Tuesday, November 22, 2005
How to Make Your Online Small Business a Success Story
There's a story to every success online. As a matter of fact, it's no exaggeration to say that having a story is essential to success. Huh? Let me explain.
I spent a few years trying to break into professional screenwriting. I never made a living at it, but I developed a keen sense of story that gave me enough of a reputation that a number of screenwriting contests asked me to serve as a judge.
For each competition I judged, I read a lot of scripts. Many were terrible. And the terrible ones usually had one thing in common: they had no story.
The main characters started out in situations they clearly didn't like. They moped, they griped, they suffered a lot of hard luck. Then, in the last couple of pages, whatever trouble they had simply vanished and all their dreams were fulfilled.
What made these screenplays lacking in story value was that the main characters never took action to change their situation. They never grew. They never tried new things. They just plunked themselves down and waited for the world to miraculously change to suit their desires.
Many who start their own business take the same approach. They make a slight start, getting the beginning elements of a business in place.
Then they wait.
They wait, expecting that it's now up to the world to fulfill their dreams.
They lack a story to their lives.
A story is about overcoming obstacles. A story is about stretching yourself. A story is about exploring beyond the limited confines of who you now are and discovering who you can be.
That's the kind of story that grabs hold of us. And it's the kind of story that takes place in setting up every successful business.
What was lacking in those failed screenplays is what is lacking in so many failed businesses: the person's willingness to risk, to explore, to grow.
If there's no story in the development of your business—no risk, no discovery, no growth that you undergo—there will be no success. It's that simple.
To succeed in online business, you must grow as much as, if not more than, your business grows. You must become something more than you now are. Step out into the unknown and run your business in a way that makes it—and you—a good story.
Jeff
There's a story to every success online. As a matter of fact, it's no exaggeration to say that having a story is essential to success. Huh? Let me explain.
I spent a few years trying to break into professional screenwriting. I never made a living at it, but I developed a keen sense of story that gave me enough of a reputation that a number of screenwriting contests asked me to serve as a judge.
For each competition I judged, I read a lot of scripts. Many were terrible. And the terrible ones usually had one thing in common: they had no story.
The main characters started out in situations they clearly didn't like. They moped, they griped, they suffered a lot of hard luck. Then, in the last couple of pages, whatever trouble they had simply vanished and all their dreams were fulfilled.
What made these screenplays lacking in story value was that the main characters never took action to change their situation. They never grew. They never tried new things. They just plunked themselves down and waited for the world to miraculously change to suit their desires.
Many who start their own business take the same approach. They make a slight start, getting the beginning elements of a business in place.
Then they wait.
They wait, expecting that it's now up to the world to fulfill their dreams.
They lack a story to their lives.
A story is about overcoming obstacles. A story is about stretching yourself. A story is about exploring beyond the limited confines of who you now are and discovering who you can be.
That's the kind of story that grabs hold of us. And it's the kind of story that takes place in setting up every successful business.
What was lacking in those failed screenplays is what is lacking in so many failed businesses: the person's willingness to risk, to explore, to grow.
If there's no story in the development of your business—no risk, no discovery, no growth that you undergo—there will be no success. It's that simple.
To succeed in online business, you must grow as much as, if not more than, your business grows. You must become something more than you now are. Step out into the unknown and run your business in a way that makes it—and you—a good story.
Jeff
Comments:
Post a Comment
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
