As a former retailer – I know you are usually so busy that you don’t have time to think about ……….what you think about!!! You are too busy dealing with the day to day things that come up and seemingly need to be addressed right at that second to really think of your business as a whole and maybe in a new light.
I think I’m a very logical straightforward thinking gal, and what I’m about to say probably wouldn’t have ever come out of my mouth (or fingers) 6 years ago – but how you view your business and the vision you have for it can ultimately be your destiny – either for the good or bad.
“If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.” ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer
Having been one and knowing and working with a lot of retailers, I know 100% this is completely true!! The folks I know that are always positive, even in the face of a problem or challenge, always come out on top. Sometimes they ask for help to get there (we meet a lot of retailers at this point in their business life) after realizing that they can’t go it alone anymore, but they are always confident things are going to get better. They never make excuses for why something isn’t going 100% according to plan, they are completely open to new ideas and embrace them wholeheartedly. They aren’t paralyzed by the fear of what might go wrong – they realize when what they have been doing isn’t working and WANT new ideas. They are eager to learn and better themselves and their businesses – even if that means they have to stick their necks out there a little and try something that in their minds is a little risky.
On the flip side, like the quote says, the retailers who aren’t as positive, find themselves continually facing challenges and sometimes find themselves a prophet. These folks are scared to ask for help and let someone else know they have made a few mistakes (PS EVERY HUMAN ON EARTH MAKES MISTAKES), they are scared to try new things and feel more comfortable doing the things they have always done even when the business is screaming at them that it’s not working. They have an excuse for why things aren’t working (it usually has something to do with the weather) or why they can’t break out of their rut and try new things.
For me personally, I was a little combo of both (and I’m sure most of the folks out there are too) but luckily for me, I finally got kicked in the hind end and took a leap of faith and it changed my life and business for the better. Not that I still didn’t have an excuse from time to time, but I stopped being afraid of what might happen bad and instead focused on what might happen that would be great and in the end …… it was pretty much all great !!!!
Now the question is ….. Which kind of business owner do you want to be?? Positive or Negative??