I am a raging work-a-holic, and sometimes it is a blessing, sometimes it is a curse. It is so easy to let your business goals consume you. You work harder, longer, and commit to always be learning more. The blog is hitting on all cylinders and clients are happy, but you feel the constant pressure to keep the momentum rolling. It takes a toll.

The dirty little secret most people don’t talk about is the real honest to goodness sacrifice it takes to succeed.

Remember when you learned about Newton’s Law of Motion in school?

For every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

It’s true. Hard choices must be made. Do you meet with the prospect you have been working so hard to attract, or attend your daughters school play? Might seem like an easy call, but he is an important guy with limited time, and this could be your one and only shot at earning his business!

So what can we do? While these tough choices will never go away, there are some simple success strategies you can use to make a difference. Let me share a few of them with you now:

1. Prioritize your life – We prioritize our business, but how many of us prioritze our lives? What comes first, family, God, business, hobbies? Only you can decide, so write them down and stick to them.
   
2. Take time off and enjoy it – Seem easy enough, but how many of us actually do it. You might take a weekend with the family, but your smartphone is buzzing, dinging, and sometimes ringing. How many of you check in to a hotel and the first thing you do is make sure the Wi-Fi is working? Time off has got to be time off, be present with your loved ones, and understand that your family needs you as much as your business does.
3. Be thankful for the small victories - As business owners, we often feel like we are always behind. One goal met means another goal to go. It is this aggressive attitude that got us here, and we need to keep our edge. Yes, that is true, but if you do not enjoy the small victories along the way, what value did the journey really bring to your life? Take a moment and award yourself after you meet smaller goals. Take a walk, ride your bike, have a cocktail, smoke a cigar, take your kids for pizza, go to a movie with your wife…….whatever it is that makes you happy. DO IT!
4. Don’t punish yourself – Stuff happens! Sometimes you miss a goal, a person does not call you back, someone let’s you down, or you just plain fail. So what? There are things out of your control, and without failure there is no success. (…write that one down!)
5. Stop complaining – Can you believe this economy? Look at what my competitor is doing now, the nerve! The politicians are crushing us! If you find yourself making any of these statements, stop it! Negativity only breads negativity. Understand that many a millionaire were created during the great depression, and there are many a billionaire who will be created now. Stop complaining, stop making excuses, and just keep moving forward.
6. Thank those around you – Take time to thank your family, friends, partners, bosses, co-workers for all that they do. Thank all of the people who bring value to your life and put up with you every day. Never take them for granted, and make sure they know you are there for them. A simple thank you can go a long way! (…write that one down too!)
7. Find a mentor or coach – I have always struggled with this one. Yep, I am as stubborn as they come, and used to think it was a sign of weakness to ask others for advice. However, I have since learned that it is not weak, but a sign of strength to ask for help. There are so many problems I could have avoided if I would have simply asked for help earlier on in my career. Do not make the same mistake I did due to foolish pride. Find a mentor, hire coach, and keep it going!

That is all!

LOVE IT!

Harrison Painter

Many of you might be struggling to get or keep clients, and while this topic might seem odd, it is a very important one. One thing we can all agree on is that building a business is challenging, and every dollar counts. However, there are times when taking on, or keeping, a client that isn’t the right fit might do more harm than good.

A difficult client can fill you with negativity while sucking the life right out of you. You may feel that you are going the extra mile to offer the best service, but if the client does not respect you, it is a losing game. This negative energy will carry over into how you engage with your other clients, it can prevent you from being in the right frame of mind to prospect, and could even have an effect on how you treat your family.

Let me share with you 5 reasons to kick a client to the curb:

1. They are never satisfied – You could do circus tricks while carting in barrels of money, but they still want more. You find yourself working longer and harder to please them, but it just never seems to happen. If you can’t satisfy them, it is time to move on.
2. They don’t value your opinion – They are paying you for advice, yet they never seem to take it. Yes, the check might be nice, but how long do you think it will keep coming in? Be aware that your future is in the success of your clients, and people out here are watching you, don’t forget that.
3. They always pay late – I have learned that once a company/person starts paying late, it is a habit that’s hard for them to break. The check starts to come in later and later each month, and soon it will not come in at all. Listen to me closely here, never, ever work for free. You are more valuable than that.
4. Your other clients are feeling it – Negativity is a hard thing to shake, once it starts it is like a virus. If a client is treating you poorly, it will flow over into your other accounts. Is one client worth losing the rest of them over? Absolutely not! Don’t lose sight of the fact that you need to always be on your “A” game.
5. Your business is not growing – This is an extension of my point above. If you are constantly frustrated, it interferes with the proper frame of mind you need to prospect and earn new business. You should have a certain percentage of your day dedicated to business development, it you don’t, you better start today.

I have learned that having a successful business is not about how many clients you have, but about how many quality clients you have. (…write that down!!!)

Let me make one very important side note here. If every client you are working with fits into all of the above categories, you might need to take a moment and look in the mirror and re-evaluate yourself, and your business plan. I have only had to fire 3 clients in my entire career, and it was always a tough decision to make. Looking back, I can tell you that it was the right thing to do, and my business is better for it.

One last thing, never let another person’s negative energy stand in the way of your success! (…write that one down too!)

LOVE IT!

Harrison Painter

This has been a very challenging week for me in more ways than I can count. While it would be easy to just fold it up and call it a day, something inside of me burns so strong that I don’t think I could ever let that happen.

I usually don’t need a lot of motivation, but just like everybody else, I have days/weeks where things just don’t go my way.  Here is a quote that I have found much comfort in, and it always offers a ray of sunshine no matter how cloudy a day it is.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ~Thomas A. Edison

Some of you out there might be feeling a few of these same pressures, so I wanted to share this video with you. It helped get my head on straight today, and it just might help you too.

It doesn’t matter how slow you are moving, how much pain you are feeling, or if others are looking at you with judgmental eyes. Just keep going!

“The pessimist sees the problems in every opportunity. Whereas the optimist sees the opportunity in every problem.”  ~Winston Churchill

Even if you find yourself feeling completely stuck, just take a deep breath and put a focus on helping someone else. It is amazing what a little giving of yourself to others can do for you.

Let’s make today a great one everybody!

LOVE IT!

Harrison Painter