Fear Factor 101: Is Fear a Factor? |  |
- Fear Factor 101: Is Fear a Factor?
- Mike Muhney, Co-inventor of ACT! And Founder of VIPOrbit: Cultivating Meaningful Relationships
- Back To Square One
- When Will You Start Your Business?
| Fear Factor 101: Is Fear a Factor? Posted: 13 Apr 2012 11:30 AM PDT For most new and established business owners their biggest obstacle is Fear. It is perhaps the biggest enemy many people fight in obtaining business success.
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the number one definition of fear is:
Fear. It can be a good thing. It can be a bad thing. It can also live and grow and appear at opportune times in the life of a business owner and, when it goes unnoticed and when it is not recognized and purposely silenced, it can be the worst of all companions. In our daily dealings with business owners (both new and established businesses) there are many manifestations of fear that we are able to witness. The fear of making the wrong decision. The fear of losing money. The fear of this and the fear of that…the list goes on. But if you boil it all down to its core there's one main fear that all of us have felt, experienced, and deal with almost daily and that is the fear of failure. That's it. The fear of what happens if "my" business fails? None of us like to fail. What will our friends say or think? What does this mean for my family? How will it affect my future? Will others think less of me? The Fear of Failure. Fear can become your CEO if you're not careful. In fact, fear will become your CEO if you don't face up to your fears. Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Michael Jordan. Muhammad Ali. Henry Ford. Jack Welch. Read what some of them have said about fear. Do some Internet searches. You're not alone. They all have or had the same fears that you face. What does fear do? It does many things. In fact, in extreme cases, it can lead to things such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Spend 5 minutes reading about Howard Hughes in his later years if you want to see an "extreme" illustration of anxiety and fear. However, that's not most of us. There's an extreme that knows no fear and there's the Howard Hughes extreme that becomes reclusive and lives out his days in isolation and in hotel suites afraid to touch anything. Most of us live somewhere between these two extremes. To feel fear, anxiousness, and apprehension is 100% normal. What you do about those feelings is what separates us…that's what separates the men from the boys so to speak. Fear's biggest manifestation is paralysis. Because I'm afraid of failure I do nothing. It's "safe" to do nothing. I can't fail if I don't do anything. I honestly think that, often times, it's the "doing nothing" that allows people to sleep at night. Why? Because we end up doing the same thing today that we did yesterday and our world doesn't change. It's predictable. We can "plan" and "control" our days and our lives so much easier this way. There's no "X" factor because tomorrow will be the same as today and yesterday and there's comfort in that. My question to you is simple, is that what you want? If it is that's fine. There's nothing at all wrong with that. Here comes the famous if/then statement…if you want predictable…if you want the same thing tomorrow that you had yesterday…then "maybe" running a business is not for you. It may not be what you're looking for. However, if you still want to forge ahead with running your business then I think we all know what we have to do with the bully who keeps stealing OUR lunch. Face up to him. Look fear in the eye and recognize his role in your decision-making. It's time to recognize that some, perhaps many, of our decisions are motivated by fear. We cannot…let me repeat that…we cannot build or run our businesses if fear is in the driver's seat or if we're afraid of making a mistake. I personally have a growing business and I can assure you that you WILL make mistakes. I've made many mistakes…whew, if I added up the mistakes, that would be a long list. But we've made many more good decisions that have helped us to grow. And we've learned and we continue to learn from the mistakes. Quotes from Michael Jordan:
Stay tuned for part 2 – Fear Factor 201.
From Small Business Trends |
| Mike Muhney, Co-inventor of ACT! And Founder of VIPOrbit: Cultivating Meaningful Relationships Posted: 13 Apr 2012 08:30 AM PDT We’ve come a long way, baby! And times, they are a changing. With today’s technologies, there are so many ways to build relationships. The key, however, is to cultivate meaningful ones in order to be truly successful. ”Meaningful businesses always depends on meaningful relationships that transcend time and technology.” Truer words were never spoken. Tune in as Mike Muhney of VIPOrbit joins Brent Leary for an in-depth discussion on the value of meaningful relationships. * * * * *
Mike Muhney: I started my career with IBM in the mainframe era and I actually learned a lot of design, which became an input that was part of ACT!. My IBM sales training taught me not how to sell more but, how to deal with more people, more effectively, so that I can sell more. I have never forgotten the value of that orientation and that meaningfulness in my own career. From IBM, fast forward in 1986. Pat Sullivan and I co-invented ACT! and created the category of contact management that is acknowledged as one of the catalysts to the creation of the CRM industry. We sold the company to Symantec in 1993. Fast forward to today. So many people with iPhones and iPads want to have the same robust, desktop functionality on those devices that I once enjoyed in a windows laptop. That is what I am looking to provide today with VIPorbit. Small Business Trends: It is the 25th anniversary of ACT! What are your impressions where we are today with CRM and did you think we would be where we are today back when you started ACT!? Mike Muhney: That is a good question and if I would even pretend to know where we would be today back then, I would obviously be lying to you. Back in April 1, 1987, when ACT! was released to the market, the laptop, as it was called, was still a very new thing. Very functional, poor screens, no hard drive to begin with, but it was a premonition of what was to unfold over time. That is the concept of mobility. We could only dream back then where everyone has a mobile device in their hands with which to do more effective relationship management. What has changed is, we have taken for granted today the mobile devices we did not have back then. Very few people did. What has not changed is the need for the focus and purpose of more meaningful relationships. Meaningful businesses always depends on meaningful relationships that transcend time and technology. Small Business Trends: Can you tell us a little bit about what Mobile Relationship Management (MRM) is? Mike Muhney: I said relationship as opposed to contact because if I were to present to you which is a more meaningful word, a more meaningful status or relationship with a person, or just a contact with a person, most people would get the fact that the relationship is more meaningful. Mobile indicates that it is designed from the ground up for mobile devices. It was not a legacy system with an attempt to bring it down to mobile devices but, it also addresses the ubiquity of hundreds and millions marching toward a billion people in the world that have a mobile device, in the recognition of that. The other thing to quickly comment on is contact managers today primarily have less than 6 million users globally. There are about 400 million iPhone users. So what is 6 million compared to 400 million? I did not want to piggy bank on a very tiny category. I wanted to recognize and promote a much larger category and opportunity, and enhance mobile relationship management with our creation. Small Business Trends: What are the biggest challenges we face in a mobile relationship management world? As opposed to the one you guys started back in the late 80's? Mike Muhney: Back then when ACT! was not known as it is today, we were still introducing it to the market and trying to persuade people to be more productive with this type of a solution. I cannot tell you how many times people would say, “I am already doing that on my day-timer. You know my paper system is more than sufficient an it keeps me well organized.” The thing about the phone, even over the tablet, is that the phone is with you 24/7. Nobody has ever carried a laptop with them and had access to it 24/7. Plus, most normal people have this 24/7 device attached to them that gives them access to something in a far greater capacity, in a more meaningful way, than ever before. Small Business Trends: Is Mobile Relationship Management different from what I would think of as Mobile CRM initiatives from couple of years ago? Mike Muhney: I can answer that in all different ways. That is a very pertinent question and it depends on your orientation. If you were a true CRM technician, there is no way that VIPorbit would be categorized as a CRM product in the enterprise tradition sense of the word. If, however, you choose to reorient and expand your definition of it, given the device enabled world we are living in today that did not exist when CRM began, then I think it could loosely be included in that group. Small Business Trends: Twenty five years from now, where do you think we are going to be with MRM/CRM? Mike Muhney: Google revealed they have invented a prototype of glasses that allows you to have everything literally right in front of your eyes. One of the people at Google is quoted as saying his son today is 4 years old and when he is a young adult, this is going to be his world. So it is very possible we can be doing Mobile Relationship Management, CRM, all of the above. . . thru just looking straight ahead. In the side view mirror of the glasses we are wearing on our face at that time. Small Business Trends: Mike, where can people learn more about Mobile Relationship Management and how you are addressing it at VIPorbit? Mike Muhney: Very easily, visit VIPorbit.com. From Small Business Trends This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 13 Apr 2012 05:30 AM PDT
I admit, I simply do not understand the stock market. I mean, I understand what goes on there, but as to why and how and who does what, I’m totally confused. One of the things that puzzles me most is when a company is apparently doing great, but its stock gets hammered because analysts thought it might do even better. That seems crazy to me. I mean, if one month I made $5000, and then the next month I made $7000, I’d frankly be a little miffed if the Mrs. were unhappy because I hadn’t made $8000. Clearly I have a long way to go in my understanding of high finance, so maybe some sort of really basic instruction like this cartoon would help me. From Small Business Trends |
| When Will You Start Your Business? Posted: 13 Apr 2012 02:28 AM PDT There’s no time like the present to start your business. Don’t be stopped by all the doubts or all the delays life seems to put in your way. Here’s a look at how to make your entrepreneurial dreams come true. First StepsWhat are you waiting for? There are many reasons not to start a business. Perhaps you feel you don’t have the money, talent or time to pull it off. Take a look at this post and the steps needed to get you started toward your dream of being an entrepreneur. Inc.com Contests & ResourcesNeed some business cards? Participate in our latest contest. Yes, Small Business Trends has teamed up with MOO, maker of premier art design cards, for a contest that could allow you to remake your business image free! Small Business Trends What channel should I use? You probably know the value of social media to grow your business. Now the question is what social media channel/channels to use. Should it be Facebook, Twitter…or how about newcomer, Pinterest? Join us for a live Facebook chat from our sister site BizSugar.com this morning at 11 a.m. EST to learn more. BizSugar Blog Tricks of the TradeHow to build a following? Perhaps the most important component about starting a business today is that your business should be able to develop a following. This is especially true in the online world. Want to learn more? Watch the video! Bloomberg Businessweek How to get lucky! Well, not really. In fact, this post argues that many entrepreneurs make their own luck by a series of practices that improve their odds over time. If you want to learn more about how to improve your “luck,” you’ll want to check them out. CreateHype Business EducationGive kids an entrepreneurial edge. If we want to encourage more entrepreneurship, small business creation and ownership, it’s never too early to start. Here’s a post about a program designed to give kids an entrepreneurial spark. Planting Money Seeds Taking advantage of your leads. It’s happened to all of us, those hot leads that have gone cold. They could represent new sales to your business, but how can you better capitalize on these opportunities. Leap TV Sound Sales AdviceThe ABC approach to sales. As you developing the sales efforts for your new small business, you’re bound to come across a few old chestnuts like this one. A few sales veterans weigh in on the “always be closing” doctrine. Sales Practice Business IdeasBusiness ideas from Anita Campbell. In this guest post, Small Business Trends founder Anita Campbell spells out some of the very basic categories the best business ideas can be found. Can you find your idea in this list? Build A Little Biz Thinking big while planning small. Just because you’re starting a small business doesn’t mean you have to keep your thinking small. In fact, big businesses and big ideas can be a huge inspiration to the little startup. Do you have big ideas? Open Forum From Small Business Trends |
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