The Bare Necessities

Stanley's Note:

"Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln.

The issue with this quote is that we don't use it enough.

It applies to much more than we usually think.

We often think of tools as something tangible, like a physical tool or piece of software.

But a strategic partnership with a key person/business is a tool too. We just don't like to think of it that way.

But a tool is just something that helps us achieve some result.

And relationships with people do that.

Not just in business but in life.

So, back to the quote analogy.

Let's say you wanted to build a community of people that would drive business results for you, and you wanted to be able to activate them in 6 months.

Well, you would spend the first 25 weeks sharpening that tool.

In this case, it would be building one-on-one relationships with members of this future community. You would give them value and make sure you are a low-cost, high-value person in their lives.

Instead, we see people jump on platforms like LinkedIn and start selling straight away.

It's no different from trying to chop a tree down with a blunt axe.

You can do it.

It's just a dumb idea, and you'll probably burn out before you get through the trunk.

Another analogy I like is one from the All Blacks. (I have no source for this, but it's a goodie)

They say it takes only 10 seconds to score a try.

When it is on, it's on.

You throw everything at it, and everyone steps up to get the ball across the line.

But for 99.9% of all other moments being an All Black, you are preparing and sharpening the tool to be ready for that 10 second moment.

The actual scoring of a try is quick.

Or in other words, the moment you need to act to take advantage of a given opportunity is short.

You need to be prepared for it.

If not, it'll pass you by.

I'll leave you with another quote from Greek Poet Achilochus.

"We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training."

It's here! The well awaited TAS Team video.

For some reason, all 2373 of you who seem to get some sort of entertainment from seeing us gal's make a fool of ourselves on camera! Truth be told, we love making these videos.

The reason being is that we don't plan, prepare or script anything. Which is why they're so entertaining (we think).

This month's video is focused on 3 things we each can't live without. Now, 'live without' is a bit of a stretch but comment below and let us know whom you relate to most!

OUR TINY GUIDE TO RUNNING A BUSINESS, LIKE A PRO

The pandemic has seen a lot of small businesses pop up all over the place. It has also seen an equal number of businesses shut down.

Even though the idea of starting a business is enthralling, it may not be the right thing for some.

We sat down with our boss, Stanley Henry, and got his two cents on what the essentials are for running a business and doing it successfully. This is what he had to say:

-?You need the right attitude to start a business! It doesn’t have to be anything material. In today’s day and age, all you really need is a smartphone with a working internet connection and you’re good to go.

-?Surround yourself with the right people. You could either have grown up in the right environment or you can surround yourself with the right people who can mentor and guide you. Remember, running a business is like being a computer programmer, you’re not born one, you learn to be one.

-?Surround yourself with the right people. Even though there’s a lot that you will have to do on your own, and you will feel the need to do it on your own, know that you don’t need to. There are people who can and will help you, so make sure that you surround yourself with those people.

-?Experience in running a business is key. Ideally, you would have grown up in such an environment, run a business in the past or been responsible for running a part of a business.

-?Make use of your networks and resources. They’re far more important than you can imagine.

-?And if you have all of the above coupled with a great idea, just go for it!

It comes down to having the right attitude, and not much else. If you don’t have the right attitude, you are bound to fail. Business is tough and it can be very lonely as well. It’s like saying that you want to be an NBA player but you’re lazy.

There are heaps of free resources at your disposal that you can use anytime you like, for YouTube to Instagram, to blogs, so use them! You won’t always be surrounded by the right people, but if you have a combination of everything we’ve mentioned above, nothing should stop you from running a business and achieving success.