Besides Time, What Are You Lacking to Build a Successful Business?

(Cover photo: Empty shelves in a store by Grok 2)

Hi everyone,

Besides Time, What Are You Lacking to Build a Successful Business?

I'll go first, I could say many things: money, a team, products, authority, credibility, knowledge, mentoring...etc.

But what I consider myself to be lacking for a very short time is one of two things.

A Better Story or good/great strategies.

With those 2 things I can accomplish anything.

“Improvise, adapt, overcome” is an unofficial slogan among the U.S. Marines made popular by Clint Eastwood's character Sergeant Thomas Highway in the movie Heartbreak Ridge. Being faced with a challenge is often the time when people are most inventive and when ingenuity and creativity thrive.

Rather than look for excuses, let's look for solutions.

As the cover photo suggests, if we open a store, but have no products to sell we aren't going to be very successful.

Sometimes we have to start small and build from there.

If we try to do too much too soon we are just undermining ourselves.

A real life example of this is in the early 1990's, I started installing Carpet and Ceramic Tile as an independent installer. I learned this trade from my father.

After awhile, I was able to purchase the Carpet Pad for under the Carpet and when I made estimates to potential customers, I was able to offer to sell them the carpet pad as well, but I was ok if they purchased pad from the store. That generated additional sales and income for me.

Later, I was able to acquire a limited selection of carpet samples and I began to offer the carpet, carpet pad & labor.

In 1996, I then opened a very small store with more carpet samples.

A year later, I moved to a larger building to expand and keep up with sales.

Now with time, I can only install so much in a year. At first, I raised my installation prices. I always had a Lifetime Guaranteed Workmanship included.

It finally reached a point where I needed to hire other Installers who were at the top of their game. After all, my reputation was still on the line. Eventually, I no longer installed, but had all that work subcontracted.

Then it was time to move to a larger community and a larger store.

This is a great example of building a business.

Unfortunately, Sept 11, 2001 the U.S. was attacked by terrorists. It really shook up Americans and they were unsure of what would happen next.

Sales died and this through January was the busiest sales time of the year for flooring. I spent $3000 in October on advertising and did not get $1 back.

On March 1st, 2002. We closed our business due to the excessive debt and no business.

Here's where diversification comes in. :-)

Even though I worked up to 100 hours a week on my flooring business, I had another part time business.

Instead of coming home and sitting in front of the TV, I went on my PC and sold new and used books and on Dec 2000, I published my 1st reprint, a book originally published in 1930.

So once the flooring business was gone, I devoted myself full time to building my book and later ebook publishing business.

The rest as they say is history.

Today I have 1583 book and ebook titles in print and counting.

I do Affiliate Marketing. I am going to monetize my Youtube channel. I offer Mindset Coaching and I have another major project that I am undertaking.

I don't have time for excuses.

Anything is Possible!

So again, Besides Time, What Are You Lacking to Build a Successful Business?

To Our Success!

Mel Waller