Darryn Le Grange highlights the importance of evaluating your environment
With our business, ActionCOACH Ignite, having celebrated its fifth birthday in June, I am mindful of the many businesses that start out with great passion and enthusiasm, but sadly don’t make the five-year mark. There are many reasons for business failure, but two of the most common reasons are:
- Lack of Knowledge – Business owners are generally very good at their trade or craft, but are short on knowledge in all the other disciplines required to build a successful business, namely: marketing, sales, finance, leadership, business systemisation, etc.
- Not Doing the Right Things – Business owners busy themselves from morning to night, but not necessarily doing the things that are required to move the business forward. By human nature we avoid the things we don’t like or are not good at, but being an entrepreneur requires you to push yourself out of your comfort zone and do things you sometimes hate doing.
So if you are not happy with where you are in business or in life, you need to start by looking in the mirror, which is often easier said than done. The best way to start is with your environment. There are three key types of environment to evaluate:
Physical Environment – What is the state of your office, your desk, your workspace, your vehicle, your grooming, etc? Is everything upside down and disorganised, or are things orderly and professional? For me personally, if my desk is cluttered, my mind is cluttered. If my desk is clear, I am able to think more clearly. Your physical environment definitely has an impact on how you feel about yourself and your business, and consequently how you perform. If you don’t like the state of your current environment, you can start cleaning it up today.
People Environment – Who do you mix with in your life? Do you mix with people who lift you up, or do you mix with people who put you down? Likewise, do you employ people in your business who are helping advance your business, or do you have people who are holding your business back? The people you associate with have a very profound effect on how you perform. If you surround yourself with positive people, you become positive. If you surround yourself with negative people, you become negative. Choose who you spend your time with very wisely.
Educational Environment – What are you doing to grow your knowledge? As a business owner, you cannot possibly grow your business if you do not grow yourself. You will only grow your business to the extent of your knowledge, so when you reach your knowledge ceiling, so will your business. Reading is the primary method of growing your knowledge, but if you don’t like reading, try audio books, YouTube, Google, go on seminars, courses, etc.
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