When asked what the secret to the success of her business was, Lucy Garrighan, president of Business Alternatives Inc., replied:

"I guess it is always remaining positive about what you are doing and working hard. If you believe you cannot fail, [then] most likely you won't, and working hard goes along with this. I think it is so true that ‘the harder you work the luckier you are!' We all get frustrated with difficulties, but I really believe that if you want to find the rainbow, [then] you have to put up with a little rain now and then." Garrighan adds that she constantly reminds herself that "it could always be worse." (Imprints of Success, by Amy Yard, September 2001 e-magnify.com)

Her answer inspired me to write about the value and importance of remaining positive while running your small business.

As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to get discouraged. The tricky thing about being positive is that it’s an attitude, not a feeling. It’s a state of mind that is self-induced. Yes, that right! YOU have control over whether you have a positive attitude or not. It has nothing to do with what happens to you (go to a cancer ward in your local hospital, and you’ll understand what I mean). How often do you hand that control over to someone — or something — else: Family, friends, clients, colleagues, or your bank account?

The truth is, you can allow yourself to let these external factors control you, usually causing a negative attitude, or you can CHOOSE to achieve and sustain a positive outlook. How? I believe it must be cultivated and learned. Here are 3 ways I’ve learned to keep a positive attitude:

• Surround yourself with positive things and positive people. Read a motivational book for 20 minutes each morning. Use positive affirmations. Write in a gratitude journal at the end of the day. Surround yourself with positive people that encourage you to be your best self. Set very strong boundaries with chronically negative people; protect yourself and send a message to them that you care enough about yourself to avoid negativity.
• Change your language. Instead of saying how you CAN’T do something, find ways you CAN. Speak of your less desirable personality traits in the past (“In the past, I have tended to be negative.”). This is a powerful tool, but in order for it to work, you can’t fake it. For a shift to occur, what you say must be authentic and true, just said in a positive way. This takes effort, but in time, you’ll find that you do this automatically.
• Turn a negative experience into a learning experience. There is always something good to be found in a negative situation. Search for and draw your attention to the positive. Instead of berating yourself after making a mistake, learn from the experience and move on. What did you learn about yourself or your business? What skills did you develop?

If you’re absolutely stuck in negativity and feel there’s no way out, ask a friend or hire a coach to help you gain the right perspective, get support and brainstorm together to find a resolution.

A positive attitude rubs off and clients will notice. The same is true if you’re negative, and no one likes being around someone negative. Positive people seek those who are positive, so ask yourself what sort of people do you want to attract (or repel)?

The effort is well worth it. You’ll enjoy higher productivity, better relationships, better health and you’ll be happier.

Copyright 2006. Cristina Favreau. All rights reserved.

A recent survey confirms that websites that are not user-friendly negatively affect business. A few key points from the survey:

• 75% of those questioned would not return to websites that took longer than four seconds to load.
• One third of those questioned abandon sites that take time to load, are hard to navigate or take too long to handle the checkout process.
• The four-second threshold is half of what is was before, suggesting that people are getting more impatient with websites.
• The experience shoppers have on a retail site colours their entire view of the company behind it.
• About 30% of those responding said they formed a “negative perception” of a company with a badly put-together site or would tell their family and friends about their experiences.

Every week, I post on my blog articles helping professionals in the service industry run their small business, one step at a time.

Drop by. Read the posts. Make your comments.

Do you have a great blogging idea? Send it my way... I'd be glad to give you the credit for it by quoting you directly and linking back to your site or blog.

See you there!!!

I’ve decided to clear my schedule and offer a Get Clients Now!(TM) group session in January (originally scheduled for next spring). I feel it’s important that small business owners start the year off on the right foot, by clearly defining short- and long-term goals, as well as designing a simple, effective, personalized marketing plan to achieve those goals year round.

The program schedule is as follows (complete details can be found here):

• Kick-off sessions: January 10 and 17, from 2:00pm to 3:30pm Eastern
• Follow-up coaching sessions: January 24, 31, February 7 and 14, from 2:00pm Eastern to 3:00pm Eastern

Classes fill up quickly and space is limited to 10 participants (only 6 places left), so reserve your spot by clicking on the registration link below (and choose the 2:00pm/3:30pm option).

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
- Ancient Chinese adage

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