The 'F' Word and Your Business Development

Copyright 2006 Rasheed Ali Well 'F" this and 'F' that, you deserve to get hit with a waffle ball bat! Funny as it seems, that's the truth. You see, as an entrepreneur (and I've been guilty of this too) you are full of ideas and things that you want to do with your business. So you set out to get EVERYTHING done now! Because that's the way money is made dammit'! PROBLEM: You end up overloading your best people with some of the most unintelligent things a person could ask for and leave them saying, "Yep, here we go again!" Now your problem is not that you have so many ideas and you want to build them; it's that you have too many ideas and want to build them all at once! Not only that but you fail to realize that true business development doesn't happen in the 'spur of the moment' but rather in structured and organized fashion over the course of some time. This doesn't mean slowly either but weeks or months are acceptable. Listen, I'll be the first to tell you that an amazing idea is worth testing and testing aggressively but once you know that the idea has merit and you want to launch it your next step should be to structure and implement a system of fulfilling your product or service. Fulfilling on the fly as some entrepreneurs do, is a sure formula for disaster! By the way, the 'F' word I'm talking about here is "Focus." I've found far too many entrepreneurs take on an idea then another and another and want to fulfill them all. Then there are times when you have one idea and jump around on it with different scenarios and possible ways to make more money with it like a hyper-active child on sugar and caffeine! Let me ask you this...Would you want to work for a person like this? The real sad truth is that most entrepreneurs never see this in themselves and look to blame their employees for not being committed enough or something similar. How cruel we can be right? I mean I'm sure you think you're paying them too much also right? But that's a story for another day. We say, "Well if they can't make it I'll hire someone else!" Then guess what I've seen? You end up doing it yourself because no one smart enough will work for an unfocused maniac! Heck, you have to be maniac to be in business so you might as well get it under control quickly. The scenario I love the best is when you're forced to replace them with two or three people for cumulatively more money. Just like marketing, Business Development is a process and not an event. Instant gratification doesn't work when your goal is true business development and healthy profits. Focus on your one idea, test it, then work on the system of marketing and fulfilling your product or service. Your business will prosper and your best employees will shine with fulfillment and a job well done.