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Volume 1 No. 3
A. Tip of the Month B. Sage Advice Susan Solovic, President SBTV C. Help Me Melinda I am working on a How To Quit Small Business Starter Kit. Coming this fall all the essential advice and planning tools you need to start a business will be in an easy to use starter kit. D. Which Chicken Are You? chicken Chicken is a metaphor for the spirit all entrepreneurs need to flourish and muster the strength each day to run their businesses. Chickens rise with the sun each day, and set out to handle their business. The most interesting thing about being an entrepreneur is that in most cases you face a different situation each day. Situations can come from ordinary day to day operational hiccups or from clients who will push you to the end of your rope; particularly if a product did not live up to expectations or a deliverable has been delayed. When it’s your business, major challenges can make you feel an incredible sense of isolation. You may also feel like you are all by yourself. At times, you may even be hit with multiple challenges at one time. Picture this: The brand new copier stops working when you have an important proposal due the next day and you are trying to make the Fed-Ex drop off. Your secretary, who you were counting on to help you finish the proposal, calls out that morning, and that check you were counting on to make payroll that Friday doesn’t come in the mail, even though the client promised it would be there. And to top it all off, your landlord notifies you of a rent increase effective the next month. How would you handle these challenges? How do you handle stress? Do you shut down? Do you get paralysis analysis? Do you become afraid? Do you become short or snippy? Do you start yelling, cursing, slamming things or think about crying? In some cases, depending on the situation you may do all of the above at one time or another. Your coping skills are going to be essential to handle ongoing business challenges. So let’s talk about a chicken salad day. I define a chicken salad day as one of those days when nothing goes right. Your business has got the jump on you that day. You may feel the “piling on” sensation. In all my years in business, I have had too many days just like that example. The most troubling thing is that it is all on you to come up with a solution. The great thing about being in business is you have the ability to try again the next day. My father used to tell me, “You wouldn’t know good days, if it wasn’t for bad days.” I actually tell myself this out loud when I have one of those days that looks like the bad guys are gaining on me. The deal is you will have days like this, more than you care to have. But you will also have terrific days. Your business will be the source of your greatest triumphs as well. Those hard fought victories are the sweetest reward. Your business will provide you with opportunities and experiences that will make you feel more pride than you have ever felt working for corporate America. When you feel like chicken little, that means a crisis is so overwhelming you find yourself feeling afraid and confused about what direction to go. And that’s okay. No one knows how to handle every situation in business. My hope is that you have a supportive spouse and/or kitchen cabinet of advisors who you can call when you are having, what I call, a “chicken little attack.” Hopefully they can snap you out of it so that you can handle your business. Sometimes a verbal reality check or a little reassurance is all you need. That brings me back to my original question, “which chicken are you?” In business, always strive to be the chicken as it rises with the sun racing to handle business everyday. PLEASE RECOMMEND THIS NEWSLETTER to your colleagues. PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your email address to anyone. Melinda has information products on how to start and grow a small business, how to transition from a job to small business ownership and women business owner success strategies. For more information contact: 610-256-8719 or email Melinda@melindaemerson.com |
