Symbiotic Design™ article: The Right Tools
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The Right Tools (chapter one)When you start to take your business online, or simply start an online business, it is important to have a clear understanding of what you need to accomplish to attain the success you seek. Without a doubt, the very most important tool at your disposal is your brain, use it well and you should not have any problem making your dream become a reality.
But that is exactly where you need to start, arming yourself with as much information as you can afford to and aiming for a goal without wavering. You really need to have the very best information available. After all, it is your business to know, not everything, but exactly what you need to.
Of course, you can't know absolutely everything either, but you must know where to get the information you need if you don't know it. One example would be Henry Ford, whom when presented with a trick question from a reporter called in an entire staff of experts when he realized that the young cocky reporter was attempting to make issue of his moderate education. Book smarts can count for something, but unless you actually retain the knowledge you need which is relevant to your field of endeavor, it's quite useless. The important thing is to know what you need to know, or where to get that knowledge.
But in this internet age we are quite lucky. There is a wealth of information available to us today, all there at the click of a mouse on the internet. Although some of the very best information is not free, there is an abundance of it, that is for sure. In some cases, it may be easier and quicker to pay for certain information as opposed to scouring through the more sparse information and weeding out the misinformation. This is why a higher education usually will make a difference for most, professors teach valid materials that are pertinent to the subject at hand while keeping up to date with new developments.
Then again, today's technology is moving so fast and is often so specialized that the relevance of the information is somewhat finite. Studies I took 5 years ago in my education are barely relevant to the kind of business I am performing today. Still, I would never have traded this experience of learning for anything except meeting my wife a little earlier. And yet I would have never met her if it weren't for the technology of the internet and I wouldn't have been able to win her over without my involvement in it and my commitment to it.
There is no denying that I did not have the right attitude or honed talent for my business without first having some of that youth and ambitiousness checked. If it weren't for the leadership shown me by example throughout college, and my getting gently taken down a few pegs in the process, I would have continued along the same path of overconfidence without some of the prime fundamentals required by my position.
This is not to say that college or tech school is a necessity, only the individual can decide what's best for him or her. However, it is the absolute thirst for knowledge that makes a truly great leader. A diploma or degree does cement that in most people's minds because it is an accomplishment and makes an impression.
Nevertheless, your most important asset is your brain. Or is it your heart? Which part of the body dreams, anyway? Obviously, your business started out as a dream, didn't it? And when you found out that your heart and soul was in it, it became a vision. But once you used that gray matter of yours to figure out how to turn it into a goal by educating yourself in everything (that you thought you might need to know, or at least lined up the knowledge for the kind of support required), you turned it into a goal. But despite set backs, and there will be many, you continue to drive to that end with determination.
Whether it is your mind, your heart or your soul is irrelevant. Actually, the most important asset of your company is YOU. You and those that support you, as well. And simply put, the mind doesn't do much good without the coordination of your heart and soul. And it will take all three to accomplish the task at hand. After all, I am not talking about a get rich quick scheme, I'm talking about accepting real risk to gamble on success relying on your smarts, hard work and diligence. Hopefully it will be at something you love to do.
So, what are you like? The first right tool is you, there is no getting around this main ingredient.
It takes a very special kind of person to accept risk based on their belief in themselves and the tools at hand. If you don't or won't love what you are doing, even eventually down the road when you realize how tough it can be, think again.
And you will need a sense of humor to get through some strange times as well. If you can't handle stress well, I suggest you find a sense of humor, it may help you cope. I think the simple art of coping is also a key ingredient of a recipe for success. There are many different ways of coping with challenging situations. Yet, your ability to cope can be taxed if you do not have a good support system.
Having a great support system can help immeasurably in creating, developing and maintaining a successful company or corporation. I am not talking about financial support, though. I am talking about spiritual support. Support for your mission, belief in your abilities, faith in your decisions. Remember, as you take this risk on, they take it on too, based on your informed decisions. My immediate family and my friends are my support system. Before my wife came along and won my heart all I had for a support system were my friends. My folks could care less what I do as long as I am successful, and success is strictly measured in monetary terms to them. They were more of a detriment than a support base. They didn't understand me and had no appreciation for my effort. There was absolutely no sense of accomplishment through them and didn't care whether I was doing what I wanted or not. I may have fallen in love with my wife partially because of her unwavering belief in me. I have never had this kind of support before, and I think that it is priceless. Before Maria came into my life I only had constant and continuing support from my friends, colleagues, teachers and clientele. This was enough to sustain me, but without Maria I sometimes felt that some burdens were insurmountable. So take a look at your support system and evaluate how helpful they might be when you need some motivation, understanding, trust and faith. This can be a critical sustenance in your business endevour should you need it. And you should need it.
Now that we've talked about family as a support system, let me bring up the fact that if you are running a business from your home office, remember that distractions are virtually eminent. Even if you have an office, some people (especially the well meaning relative) think that they can impose on your time simply because you are the boss (even if you are the whole workforce). So you will have to set some ground rules for your family so that you have the opportunity to get some work done. Note also that each situation is different. When Maria delivered Maximilian, those rules were pretty much thrown out the window for a time while she recovered and lil Max needed care. Eventually things calmed down and returned to a close normalcy. Unfortunately, when the INS lied to us (once of many incidents) and instructed Maria to leave the country "not one day late", my world was thrown in chaos again trying to live without her for an entire year and a half. This had strained my ability to work and I have had push back the release of my dpArt CDROM repeatedly. Luckily I have been able to give other ends of the business my full attention and our commitment to clientele support has not faltered. But this illustrates how very important my routine and personal contact with her and my son are not only to me, but to my business as well.
Nevertheless, it is important to be able to sum up and adapt to even the worst and most unexpected situations. Try as we might, we cannot plan for everything. Who knew the INS would declare that Maria couldn't legally stay in the country after we had legally been married? Although my family situation had changed and this had disrupted my work, I was able to cope with it by staying in communication with her and my son and have since concentrated my involvement on the web site, marketing and client support. In effect, I am actually trying to expand my global reach. Strange solution, but it works because the CD is my personal sideline art project for which I use Symbiotic Design as a distribution channel. Now that Maria has returned home I may finally be able to see that the dpArt CD is finally mastered. When it is I will most likely will be able to reach a broader audience. Try to turn bad situations around and use them to your advantage.
This article is not meant to debate higher education or teach you how to be a better person, but as a living guide of best tools available for putting your business online. Financial investment capital, financial concerns and funding resources are beyond the scope of this piece, but I can suggest that you check with the small business administration as well as local opportunities in your area, as well as in your feild of endevour.
So how come I haven't mentioned hardware or software? The first step in doing that is evaluating yourself, because you are the most important tool. Do you know what this adventure will take and how to get there? Will you strive to succeed in this major task despite adversity?
Okay, I've made my point, success is a struggle whether you are dealing with family, working for someone else or for yourself. It takes effort to make things happen. You will almost undoubtedly have to sacrifice. You may even have to call on your family to sacrifice, or even bear some part of the burden. You will be gambling with their lives and they will be gambling on you. This kind of a support line can be crucial at times.
If you are willing to put in the effort, there is a chance. But it is important to have sized up your risk and calculated acceptable risk. Even though you are gambling, the reward can be worth the risk, though many people do lose in this game. But unlike the stock market, this is a performance initiative. You do have some control.
One final thought that I think is very important is simply the hardest for a person such as myself to let go of is that if you are a perfectionist, be prepared to modify your thinking fast. Everything cannot be 'just so' and you will have to learn to let certain things go. I have the worst time with this, I must be anal about particulars. I suppose a part of me has to be because I am an artist, and it may be what helps me along that path. But in management skills this is not a plus, you have to be able to adapt constantly to inconsistent changes in reason from your clientele. I do try, though. And doing your best is all you can hope for.
In the next chapter (2) I'll discuss some of the things you should think of and plan for BEFORE going online with a business. Then I'm going to try to point you in the right directions for finding the proper online business tools. Eventually, we'll wind up with a full checklist to arm yourself for your global business presence.
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