September 2011 | Bigg Success

Monthly Archives: September 2011

Entrepreneurs Must Be Crazy

Written on September 22, 2011 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Entrepreneurship

You have to be crazy to be an entrepreneur. That’s what a lot of people say.

And many, many more think it; they just don’t say it out loud.

This opinion is expressed in many forms. We’ve grouped them into two ways of thinking: the old school approach and the new edition.

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The old school

The old school said that the only people who become entrepreneurs are people who no one else will hire.

They aren’t smart enough.

They don’t have the skills.

They can’t keep a job.

They don’t have a choice.

BULLoney!

The new version

The new version of this thought process is a little more subtle.

It says that if you can get a job instead of starting a business, do it. It’s much easier.

We agree.

But it begs the question: Is easy your goal?

The problem with this way of thinking is that it assumes it is.

What if your goal is personal and professional fulfillment?

What if your goal is to make a difference?

What if your goal is to see how far you can go?

What if your goal is to directly see the results you can create?

If that’s the case, then NOTHING beats entrepreneuring.

Risk

But being an entrepreneur is risky. Working for someone else is less risky.

Again, we call BULLoney!

Tell that to all the people who got laid off in the Great Recession who are still looking for work.

Tell that to all the people who have started a part-time business just to feel like they have some control over the lives.

Tough is not crazy

Is it tough? Of course it is.

BIGG success in any endeavor is NOT easy. BIGG goal-getters don’t care.

If you want to do something BIGG with your life, it’s going to be hard. You’re blazing a trail few people dare to go down.

And if you’re a real entrepreneur, you don’t care. It’s just part of the game.

Besides, you’re too busy saving the world – or at least your corner of it!

That’s BIGG success!

Do you have an idea for a full- or part-time business but aren’t sure where to go with it? Maybe we can help.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file | podcast:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/biggsuccess/00738-092211.mp3

Image in this post from kevinsaysthings

Tags: audioblog, bigg success, Business, entrepreneur, entrepreneuring, goal-getters, job, mary-lynn foster, podcast, recession, risk, the bigg success show

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Set Expectations to Be a Success

Written on September 21, 2011 by George Krueger & Mary-Lynn Foster in Communication

Sometimes, some customers expect too much.

So do bosses, spouses, kids, parents, family members, friends and anyone else you have a relationship with.

Why do they expect too much?

We hate to do this. It’s something we rarely do. But we feel it’s necessary in this case. Before we try to fix the problem, let’s fix the blame.

It’s your fault!

You’re the reason they expect so much.

Before you get defensive, take comfort in this. We’re in the same boat as you are; it’s our fault with the people in our world.

What have we all done wrong? In most cases, it’s a communications problem. And a timing issue.

Let’s think about an example. A customer hires you to do a project. You’re excited to have the work. It will be great to get paid.

So you jump in and get started. You get it done. But the customer is far from thrilled. In fact, they’re unhappy.

They said they expected Y. You only delivered X.

You knew upfront that you were only going to deliver X. You didn’t price the job to provide Y.

But you never told the customer.

There’s the communication problem. Of course, you could tell the customer now. But that’s where the timing issue comes in.

Now, anything you say will sound like an excuse. And relationships aren’t built on excuses.

So what can you do?

In this case, we would eat the extra costs and deliver Y. But we would take a lesson away so we get a return on this unfortunate investment.

What’s the lesson?

You must communicate upfront if you want to manage expectations. Before you start a task, a project or a relationship, everything is open for discussion.

But expectations are being set based on those discussions.

When you tell a customer what you can’t do upfront, it’s an explanation. After the fact, it’s an excuse.

Set expectations upfront so you don’t have to make excuses. It leads to BIGG success!

How do you manage expectations?

Image in this post from stroinski

Tags: bigg success, communication problem, conversation, customer satisfaction, customer service, george krueger, mary-lynn foster, Relationships

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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Entrepreneurs Must Be Crazy

Set Expectations to Be a Success

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