Can I start a business in this economy?

I'm getting a lot of calls lately asking me about the economy. The main two questions being ...

1. How is the global economy affecting the concierge industry?

2. How can I start a business in this economy?

Here's my answer ...

First, yes the economy is absolutely affecting us. I think every industry is being affected by it. The one thing that will never change, however, is that people will still be short on time no matter what happens in the world, and they will always need help.

Here are some facts ...

FACT: Corporations are continually adding new benefits to their existing employee benefit packages, especially now as their staff are doing the work of ten people due to layoffs. They’re overworked, tired, sick, stressed and have no time.

FACT: Despite what is going on with the global economy, real estate management companies still need to lure people to buy/rent in their buildings. Businesses around the world are still looking for ways to lure people to their office buildings, condos, neighborhoods, stores, malls and hospitals. Concierge services are one of those lures.

FACT: I know many concierge who have fallen on hard times, I also know of others who are thriving. It depends on who your market is, how you price it, and what your focus is. Are you focusing on the down economy or your prosperous future and how you're going to get there?

Here are some interesting facts that I pulled off the internet ...

• Did you know that General Food and Macy's both started in 1929? 

• Westin Hotels, Neutrogena and Fisher Price began in 1930

• Tyson Foods and Allstate Insurance started in 1931

• Revlon, Nissan Motors and Ethan Allen all started up in 1932.

These are all companies who had the courage to start up a business in the middle of the greatest depression the United States has ever seen. With the crash of the stock market in 1929, the U.S. was thrown into a horrible depression. Food lines were everywhere and unemployment was at an all time high.  It was during this time that these brave companies decided to start a business.

Do you think they focused on the depression around them, or do you think that perhaps they focused on how to move forward and make it work? They all knew the reality of the world around them, they just didn't pay attention to it.

So to answer the question ... can you start a business in this economy? 

Allstate Insurance, General Foods, Revlon and Macys would say yes ... yes you can.

Do not focus on what is going wrong, focus on what is going right! Focus on your future and concentrate on getting yourself there. Focus on where you want to go and what you want to do. Focus on your success and NOT on your potential failure.

Failure is not an option.

How do I know?

Because failure motivates me. Failure tells me that I need to change direction to get where I want to go.

Actually, now that I think about it, since failure gets me moving in the right direction, have I really failed? 

When the going gets tough, I do not simply give up and throw in the towel. Instead, I roll up my sleeves, take a deep breath and do what I need to do to push through to the other side. I might fall, scrape my knee and bleed a bit, but I'll get there.

If the ten companies listed above can start a thriving business in the great depression, so can you.

Perspectives

Over the years, I've often said that when faced with a situation, it really helps to look at things from a different perspective. The following email is an excellent reminder of this. There are always two sides to a story. Never assume anything.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table.

A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away.

The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish were two nickels and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Target Markets

I've been getting quite a few emails about how to find your target market recently. Here are some thoughts ...

Some of you are asking ... what is the most lucrative one?  Well, you’ll make the most money doing what you are best at. I actually mean that. Why does someone make a lot of money in a particular niche? Because they absolutely love it and are good at it. They have passion.

Years ago, before we started up Triangle, my husband Ron and I decided to start a business. His mother worked in Hoboken NJ and made their famous bread and had the recipe. We thought we could open up a bread business, install a brick oven and make the bread. So we went to my father, who was an entrepreneur, and asked him what he thought about it. His answer was this …

"What do you know about baking bread?" He asked me.

"Well nothing" I replied.

"Ok. What do you know?" He asked.

"I'm actually a great meeting planner" (I was in the meeting/event industry for 15 years).

He then leveled me a look and said … "do what you know."

A few months later we opened up our first business ... Meeting Planning Plus.

Are you tired of being tired?

I’ll confess. I’ve been under some serious stress lately. I won’t go into the details, but suffice it to say that I’m buried. Since I don’t want to end up in the hospital again, I’m managing my stress to keep it at a minimum.

What am I doing?  Here's a short list ...

Wave the White Flag - Understand your limitations and know when you need help. Don't be afraid to ask for it!  Getting sick from stress will not help anyone. If you can't hire someone (like I did recently), then look for ways to cut back on some of the things that you do. Also please remember to take some time for yourself every week!!!  Do NOT work 7 days a week!!  Take at least one day off a week!

Diet – I eat as many healthy foods as I can. I live on chicken, fish and vegetables. I avoid fried and fatty foods. We never eat fast food and try and have a balanced dinner every night. Also, we never cook processed food and always try and make everything as fresh and natural as possible. Easy for me to say since I’m married to a man who could make a paper bag taste great!   Some people  marry for money, others marry for food. I married for food!  At least we'll never starve!!!  LOL

Water – I drink as much water and non-caffeinated drinks as I can. I rarely drink soft drinks.

Air – I’m not kidding here. When you’re stressed, your breathing becomes shallow. So to combat this, I try and take a few deep breaths when I'm under a lot of stress. I'll lean back in my chair, put on some music and breath deep. Just take a few minutes of time to clear your head.

Exercise – I’m the last one to preach about this as I’ve been quite allergic to this for most of my life. However, even I know the importance of exercise. I do simple things like taking walks with my dogs, and I'll always park as far from the supermarket entrance as I can. My advice? Just move!!!  Get out there and walk, dance to a song, play with your dog, go on a bike ride ... just move and breath!!  Any type of exercise will help ease your stress.

Music – Good music lifts me up. So when I’m stressed out my gut instinct is to listen to a song from my ITunes account. I’ll sit back in my chair, close my eyes, take some deep breaths, drink the tea on my desk and let the music wash over me.

My last piece of advice is this … when you’re really stressed out, vent at a good friend because he/she will remind you to do the above!!!

Stress and Burnout

My husband and I were at a restaurant eating dinner last week when our waiter suddenly asked Ron how old he was. A little startled, Ron replied that he was about to be 52. A few seconds later, my 13 year old son offered that I was 48. The waiter looked stunned as he stared at us and said “you two must be very happy people because neither one of you looks a day over 39. Stress really ages you.”

Ok, there’s a good chance he was just trying to get a bigger tip, but it was sure nice of him to say. That being said … he’s right. Stress does cause you to age quicker. Plus it will lower your immune system and cause you to get sick.

Here are some statistics I found on-line …

• Workplace stress costs more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and stress-reduction (American Institute of Stress, NY).
• Stress is linked to physical and mental health, as well as decreased willingness to take on new and creative endeavors. (Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
• Stress is linked to physical and Job burnout experienced by 25% to 40% of U.S. workers is blamed on stress. (Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
• 75% of the general population experiences at least "some stress" every two weeks (National Health Interview Survey)

In fact, at one of my recent workshops, over half of our attendees were there because they were burned out from their current job in corporate America and were looking to start their own company. Over half!

Stress is a nasty thing that will age you faster than you want and can make you incredibly sick. It's like a ladder. The more stress you have, the farther down the ladder you are and before you know it, the stress in your life has pounded you all the way to the bottom. You are then forced to look at life from the first rung of the ladder and all sorts of negative thoughts start to consume you.

I should know because I lived like that for years and years. It got so bad that by the end of my “stress years” I was getting sick all the time and rarely had a nice thing to say to anyone. I saw negative things all around me and lived like I was on the outside looking in. Money was always tight, bills always loomed and there was never enough.

Nice way to live right?

I turned my life around by looking at the positive things in life. I tried to surround myself with positive people, and I looked at the future and imagined where I would be in 10 years. Every day I would lie on my bed and imagine my life in the future. I saw a life filled with love, laughter and prosperity. I imagined a prosperous company and wonderful clients. Sure enough, before I knew it I was no longer getting sick and our business started to flow. In fact, I was happier and healthier than I had been in years!

The secret? I enjoy what I do. I really enjoy coming to the office every day and don't really think of it as work. I also think positively and rarely look at the negative side of life.

Now don't get me wrong, I have stress in my life just like the next person, and I do get sick once or twice a year. While I can't completely erase stress and illness, I have lowered it significantly ... thus allowing me to live a much healthier life.

So … how do you reduce the stress in your life?

Work in a career that you simply love!  Life is just too short to stay in a job that you hate.

Surround yourself with positive people. Treat others like you want to be treated - with positive encouragement and thoughts.

TURN OFF THE NEWS as much as possible, although I do love watching Jon Stewart in the evenings. If you have to turn on the news, then you might as well laugh as you watch it.

Try and avoid newspapers, although I do think that you should scan the headlines so that you know what’s going on in the world. Fear causes stress and anxiety, which is something that I generally try to avoid.

Write down all the positive things that have happened to you in the last month and post them where you can see them. “See” your life as a success!!!  Don’t “see” your life as a failure!!!  Look at all the positive things that you’ve done!!! 

Turn your electronics off once in a while. Take an hour or a day to yourself without your cell phone and blackberry. Take a breath!  You’re allowed to slow down and take an hour for yourself once in a while. I'm a documented workaholic, and even I take one day off a week.

When you start to feel overwhelmed, try taking one thing at a time, one day at a time. Make a list of things you need to do and put the most urgent one at the top. Once you have completed it, cross it off and move on to the next one. Just checking things off the list should ease your stress a bit.

Lastly, concentrate on what you DO have and not on what you don't.

Cell phones have an "off" button

When was the last time you took some time off? 

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is that they work all the time. I know dozens of entrepreneurs who haven't take off any time in years. What will happen if a client calls and I'm not here? Will my staff be able to cope without me?

Let me answer those questions by asking you another question ... if you you get sick from all the stress and land in the hospital, what will happen then?

Listen, I'm as guilty as the next person and frequently work seven days a week, often logging in 14 hour days.  And yes, I landed in the hospital last March because of it.

Today, I'm much more at peace. I've learned my lesson. Although I still have those days where I'll work 14 hours in a row, I now make sure that I take at least one day off a week. We also take a vacation every year and close the office.

Did the world stop when we closed the office last month?  Of course not. Plus, I'm never far away as I carry a Blackberry and can monitor things when I'm not there. I've always firmly believed that vacations are not the place to work, so when I'm on vacation, I'll force myself to only look at it once a day ... usually over my morning coffee. I have teenage sons who like to sleep, and since I'm an early riser, I always have a few hours to myself in the morning. So I'll check my blackberry, answer what I need to answer, and then I'll read a book and relax until my family gets up.

If you bring all the technology with you on vacation, are you really on vacation?  You're there to relax, not to work!

You need to turn your brain off and let your system reboot itself!  You need to breathe and focus on something fun for a while. Not only is good for your brain, but it works wonders on your body. You'll come back refreshed with a clear head ready to take on the world again.

If you can't take a vacation this year, for whatever reason, at least promise me that you'll take a day off ... with your technology turned off!  

Yes, believe it or not, cell phones and computers all have a "off" button.

You need to take care of yourself!  Eat correctly, exercise and take some time off to relax!!!!  Even if it's only for a day, you must allow your brain some time to reboot itself.

Just be Nice

I went into a McDonald's yesterday and said, 'I'd like some fries.' The girl at the counter said, 'Would you like some fries with that?'  Jay Leno

I think Jay Leno is onto something with the above statement. People just don't listen anymore. Why is that?  You order one thing and get another. You call a company and ask for a certain person, and you get an entirely different extension. Not a good way to run a business.

I was chatting with a client of mine today and we were both wondering where customer service has gone. I defended it and told her that certainly it wasn't gone, sleeping perhaps, but not gone! 

Is it gone? Are we so into ourselves that we have all forgotten about the other person? Are we rushing through life so fast that we don't see who we are stepping on in our race to get wherever we're going?

I think we all need to take a step back for a moment and take a look around. Look at your company ... are you providing the best possible customer service to your clients and staff?  I'm not just talking about external customer service, but internal customer service as well. How you treat your staff is just as important as how you treat your clients.

Good customer service is really easy. If you treat your customers and staff well, then you will be treated well back. If you would like people to give you kindness and respect, then treat someone else with kindness and respect.

Just be nice to people.

Treating others like you want to be treated is the key to business. So treat your clients, employees and even your competitors with honesty, integrity, warmth and love and watch your business soar to the top!

Who Cleans the School?

I received the following story via email from a friend of mine. I think it's a good reminder to us all to treat everyone with respect, no matter who they are.  It shouldn't matter what job they hold, who they are, what they look like, or even how much money they have. Every life is significant and everyone is important.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.

I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times.

She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Live in the moment

I have a quick tip for you this month ... I want you all to live in the moment.

Animals live in the moment. My dog Abbey (who is a nine year old yellow Labrador) doesn't worry about what happened in the past, nor does she worry about next week. She just lives in the moment and focuses on what's happening right now. In fact, the only time she gets stressed out is during thunderstorms!  She doesn't worry about what she doesn't have, she just enjoys what she does have, and she loves everybody. We should all live like that.

I understand that the down economy is all around us, and the media is not helping matters by publishing headlines about how many people lost their jobs this month. Don't put your focus there.

Put your focus on this moment. Right now. Think about what you can do right now to change your world and move forward.  Don't regret the past or worry about the future. Just live right now.

So whenever I find myself worrying about things that I have no control over, or worrying about the future, I reach down and give Abbey a hug. She reminds me every day to just live in the moment.

Gratitude

For years, I've been telling you all to stay positive.

Well, that's all well and good, but what if your life is tumbling down around you?  How do you stay positive?

I could tell you to keep your chin up as brighter days are ahead. I could also tell you that other people have it worse.

I could but I won't.

They would be well intentioned words of course, but they would be just words and words that will not change your situation.  Words will not stop the foreclosure, put money into your bank account, or heal your loved one.

While I can't magically make those things disappear from your life, I can help put you into a more positive state of being so that you can open up to good things flowing to you. You need to step into action ... you need to stand up and do something to change your situation. That action is ...

GRATITUDE

Gratitude takes you to a different plane because it brings your brain to a higher place. It changes your focus from what you don't have to what you do have. Gratitude for what you do have will take you to a place where you can begin to make lasting positive changes to your life.

Take five minutes each day and write down (or just say it out loud) the things you are grateful for in that moment. They could be simple or complex, it really doesn't matter. Just write it down.

Today, I am grateful for ...

1. My family

2. My health

3. My job

4. It's a sunny and warm day

5. My house is clean

6. I'm drinking a great cup of coffee

I'm sure you get the point.  They don't have to be monumental, they can just be simple things that you are grateful for.

If you do this simple thing every day, keeping positive will become easier and easier. You'll see the things around you that you are grateful for versus the crap that you're not.

Gratitude will help you keep your focus on the love and prosperity around you, and will help you stay away from fear, lack and hate.  Gratitude will guide you to the hope of a better tomorrow.

Sales are delayed

I've been hearing a lot of negative talk lately. Not only have I heard these words from a few clients, I even heard them at the grocery store when I was standing in line the other day.

The words?

1. I can't afford that.

2. I can't do that.

3. I can't pay that.

4. Sales are down.

5. I've been fired.  

Well, there's some good news and bad news here.

The bad news is that if you think you can't then you won't. Simple as that. Why?  You just told me you "can't". You just said it yourself!!!  This type of negative self talk will bounce right back at you because your thoughts create your reality.

The good news is that you can change it with a thought. Positive thoughts!! So try using these words ...

1.     Instead of saying "I can't afford that" turn it around by saying "I can buy that, but am choosing not to right now."

2.     Instead of saying "sales are down," try saying "sales are delayed."

3.     If you have been "let go" from your current job, say instead that you have been recently "liberated" from your job!!

Stay positive!!!

The Fan

In the last ten days, I've gotten more "panic" calls than I've had in a long time. The reasons for the calls vary. Some people are calling because they're worried about money and the recession. Others call because the "you know what" has hit the fan and they need help figuring out what to do. I've had several of these.

Since I'm pretty good at putting out forest fires, I thought I would share some tips when you come across your own "forest fire" .

First, let's chat about your perspective and focus. So ... the "you know what" is hitting the fan right?  It's your entire world right now. You're focused on it, dreaming about it, living it, breathing it and trying to get out of it ... am I right?

Well, there is a universal principle out there called the Law of Focus. It's a natural law similar to the Law of Gravity. This law suggests that what you put your attention to … grows.  So if you put your attention to fear, a lack of money, and start to think that the sky in your world is falling, then your “sky” will fall. If we put out negative thoughts and actions and constantly focus on the negative, we will attract  negative back to us. It will become our entire world. Conversely, if we put out positive thoughts and try our best to see the positive, then we will attract the positive back, and this will become our world.

As the late Peter Jennings once said in a newscast I was watching a while back, “the mind/body connection has become serious science.” What you decide to focus on, and the direction you decide to go because of this decision, will determine your company’s reality and its direction.

So ... as I said before, the crap is hitting the fan. How do you stop looking at it?  Focus on your future. Focus on where you want to go instead. I'm not telling you to ignore it (mostly because you can't) but you sure don't have to focus all your attention on it!!

Here are some tips ...

1. Stop watching the news. It teaches us to be scared, and reminds us on a daily basis what we should be afraid of.
2. Cut some pictures out of a magazine and pin it to the bulletin board above your desk. Pictures of where you want to go ... limousines, private jets, your dream house, your dream office, your dream car, your ultimate vacation destination ... whatever. Something that will remind you where you are going and what you are working towards. I have several on my own bulletin board as they remind me on a daily basis where I am going. 
3. Listen to music. Whatever music empowers you and makes you feel good. Dance. Sing out loud!  It will lift you up.
4. Don't listen to the naysayers who are saying you can't or shouldn't. Turn your ears off and run your business (and your life) from your heart, not your head. TRUST what your intuition is trying to tell you. Listen to it, you know it's never wrong. Get quiet and focused and listen to that small voice deep down inside of you. It knows the direction you should go, and it knows how to get you there. Trust it.

And what if you fall?  What if the sky does fall down on you?

That actually happened to me. Want to know what I did when it happened? 

First I cried ...

Then I got really really angry ...

Then I calmed down and started to think. That's when I realized that I had just learned what not to do. Once I realized the lesson, I was able to stand up and dust myself off. Sure, it hurt like hell but I was able to slowly move forward knowing that I wouldn't do that again!  I then forgave everyone involved (including myself) and moved on. I let go of all judgments, resentments and anger. I let go of it all and walked away.

We then regrouped, refocused, reorganized and tried again.

Did we close the business? 

No.

Want to know why?

Because even though falling flat on my face hurts, it actually makes me even more determined to succeed. If only to prove them all wrong.

So keep going everyone!  Don't give up and keep your eye on the prize.

Oh ... one more thing ...