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Making it! Ten things that might make you successful |
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CONTENTS Success, 1 Editorial, 3 Council Mayor's Sliammon, 6 Regional CDPR What's going How to: How to: New Airport terminal, 16 Datebook, 16 |
Success? It is an elusive concept that regularly comes up in our lives, in our businesses and throughout our society. Everyone is always striving for it. Most of us think we know what it is. But do we? How do you measure it? How will you know when you have it? Success, it turns out, is a very subjective thing. Approach a dozen people and ask them if they are successful. The responses you hear will surprise you. Most are very hesitant to describe themselves as successful, and those that do tend to describe a state or an attitude much more than any specific measure. It seems that success is as much in the doing as it is in the achieving. Powell River is home to a great number of success stories of which we can be proud. There have been dozens of examples throughout our history, as there are today, in all areas of endeavour: in the arts, sports, education, academics… in all areas. Because there are so many good examples all over the community, we choose to focus here on one aspect of success: commercial or business success. Which brings us to our question about defining what we mean by success, and how to measure it. Most common definitions of success tend to include money: income and the balance sheet. These can be good measures as money really is the report card for a business. But money is only a superficial measure of success for how can you measure real achievement in dollars? Many will point to longevity as an indicator of success; it is hard to dispute the success of someone who has been running their business and serving their customers for 22 years. How about 50? Certainly we need to consider these businesses as examples success. Other concepts of success may provide more rewarding indicators. A common response is the reward of dealing with customers, of knowing that you have contributed to someone else’s success. According to Don and Judy Logan of Village Meats, “success is enjoying what you do for a living, and |
being able to make a living at what you enjoy.” A particularly insightful response was offered by local entrepreneur, Ron Moss. He described success as "being able to make a meaningful contribution to the community, both in and out of the business.” While the definition of success really is up to the individual, there are many common points about what a business needs to do in order to achieve it. With an eye to offering a unique perspective to new entrepreneurs, we interviewed a number of local business people and talked about their concepts of success. We spoke with relatively young businesses, with partners and sole proprietors, with retail and service-based companies and with commercial bankers. All the discussions yielded valuable information, and a surprising consistency of thought. We chose ten ideas that came across most strongly to offer a starting point for evaluating your own success.
1. Clear goals, good planning Great ideas are wonderful motivators but to implement those ideas your goals must be very clear. Why are you doing what it is that you do? A clear, well-defined goal will simplify your planning and your actions. By asking “how does what I am doing contribute to my goals?” you can quickly decide on the most effective use of your time and other resources. Of course, your banker will also appreciate that you have thought through all parts of your business and are prepared with a strategy to deal with any eventuality. But you will appreciate it even more when one of those things happen. Always do your homework and very little will surprise you. Over time, as your business plan matures, re-evaluate it and make necessary changes to keep it fresh and current. At the start your plan may well focus on financial success. As you and your business mature, there may be other things that become important. Always be ready. Continued, page 2 |
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