Let me demonstrate just how powerful the right mindset is when you are monetizing your business. The wrong sort of thinking could even make you broke and hungry. These examples will show you how a shift in thinking can make the difference between success and failure.
The Customers Dream
Do you have any idea how long customers normally have to wait to get their furniture delivered? The standard wait time in the industry is three to six weeks for in-stock merchandise. That’s just crazy!
Then along comes AMAZON! When you can shop at night and sometimes have it on your porch the very next day! In many industries before Amazon– that was UNHEARD OF!
When Amazon began, not a single store in town was delivering furniture to a customer’s home within a couple of days let alone overnight. That was just not the way things were done. Amazon wanted to deliver in three days or less. Do you think the business owners were scorned and warned by ALL the other furniture retailers who they asked for advice? Do you think manufacturers, vendor reps, and delivery companies scoffed and swore that it couldn’t be done? Of course!
Collectively, all those furniture stores in the area had the same mindset. Even though they had the same challenges as every other furniture store, Amazon believed that they could do it better and faster… and they DID! They had the mindset that something could be done – and they believed that they could profit from their platform of shopping! Those owners had the resolve of a bear looking for honey. They were not dissuaded from their plan by what the naysayers with a negative mindset advised.
NOW LET’S TALK RESULTS
We have personally experienced that their schedule was so booked, that we had to wait two to four weeks before they could take our order for “next day delivery”! Can you imagine how much of a competitive advantage this furniture company has over every other competitor in the marketplace? It’s huge!
Their positive mindset allowed them to grow beyond belief — and during a recession! However, this would have never happened if they didn’t change their mindset BEFORE they changed their business. This is exactly what you will have to do in order to grow your business to the next level.
Now, let’s take a look at the opposite side of that coin, when people continue to do business as usual, even though business as usual is slowly bringing one to the poorhouse! Purely by habit, some businesses cling to a stubborn or poor mindset – and it limits their business’s success.
Several years ago, there were several super-high end furniture stores within miles of each other in New England. These retailers were priced so high that only two percent of the population in the entire nation could afford their furniture. As the economy turned, those retailers simply refused to change their business model to reflect the change in the economy, because that’s the way they had always done business.
As a result, within six short months, ALL but one of those retailers went out of business.
But the furniture stores were not the only ones to suffer. Unfortunately, a poor mindset has also affected many other businesses and industries that could have easily weathered the storm of this economic shift with just a few simple changes to their businesses. However, they chose to ignore the changing marketplace and, consequently, went out of business.
What is needed to survive and even thrive in the New Economy? It starts with developing the right mindset.
Four Monetizing Mind Shift Pillars of Success:
1. Believe
There is still money in your local marketplace. Don’t buy into the negative mindset that people in your area of the world aren’t buying what you’re selling. Yes, they are! There are dozens of businesses right now in your industry or neck of the woods that are making unbelievable profits during tough times. The real questions are, “Will yours be one of these businesses? Do you believe that you can make changes in your business in order to cash in on your market during any economic condition – good or bad?”
2. Seek
Take advantage of the opportunities, no matter what is going on in the economy. Don’t hide your head in the sand. Every recession creates profit opportunities. In our furniture store example, the successful company recognized that consumers wanted furniture that could be delivered quickly. They wanted a good price, speed, and convenience. Ultimately, the key to your success will be determined by your ability to listen to your market. Then all you have to do is create a product or service to meet that need and you’ll instantly have increased profits.
3. Decide
Make decisions based on facts, not on news headlines. If you’re listening to talk radio, news reports, or another media source that’s pumping fear, doom, and gloom into your head, then turn it off right now! The majority of the media is in the business of selling fear, not hope. Fear paralyzes, it stops progress! Your focus should be on finding what your target market wants and then providing it to them, giving them great value. That’s it. Don’t let them drive you out of business by slowly breaking down your confidence and draining your will to fight.
4. Adjust
Change your business or go out of business. We’ll even go one step further to say, “Change your thinking, and change your business.” Every day we meet struggling business owners who simply refuse to do things differently. What they are currently doing is not working – they know this and yet they expect different results. According to Albert Einstein, this is the definition of insanity! You must be willing to change your staff, advertising, marketing, product and/or management, and anything and everything else that no longer works in order to survive during this new economy. That is the truth, plain and simple.
Ready to Monetize?
By the way, if you are ready to monetize your business more effectively and accelerate your business results, let’s connect. I know we can help.