“I read a book some years ago called “What you see is what you get” and the author of that book is sitting in front of me today, and I say to him the same thing, what you see is what you get.”
This is what Joseph Valente said to Lord Sugar just before he won this year’s Apprentice.
I do love it when a book inspires someone to take action and change their life.
Gerald Ratner’s was one of those books for me. It made me realise that to be successful you need to make a lot of mistakes first. No business man has ever been successful without failing at certain aspects of their business 10 or 20 times before ‘suddenly’ getting it right.
I used to love reading the Sunday Times “How I made it” feature all about how a business owner became successful, until I realised that it stretched the truth to imply that the success happened virtually overnight.
They had a formula to follow, which was:
- Show how they were entrepreneurial at an early age (i.e. selling sweets to friends at school);
- Show how they applied their skills in a big business setting; then
- Show how they overnight launched a multi-million pound business.
Almost every week the story complied with this formula.
The Apprentice also has a formula for winning the tasks, and it always amazes me how many times the contestants (it is a game show, yes?) forget the formula.
They often get so wrapped up with fighting each other, trying to outdo each other and generally trying to steal the limelight that they forget the basic requirements of each task:
- Work out who your target audience is;
- Build or buy something that they would like;
- Ensure it has a good margin;
- Sell lots of it; and
- Make a profit.
It is quite a simple formula, is it not?
It is the same formula we all should use in business.
When you add to it the Gerald Ratner “make a lot of mistakes”, then couple that with my own added words “make a lot of mistakes as quickly as possible”, your success is assured.
I also have a formula for making websites produce a steady and consistent flow of new clients.
Ready To Take Action And See Results Now?
Please call 0117 290 8555 to arrange a mutually convenient time for a telephone discussion, Email me or complete a Free Online Enquiry. There is no cost or obligation. We will have a chat about where you are and where you would like to be and I will suggest some things you can do to get there quickly.