Lazy B…..ds and the Truth About Luck In Business
September 21, 2007
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Over the years I’ve noticed a strange connection between luck and business. It seems the harder you work at making your business successful, the luckier you get. But, it doesn’t happen over night.
Now, I’m not saying that no luck is involved at all. After all, where you are born is definitely down to luck, as is where and how you die. But, you can influence a lot of the luck you have in between times. And if you were born in a relatively safe country, with all your basic needs taken care of, you have a huge advantage - you’re lucky already.
Yet a lot of people don’t seem to believe this link between luck and hard work. I was reading a guest post on Shoemoney - Want to Succeed? Then Get Off Your Ass and Work by Rebecca Kelley, and many of the commentors complained that they had worked hard, they just hadn’t been as lucky as others.
Well, for all you none believers, here’s a few pointers that will make you luckier, and they work:
1) Do something you enjoy and believe in. There’s so many great businesses you can get involved in that it would be idiotic to sell something you didn’t like. Or worse still, something that didn’t even work.
2) Avoid anyone who is negative towards you and your business, or business in general. If you have friends who are negative all the time, ditch them. If you’re married to the wrong person - divorce them. And, if you have staff who are constantly negative - sack them before their attitude infests your business.
3) Work hard, then push yourself even harder. And don’t expect to get a medal for it. In the first few years, if working through the nights and weekends is what it takes to grow your business do it. And if you don’t like it, go and do something you do like instead.
4) A lot of people will tell you to work smarter not harder. And this will come eventually, once you’ve made 101 mistakes while working harder. And if you’ve read “The 4 Hour Work Week” and think I’m lying - read it again and find the part where it says that you will have to work hard to begin with.
5) Learn as much as you can about business. Take courses and read about your industry, sales and marketing, management,finance and anything else you need to know to grow a successful business. Never stop learning, and don’t spend half your day in forums listening to a……s who claim to know how to make you rich overnight. Spending a huge amount of time in forums is not “working” and it’s certainly not a productive way to learn.
6) Network smartly, both online and offline. Believe it or not, there’s a direct connection between putting yourself out there, and being in the right place at the right time. But don’t spend half your working week networking and attending every single event possible.
7) Remember - networking isn’t selling. There is nothing worse than meeting people at a networking event who do nothing more than give you a massive sales pitch for their business. Get to know people, and don’t think about what you can get out of the relationship. Concentrate on what you can do to help others first.
Provide what customers are looking for, but don’t expect them to know you exist. Market your business aggressively and keep marketing, even when you begin to get busy. To begin with, choose half a dozen marketing strategies that are free or cheap, and make yourself a weekly plan. If you don’t know much about marketing - get yourself a good book. And if it’s online marketing you’re interested in, consider a good online marketing course like this one.
9) Don’t let money be your only motivator. After several years, I still get more satisfaction from getting great testimonials and referals from customers because I know we’ve made someone happy. And believe it or not, if you make people happy the money will follow. Check out this great post by Randy Brown, who “got lucky” after providing a service that people wanted.
10) Expect to fall down a lot. And keep picking yourself up and learn from your mistakes. Realise that you’ll probably make massive mistakes - you may even go bankrupt, or have so many problems that you feel that a nervous breakdown is imminent. Don’t look at these as a sign of failure and stick two fingers up at anyone else who suggests they are. People who don’t try never fail, but they don’t succeed either.
And remember this. People who seem to have had a lot of luck probably spent many years trying before they got their “big break”. You can be like them one day, if you keep trying no matter what happens, and never ever ever give up.
Comments
20 Responses to “Lazy B…..ds and the Truth About Luck In Business”
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Great points over there Catherine,
I don’t like the part where you have combined luck with death, but oh well
It is not for nothing that people say god helps those that help themselves…good informations and hard work will bring you the juice later on, but the part where all stuck is at “good information” seems like all those that had a hard work always lack in informations.
Everyone should work hard, BUT you must also be creative and smart in your work…
I am a little confused about the work “luck” though, I think everything happen for a reason (cause and effect law)…so what the heck is luck?
Excellent post - and hits the mark on every point.
Point 6 on business networking is a really good one. I hate the salespeople. It’s okay talking about your business, but not rabbiting on to get a sale.
We got over £700K in business over 7 years from a weekly business breakfast meeting (BNI). It aint everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a good experience for anyone.
Not only do you get meet people and know them (which engenders trust), but you get better at networking the right way - i.e. don’t be a salesperson.
I’m actually rejoining the group I used to go to next week for a bit of a refresher and to rekindle some relationships.
BUT it aint about the business you get while networking - remember that - most of it comes because you get to know people who in turn recommend you - NOT necessarily the people you get to know and trust.
Another important point is to remember to recommend people you trust. If you have had a good experience, recommend and refer people.
I did that this week and got a friend 25 appointments from an email I sent for her.
She asked what she could do in return and I said nothing. But still she has recommended already.
Very good points Catherine….I love #4…I haven’t read that book yet, but it’s great that you noted it says “you will have to work hard to begin with.” This is the fallacy of “overnight successes”….99% of those people have been working hard and steadily before they got their big break (I’m thinking mainly of those in show business, but it applies in any business).
Thanks!
Thanks for the site-recommendation comment.
This post is quite encouraging. 9 is quite true. Money can sometimes be very important, but creativity and doing good work are where I think value comes from.
Sean - Thanks Sean. Good point. But, I think if we worried about cause and effect too much it would stop us from doing anything. By helping one person, you could well harm another, without even realising or meaning to. But, you should not let worries like that stop you from doing good things.
Ian - 700k from BNI is great. I have thought about joining and Stuart did go to one meeting but he didn’t like it.
You are so right about only recommending people you trust. One woman keeps referring all kinds of unsuitable people to me with products and services I really don’t need. And i now feel that I couldn’t trust her recommendations one bit.
JoLynn - too true and it certainly applies as much to business as it does to showbusiness. You should try the book - it is very good. Rather than seriously teaching you to work only 4 hours a week, I think it encourages you to take long breaks away from work.
I think I like the idea of taking two or three months off, as opposed to working only four hours a week.
Mrs Micah - no problems. I hope you found it useful, and I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
Hey Catherine,
I really enjoyed this even though this is my second time reading it
It is added to my favorite blog post of the day.
By the way, I have sent you a copy of “Robbing Craigslist” through the email you provided by your comment. Hope you like and I am looking forward to the respond
I’m looking forward to reading your ebook this weekend. Thank you very much.
Cath,
BNI is probably worth a shot. But shop around! If you have more than one branch in the area try them all before deciding.
I know people who came to ours who had been to others and were very nearly put off.
There’s a plumber for example in the group I was in who does really well form it. Been in it 2 years, nicknamed “Leaky”. So make sure you find a group with a better sense of humour than that!
You can usually visit them (some will charge for breakfast).
Do understand though why Stuart may not like it - I very nearly didn’t join because I thought it was bit too OTT.
I’d judge the group though on natural referrers. If there’s an electrician, a builder, a joiner you’ll probably get work for each other.
But there’s also indirect referrals. A kitchen installation company got a £1M+ deal from an Irish pub owner back in 2000 who just happened to be having a pint with one of the owners of The Beetham Group. And they now do all of Beethams skyscrapers.
Solicitors who do property often mingle with property owners. So while indirect, your referrals can come from any source.
And of course you will inevitably end up doing work for the members too. That business in itself isn’t worth it, but the fact that you have people who have used you who are looking for referrals for you (and admitedly you for them too) is worth more than your average job in terms of word of mouth.
I suppose though it’s a bit like looking through binoculars through the wrong end. You have to change it around and instead look for business for the others in the group.
It’s this counter-intuitive approach that builds the foundation of trust.
Once you’ve received a referral form someone, you’ll find that you want to get them a referral too in return.
So if you did take a look at a BNI group and subsequently join, focus on giving rather than getting and you should do well.
But don’t bother if it’s a bad group. Make sure there’s natural referral partners (and think laterally - some people may not be trades, but their client base may put them in touch with trades).
BNI is all over the world - in virtually every country. And the website (www.bni-europe.com from memory or Google it) should be able to list all groups in your area.
So shop around!
I’m re-joining on Tuesday. Admitedly as much for the crack as the business!
This is an excellent post. Everything you wrote about was on point. It takes a lot of hard work before you get to the “work smart not hard.” I think some people have the impression that should happen automatically. I truly enjoy what I do, and there have been occasions where I have worked long hours into the night, weekends, holidays, etc.,
Great post, and you make some very good points..
As much as i’d rather believe that my success is because i’m an internet marketing genius, the fact is that a large part of my success was just from doing the right things at the right time - aka “dumb luck” ..
–Randy Brown
GrownUpGeek.com
GrownUpGeek.BlogSpot.com
Hi Randy - That’s often what’s happened to me too. I think if you’re working hard and doing a lot of “things” you tend to get “lucky”. The problem is - a lot of people don’t understand that you actually have to be working and doing things for that to happen.
The main thing I noticed in your article was you provided a service that people actually wanted and that is really important.
I know this is completely off topic, but I wonder how many people out there will hate to see the 13th comment in a post reply and want to be the 14th so they don’t have to see the number 13?
But please get back on topic!
And a quick quiz question for the 14th person to answer - what’s the name of the phobia that afflicts people who are afraid of the number 13?
Another great post, Catherine!
One of my mentors told me once that luck is an ability to catch an opportunity that is passing by you. He said no one is so unlucky to have zero opportunity pass by during the life. And most people do not notice when something that leads to luck is just passing by them. So he said I need to increase my sensitivity to notice the luck passing by me, and learn how to grab them… I thought it is an interesting insight.
Asako - Thank you. I really like the way you’ve described it as “an ability to catch an opportunity that is passing by you.”
I think one of the reasons many people miss grabbing opportunities is because of fear of the unknown. Then they see other people grabbing these opportunities and they think they just got lucky.
Hello Catherine,
I’ve been seeing your posts on Asako’s blog, and decided to check out your blog as well. I’m impressed. You are discussing topics I have always had an interest in, so I will be adding your blog to my “list” ,when I’m catching up on my favorite blogs.
With regard to business, hard work and luck. I believe hard work equates to luck. It’s almost like the law of attraction. Because you are loving what you do, it shows, and others are naturally drawn to you. They see/feel your “passion for what you’re doing”, and end up wanting to be “part of your circle”, and want to “help” you. They want you to be the one that does their “job” and thus, referrals result, as do other opportunities.
I have seen many who attempt to “make that fast buck” only to fail, because they only have dollar signs in their eyes, and they really don’t believe in the “cause”. You gotta have passion for what you do. But, on the other hand, if you are doing a job (for someone else) you aren’t really passionate about, I think it’s still your responsibility to give it 120 percent. After all, that’s what you’re getting paid to do.
I definitely agree with #2-negatively is like a contagious disease. Stick around negative people long enough, and you will end up just like them. Being self employed, we also avoid hiring negative people. They can disrupt the whole operation.
The secret to a successful business is quite simple, and you nailed it….work hard, then work harder. Not only give your customers what they want, but give them a little more.
If you put the screws to even one customer, news of it will travel like wildfire. Without a good reputation, you have nothing.
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