If all it took to build a successful business was the right amount of capital then surely banks would be bending over backwards to help! The reality is that there’s a lot more to building a successful business than money.
I’ve said before that the primary function of a business is to deliver a financial return to its owners so money is an important thing; it’s just not the only thing.
Generating momentum is an important elements for business.
As I mentor small business owners I often hear the misquoted line from the movie Field of Dreams: “If you build it they will come”. The real line is “if you build it HE will come” and it’s a direct link to the movie’s plot not a business plan. So if you’ve been relying on building something for them to come you need to think again! (Because, it’s a movie line. It’s fiction. Not real. Pretend.)
I explained last week that I think momentum comes from the heart.
You might think it’s the customers, the revenue, the profit or the staff that build business momentum but the reality is that momentum comes from the top. Even if you delegate tasks, you need to remember it’s your impetus, your passion and your heart that will set the enthusiasm for and the outcome of the task.
This means that you need to “nail your colours to the mast” and communicate the heart you have for the business so that everybody you deal with understands the why in what you do. Once you learn to articulate your passion you’ll find people understand you better. This is most likely because at some level you will have an aligned passion. Something that brings you together.
How well prepared is your heart for the business journey you’re on? Do you know why you started this business in the first place? Can you deliver your business goals with energy and enthusiasm?
And if you can’t, do you need to revisit the circumstances that drove you in the first place? Those feelings will still be there. Perhaps they’re hidden under piles of rejection, criticism, failed attempts, paperwork, tax, bills, politics, too few achievements, too many mistakes or too few hours!
It may be that you’ll need a little heart surgery, a special diet or even some exercise to remove some of the junk from the arteries of your business. But you can be assured that recovery starts the minute you stop and feel for a pulse. Is it strong, regular, faint? Is it missing?
Your responsibility in order to succeed, is to be in sync with your heart. Learn what you need to learn. Implement what needs to be implemented and push through the crap to get on with pumping blood around your organisation.
Momentum can be hard to initiate and difficult to sustain so remember to stop regularly and feel for a pulse.
If running a business were easy everyone would do it!