Griffiths - 101 Secrets to Building a Winning Business: Smart, Proven and Practical Tips to Help Any business Beat the Competition

Secrets
to Building
a Winning
Business

ALSO BY ANDREW GRIFFITHS

101 Ways to Market Your Business
101 Ways to Advertise Your Business
101 Ways to Really Satisfy Your Customers
101 Ways to Boost Your Business
101 Ways to Have a Business and a Life
101 Ways to Build a Successful Network Marketing Business

Andrew Griffiths

First published under the title Secrets to Building a Winning Business in 2005 This revised edition published in 2008

Copyright Andrew Griffiths 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

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National Library of Australia

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Griffiths, Andrew, 1966

101 secrets to building a winning business

ISBN 978 1 74175 567 1 (pbk.)

Bibliography.

Success in businessHandbooks, manuals, etc.

Business planningHandbooks, manuals, etc.

650.1

Set in 12/14 pt Adobe Garamond by Midland Typesetters, Australia

Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is now the seventh title in the 101 Ways series. A huge milestone for me and, I am sure, for my publishers, who for some strange reason keep asking me to write more books. I dont think any of us realised just how big and bold this series would become. Today these books are sold around the world. As an Australian it is very rewarding to be accepted as an international authority on the subject of small business. As a result I get to spread my passionate messages about the importance of small business in every country and, most importantly of all, I get to help people build the business of their dreams. This makes every long night spent at my computer worthwhile. So I would like to dedicate this book to those exceptional entrepreneurs who have gladly shared their stories with me, their incredible journeys and their love for what they do. Thank you for helping me to do what I do.

On a more indulgent note, I would also like to thank my new brother, Sen Ekanayake, for the most amazing support a friend has ever given me; Robert Reid, my literary confidant and all-round good mate; John MacKenzie, the ex-Gladstone postie and rock-solid supporter; and of course, Dr Debra Lawson, the cherry on my cake.

The greatest revolution of our generation
is the discovery that human beings,
by changing the inner attitudes of their minds,
can change the outer aspects of their lives.

William James, Harvard psychologist

Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.
Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Some people seem to be born with the entrepreneurial gene. From the earliest of ages they are driven to set up businesses that sell anything and everything from lemonade on the side of the road to kittens. I completely understand this compulsion as my first business was selling newspapers to local businesses in Perth at around the age of 7 or 8. Since then I have pretty well been in business in some shape or form, doing everything from commercial diving, selling encyclopaedias door to door, advertising, travel, tourism and others that I have simply forgotten or tried to forget.

I couldnt imagine not running my own business. I love the challenge, I love being my own boss and I love the feeling of having control of my destiny (or at least feeling like I have).

We all have to deal with increased competition, in fact I think this is a good thing. Although there are lots of new businesses starting every day, most are not that good at what they do. So if you are better than the rest, you cant help but succeed and that is exactly what 101 Secrets to Building a Winning Business will help you to achieve.

Today I get to share my experience and knowledge with literally thousands of people, through my books and seminars. I have been working with small business owners around the world for many years. I am constantly amazed by their innovation, their energy and their commitment. It is truly spectacular. That said, I encounter a lot of businesses that really struggle and I have been in the same place myself many times.

In my opinion there are two types of businesses; those that have had hard times and those that are going to have hard times. Its really difficult when times are tough and the biggest irony is that most of the issues could generally have been avoided if the business owner had been given good advice in the first place.

So, I want to share what I have learnt through my own experiences and through the experiences I have observed or had passed on from some exceptionally successful businesspeople around the world. In the following pages there are 121 tips that will certainly increase your chances of business success.

In 101 Secrets to Building a Winning Business I put a very significant focus on actioning the recommendations I put forward. Sit back, grab a pen and get cracking on what I hope will be a very interesting and exciting journey in your entrepreneurial life.

I get asked this question a lot and it is not an easy one to answer. Sure we can look at a bank account balance but if that was the only indicator we had to measure an entrepreneurs success it would be a sad world indeed. Personally, I believe anyone who is brave enough to step out of their comfort zone and enter the challenging world of self-employment should already be classified as a significant success because there is no doubt that running your own business is tough. However, I have noticed that most financially successful entrepreneurs share common personality characteristics and an overriding desire to be good at what they do. I cover these characteristics throughout this book and you may be surprised to notice how many you have. Often this is what drives people to be entrepreneurs in the first placethey are good at what they do and they know it and they would rather make money for themselves than someone else.

If I had to pick one defining characteristic that separates success and failure it would have to be passion. Those entrepreneurs who are passionate about their businesses will not accept half measuresthey sincerely want to be the best at what they do. They are passionate regarding their products and services, their customers and their staff. This passion enables them to embrace change and face the everyday challenges that all business owners face head-on. Sure they encounter set backs but they dont get caught up in the negatives, preferring instead to move forward, learning from their mistakes and refining the way they do things. They are passionate enough to share their triumphs and tragedies in a philosophical way and they will help other people to succeed wherever they can.