Bad Attitudes Kill Small Businesses
As a counselor for the SBDC I see a lot of small businesses. Just in the last year I have had over 180 one-on-one meetings with small business owners.
2011 must have been a very bad year because I heard about a lot more problems than I did success stories. I had to deal with small business owners that were deeply in debt and worried that they were going to lose their houses. I had to deal with owners who were laying off employees for the first time, and in some cases I was helping small business owners decide if now was the time for them to close their business altogether.
From a counseling perspective, 2011 was a tough year to be a small business counselor.
It's All About Attitude
When I asked these small business owners why their business wasn't thriving I heard things like, "the economy is killing me," "customers are afraid to buy," or "prices have just eroded so I can't make any money." All of these small business owners believed what they were telling me. But were their attitudes part of the problem?
Could it be that watching too much local news, national news, and cable news -- all of it full of bad news -- turned their belief that things were going to be bad into a self-fulfilling prophecy?
I know 2011 wasn't a bad year for everyone. There were small business owners who grew and expanded. There were small business owners who hired employees, and there were some who had their best year ever. And in many cases, attitude was what separated the winners from the losers.
So what made the difference between 2011 being a great year or a lousy year? I believe that many small business owners decided at the beginning of 2011 that this was going to be a bad year (they listened to too many "experts") -- and that is exactly what they got!
In other words, the attitude of the small business owner going into 2011 made a huge difference on how 2011 actually turned out.
No News Is Good News
So if, as a small business owner, you realize that YOU might have been part of the reason why 2011 was a bad year, then what can you do differently in 2012? What can you do to make sure your business in 2012 thrives rather than just survives?
For one thing, you can turn off the news! You might be surprised at how your attitude about things can change when you don't listen to how bad everything is.
Set Your Goals
Then you might want to think about setting a goal for your business to achieve in 2012.
People who set goals for their businesses get consistently better results than those who don't set goals. Be honest: How many of you sat down last December, reviewed the year, and set specific goals for your business to achieve in 2011? As a professional counselor, I know that most small business owners have a very difficult time setting goals, and many have never set even one goal for their business!
If you want to thrive in 2012, set a stong, positive goal for your business to reach in 2012. What is the best way of make sure you can reach your goal? I'll discuss that in my next post.
