~~Dear SABEF members, we hope you have had a fantastic start to this year!
In 2014 there is lots to do, lots to achieve and SABEF Struggledork hopes to be there to guide you through your entrepreneurial journey.
We hope you will be more engaging, ask many more questions so that you get the best out of our knowledge and experience.
Since the beginning of the year I have spent a week working in a country that could be a world leader in Entrepreneurship. I have been speaking to very well educated people and extremely good communicators…….
Or are they?
I have been at a conference about education. At the conference, I have heard some of the best ideas I have heard anywhere in the world. I have watched presentation after presentation and 2 words kept popping out from the presentations and discussions amongst delegates after the sessions.
Vision: Each company, training program, or idea that was presented had the key requirement of …..you start with a VISION. Then the discussion would start talking about all the problems and everything that wasn’t working, or pessimism. As a psychotic-optimist, this seems to be a paradox (absurd or contradictory)! How could I have a VISION of the future and then spend my life talking about THE PAST like it will change the future?
I just don’t get it!
In this world today, we have the best technologies, best education programs, we have study after study showing us how.. what… where…. when….. and why…….and yet we humans look for answers that didn’t work in the past, thinking they will work in the future. When do we change so that the past will equal the future model?   NOW!!!
VISION is just that what WE see in the future. I do not want or need to look in the past. This beautiful design called “human being” has the tools to make everything abundant in the future by believing in our Visions. The real questions to be asked are:
1.Who will be part of the VISION? And;
2.Will you, another Human agree to be part of the vision? And;
3.Can I have a Quality of the VISION by:
a.Setting a standard
b.Having rules to hold the VISION
c.Making sure I have agreements by all involved in the VISION
d.Most importantly…. will I have the courage to enforce all of the above?

It seems to “ME” that all I need to know is already here and I must learn to stay Aware and Present at all times if I want my vision to become a reality. I must move in a forward direction and be willing to make mistakes and constantly correct on any mistakes to create a long term vision.
The last time I spoke, it was about VALUE AND PROFIT. I believe very strongly that VALUE must always consider COST+EXPENSE and their relationships to profit. I cannot see how I can be of value if I don’t make a profit. I hear loads of would-be business owners tell me that they always added value and in the very next breathe, tell me they are going broke because they can’t seem to make a profit!!

Value assessments are always held in the minds of a customer, not the supplier. The best way to know if the business is of value is by profit made on any given transaction. How can you be of value and be going broke? They are mutually exclusive. No Profit in a transaction = no real value. I can hear the shouts now. Profit is always created by the pricing structure of the business selling the products/services.

Like VISION, it is important to work in the future and not hold on to the past. The world is moving at extreme speeds and does not allow for too many history lessons in business. To be great at business today requires a NET PRESENT POSITION of all products/services, knowing the market you are in and who your customers really are.  There is no room for PESSIMISM….. it only slows you down. It is the speed in which you receive feedback, debrief on the feedback and go straight back to the market, thus always creating futures. Human design is fast and has greater market awareness than in any other time in history.

In short…..
- Know your service and products
- Know the market place
- Know your customer
- Provide Value…. No…. demand Value-add in everything you do
- Do not wallow in the past…. you must have a Vision to the future
-  Make a profit on all transactions
-  Accumulate wealth
-  And cycle your money.

Next week, we will spend some time on PRICING, the art/science of a business.
Until next week…. SABEF Struggledork out!