The Biggest Mistake People Make In Business

The Biggest Mistake People Make In Business
Image – Pixabay (PD)

The biggest mistake in business (and also in any other form of relationship), put simply… is selfishness.

Now this sounds completely paradoxical at first. After all, isn’t business about making money for YOU?

Actually, no it isn’t. Not at all. Think about it: How can you expect to make money if all you think about is you?

There you are, all absorbed in your bright dreams, your business, your fantasy, your product, your mission, your this, your that.

But have you stopped to identify your clients and figure out what their needs are?

Getting Paid Versus “I Wanna”

Embed this principle of wealth firmly in your mind. I would go so far as to say that it is a fundamental axiom of wealth:

The degree to which you can get past “I wanna” is the degree to which you will get paid.

An employer or customer does NOT care about what you wanna do or wanna be.

They only care about the value you provide to them. And providing value means to step out of thinking only about what you want, and start considering what will be the best thing that you can possibly provide for them.

Providing value is the only real reason why you get paid.

Would Steve Jobs have gotten paid if he had thought “I wanna stay in bed today”? Or even if he had thought “I wanna make something that makes ME happy.”

No. He was able to fix his focus firmly on what other people want and deliver it better than anyone else in the world.

Parasitical Or Symbiotic?

BEING USEFUL – rather than being a parasite – is a good way to ensure that you dont get killed off….

whether you are:

• a species (pay attention, humanoids!)
• a business
• an individual looking for work
• a survivalist

– strive to make yourself indispensable! Example: Doctors are heavily relied upon. They are useful, indispensable.

Shift your focus. Start thinking about solving problems.

The most successful businesses focus on solutions. The ones that are struggling focus on products.

Of course, if you are solution – oriented, you are still selling products; it’s just that these products are entirely focused on meeting the needs of the customer, rather than just your need to sell a product. Nobody cares!

The interesting thing is, when you shift your focus to solutions, it is not necessarily any more work than focusing on products. You still have to make stuff, or do whatever it is you do. But the thing is, you are all of a sudden serving a need: and then your own needs will get met in the process. But you have to “get out of your own way”…

Get To Know Your Clients

Q: So, if you can get rich by serving people’s needs, how is it that you can provide what people need?

A: First, you need to learn what they need.

There are several tactics you might use to get on track here.

1) What problems do you have (that others also have)? What would you absolutely love to have, that does not exist? What problems can you see in the world that are without a solution? What are the biggest challenges the world faces? What is making everyone unhappy / annoyed / frustrated / suffer? What would bring the most joy or alleviate the most suffering in the world?

Can you create a product that addresses these needs? The more urgent the need, and the more effective the product… the more money you can make.

Money Is Not Evil

Everyone (apart from a few monks and ascetics) wants to make money.

There is nothing wrong with this.

The PROBLEM is at the moment, there is a huge trend towards people trying to make money without providing anything of real value in return.

The trend in business these days is to do “whatever makes a buck”.

This is the path of pushing things up hill. It is difficult, dangerous, has a habit of making enemies and of backfiring.

The trouble is, it is difficult when in survival mode to think about anything other than your immediate needs.

I am not suggesting that you let go of your needs.

I am suggesting that you strategize in solving them.

Fact is, if you concentrate on providing solutions and thinking what can I actually do best for this person / situation, you will make a lot more money!!

Money is a simple value equation: Just identify, create and provide value. Get paid. Repeat.

Anyone else who has no money, it is almost certainly because they are not providing the value to others that others most want and usually because they are only thinking about themselves.

You are going into business because it seems easier / more fun / aligned with your interests / your hobby? Aww, how cute. Nobody cares. Your customers don’t care.

If you want investment to grow your business, the principle is just the same. You have to provide value for the investor. If you provide sufficient value, they will gladly provide as much money as you need. There truly is no shortage.

So now you must ask yourself: How to provide the true value and service that your investors, your clients and your customers require.

This one question should be THE foremost question of any business owner, indeed of any professional. This IS business, period.

Keep this one question at the forefront of your mind at all times, take ACTION and you WILL succeed?

People define success as getting what you want. It is not.

The definition of success is when you provided value to someone else.

How do I provide the true value and service that my investors, clients and customers require?
How do I meet my clients needs better than the competition?
How do I best solve my clients problems?
How do I make my clients happy?
How do I improve my reliability, trustworthiness, ability to get the job done, track record, efficiency, politeness, communication skills, professionalism?

What is value?

That is defined by your clients, customers and investors, not by you! You must identify what they see as value, and figure out how to provide the most of it you possibly can!

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The Biggest Mistake People Make In Business
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