Life after.....

On February 10th, 2017....I'll have been gone 5 years from the industry I gave 4 decades of my life to.

I have been self-employed since then. No, being your own boss isn't a slam-dunk, easy gig. If you're a 1-person business like me, it can be weird to all of a sudden do most of your work alone after decades with lots of co-workers (I do miss most of them...😀).

But, you know what? I am happier now being self-employed than I ever was as an employee. The buck truly stops with the guy who's image I see in the mirror as I shave every morning.

That's OK with me. It's fantastic.

What do you want? What do you need?

Everyday stuff cluttering your head? Got you mentally spinning? Can't focus?

Think about 2 key, and very personal concepts:

What do you want out of life? What's most important to you? Family, friends, pets, career, and so forth.

Then...what do you really need to do to achieve those goals?

Sure...there's effort, time, and probably luck involved to get where you want to be.

But, if you focus, and a HUGE key: block out pointless distractions that drain your energies and sidetrack your efforts working toward your goal...it's a more trouble-free path to your success!

It's May 2, 2012. Where has the time gone?

Have worked too much, made too little (hey, you gotta pay the bills!), and had too little fun.

So, a few months ago, fate blessed me, and now after, well: forever working for somebody else, I now work basically for myself. And, I'm happier today than I've been since....well, forever.

If you ever get the chance to operate your own business...it's not easy, but it's wonderful. You'll work more than you ever did in your life, but you'll feel better....more at peace...more enthusiastic and optimistic than you've ever felt in your life. Well, that's how I feel. And, it's the best I've felt in more decades than I can remember!

obviously simple

Eliminating clutter, both of "stuff" and words can be a real game-changer in our lives.

This should be obvious, but often isn't, in our information-flooded world.

Getting really good at simplicity isn't easy. But, it's well worth the effort...and mastering it is a powerful tool, especially in business.

Check out Leo Babauta's book "The Power of Less". I did...and I loved it.

how squeeky are you?

An old expression: "the squeeky wheel gets the grease".

As an individual or business owner: how "squeeky" are you?

why you should fear word of mouth

Over the many years I've been in advertising sales, the absolutely most-frequent phrase I've heard from local business owners is: "...word of mouth is my BEST advertising vehicle...".

That sure SOUNDS great, and it's certainly an intoxicating thought of something for nothing (translation: "I don't have to spend money on advertising").

But, does "word of mouth advertising" REALLY work for most businesses in 2010? Ahhh....maybe not nearly as well as you might think.

Why? Think how people live today. Think about how busy all of us are today. Most people couldn't tell you what they had for lunch .

If a business does a good job, most customers rarely notice. Why? They EXPECT us to do a good job. Customers don't rave about what they consider normal service/quality. Most of the time they don't even notice a good job, well done.

But, if we screw up, you catch their attention...and they often tell EVERYBODY they know about how your store did them wrong. And, that's NOT the type of "word of mouth advertising" any of us want.

Sadly, that's human nature in 2010. Most word of mouth is negative.

The moral of the story: advertise!

Tell your positive story. Give thousands of potential customers great reasons and benefits to buy from you, rather than your competitors. As my grandpa used to say: "...the squeeky wheel gets the grease...".

If you don't tell them....how will they know????

nobody really NEEDS anything

I'll never forget what a very wise man once told me.

He was the owner of a furniture store...and was one of my great local customers back in the 1980's and 90's.

He told me how he'd get non-stop phone calls from sales people...many of whom he'd never met or barely knew, asking: "do you need anything?"....rather than taking the time to develop a relationship with him before they ask for an order.

What he said was...."...nobody really needs anything...".

He was a very bright man. He's now retired from business ownership. I miss calling on him. I learned a lot from him.