Have you started a business and are not seeing the results for which you had hoped? You may be going through the dip, or the hump, as I like to call it. Know what it is and how to overcome this natural business phase.
Business Success – Getting Over The Hump
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Tony_VM]Tony VM
If you’re thinking of starting and owning your own business, there are many things that you’ll need to think about and lots of things to do. Before you get into those specific details though, you should do something else. That is, you should look deep into yourself to answer the following question: “Do I have what it takes to get over the hump?”
What, exactly, does that mean? Let me explain the concept, one I learned several years ago after reading a book called “The Dip” by Seth Godin. The concept is a simple one to understand, but a harder one to apply. I know it’s true because EVERY one of my businesses went through it.
Basically, in business or any new venture in life, the starting point is always the hardest. There will be lots of struggles and problems to overcome. If you’re starting a business, you’ll have to learn about marketing, business planning, taxes, and much more. You’ll have to set up your business, hire workers, purchase inventory etc. Then, you’ll need to advertise and market, process sales, offer customer service and more. This my friends, can seem quite daunting.
In the beginning, you had a vision. You could see the result clearly, whether it was 10K per month, or 100K per month. You KNEW you were going to get there. However, problems got in the way. You’ve struggled to attract customers, struggled to get your website working and other problems that may seem insurmountable. Now, you’re wondering whether it was worth it.
I call this the hump. The book called it “The Dip.” Either way, it’s a very real concept in business. It’s one of the reasons why businesses fail.
To stay motivated, you must realize that yes, you will go through the hard times and yes, you will get through them and get over the hump, when things become much easier. It’s inevitable. All businesses go through it.
I like to think of a snowball rolling downhill. The snowball is small at first and doesn’t have much speed. As it rolls, it grows larger. As it grows in size, it’s speed increases. Bigger. Faster. More and more size and more and more speed. This is your business.
At first, it will seem nothing is going your way. Everything seems hard. Long hours are the norm. Problems are frequent. Few customers and few sales. Here is where a majority of people give up. They throw up their hands and tend to say “it’s not going to work.” So, they quit.
Do yourself a favor. Be persistent and DON’T QUIT.
Now you’ll want to ask: “How Long With The Hard Times Last?” Unfortunately, I cannot answer this because each case is different. For some, the period preceding the hump could take a month or two. For others it could be a year or more.
Know that you’re just going through the phase that’s before the hump. Also know that once over the hump, things will get much easier. Sales will start to flow in like water from a faucet. You may literally wonder where all the customers came from. Trust me, if you have a good product this WILL happen. Have faith. Know it’s just a business phase that is totally normal. You just have to get over “the hump.”
Here’s a question to ponder. “How many businesses owners quit just before they reached the hump?” We’ll never know. Make sure YOU are not one of them.
Tony VM – The Website Warrior. For more motivational books that helped me tremendously, visit the [http://thewebsitewarrior.com/motivational-books]Success Motivational Books Page of my website, The Website Warrior.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Business-Success—Getting-Over-The-Hump&id=6938342] Business Success – Getting Over The Hump
