Dan W Bliss

Today, we sent a newsletter with my article entitled Being Broke is Not an Excuse.  The results were fascinating.

It seems that an article like this can strike entrepreneurs in two ways:

1. The article can inspire or motivate them to get moving on their businesses.  Put the excuses aside and get to work!

2. The article can frustrate them or cause them to become bitter.

I was very surprised to see how polarizing an article can be.  People from the frustrated camp argued that broke with $0.00 is paralyzing.  That, in fact, a business can’t be started with $0.00.

The optimists fired back with more encouraging views.

In the comments below the article, I felt that I had to address the intent of the article.  Of course, people need food, transportation and even phone or internet access to get a business started.  The point is that you don’t need millions (or even thousands) of dollars to start a business.

Frankly, it might be an interesting experiment to start out homeless with no money, and see if it is possible to start a profitable business.

Hmmm…  Let me think about that one!

Are you focused?

Many people have told me that I am very focused.  When people say this, they typically mean that I concentrate well on the immediate task at hand.  While this is generally true, there are two entirely different types of focus that are equally, if not more, important for business success.

I like to think of focus as having three distinct levels.  Skill in all three areas can allow you to become extremely effective.  Deficiency in just one can be quite detrimental.

The 3 levels of focus are:

Task
In today’s technology age, focusing on a task has become increasingly more difficult.  Cell phones, emails, text messages and tweets are major distractions that can destroy momentum.  Time management experts might classify these interruptions as things that are seemingly urgent, but unimportant.  For some reason, we all feel the urge to take calls and reply to messages as they come in.

Most people are very capable of focusing on a specific task once they get started on it.  The biggest problem is sticking to it without distraction.

To overcome this, turn off your phone and avoid your email.  Block off periods of time where you can work on your immediate project without interruption.  If it helps you to listen to music or a TV in the background, that’s fine.  You’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve.

Vision
To achieve most goals, you must have a singular vision.  Set a clear goal and create a defined plan for achieving it.

Many entrepreneurs have so many responsibilities, and are pulled in so many directions, that it’s difficult to stay on track.  Plus, there are many temptations that lure entrepreneurs into non-core projects.

It’s up to you to be disciplined.  Stick to the plan.  Yes, it’s OK to brainstorm on crazy ideas for achieving your goals, but you must always remain true to the overall vision.

Emotion
This is an area of focus that people don’t often consider.  Struggling with the other types of focus might slow you down by making you less efficient, but your emotional focus can break your business.

It is imperative that you maintain the enthusiasm and attitude necessary to achieve your goals.  Building a business is damn hard work, and it can be trying at times.  You will be tested monthly, weekly and even daily.  Your full commitment to your business is the key to its survival and prosperity.

I recently took a half-day for personal time to reflect and rejuvenate.  I find that doing this from time-to-time allows me to appreciate the big picture and maintain my emotional focus.

Amid the chaos of running a business, take a step back to assess your focus on all three levels.  If you can master your focus, your goals will become easier to see.

Entrepreneurs have to be tough!

As much as you don’t want to hear this, when it comes to starting a business, pain can very often be good.  Allow me to explain.

In the early stages of startup, many businesses succeed, and many businesses fail.  What separates the successful businesses from the failures?  Frequently, it’s the ability of the founder to adapt and figure out the best method for generating profits.

In many instances, businesses fail because they haven’t perfected their business models, or because they can’t raise enough cash to continue with operations.  These are frustrating times.  Entrepreneurs become worried, stressed and uncertain about solutions.

This is called “pain.”

Don’t run from it, and certainly don’t give up.  Quitting is what many people do.  However, it’s within your control to take a different mental approach.  This is when greatness is born.  As much as you might dread this moment, embrace it.  Absorb it.  Cherish it.  Learn from it.

The pain you feel will create a sense of urgency and clarity.  It’s kind of like shopping for a gift.  When you have all the time in the world, you’ll have trouble making up your mind between gifts, stores, prices and colors.  Suddenly, when you are late for the party, you will take decisive action.

When you are under the gun, it is the best time to brainstorm.  Your ideas will stretch further, and you will give careful consideration to even the craziest ideas.  Whether trying to figure out new business methods or find new business partners to approach, use this opportunity to get your creative juices flowing.

I’ll give you a personal example.  A business partner and I bought a famous concert club.  We were young, and we bit off more than we could chew.  We had raised enough money to buy the building and the business, plus some cash for operations.  We thought we were buying a healthy, profitable business.  Just three months after buying the business, we were broke.

By then, we had extinguished all of our friends, family and credit, just to buy the business.  We couldn’t afford our payroll and utilities.  We were moving into the dead of winter, and we were going to have the power shut off and miss payroll.  Everything was at risk, especially our reputations.

Under all of this pressure, we sat down and brainstormed for hours.  We needed to move decisively to save our business.  The ideas we came up with were groundbreaking!

We figured out a few ways to alleviate our immediate cash needs, then we turned the business on its ear!  We began doing weekend matinee concerts for high school bands and double-shows on Friday and Saturday nights.  This allowed us to book over 40 concerts a month, instead of 30.  We also changed our booking, marketing, ticketing and staffing procedures to operate more efficiently.

Within less than a month after these major changes, our business was profitable.  This was still in the middle of winter!  By the time spring rolled around, we were growing quickly.  Within 2 years, we had quadrupled revenues and profits.

The changes we implemented in our most difficult period allowed us to grow faster and operate more efficiently than we would have otherwise.

These same lessons apply to every startup and every business that struggles through a down economy.  Remember, pain is good.  Tighten your belt.  Find new sources of revenue.  Come up with new ideas to make your business thrive.