Many years ago I met an inspirational business woman when I was trying to set up my very first business selling hot dogs on the corner of my block in Removille, Chicago. After a quick chat, I began to tell the lady about my business struggles and she gave me some of the best advice that I have ever received, so good in fact that I made sure that she wasn’t charged and I paid her bill myself.
Sadly my hot dog enterprise failed but the woman’s advice stayed with me about how to adopt a successful business attitude. In fact I used this advice to find success later in life when I found success with my buddy Haris Ahmed Chicago-resident like myself and inspirational man all round. I thought then that I would share with you the advice that I was given so that you too could find the successful business attitude that is inside you, if you want success, here is how to go get it.
Sacrifice Everything
If you want a successful business then you are going to have to work at it and work hard. This is going to mean that you will have to sacrifice a great deal in order to find the success that you are looking for. This is something that can be tough to do, especially when you see your friends heading off for nights out and vacation which you cannot go on because you are working your fingers to the bone. With that being said, once you find the success that business can bring, you will soon be the one laughing.
Be Inspired By Competition
When it comes to competition, you must never see this as a negative that can damage you, but rather an added inspiration and a test of how good you are. The reason why most businesses fail when there is competition around is because they can become obsessed with the competition and try to imitate what they are doing. The best way is to simply stay true to who you are and make sure that any competition that comes your way, drives you on to even more success.
Be Persistent As Hell
And finally, the greatest piece of advice that this woman gave me was that I had to be persistent in business and do all that I could to refuse to take no for an answer. This is not only something that stayed with me, but something that even today I always strive to live up to. If you have a product that you believe in and you are trying to pitch it to a business, get in their face until they say yes. If you have a distribution deal pending and you are trying to work out contractual details, be like a dog with a bone until they say yes. Whatever it is that you are trying to achieve in business, don’t ever let someone say no, and if they do, make sure that they regret it when they see just how successful you are.