Hanging out with HARRIS

I met a very business savvy young lady today. "She's very enterprising" i thought to myself... she had a mega watt smile and an enthusiastic pitch in her voice and it was just the cherry on the cake that as young as she was she was holding her own with a thriving business. "Hanging out with HARRIS" this month is about managing your business as a young person with the right amount of exurberance and a good measure of seasoned wisdom. Yessir! it's a good one!By the way, how was valentine's day?


BUSINESS for BEGINNERS
It’s a Great day!
It’s the month of February, the love month. With the months ticking away, and the rest pregnant with immense possibilities, I thought it would be nice to share certain tips to guarantee your business success in 2009.

As young people, we’re prone to adrenaline rushes of great ideas, “instant millionaire schemes”…certain to make us the “next BIG thing”, but after a while, the flame flickers, dies or if we’re lucky, we carry on as planned, only to incur massive debt, regret and lots of “had I knowns”.

So what must you do to hit your ultimate business goal in ’08? Well, I’m glad you asked.

There are 3 basic rules of business success:

Dream BIG:

You are the only limit to your imagination. Ask yourself, “What would I achieve if I could NOT fail” and then write it down. Visualize your dream, because you cannot feature in a future that you do not picture! What do you see? Look at your feet, what do you notice? They are pointed in the direction of your vision. That means, as long as your eyes can see it, your feet will take you there! So dream BIG.
As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, his feet walked on water’ but as soon as he “considered (meditated on) the waves, he took his eyes off his picture (Jesus) and put his eyes on the water, what happened? He began to sink. What are your eyes focused on?

START small:
As lofty and impressive as the oak tree is, it didn’t just appear as a full grown tree, it began as a seed. Every great dream or business began as a seed. Take time out to count the cost. Ask yourself, “what is my business?”, “who are my customers?”, “how much do they earn?”, “where are they located?”, “I am the solution, what is their problem?” etc. Answer those questions.

Next, you’ve got to find a mentor who is the best in the field you wish to flourish in and SERVE him. Humble yourself to learn from the best.
When I decided to become one of the world’s most sought after speakers and management consultants, I went to serve (for free, I might add), a man whom I recognized as the leader in both fields, Fela Durotoye. 3 years on, I’m still serving (getting paid…very well, I might add) and my present’s brighter than I ever imagined. Because he is a picture of my future, and I’m privileged to stand on the shoulders of a giant, guess what happens?… I stand tall.

These days, I get the privilege to speak on behalf of and with Fela Durotoye at some incredible events, why? Because he’s trained me and trusts that I would deliver just as he would.
Too many young people want to be their own boss, but think that serving someone is a waste of time. Experience is NOT the best teacher; other people’s experience is the best teacher!Don’t argue, start small, get a mentor.
To be the best, you gotta learn from the best.

Grow FAST:
Once you’ve learned the secrets and tools of the trade, you’ve gotta grow fast. To do this, there are 4 principles:

• Make more money:
people don’t buy products, they buy solutions!

• Save more money:
you’ve got to make it easy for your customers to get value for the solutions you provide.

• Grow your market share:
increase the reach and range of your business.

• Grow your brand:
you’ve gotta be known as a solution to ONE thing. e.g. Basketball (Jordan), Golf (Tiger Woods), Free Kicks (Beckham), Computers (Bill Gates)

Question is, what ONE thing will you be known for? Find it and master it!

I’m certain that as you apply these principles, you will have a fiscally fulfilling, 2009.
What are you waiting for?
Your future starts NOW!

SteveHARRIS is the Head, Consulting Group of Visible Impact Limited; a highly sought after motivational / inspirational, business speaker and strategist.
steveharris@visibleimpact.com.ng