You Can Change The World
December 31, 2007
In a brilliant blogpost - The Art Of Philanthropy, Dwayne Lattimore urges us not to wait until we can afford to make a bigger contribution to give something back. There’s things we can do now, on a smaller scale to improve the lives of others.
Of course, most of us make contributions to charity often. But have you ever felt guilty when doing so, because you know you could be doing more to help? I know I certainly have.
And many of us do start a business in the hope that we will eventually be able to help change the world. But, what if eventually never comes?
We can help so many people, if we do something now, instead of waiting until we have more time, or more money. Think about it this way - the efforts of 100 people all contributing a small amount of time can achieve far more than the efforts of one person putting in every single hour they have. But, where do you start when you’re spending virtually all your waking hours trying to grow your business?
It can be overwhelming just thinking about it can’t it? There’s so many people who need your help and so little time. And you have to be realistic and honest with yourself about how much time and effort you’ll actually be able to give. Because if you take on too much and you crash and burn, you’ll not be helping anyone.
If you’re going to volunteer your time to help others, in the early stages of your business, it’s probably wise to help in an area where you don’t have to learn a lot of new skills to be of any use.
For example, I have decided to help sufferers of PTSD and their families in 2008. I didn’t want to go down that route initially because I’ve had PTSD for many years myself, and I almost felt there was something selfish about wanting to help those with similar problems.
But, it’s a whole lot easier to help people when you understand the problems they’re facing, and have some idea of how to help them deal with it. And also, if those affected by trauma get help very early on, they may not suffer PTSD for the rest of their lives. So, helping would be very rewarding.
What are you planning to do to help others this year? Is there a cause you feel passionate about? Or is there an area in which you can put your skills or knowledge to good use?
If you’re not sure where to start, Tim Ferris has some great ideas in this blogpost: The Karmic Capitalist: Should I Wait Until I’m Rich To Give Back?
The Boy Who Went To Hell and Back
December 30, 2007
No matter how much you’re struggling in business or life, you can always draw inspiration from those who have overcome terrible adversities and gone on to achieve great things. The boy who went to hell and back is one of those people
One misty morning in 1975, a six year old boy and his sister left their younger siblings at home while they went to search for their mother.
The boy was Richard McCann. And tragically , he never found his mum - Wilma McCann. She had become the first victim of Peter Sutcliffe - the Yorkshire Ripper, who was convicted of murdering 13 women and suspected of murdering or attacking at least 50 more.
A few years later Richard hit rock bottom. He’d lost his mother in a cruel and vicious attack and suffered a childhood of neglect and abuse. And not surprisingly, he turned to drugs and also did a stint in prison. Then Richard decided that nobody else was going to save himself or his family. He had to do it himself. And in an amazing turnaround, he transformed his life.
He has written several best selling books including Just a Boy and the Boy Grows up. And he also gives motivational and inspirational talks to organisations across the uk. For details, click here to check out his website.
Sadly, Richard’s sister, Sonia, who was only 7 at the time of her mothers murder did not cope nearly as well. And she took her only life, a few days ago.
This must be an extremely sad time for Richard and his family, but I’m sure he will have the courage to go on, and continue to uplift and inspire others.
Richard believes that although we can’t control everything that happens to us, we can control the way we react to it. And with an “I Can” attitude we can go on to achieve great things.
Is There Such A Thing As A Business Gene?
December 29, 2007
A lady I know recently suggested that folk who’s parents owned their own business were more likely to have good business sense. And she even suggested that there might be such a thing as a business gene.
Do you think that could be true? I personally think it’s a crock of sh.t. My parents always had their own business and whilst there are some benefits, there are also considerable drawbacks too. So for those of you without parents in business, here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way.
Here are a few of the benefits of having parents who are business owners:
You get used to begin skint. My father became self employed just before I was born. Very few businesses earn a lot of money in the first few years. And experiencing this first hand teaches you to be frugal. If you haven’t learned this, don’t worry. Just set yourself a seven year goal and don’t plan on making a whole heap of money before that. Buy secondhand furniture, a cheap car and be prepared to sell everything you own and remortgage your house.
You get used to your neighbours disliking you. When I was younger I noticed that some of our neighbours went from being really nice to really mean overnight. I remember my mother explaining that some people will be nice to you when you’re poor, but they don’t like it when you start doing well, so I knew what to expect. If you’re not used to this yet, don’t let it bother you too much. Just remember it’s their problem not yours and you’re going to be too busy to spend time socialising with your neighbours anyway.
You learn not to give a toss when people don’t like you. I don’t think this is something you are born with. In fact I struggled with it for quite a while. But after you’ve been ripped off a few times, or walked in on people gossiping about you, you begin to realise that being respected is more important than being liked.
If it makes you feel better, not everyone liked Jesus Christ, and he didn’t let it bother him.
Your parents won’t sponge off you. Your parents will understand that you’re not earning a lot of money so they won’t sponge off you or expect you to do work for them on the cheap or even for free. But having had two sets of inlaws I can confirm that if your parents aren’t self employed they may not understand this. So do yourself a favour and never run out of excuses not to do work for family. And make sure you tell them how skint you are - regularly.
The Disadvantages of Having Parents Who Are Business Owners
They won’t necessarily understand your business. Everyone has different goals and different ideas on how a business should be run. For example my parents use a lot of subcontractors as they prefer to avoid the risks and paperwork associated with employing people. And I prefer to employ people or outsource, as I don’t want to risk being let down by subcontractors.
Some people will think they lent you the money to set up in business. In fact, one of our customers (who is now a sacked customer) even told one of our plumbers my parents lent me the money to set up the plumbing business. I did not even know the woman before she became our customer and neither did my parents. But, it never ceases to amaze me what some people waste time thinking about, or how far their gossip chains extend.
If you’re faced with similar gossip - ignore the b..tards - it’s not their faults - they just don’t have the capacity to think about anything worthwhile. And don’t think you’re disadvantaged by not having parents in business to lend you money. I put up all the money to set up my plumbing business. For a start, my parents thought I could’ve made a better choice, and also, they believe you perform a whole heap better when you’re risking your own cash.
They tend to interfere because they think they know better. And in my case this happens a whole heap. Sure some of their advice is helpful - but I could do without a lot of it. For example, my dad is really tactless. When I was with Rainbow, we didn’t have many quiet weeks, but he once came into my office during a quiet week when I was out to lunch (or I may have been hiding in a cupboard). Well, you can imagine how happy I was when I discovered that he’d told my staff that it was way too quiet and I should think about getting rid of some of them!
He said even worse things on other occassions - and I think I eventually banned him from the office.
So, if you’re wondering if you’d have some kind of advantage having parents who are business owners - the truth is, it’s highly unlikely. In fact, you’d probably be a whole heap better off having them sit in an office working for someone else and minding their own business.
How To Exterminate Time Wasters FAST
December 27, 2007
One thing we’re often short of in business is time. And once we’ve lost time, we can’t get it back. How many times have your plans for the day been interrupted by unexpected phone calls, visits etc?
Here’s a few ideas for stopping these time wasters from interfering with your day.
The Telephone Time Wasters
From annoying sales people to friends and relatives - these unexpected callers will often interrupt when you’re in the middle of something important. And they’ll almost certainly waste a big chunk of your precious time. Here’s a few ways to stop them:
The Sales Person: 1) If you have staff, get them to tell the salesperson to call back at a particular time of day. I use 3 to 4pm, as it is my braindead hour.
2) If you answer the phone yourself, do the same. But, only if it is something you would be interested in. Don’t allow them to drag you into conversation - just be firm and polite. Most of the time, they will not realise it is you they’re actually speaking to anyway. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve answered the phone with my name and the sales person has asked to speak to me.
3) Don’t waste your time telling them you’re not interested in what they’re selling. Most of them have a script to deal with this, and they’ll waste your time by launching into it. Here’s a few ways to get rid of the persistent sales person. Often they’ll actually hang up on you, which is great as it means they won’t call again:
a) Can you call back at a more convenient time? The person you want to speak to is in prison right now, so five years would be good.
b) We already sell the product you’re trying to sell me.
c) A good one for those who work from home: Sorry, the person you want to speak to is away on business right now. I’m just staying here because I’m having an affair with his wife, so it would probably be better to call back next week. (My husband uses this one a lot and it never fails to work).
The Talkative Friend or Relative
We all have chatty friends or relatives who will call us at work and talk forever. Here’s how to deal with them without hurting their feelings too much:
1) If they call your mobile (cell phone) get one of your staff to answer and take a message. If it’s important you can call them back.
2) One minute into the conversation, knock on the door or get someone else to do it. Or if you have numerous phones in the office hit the speed dial to one. Either way, you’ll have a great excuse to hang up.
3) If you recognise the number, get your answering service to pick up the call. They’ll ring back if it’s urgent.
Callers Who Just Pop Round
This happens a lot when you’re working from home. It’s amazing how often friends feel that it’s ok to just pop in for a coffee. You can try telling them how busy you are, but the most persistent ones just don’t get the hint. In that case do one of the following:
a) Sling your coat on when you hear a knock on the door and when you answer, tell them they caught you at a bad time - you’re late for an important meeting.
or b) This is my favourite. Just don’t answer the door. I very rarely answer the door to anyone I’m not expecting.
Of course, you could ignore these tips and let unimportant calls and visits eat into your working day. But, when you wind up constantly working through the night to catch up, you’ll begin to regret it.
