What Keeps Me Up At Night

I am fearful and afraid. Not of Congress, Al Qaeda, Obama, Nancy Pelosi or the fact the Chicago Cubs may actually win the world series some day.

Nope, I’m afraid, I’ll never be anything.

You see as an entrepreneur, you go into business for some simple reasons.

Control and money.

That’s it. We all want to control our destiny. We don’t think the world can handle us unless we take charge and manifest our dreams forward.

The other reason is money. We want to have the money to do the things we want to do, to buy what we want to buy and to live a comfortable life. Sure most Christian Entrepreneurs won’t admit it. They will wrap it in wanting to serve the poor and help out Africa. And I do believe there are those who are genuine in their statements.

For me, I want to be comfortable. I don’t want my wife to have to work 2 jobs to help make ends meet. I don’t want to drive a old Honda Odyseey with 122,000 miles on it. I want more.

I am afraid my life as an entrepreneur will be one of failure after failure after failure. A debt laden existence of never having that hit again where the money flows, the public wants your product or service and that I wind up living in a double wide trailer in Orlando, working shifts at Disney World while I still dabble in entrepreneurial endeavors.

I fear that I’ll never make it again. That it has passed me by and I blew it. I got too arrogant, not humble enough. That that my ability to create wealth has been hijacked and taken from me, never to return to place where it will be real again.

I fear flying coach, wearing clothing from Goodwill, shopping with coupons at Bi-Lo until Social Security runs out. I fear that I”ll never know what it’s like to have a winner in business and have God on my side.

That I”ll burn through business partnerships because the dream never materializes. That I”ll be known as the guy who is poison. Crazy and shouldn’t be listened to.

That my kids will love me but be ashamed. That my anger will never get into control and that it will sabotage me just when success is right around the corner.

I don’t trust my ability to sell with integrity. At least not in the way Jesus would see it. That I’ll always twist the words to get the deal and leave someone else to clean up the mess. That I’ll be that guy at High School reunions that people will whisper.. “He could have been someone.”

That my wife will support me until mine and hers dieing days. Only to have her live a life of unfulfilled expectations and dreams. That maybe I really should have gone to work for the really big company and been bored. At least I would have had some health care and a small retirement.

I fear that I’ll never know what God really had in mind in business and at the end it really is about serving in Africa. Or Russia or New York City.

I fear that making the mortgage and sweating it out will be a common occurrence in my life.

This is what I fear as an entrepreneur. And that this haunting in my heart will lead me down paths to chase the money and not the love. To follow the bank balance and not my love.

This is my fear as an entrepreneur. What’s yours?

FEAR

Right now, there are many people who sit with a burning desire in their hearts to do something special – something big.

Right now, there are people who think that they left their purposes behind, only to settle for second or worse, third best.

Right now, there are people who have influence in their lives speaking all kinds of doubt and uncertainty to accomplishing that big thing.

Right now, the world needs someone to step up. More than ever, we need people who are willing to take that jump with no parachute knowing that if the LORD does not show up, you will certainly die.

Well, jump.

Take the leap. It is time.

Some still have some baking in the oven, but there are many who are called. The chosen few know who they are and need to jump.

For, if you fear, you will certainly not accomplish that big thing.

God is with you. Take the leap.

Jump now.

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John Stein has 23 years business experience working with companies of all sizes and industries including Arthur Andersen (way before Enron), Prentice Hall Professional Software, CPA Systems and Escape Velocity Systems. His background includes various leadership roles in sales and marketing.  Learn more about John and his company at elevate29.com

Tactics Come Later

Now is the time to really go after increasing your presence in the marketplace. There are many companies who are drying up and going away. But, it takes wisdom unlike any prior time. And, it all starts with the big picture. A common trap for many starting companies is to skip past strategic planning and get right into tactical execution.

For example, there is a great buzz today around social media and pressure to get activesooner than later. It is quite easy to launch a Facebook fan page or put your name on Linked In or even start a blog. But, there has to be a reason for this type of activity. I can tell you first hand that keeping content fresh on a blog is work.

But, what is the purpose? What are you trying to achieve? What is your desired outcome?

It is good to know what you want out of the program before you start the project. The foundation must be laid before the walls can go up. Otherwise, the entire house will fall. For your business, the foundation is your corporate strategy. Who are you? Who are your customers? Where do they want to be met? How do you bring value to them better than anyone else? What is your revenue growth path?

Once you develop a solid strategic plan for bringing value to the marketplace as a business, your marketing and sales plans will follow suit. From there, you can roll out the execution of your plans.

It seems simple enough, but it is amazing how many emerging companies sit behind the rock of “I dont have time to do it” and implement marketing campaigns that dry up resources and produce little results. You then get a bad taste in the mouth for that type of activity when it was the entire approach that was flawed.

There are some amazing tools and techniques from a sales and marketing standpoint that will produce great results, and we implement many of those for our clients.

But, know who you are and you your market is. Know what you are looking to accomplish, and develop plans that support where your vision takes the business. Then roll out the tactical execution.

You will see much higher results and impressive ROI.

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John Stein has 23 years business experience working with companies of all sizes and industries including Arthur Andersen (way before Enron), Prentice Hall Professional Software, CPA Systems and Escape Velocity Systems. His background includes various leadership roles in sales and marketing.  Learn more about John and his company at elevate29.com

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