Keeping things in perspective.

As an entrepreneur, and as most of you know we here at Siegel Media are still very entrepreneurial, there are an enormous amount of odd circumstances, difficult to manage scenarios, and just downright mean people to deal with -and on a daily basis. The difference between a major corporation and an entrepreneurial endeavor is the amount of circumstances you get to deal with personally -and far too regularly.

When you get to do many things from run the office to manage a staff, to be the front man (or woman) then you get the luxury of a first hand experience to the sordid details of running a company.

I think I'd like to write a book. It is truly comical -and the bizarre events never seem to go away. Just a few weeks ago I was thrilled to have an amazing sales coach take my newest rock star under her wing. And lo and behold, within a day of his first visit, a telephone call came her way and within hours, my rock star lost his coach. Another publication who built their success on the skills and talent of this coach, made it clear they did not want to share!

Finding a competitive advantage sometimes comes in the form of service providers. That makes it difficult for many such contractors. They are both in demand and based on the circumstances, unavailable. Our lesson that day: keep things in perspective.

Another humbling experience so happened when we were brutally made aware that a very prominent business that serves entrepreneurs and growth for the state found our publication un-compelling and of little value. Many of us strive for perfection every day - and many of us have businesses that rely on the perception and business alliances we spend tireless hours establishing. Again, the lesson that day: keep things in perspective.

Although keeping a level head and not reacting seems rather difficult, the important thing to remember is you cannot always please everyone and sometimes things really do happen for a reason. While one circumstance may get a lot of attention for the difficulty or drama it instills, it is not the norm and on occasion, the end result may not be as it seems.

Shortly after receiving the news of the loss of a great sales coach, we were asked for a referral from a large organization that was in the process of retraining their sales force. The job assignment required a six month commitment for roughly 70 people. In essence, a very lucrative assignment.

We sent out a referral, acquired a new sales coach and in the end, have a committed and very happy new vendor.

I can certainly appreciate the position of the first sales coach. She spent many years training her publishing client and building his sales force. He showed his appreciation by preventing her from servicing any similar clients. Truly unfortunate. It also taught me a very important lesson in the value of free enterprise. If I can imagine launching a product and having someone tell me I cannot produce it, sell it or promote it -I have been limited in my abilities to do business. Personally, I have seen many new publishers enter the market, and a few in my niche. Competition is good for everyone. Rather than try to stifle them, I've actually forwarded my information and let them know I am available if they need anything.

From my perspective, more publishers do not mean less business for me, it means more jobs for freelancers, more information for a starving audience, more business activity from all angles. This is good. Competition keeps us on our toes and definitely sparks innovation and creativity.

For the second incident, it is important to remember that with one bad apple, there are a number of die hard advocates for your company. One certainly does not set a precedence, and by focusing too much attention on the bad apple you may neglect those who have rallied and become die hard fans.

I was told by a very wise person not too long ago that if the issue at hand does not have a direct impact on the targeted goal or the mission of the company then let it go.

That statement has had a great effect on how we deal with immediate problems. It has a tendency to minimize the drama and of course, keep things in perspective.

With all the things entrepreneurs get to encounter in a day -the most difficult thing to do is to stay on task, stay focused and maintain a direct route to the company's mission.

Candy A Campbell
Publisher
candy@coloradocompany.biz