When I was a teenager, my mother and stepfather got divorced and my mom and I moved to a mountain community and lived in a cabin that my aunt owned. We lived there while my mom ran a bakery that she had purchased with the proceeds from her divorce. The mountain cabin had no insulation, and the only heat source was a large floor heater on the first floor. On cold winter days I used to stand over the heater to get dressed because the house was so cold.
My mom worked very hard at the business she had purchased. I admired her hard work but I still don’t understand why she bought a business that she knew nothing about. She struggled every single day to make it work. She learned how to make bread and donuts from the baker who came with the bakery. I learned how to wash sheet pans.
My mom spent many late nights trying to figure out how to make money and pay her bills, and we had very little left over for us. I recall eating vegetable soup night after night, so much so that for many years after I grew up I would not eat vegetable soup. I think in those formative years I vowed not to be poor when I grew up. I have learned since then that business does not have to be so hard, but it can be very hard if we do not have the business skills beyond our technical skill set to make the business a success.
The tough years my mom experienced trying to make her business work, the pain she went through, the tears she cried, and then watching her eventually go broke convinced me there had to be a better way. It is what has driven me to succeed in my own career and also to take that experience along with my MBA in organizational development to help business owners understand and learn the business skills necessary to grow and sustain a successful business. It is one of the reasons I wrote the book It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.
I am not implying that your business will not be hard work, but it can be so much more enjoyable and easier if you will learn the skills necessary to ensure your success. You do not have to go it alone. Hire a mentor or a coach to assist and advise you and hold you accountable to a higher level. Then watch your business grow.
Give us a call. We are in the business of helping business owners grow and take their businesses to the next level. 503-312-3145
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