Want to grow your business? You have to grow YOURSELF first. People come to me for help in growing their business. When I ask how they grow personally and professionally and what they read specifically, some say "I'm not a reader." I've never understood how anyone can say that. Readers are leaders –the knowledge readers gain shows in their depth of personality, their knowledge base, and their skills. Making a commitment to be a better person in the coming year depends on what you are willing to do to grow as a person.
In the new year, how are you going to grow YOU?
There are only three ways that you can grow yourself. Here they are:
Grow by what you read
Want a short cut to learn a subject matter someone has spent many years of their life learning? Buy their book. I read a great statistic a few years ago: if you want to be a subject matter expert all you have to do is read five books on a specific subject and you will be among the top 25% of experts on that subject matter, in the world. So find books that excite you and commit to reading them. You'll grow as a result.
Grow by the seminars and conferences you attend
Way back in a former life when I was an upscale retail maven, I travelled frequently on buying trips and attended many seminars and conferences. I would return with my head full of great marketing ideas, organization techniques, and growth strategies and I would wonder why my store managers were not as pumped up as I was. Then I realized that if I wanted my enthusiasm to spread, I had to invite my key management team. I may have been learning, but my managers were not and they were the ones to implement what I had learned. What conferences and seminars can you sign up for that will improve YOU as a person?
Grow by the people you hang around with
My husband formed a successful business in 2003 with a business partner who was less ethical, financially stable, and skilled than he. Of course he didn't know it at the time. This person was always broke, lived in a rental home, had a wife who refused to work, and was consistently using the company bank account as his personal piggy bank. Unfortunately our relationship with this person cost us a lot of money but we learned a big lesson. If you hang around with broke people the consequences of their bad habits will automatically rub off on you. Take a good look at who you are partnering or hanging around with. Do their ethics match yours? Does their income come close to yours? If not, look for new friends.
Yes, you can grow. There are three ways to grow YOU. What's your plan?
Suzanne Muusers
Business Coach for Financial Advisors
Posts
2 comments:
Hey Susan,
I totally agree with you about growing by the confrences and seminars you attend. I recently attended a trade show with our director of operations and we stumbled across a great product to sell in our golf pro shop. WE were super excited about stocking the product in the shop and watching it run out the doors. The only problem was that our other sales people didnt get the idea of the product and didnt try to push the product. I truely believe after reading your post that if we would have included the other sales people in the product demonstration that we attended at the show they would have been just as excited as we where about the product!
Good suggestions!
Luke, yes, it seems enthusiasm for the product stopped with you. Suzanne
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