One Habit Harming Your Business

I’m going to share the most vital of business tip I can – you have a bad habit. In fact, most entrepreneurs do. I had to become aware of this bad habit, which is why I am passing it on to you. Once you become aware of this habit then you can start to work on breaking it.

So, what’s the habit? Living in the past. Yes, the past. You see, dwelling in the past keeps you from moving forward. It is important that you do whatever it takes to bury the past so you can come into the now. You can’t think about mistakes or should’ves. You really have to focus on planning to move forward and think about possibilities.

People who live in the past or judge the present based on how they have experienced the past tend to be dreamers, not do’ers. It is important that you are both. I use to live in the past. I thought about all the money and time wasted learning lessons and thought how impossible it seemed for me to move forward. Then, one day, after realizing that I was frozen by my past , I decided to dive right into my future. I worked on shrugging off irrational fears of what could happen again and made a plan to move forward and prevent these things from happening again. I didn’t become glued to past results, I worked on moving forward because of the past results.

If you can learn to move forward from the past, you will be successful. There is no question in my mind about this strategy. So, I ask you today, what about your past is making you fearful about moving forward today? Whatever it is, address it and then figure out a plan to move beyond it.

Until tomorrow,

Twyla N. Garrett

Impress an Investor!

You have everything ready to go for your next business venture.... that is everything except for money. So, you need to not only find an investor willing to consider your business venture- you need to impress that investor! After spending years developing my own companies, sometimes using investors, I've cultivated a few tricks to help investors give the "yes" nod.

What I've learned is business investors are looking for a good marketing plan from entrepreneurs in the business proposals. If an entrepreneur does not have a strong plan for marketing in the overall business plan, the entrepreneur might find that investors are not interested in taking a risk. Marketing is everything. If you don't research the marketing end of your business, investors will not even consider your numbers. Marketing = interest in the media and potential customers, which = sales and profit.

Investors care but don't rely upon education. Don't think your degree is going to get you anywhere with an investor. It is nice to have but some of the best business people on Earth barely made it through high-school. Keep your presentation simple, engaging and don't over pitch your education. Stick with pitching the numbers and how your product or services can be marketed and marketed easily.

Finally, be hands-on. Most investors will look at the attitude of the entrepreneur presenting the business proposal. Having prior business experience always works in favor of the entrepreneur. Most investors like to give the money to someone who has had experience in running a similar business.

I'm not writing a blog tomorrow. Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Twyla