Scott Merritt's Essential Scrolls

Is your business feeling the crunch of a slow economy?

Has your business slowed down 40% or more over the past 12 months?
Have you done anything different with your advertising or marketing?
Do you feel that the main reason for the decline is that people have less money to spend?

That certainly makes sense. All our living expenses are on the rise. Groceries cost more, utility bills have increased – in some places dramatically – and the price of a gallon of gas is through the roof. So it only makes sense that consumers have less to spend on what they may perceive as ‘non-essential’ services.

If you were asked what you were going to do about it, what would you say?
Would you make cut backs, not only within your business, but in your home life?

Maybe your buiness cost for advertising and marketing is your biggest expense OR maybe it is almost non-existent. Maybe you pay for ads in magazines or newspapers or on websites... maybe you don't. No matter which of these two scenarios match your business, YOU STILL NEED CLIENTS!

SO, cutting your advertising or marketing budget can be like sharpening both sides of a sword... it would save you money and affect your ability to reach new clients. "Trimming fat from your business is smart in lean times. But it can also send your business into a downward spiral which leads to going out of business. When revenues are low, you cut back on marketing – which brings less clients, which, in turn decreases revenue further leading to more cutbacks." ~Dawud Miracle

What small business owners seldom think of in lean times is growth. But look at the example of big business and wealthy people. They’re often the most active when the economy is slow. Investors often buy in when times are lean. And they ALL make a killing in the long run.

The small business owner, if they want to stay in business, needs to take a similar approach. In lean times, sure, cut back on unnecessary expenses. Readjust your books so you can loosen up some cash. But even more importantly, GET ACTIVE.

Seems like a simple solution, right? Times are tough… do more. But seldom do small businesses in slight downturns think of this. Or if they think about it, they don’t actually follow through on it. The key to coming out of a difficult financial period is to focus on growing your business. Utilize all the 'selling' techniques you know about to stir your way out of stagnation. Advertise & market through different resources. Local websites such as CraigsList.com, ClassifiedAds.com, pennysaverusa.com, etc., are free and somewhat popular.

Remember that marketing is most effective when you’re solving problems for your clients and customers. Refine your marketing to meet potential customers where they’re facing problems. It might be that you have a perfect solution for their needs.

So how is your business in this economy?
Do you have a growth strategy for slow times?
What would it be?

Despite living in the age of e-mail, wireless networks, smartphones, and tablets, many small businesses are still beholden to paper. There are a variety of reasons for this. Often, it’s the other businesses or government agencies that you interface with that demand paper forms or faxes. Sometimes, it’s just that old habits die hard.

However, there are software solutions to some old paper problems that don’t require the network infrastructure of a large corporation. And making a small technology investment now could save your business a bundle long-term — not to mention reducing its wasteful reliance on paper products.


1. NitroPDF

We mostly see PDF (Adobe’s Portable Document Format) files as immutable documents — the opposite of an editable MS Word file. But PDFs are actually extremely versatile, and can be edited, graphically manipulated, and used as fillable forms — if you have the right software.

The standard in PDF editing software, Adobe Acrobat, will run you $299 for an individual license, but there are alternatives. One of them is NitroPDF, an extremely powerful editor that starts at $99 for a single license. With it, you can easily create PDF forms that clients can view and complete with standard software, like Adobe reader and most web browsers. You can also edit existing PDF documents without resorting to printing and white-out.

Another great paper-saving feature is the built-in and extremely stable PDF printer driver. Instead of sending that important e-mail or website to your laserjet, select Nitro’s printer option and generate a full-color PDF that you can archive digitally on your hard drive and in the cloud (more on that below).


2. PDF995 Printer Driver

On the topic of PDF printing, if you don’t need the full editing suite that comes with NitroPDF, but you’re looking for a way to render important documents as PDFs, check out PDF995. It’s a PDF printer driver, plain and simple — no user interface or controls. Simply install it and it will add a PDF option to the print menu of all your applications.

A PDF printer driver is an excellent way to digitally render invoices, graphic mock-ups, and long text documents that you’d like clients to read, but not change — all without ever touching a piece of paper or a scanner.

PDF995 is free, but it is ad supported. Whenever you generate a PDF, a small pop-up window will appear in your default browser, which you can simply close when the file is done rendering. It may take a few seconds of your time for each one, but it’s a small drawback for an excellent free product.


3. Fax to E-mail Services

In the words of Michael Scott from NBC’s comedy The Office, “Fax? Why don’t you just send it over on a dinosaur?”

Indeed, there is little excuse for using a fax machine in 2010, but many businesses do so because other businesses they correspond with, including the U.S. government especially, still rely on the technology. Your business can break this vicious cycle (and save piles of paper in the process) by switching your fax number over to an e-mail conversion service.

Setting up an account will assign a new fax number, ideally in your business’s area code, and use a web or e-mail interface to send and receive faxes as PDF files. New faxes will come directly to your inbox instead of that paper-spewing fail machine in the break room.

Some of the leading fax to e-mail services include:

**eFax

**UnityFax

**jConnect

Rates and features vary between services, so investigating how much faxing you plan to do each month is worthwhile. Additionally, if you already host your website and/or business e-mail with GoDaddy.com, they offer an integrated fax to e-mail feature for an added monthly fee.


4. EchoSign Online Contracts

Nearly every type of business, from a law firm, to a construction company, to a lone freelance designer, should be using contract agreements to legally protect itself from issues with clients and other businesses. Typically, this means generating paper and gathering a signature in ink, either by mail (even more paper) or in person.

But for over 10 years, e-signatures have been equally binding under the law, and a few companies have made the process of creating and sending secure electronic agreements very efficient.

One of them is EchoSign, a feature-rich and user friendly service for generating and archiving digital contracts. If you’re already working with a paper version of your business agreement, simply upload it to EchoSign and enter the recipient’s e-mail address. They will receive a copy of the document with a link where they can e-sign. The executed contract is stored in your EchoSign account for reference. The software is completely web-based, so there’s nothing to install, and you can access your documents from any Internet connection.

EchoSign has a scalable pricing model, starting with a free account that lets one user gather up to five signatures per month, through unlimited signature accounts with multiple users, starting at $40 per month.

Besides saving paper, the speed at which your business can execute binding agreements via e-mail should be enough to make you part ways with the old mail and ink system.


5. Online Backup and Record Keeping

Even if your company has gone digital in a number of paper-centric areas, perhaps the over-arching challenge, especially for small businesses, is archiving your records and files.

Often this data is disparate, spread between e-mails, computer files, and paper records. But if you’re diligent about maintaining a searchable, web-based archive of the items listed above, the dividends paid in time and money saved will be enormous in the long-run.

Depending on the volume of your existing paper records, it may not be cost effective to digitize older files. But if you start fresh by printing to PDF instead of paper going forward, you can create your web-accessible archive with a number of services, including these highly recommended ones:

**Box.net

**DropBox

**Mozy

**Backblaze

Additionally, if you’re using Google Apps for business, the existing infrastructure of document sharing, collaboration, and large storage capacity makes the system ideal for generating a cloud-based business archive that all of your team members can actively use and update.

Originally Posted By: Matt Silverman on MASHABLE: The Social Media Guide

By Randy Duermyer, About.com Guide

Step 9: Consider Your Break Even Point, Your Cash Flow and Your Funding Options

There are several issues questions you need to consider with this step:
How much will you need to pay your bills until the money starts coming in from your home business?

**Will you be keeping your full-time job or is there another breadwinner in the family that can help you until you develop an income stream?
**What will your continuing outlays be for items like equipment, salaries and/or inventory?
**How many products must you sell or how many hours of service will you need to provide before you reach the break even point?
**Where will the money come from? Will you need to borrow or draw down a savings account or sell some investments and/or assets?
**Will you need a silent partner to help provide working capital, especially until you reach your break even point and being making a profit?
**Are you willing to use your home equity to finance your business?
**Have you checked into SBA loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration?
**Is there any possibility of getting a grant to start your business?

Knowing these answers will help you decide if you can act now. If not, it can also help you to plan to secure the money you need and help you set a target startup date.


Step 10: Gauge Your Family's Support for Your Home Business

Hopefully you won't leave this step for last, but doing so won't diminish its importance.

Members of your family, at least those still at home or any family members who may need to make sacrifices or lifestyle changes in order to accommodate your business, need to know what you're up to and how it might affect them. If you have a spouse or significant other or children living with you, your home business will be a big part of their lives too.

Communication is key to helping them understand. Ask for their support – you'll find that's much more effective than demanding it. Try to understand where they're coming from. If they have questions, issues, or objections, discuss them openly. Caring and open discussions now help you avoid problems later.

Couples who plan to operate a business together need to have a pretty good idea in advance if that will work for them. It's a good idea to discuss who will be responsible for specific tasks. If you can't agree on this now, there's a very strong likelihood you won't agree on it later.

Don't let your business damage your family relationships. We all need an occasional getaway and we all need to keep our priorites straight.

A strained family situation is bound to show in your business activities - work hard to keep everyone happy!

By Randy Duermyer, About.com Guide


Step 7: Learn the Risks and Benefits of the Legal Forms of Business Organization

Before you start a small or home business is the time to understand the various legal forms of business organization. Will you operate your business as a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company (LLC), an S corporation, a partnership, or a full blown C corporation?

You'll want to research issues surrounding the legal form of business organization carefully now, because your decision will affect your startup costs. It will also affect your tax situation and your personal liability for the actions and debts of the business. Take advantage of the IRS for free tax information on the various legal forms of business organization.

Finally, your decision on which legal form of business organization you will use will largely determine what steps you need to take in order to set up your business when you're ready to do so.


Step 8: Determine Your Startup Costs

Calculate your startup costs - the amount of money it's going to take to get up and running. At this point, many of your items are going to be nothing more than estimates, but do the best you can.
By completing the previous steps you should have a much clearer picture of your startup costs than before you started this exercise. Here are some additional questions that may help you not to overlook something:

**Will you need to hire specialists, like a lawyer or an accountant?
**Will you need to buy some office furniture or equipment?
**What supplies will you need on hand for Day One? Do you need to purchase a beginning inventory?
**Are you going to buy a business or franchise?
**Will you have construction costs, and if so, how much needs to be done by professionals and how much can you do yourself?
**What can you do to lower your costs?

Take your time with this step. Do some price checking and look for legitimate bargains. You're bound to think of things and adjust your estimates all the way up to your opening day.

The closer you get to opening day, the more accurate your estimate will be.

~~ TO BE CONTINUED MONDAY, 05/24/2010 ~~

By Randy Duermyer, About.com Guide

Step 5: Understand Legal Barriers to Starting Your Business

Check your zoning laws before starting a small business.

If you live in an area that is subject to the rules and regulations of a homeowners' or community association, check for restrictions. Find out what, if any restrictions exist on starting a small business in your home and how you might work within them before you invest one cent in your home business.

If you plan on starting a small business in your home, you may not be able to do so if you welcome clients or customers into your home, if you will be operating machinery, storing or working with hazardous materials, making noise, etc. These and other issues surrounding the nature of your small business may all have an impact on what you can and cannot do and can prevent you from starting a small business at entirely.

Will you need a special zoning exemption? Will getting one be a difficult and drawn out exercise? Is it even legal to operate the business you're planning? Will you need to secure a license before starting your small business?

Are your products and services potentially subject to patents, trademarks or copyrights?
More on understanding patents, trademarks and copyrights...


Step 6: Review Your Small Business Insurance Needs

When you go into business, you'll potentially be exposing yourself, your home and your family to a variety of risks. You need to think about how you'll manage those risks and find out if you need small business insurance to help handle them before it's too late.

Consider this:

**Will you need health insurance? If so, how can you get it and how much is it going to cost? **When one spouse is still working, the ideal situation may be to get the other included on the working spouse's health insurance coverage if you can. If not, either the cost or the lack of availability, or both may prevent you from starting your business.
More on health insurance...
**If you're carrying inventory, need equipment or are storing hazardous materials what kind of property insurance will you need to avoid suffering financial hardship? Will you need a small business insurance policy for this purpose and how much will it cost?
**Will you need liability insurance? Where can you get liability coverage under a small business insurance policy and how much is it going to cost? Will you need errors and omissions coverage?
**What about your auto insurance? Will you be using your car for business?
Remember, your homeowners' and auto insurance policies weren't designed to cover your small or home business. Your best bet is to shop for small business insurance that can help you manage your exposure to loss, so do your small business insurance and health insurance shopping ahead of time to save aggravation and surprises later.

Small business insurance can be a major expense of doing business, but some coverages like General Liability may be quite reasonable depending on the nature of your business.

Record any small business insurance cost estimates for this step - you'll need them to determine your startup and operating costs.


~~ TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW, 05/21/2010 ~~

By Randy Duermyer, About.com Guide

Step 3: Make Sure You Can Do the Tasks Needed Before Starting a Small Business

Before starting a small business, you need to understand and carefully consider that you'll have a lot of daily tasks that will need to get done. If you can't do them, who will? If there's no one to take care of these tasks properly, is it worth starting a small business?

Answer this question honestly. Can you handle the day-to-day general tasks that starting a small business requires, like:

**setting appointments
**ordering supplies
**bookkeeping
**marketing
**filing
**answering the phone
**checking and replying to e-mail

If you'll have help, great. If you can afford to pay someone else to do some of these tasks for you, all the better. But a great majority of home businesses are a one-person operation starting on a shoestring budget, and most other small business are not much larger and don't have substantial budgets to hire help. That means there's a good chance you'll have to do everything or it just won't get done.

You'll want to think twice about starting a small business if you are going to be run rugged with the mundane tasks to the point that you won't have adequate time to do the things you love that will make you money.


Step 4: Make a List of What Needs to be Done to Prepare Your Home for Business

With the product or service you have in mind, can you handle the business from your home the way it is right now? If not, what do you need to do to get it ready?

**Will you need space for inventory, supplies, records and/or equipment?
**Do you already have an area you can use for your office or will you need to bargain with another member of the family to give up some space?
**Is the nature of your inventory or equipment such that special climate needs must be accommodated?
**Do you need to add a room, enclose a patio, convert a garage or basement, or stake out the attic?
**What kind of power needs will you have and will you have to make any alterations to accommodate them?

As you determine what you'll need, keep track of your estimate costs because you'll need them later in this exercise.

Handy Tools to Consider
**Whiteboard
**Multifunction Inkjet Printer


~~ TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW, 05/20/2010 ~~

By Randy Duermyer, About.com Guide

Step 1: Decide What Products or Services Your Small Business will Offer

The first of the steps to starting a small business is to carefully consider these questions:

**What do you have to offer?
**What makes you an expert?
**Do you have all of the education and skills you'll need to compete successfully in the marketplace or will you need to do some brushing up or retraining first?
**Does the product or service meet a need?
**Is this a seasonal product or service, or can you market it all year long?
**How sensitive is marketing this product or service to general economic conditions? When the economy is weak, how do you think your business will be affected?
**Will you be energized by going through the steps to starting this particular small business - is it something you'll love to do or sell - or are you just going through the motions of starting a small business to try to make some money?

The saying, "Do what you love, love what you do" should not be taken lightly. Your business is going to be your livelihood - you should have a good time doing it. If not, it will be difficult to get motivated at times.

If you are excited about your business, your customers will notice and it will be easier to get them excited, too. Plus, completing the steps to starting your small business will be fun and much more enjoyable.


Step 2: Know Your Market and Your Competition

When you are starting a small or home business, understanding small business marketing concepts, like getting a handle on the potential market for what you small business will have to offer and the value proposition of your small business is very important.

Here are a few things to consider:

**Who is going to buy your product or service?
**Will you market to businesses, to consumers, or to both?
**What traits do you think your "typical" customer or client will have?
**Is the need for your product or service not currently being met or is it already saturated?
**Is there something about what you have to offer that will allow you to beat your competitors?
**How will you differentiate yourself from your competition?
**What is your value proposition? **What is your competitive advantage?


~~ TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW, 05/19/2010 ~~

By Darlene Mann
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation


As an entrepreneur in technology companies, I've spent my fair share of time digging out from common pitfalls entrepreneurs make. As a venture capitalist investing in business-to-business technology, I've observed many entrepreneurs encounter those same mistakes in their quest for success.


By far, the most prevalent of these traps, particularly among entrepreneurs with a technical background, is mistaking the ability to build a product for the ability to satisfy a market need.


Like Goldilocks in the home of the three bears, most customers are seeking the product that is "just right" for them. For entrepreneurs, the challenge is to understand what makes a product "just right enough" to satisfy the needs of a large enough group of customers so that one can claim there is a sizeable market to address.


Determine Your Market
Three key questions to answer when starting a company are:

**Who, if anyone, has a real need for the thing I propose to sell, and how many of those potential customers are there?
**How much, if anything, are they spending to address that need today?
**Does my product offering meet that need in a manner that either saves or makes them substantial amounts of money?


This will not only help you determine the market for your product, it will also provide information that is critical if you are to secure financing. In addition, the process will yield valuable information about your customers that will help you fine-tune your ideas.


Failure to Research Customers Can Be Costly
In 1990, I was a director of product marketing at Verity Inc., which made sophisticated software for document search and retrieval. We made an assumption that our product would be managed by high-caliber technicians at the companies that used it.


Because of our software's complexity, it was difficult to set up and maintain. Though we thought the product was important enough to our customers for them to justify using highly-skilled personnel to run it, our customers felt they had scarce resources and that it was difficult to get people with the skills needed to use it.


In fact, the only report we had of a customer successfully installing the software on their own came from NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs, a clear sign to us that maybe you did have to be a rocket scientist to use it.


Our solution was to reengineer the software to make it simpler to install and use. We did that, and the product was very successful, but the delay cost us a year and we lost significant repeat sales early on because we didn't do our homework. Had we simply started by asking ourselves and our customers the questions we should have, we would not have wasted all that time and money.


Know Your Customer Cold
To really ask and answer those questions, entrepreneurs need to be willing to be told they're wrong. Often people have not taken the time needed to know their customers cold. It's not surprising that the entrepreneurs who are most successful are those who visit as many potential customers as possible with two critical, if conflicting, outcomes in mind.


First, they try to sell the prospect the notion that they are right and the prospect should become a customer. Second, they listen to the prospect to learn why they are wrong and the prospect shouldn't be a customer.


The successful entrepreneur is listening from the very beginning, in order to change and adapt more quickly to real market needs. Entrepreneurs who spend a lot of time trying to understand why they don't have it right are very likely to be selling a lot more of their product, a year later, than those who only try to prove they are right and insist the customer is wrong.


Good Research Doesn't Have to Be Expensive
A dearth of market research is a common deficiency in entrepreneurial endeavors because it can seem difficult and expensive. The trick to avoiding the trap is to apply dogged determination to the task. That means subjecting yourself to sometimes harsh market feedback. Though it might be unpleasant, it's the only way, short of getting lucky, to actually succeed.


Some entrepreneurs in emerging markets rely on secondary market research because it's an easy solution—but don't do it! If you are starting a new business in a previously untapped market, there is no substitute for primary research. All the secondary market research statistics in the world won't get you funded, but hard data from real prospects just might.


I've found over the years that even poor entrepreneurs without much of a budget can successfully perform quality research if they are creative, resourceful and brave. Entrepreneurs on a budget may feel unable to apply formal market research techniques, but a simple four-step process can be effective:

**Determine how to perform the research (one-on-one interviews, focus groups, surveys).
**Develop the research instrument (interview questions, survey questionnaire, hands-on tasks).
**Identify and recruit participants.
**Understand what will be done with the results of the research.


The type of business you're in will dictate the most appropriate approach. If your product is for a highly targeted market, and direct sales calls will be your method of selling, start by identifying the type of person you expect to sell to and engage in a mock sales call to understand what such people find interesting. If your product is aimed at a mass market, it may be more beneficial to recruit small numbers of people for focus groups until you have a feel for the market, and then validate it further using a survey.

Research Enables Decision-Making
The market research process is a prelude to selling. It teaches you a great deal about what you will need to know to develop your offering for the market and whether your offering is even worth developing. A positive and aggressive attitude towards market research enables entrepreneurs to make that most critical of decisions: Should I spend the next several years of my life on this business? If you have decided to be an entrepreneur, then also decide to become a market researcher. Ultimately, the two are inseparable.

So you are considering a small business. More than hopes and dreams you will need to invest yourself in plans. A successful small business does not spring spontaneously from a wish. It needs the foundation that can only be provided by:


• Market research - Is there a need for the service/product I want to provide, who is my competition? Who is my audience?


• Business plan - What are you planning to do, how are you planning to do it? What expertise/experience do you bring to the task?


• Budget – How much will it cost? What will be the return? Lists all anticipated income and expenses for a specific period (typically your fiscal year).


Each is a valuable tool that can increase your chances of success as a small business owner. This point cannot be overemphasized. Do not allow enthusiasm or even fear to lead you away from completing the basic steps of starting/managing a small business


Although each step may require a good deal of thought and energy you will find in the long run that you save time and gain the control you need navigate even the choppiest waters.


Your budget should give a complete accounting of all anticipated revenue, revenue streams and expenditures. The budget is closely related to the business plan in that it details the plan in financial terms. For example, if you plan to hire two employees, your budget should include the money you plan to disburse for their salaries, benefits and taxes. If you plan to purchase or lease equipment the expense should be included in your budget. Planning expenses helps you determine how much revenue you will need to meet expenses and generate a profit.


Revenue
The money you take in for your goods and/or services is called your revenue or income. Your budget should reflect the dollar value of sales and services anticipated for a specific period (consider planning an annual budget then break it down for each month).


To arrive at this number it is a good idea to review profit and loss statements for the previous period, if available. If this information is not available, make your best guess using information from your trade journals and market research. Be specific. How many bicycles will you sell this month? At what price? How many consultations will you provide? At what price? At the end of each month compare budgeted vs. actual income and adjust accordingly. If the amount you take in exceeds your projections give yourself a pat on the back and look for ways to keep this trend going. If you did not earn as much as you planned – look for the why. What can you do to beef up revenue next month? Are you charging the right price? Are you offering something that is needed? Do you need to step up your marketing? The beauty of the budget is that it can accurately highlight what is working and not working as well as what you should continue and what you shouldn’t.


Income should be recorded on a cash basis. For example, billable services should be counted as income in the month of receipt. Have a backup plan for the (hopefully) rare times that you are not paid for services in a timely fashion.


Revenue Stream
If you sell bicycles and sponsor bicycle tours, each represents a different revenue stream. Your budget should include anticipated income from each revenue stream. Again, categorizing each revenue stream allows you to identify which aspects of your business are profitable and which are not.


Expenditures
Your budget should also include all anticipated expenses. Some of these will be fairly constant, or fixed, such as rent, leased equipment and salaries. Others, such as hourly wages and materials, may vary. A comparison of income and expenses will reveal any gaps. The budget can help you plan around these gaps and avoid cash shortfalls.


You need not sit down with pen and paper to write your budget. There are a number of excellent software programs that make short work of budgeting. These programs can serve you well by reducing arithmetic errors, generating customized reports (such as profit and loss statements, reports on specific revenue streams or budgeted vs. actual expenses) and creating importable data. Most are very user friendly, affordable and require no accounting experience.


There are a number of advantages to writing a small business budget. These include:


• The opportunity to reflect on the thoroughness of your business plan.


• Provides an annual and monthly picture of income and expenses.


• Outlines information you will need to complete loan/financing applications.


• Gives you the control you need to head off problems and plan for success.


• Gives the opportunity to plan ahead for shortfalls, slow downs, and busy seasons.


• Gives opportunity to plan finance or purchase of capital expenditures without too much distress.


• Lets you plan for a profit.


• Can pinpoint successful areas as well as those that may need additional marketing or other tweaking.


The budget should be regarded as a dynamic and fluid document. As such, you should refer to it regularly and make adjustments as needed. Your budget also helps you focus on monthly targets in terms of income and expenses. It also provides an objective view of how you are doing. This can be a great motivator for you as well as for your staff. 


Much more than a burden, the small business budget is a critical tool for planning and success.


Written by Barbara Gibson

Now I think this is a great topic but I’m going to put a little twist on this one, OK?

What I’d like to talk to you about instead is WHY you don’t finish what you start.

Why the closer you get to finishing something, the harder it is to complete.

For instance, whenever I’d jump into a home improvement project I’d start with such enthusiasm…but just about the time I should be finishing up…I stop.

I’ll just get bored and I’ll move on to other things.

I’ve done ALL the heavy lifting and now I just can’t seem to finish the detail work, know what I mean?

It doesn’t matter if I’m painting the house, cleaning the basement or installing a laminate floor ( By the way, I guarantee if my wife is reading this she’s saying…yes, go on sir…)

Anyway, I never really understood why I’d start a project and then have such a hard time finishing it.

It really bugged me!

This was until I read “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield.

Steven Pressfield is a best selling author of many well known books but he’s most notably known for writing “The Legend Of Bagger Vance.”

Now in “The War of Art,” Steven Pressfield clearly identifies the problem that ails us all at one time or another.

And by the way, this is the primary reason we DO NOT finish what we start and her name is… PROCRASTINATION!

Or, as Pressfield labels her, Resistance.

Pressfield labels Resistance as the enemy of creativity. The destructive force which lives inside all of us preventing you and I from reaching the mountain top of life or simply prevents us from finishing the moldings around our laminate floors!

Pressfield humanizes procrastination and warns us of her behaviors.

You see, Resistance will stop at nothing to prevent us from starting or finishing anything we deem worthwhile.

Pressfield says any act that rejects immediate gratification in favor of long term growth, health,or integrity triggers Resistance.

The more worthwile cause or activity, the harder she fights!

In fact, as I sat down to write this post, Pressfield reminds me: Writing this post is not hard, it was getting me to sit down and write that’s the hard part, got it?

I’m a little off topic here so let me swing around and get to my point, OK?

You see, on page 18 of his book, Pressfield hits the nail on the head as to why you and I don’t finish what we start and here is what he says….

“The danger is great when the finish line is in site. At this point, Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It hits the panic button. It marshals one last assault and slams us with everything it’s got.”

See, this is where you need to be most prepared…it’s at the end when you must be alert to Resistance and be prepared for the “counterattack!”

I’ve found humanizing Resistance and being able to identify her has helped me bust through the wall of getting it done!

Any time my little voice says, ” Just do it tomorrow” or “I’ll only watch 15 minutes of this show, THEN I’ll do my work” is just Resistance keeping me from doing my work!

Like Pressfield says, ”Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

So, have you put off starting your business? Do you have a book idea you would like to start writing?

Or, do you just want to finish the baseboard moldings around your brand new laminate floor?

Now it’s time to MAN UP and kick Resistance in the Butt!

Now get busy

By Bill Parlaman
Sparkplugging
Work at Home Resources for Home-Based Entrepreneurs