity" (that's what my friend called it), I thought back and considered that this would be just about the craziest stunt I had attempted in about fifteen years. That was about the time it was first suggested that I should manage a family-owned business. In hindsight, I recalled that I had survived that "marathon" and two more small businesses after that.

I began to consider the notion that preparing for and participating in this race would be much like preparing for and starting a small business. Or would it?

When I decided to enter the Peachtree, the first thing I did was tell my family and close friends of my intentions. This experience reminded me of when I would tell a similar audience of my intentions to start a new business. Most people thought I was crazy. Some people shared the same excitement that I did. Some people even offered to help me prepare. My wife increased the death benefits on my life insurance policy.

My next step was to initiate some strategic planning. First, I attempted to determine objectively what my condition was at the time. I even did a quick S.W.O.T. (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, & threats) analysis. I concluded that I was in pretty good physical shape (strength), I had never run anywhere close to six miles before (weakness), the environment of the race should be a motivating factor (opportunity), and there had better be paramedics on call and ready to administer lifesaving techniques (threat).

The second step in strategic planning was to establish several goals. I decided that I wanted to finish the race by my own will, I would not be the last finisher, and I would get an official race T-shirt.

This reminded me of planning for a small business start-up. Most of the time we don't plan to be the biggest or the best company in our industry or market. We tend to only focus on survival. I wonder how I would have placed in the race if I had planned to win? I wonder how successful my businesses would have been if I had planned from the beginning to be the largest, most successful, and most profitable company.

Once I had determined my present condition and my destination (my goals), I now had to develop an action plan to facilitate my training. I decided that prior to the race I would run a minimum of three times a week. Every week I would try to push my endurance one step further.

I also needed to conduct a little market research. I needed to study the history of the Peachtree Race and the layout of the course. How many spectators would there be? What kind of weather could I expect? Who was my competition? What were past winning times? (not particularly relevant in my case). What were average times? (more important) What was the worst time last year? (critically important)

My planning and training took about six months. Coincidentally, the average small business takes six months to start the business from the time of the initial decision to start the business to the first day of operation. My experience is that on average, the most successful small businesses are the ones that take the necessary time to plan their business and get "in shape". It's than those businesses that start without a plan of attack and without the necessary resources that than take the quickest exit from the "race".

The day of the Peachtree Race finally arrived. I found myself asking the same questions that many small business owners ask themselves on their first day of operation: "How long will I last?, Do I have the resources to finish the race?, What if I stumble and fall?".

The start of the race reminded me of a Grand Opening. There was music, drinks, and lots of paparazzi. There was an electricity in the air.

The race had over 50,000 runners. Some were noticeably bigger and faster than I. Some had obviously prepared better than me. Some even seemed better equipped than me with headphones, expensive running shoes, and fashionable athletic attire.

Likewise, close to one million businesses will be started in any given year. Some of those businesses are bigger and faster than others. Some of them are better prepared than their peers. Some of these start-ups are even better equipped than other new businesses with high-tech offices, well-trained staff, and plenty of cash reserves in the bank.

As the race started, I was initially disappointed that the pace was so slow. The first quarter of a mile we walked. Slowly, we picked up the pace into a slow jog. Finally, after the first mile, we were able to hit our stride. Even than, the pace of the run was sporadic as went up and down hills, around slower runners, and stopped for water periodically.

Starting a business is the same way. Very rarely do our actual sales in the first months or first year match our revenue forecasts. Too often small business owners are far too optimistic about the "pace" of their start-up. They don't anticipate the peaks and valleys. They don't expect to have to maneuver around their competitors. They don't imagine that they will run low on cash and have to acquire additional financial resources to keep the business running.

It wasn't until the end of the fourth mile that I began to gain confidence that I was going to finish the race. No matter what, I knew that I could survive the final two miles. I had momentum. I had settled into a comfortable stride that I felt I could maintain to the finish.

It wasn't until the end of the third year of my business that I felt that we had survived the worst. Research on small businesses has shown that the average such business doesn't show a profit until the third year. The majority of small businesses fail to make it to their fifth year.

I was nearing the finish line. A number of other runners have stopped running and were now walking and even stumbling to the finish. They were determined to finish the race no matter what.

They reminded me of so many small businesses that I have witnessed. Tired, stumbling, their resources almost entirely drained. I often times wonder what drives these people towards such pain and suffering? Why not stop? Why not ask for help?

At last I crossed the finish line. I was filled with mixed emotions. I was ecstatic about finishing my first Peachtree Race. I was proud of the fact that all of my training and preparation had paid off. I was overwhelmed by the standing ovation the runners receive from the huge crowd assembled at the end of the race.

I was also worried. Worried that this was just the first of many races and I needed to improve my training and my skills in order to improve my time. I was also fearful that this might be the last race I finish as the aging process begins to take its toll.

Three days later I was back on the streets training for the next race.

The fifth year of my business, we finally achieved our sales projection. Once again, I remember having mixed emotions. I was euphoric over achieving our sales goal. We had an office party and celebrated. I was proud of the business we had built and the people who made it possible. There was no standing ovation but the look of achievement in the eyes of our employees gave me that same goofy feeling.

I was also worried. Worried that this was just the first time we had achieved our annual sales goal and that we needed to continue to grow the business and improve our ways if we were to remain competitive in the market. I was also fearful that we did not have the financial and intellectual capital to continue to prosper.

The next day I opened up the office just as I had each working day the previous five years. Just another race.

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About the author:
Tim Fulton TCF Business Development (770) 350-9088
Tim Fulton is a nationally recognized entrepreneurial consultant and management trainer. He is also a very popular public speaker.

Visit their site now:
http://www.tcfwa.com

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TIDBIT OF THE WEEK
Send your home business tidbits to
readers@home-business-tips-newsletter.com
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Home Business Blog Musings
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Most Recent Blog Entries

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GUEST ARTICLE - The Top 7 Signs of Self-Sabotaging Behaviors
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By
--- Terri Levine

The Top 7 Signs of Self-Sabotaging Behaviors (and what to do about them)

Having trouble reaching all your goals? Going for what you want but feeling like something is road-blocking the way? Finding yourself *not* doing some of the things you know you should be doing?

You may be a victim of sabotage---self-sabotage. How do you know, and what can you do about it? Read on and see.

The 7 Signs of Self-Sabotaging Behaviors

1. Focusing on what is not working or not right.

Problem: Finding that you think a lot and speak a lot about what is going wrong can make you feel dissatisfied and can quiet your sense of purpose and ambition. Notice how often you speak about things that arent working.

Action: Ask yourself a new question: "Whats going right?" or "What IS working?" Begin to notice all the things, no matter how small, that are working well. Keep an evidence journal and each day write down everything, I do mean everything, that is working. Change your way of thinking!

2. Being stuck in fear.

Problem: Do you worry a lot about the future and what is going to happen or might happen? Are you thinking about your fears so much that you are paralyzed and take no action because of fear of what might occur?

Action: It is time to put your focus on the present. We cant control or predict the future or other peoples behaviors. All we can control is our own, right here, right now. Ask yourself the question "What is the worst thing that could happen?" Then, let go and know that it isnt in your hands to control the future and that rarely do the scenarios we create in our heads occur. Use the wonderful Serenity Prayer and actually write down the things you can not change, the things you want courage to change, and accept that the Universe, God, Spirit, whatever you call it, is the ultimate guide and you are not able to control the future. Relax, breathe and trust that the Universe will take care of you - it always does.

3. Feeling you have no value.

Problem: Do you forget all your accomplishments and lack pride in who you are and what you have accomplished? If you stew and obsess about the past or your lack of success or lack of goal achievement, then youll be stuck in noticing how much you lack as a person. If you often criticize yourself or cant accept compliments, you arent allowing yourself to love yourself.

Action: You can choose to notice what you do that is good and that you can be proud of, no matter how small it may seem. Each day keep a log of what you are grateful for about YOU. When you hear your "inner coach" or inner voice telling you what you havent done right or well, turn down the volume on it and turn on the volume to hear the voice that knows the TRUTH about who you are and how you add value to the world. Acknowledge yourself for at least 5 things each and every day that you did well. Each day, compliment yourself on something you did that you feel good about. Notice your small successes and let compliments others give you flow into your bones.

4. Comparison of self to others.

Problem: Do you constantly compare yourself to others and then feel badly when compared to them? Comparison doesnt motivate us to do more or be better, instead it makes us feel well never be good enough and we arent right now.

Action: Write out the 5 qualities you like best about yourself. Then write out what you value most in your life. When you go to a place of comparison, notice how similar you are with the other person vs. what is different. Begin to create a list of adjectives that describe you - at least 25 positive words about your greatness. Whenever you notice yourself in a comparison mode, think of some of the adjectives that describe YOU.

5. Meeting goals and then losing them.

Problem: Do you not believe that you deserve to accomplish goals and that you are entitled to what you want? What is the story underneath - maybe that you arent good enough to have it?

Action: List all the things you have accomplished that then faded away. Simply notice these things with love and pride and dont focus on the fact they disappeared. How did they bring you satisfaction? How did they make you feel? What is the limiting belief that you have that tells you inside why you cant have what you want? Be quiet, be still and listen to it. Write down how you felt when you had accomplished the goal. Write down how you feel now, without the goal. Then write a "bridge belief": A very, very small belief that feels a little bit better than what you now feel. Each week, create a new bridge, that you can really believe. By using these bridges as stepping-stones, youll shift your limiting beliefs slowly and be on the other side of the bridge and able to maintain it because you will have a new belief inside of you.

6. You chase away relationships.

Problem: Do you always feel something is missing in your relationships or find fault with the other person? Perhaps you are afraid of intimacy. Underneath this is usually a fear of abandonment or exposure that causes you to distance yourself from others.

Action: Create a list of the qualities you value in a relationship and the qualities you want to attract in your partners. Cultivate connections you have with people. Express what you want and dont want to the other person and allow them to express the same to you. Create time to acknowledge the other person on a regular basis. Notice when you feel afraid and let the fillings be - accept them and allow them to sit there. Dont try to push them away. Know that the feelings are there and that is fine. Focus on what feels good about the relationship.

7. Having no purpose.

Problem: Do you feel you have no reason for being? No purpose in life? We all have some purpose for being on the planet and it is time to notice yours.

Action: Write down all the things that are important to you (include possessions, people and feelings). Then write out what you want to contribute to the world. From your writing, create a statement of purpose for yourself that you can read each and every day. Add spirituality to your life. Give to others, give to the world and feel great about it. Make regular contributions to people and community. To give is to receive. Give, give, give and youll feeeeeel your life purpose begin to resonate.

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About the author:
Written by Terri Levine, MCC, PCC, MS, CCC-SLP, the President of Comprehensive Coaching U - The Professionals Coach Training Program, a popular Master Certified personal and business Coach, sought after Public Speaker, and Author of bestseller, "Work Yourself Happy" & "Coaching for an Extraordinary Life". She can be contacted via the website ComprehensiveCoachingU.com or by telephone: 215-699-4949.
http://www.comprehensivecoachingu.com

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WORDS OF WISDOM
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Come to the edge, He said. They said, We are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them...and they flew.

--Guillaume Apollinaire

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