sjsmith.com.au - blog

Being the best You can

What Smart Girls Know

Its  easy to look at the success of others and imagine that they have it all together.  Confident people with clear direction and lots of drive can be so intimidating but, as anyone who’s been in business for a while knows, there’s some fundamental truths to remember when you need to keep your sanity.

It’s all personal!  If someone treats you badly and then says ‘It’s not personal, it’s just business’, then call bullshit.  All businesses are run by people.  It is people who decide on a corporate culture and the policies that they engage in.  If a client thinks it’s acceptable to pay late, that is a decision made by a person and, when you're waiting on a payment to meet your own obligations, it’s very personal.

A little effort over a long time will get you anywhere.  After you've had a few years running a business you start to realise that it is a marathon and not a sprint.  While long hours and hard work will get you short term results you have to have a long term plan or you will burn out pretty quickly.  Its like they say, if the writer commits to write one page a day for a year then they will have written the book by years end.  Its the same for any business.  Breaking large tasks into small steps can keep propelling you towards your goals.  Don’t underestimate 10 minutes a day spend working towards them.

Successful people keep going.  We’re all going to experience failure sometime.  The real measure of success is to keep getting up and getting on with it.

When its not all beer and skittles try some beer and skittles.  If its not all going well, it’s easy to become disheartened.  Maybe what you need is a break for some fun.  Taking breaks during tough times is crucial to maintaining your sanity and giving you the energy to get back to it.

And finally, everyone is scared sometimes.  Even the most professional, polished people have doubts.  If they don’t, they're either lying or dumb.  You can’t always predict what outcomes you're going to get.  Thats part of the upside and the downside to running a business.

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X