UKIFP

An article by Knight Kiplinger about the “Invisible Rich” struck a nerve with me because this is where my thoughts have been going – living with a purpose, a financial purpose. In my own life, I knew an elderly woman that lived next door to my parents. She did not own a car or even a clothes dryer. She walked to the grocery store then called a cab to take her home after shopping. She hung her clothes to dry. She also walked downtown each month to do her banking, manage her portfolio of CD’s and money market accounts. This was before the internet and such but I doubt if she were here today – she wouldn’t pay for internet access just to save her time. She was a millionaire before there was Microsoft.

Her house served it’s purpose. Her clothes kept her warm and stylish. Her life was simple and comfortable but by no means easy. She was the perfect example of the “Invisble Rich”. It doesn’t matter how long it took to build this kind of wealth – what matters is that she squandered nothing. She thought through exactly where her money would go. She designed her path and then lived it.

I have always said if I somehow come into alot of money I wouldn’t spend it – spend it. I would pay off my debt, pay for a simple efficient home in full, the same with a car – low cost good quality used car paid in full then invest the rest. I wouldn’t want more than security and the freedom to choose the rest. Money and Debt – I’m wrangling a new mindset here as I start out on my own again… from scratch at 45 and still raising two more young children. If I can do it – anyone can.

Reality: According to the SBA, 63% of all small businesses fail in the first 5 years.

OUCH! It sounds harsh, but it’s true. And having been in business for over 6 years, I can tell you I’ve seen many colleagues go the way of “have to get a job” in order to put food on the table and take care of their families.

And the sad part, many of those businesses could have succeeded. It’s generally not a lack of ideas, technology is rarely the issue and with the low cost of doing business online, it’s often not money.

The top reasons most small businesses fail are:

1. Lack of vision and systematic strategy — what’s the long-term (you decide what this means) vision for your business and how are you going to get there?

2. Lack of marketing system — many business owners spend so much time reinventing the wheel around trying to get new clients that they either burn out or focus too much time on the “getting new ones” and not enough on the “serving existing ones”. Do you have a marketing system in place?

3. Lack of a client follow-up system — once clients are in the door, do you take care of them? Do you practice Extreme Client Care(tm)? Do you listen to them and create the products and programs they’re asking for?

4. Trying to do too many things at once — many entrepreneurs pride themselves on being “great multitaskers”. Our brains can’t multitask, they “task switch”. . .from this to that and back to this. And, as a result, neither task gets done as quickly, or as well, as if we’d simply focused on one at a time.

5. Doing everything ad-hoc without any systems — while it’s so easy for us to say “I don’t have time to create a system, I just need to get it done now”, truth is, without systems, you’re the one “doing it” all the time — unable to hand anything over to a support team. And this creates something far worse than a 9-to-5 job.

And I’d add the following. . .

* Not having a big enough reason “why” — that “thing” which pulls you forward when you’re otherwise tempted to quit. Hint. . .it’s rarely “money” by itself, it’s usually what that money can do for you/your family.

Make It Real: My Request To You

Review the 5 bullets above and ask yourself — is your business set up for success? Remembering that this is the basis of a successful business, systems and planning will only take you so far, strategic implementation is key!

And for those days when you just “don’t feel like it”, is your “why” big enough, strong enough to pull you forward to accomplishment?

I’m known for a simple statement: “Ordinary things, done consistently, bring extraordinary AND consistent results!”

What ordinary things are you doing consistently?

Sandra Martini is an award-winning marketing and productivity consultant who helps entrepreneurs create and implement systems to achieve their visions, with services such as coaching, client systems development, consulting and Team Sandy Done 4 You Online. For more business strategies and to get your free audio series “5 Simple & Easy Ways to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”, visit Sandy’s site at http://www.SandraMartini.com today.