Control

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.com ControlControl has been tagged in many studies over the past year as the biggest hindering or frustratingfactor of running businesses today – all because of the economy downturn over the past fewyears.I was never one to get caught up in this economic mess. I am positive minded and spend my timefocusing focus on what I do have, not what I don’t have. My energy is much better used this wayas it opens the possibilities for more creativity. And creativity is absolutely necessary for you tofigure way above this economic global twist and still remain a thriving business today.So in determining if this ‘lack of control because of the economy’ is just a crutch, an easy ‘blameit on’ factor - or a true valid reason as to why your business is not doing well or why you aren’tthriving, I am going to throw out some questions and perspectives that you might neverconsidered.The ultimate goal is for that ‘ah ha’ moment to happen that allows you to jump instantly out ofyour seat and pounce you right into the middle of a massively creative brainstorming session thathelps you determine and define a great strategy (or a few great strategies) of how you canquickly turn things around and make 2011+ really spectacular years (yes, regardless of what isgoing on in the macroeconomic world)!So here we go....1. What do you have control over and where are you saying you don’t have control? Make a list.2. Is this economic downturn really a game changer for your business? Is this the true source ofwhy your company revenues aren’t as high or you have lost deals or had to lay off?Let’s really get into this – lets dig deep – get messy if we must - to identify what exactly you arenot able to control. Note the word ‘exactly’.Its easy to join the masses and say in general terms you lack control. Its the solid professionalsthat pinpoint the exacts, and stay away from the masses in these times.The scrutiny & evaluation of your business that you do in order to identify the exacts, breathesnew oxygen into your business because you will tend to see it differently, now that you arelooking for something so specific. This oxygen creates a newfound energy in your business thatwill also help you catapult past this type of situation in the future. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.com3.Have you ever been able to control the amount of money that someone spends? No, theirlifestyle (spending habits), family size & salary dictated that primarily. You never had control.We all know if a consumer really wants something – they have found a way to purchase it. Whydo you think there is so much massive credit card debt in the world? So, should you offer alayaway plan now, or for a certain time period reduce your rates to gain that customer base back?4. Have you ever been able to control Wall Street, the Auto Industry, the Mortgage Industry/ RealEstate Industry, the Banks? No. So why what happened with them, affect your business (unlessyou are in any of these industries of course). They were cushioned and taken care of with all thebailout money, but all this had nothing to do with the success of your business, if you reallyevaluate this from a distance.I am going to be bold here and go as far as to say: if there was no such thing as ‘news’ duringthose few months when we were learning about the collapses of all of these industries, andgovernments decision to bail them out - meaning you had absolutely no idea any of this washappening - your business would be still fine today, and I might even get bolder to say you wouldbe thriving too.But what happened instead was, news existed, obviously.So, it put fear, panic, worry, freeze modes and negative attitudes everywhere across the businessspectrum.But worse, it quickly ignited a negative global conversation - which is the worst viral you want -because it always takes on an exaggerated level of its own - and at utterly ridiculously adnauseum consistency, I must add. In other words, it was extremely rare over the past 3 years tofind anyone NOT talking about this economic downturn, at least once in the course of a day. So, eventually all of “that” perpetuated itself into your business, day by day, creeping in, deeperand deeper, as you allowed it to affect your business instead of shielding your mindset and yourbusiness from the havoc & mess that was being magnified in infinite numbers, due to thisongoing negative cycle of fear/panic emotions & actions and depressing negative conversation. So, instead of blaming your business status today on all this, what you should have realized byme stating all the above is you were never prepared properly. Dont beat yourself up for it - someof the biggest top name companies werent and they admit it.By properly prepared, I mean you didn’t build enough flexibility and nimbleness in yourbusiness plan (or to toss it out the window altogether) to be able to quickly shift into a differentmode or direction to quickly counter this or pro-act better. Notice I didn’t say react, I said pro-act.Now please don’t get me wrong - I am not saying you are a poor business person - or stupid oranything like that. But for accountability or ownership purposes, this still falls back to you and Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.comhow you established your business, or set it up to run. Not turning the accountability over to theindustries you never had control of anyway.5. Have you ever been able to control how much someone spends in your business? Yes & No.Again, No - not for the amount of discretionary income of the prospect/client. But Yes -becauseif you are solving a need or problem and you have a solution or a product that handles thatproblem, then they will spend more. Of course, if you have more than one service/product tooffer they will also spend more. So maybe you should create more than one product or service -or hey, more than one business. :) Are you still able to get the materials you need to make yourproduct? Yes. The manufacturing, trucking, airline, packaging/shipping industries didn’tcollapse. So, then in some regards you still very much have control.What I am trying to say is: let’s really step back and take a look at all this a bit clearer -and witha different perspective. Let’s loose the exaggeration and ‘drama’ of this economic downturn andlet’s really define what you have control over and what you don’t have control over.To me, my definition of ‘lack of control’ is something like a natural disaster. For example: theroads to your business have collapsed in an earthquake and nobody can get to work, there is noelectricity, almost everything in your office was destroyed in the earthquake, documentsincluded, it will be weeks until heavy trucks are allowed on the roads again to start sendingsupplies to manufacturing plants. A tornado whips through your town, wipes out not only yourbusiness, but the entire 10 block radius around it. Its all rubble. These are examples of lack ofcontrol. Yes, at these points, your business is going to suffer severly.If you think about it, you never really have control over quite a lot on a daily basis in regards toyour business. I am not denying that the economic situation wasn’t some sort of factor - but itshouldn’t hold the significant weight that countless business owners have claimed it does. I amnot trying to be mean, harsh or even a B---- - I am making a very bold point.Bold point: If you have an exceptional product, if you have outrageously exceptional customerservice, if you advocate and inspire creativity within your business and those around you thatyou interact with, if you are steadfast in your positivity and your values, if you disciplined aconstantly forward moving process in all aspects of your business, if you are visionary and seeopportunities daily, if you keep up with your industry and research, if you are out networkingconsistently, if you have a solid culture built within your organization that promotes a positivemorale and the walls are cushioned with the ‘anything is possible’ bounce-back necessary for anytype of business to survive each day (no matter what economy), then business should be thesame, or only dipped a little bit.Demand still drives business. And demand is plentiful.Keep in mind what also happened during these past few years is that social media startedexploding in powerful numbers. Just 5 years ago, Twitter wasn’t around, Facebook wasn’t thepredominate, etc. It was 3 years ago we began experiencing the effects of the economic crisis.Not a far distant spread. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.comSo, there was also a massive switch required in how you presented your business online, aka:more than a mere website now. Additionally, how you found, marketed, engaged, interacted,connected with prospects, customers had dramatically changed.So if you weren’t already changing or starting to change all these things to cater to this before thecrisis hit, by the time the crisis started calming down some, you then realized you needed to playserious catch up to have a more powerful and dominating position & presence within the onlinebusiness community, the global mall essentially (even for non retail businesses) - in all these newmedia ways.This, was a massive shift, completely business altering - & required lots of energy and time. Newlanguage/lingo, new types of transparent and immediate dialogue with your prospects andcustomers, new legalities, new divisions in your business, perhaps new software to accomodateto all this, new platforms to learn about and build a profile on and gain notariaty on, etc. The point is, people’s demands and needs didn’t instantly go away just because of what washappening in the ‘outside’ world. They just moved them more to a different location. What wasmore like a 40/60 ratio just 5 years ago (40% looked online to find the businesses to suit theirneeds, 60% still looked offline or waiting for the advertising to come to them), today, it is muchmore of a 90/10 ratio - again within just the past 2-3 years. Just like our demands and needs stillexisted on the actual day of 9/11 - where as the media says: "the world "literally stopped". But,we still ate, we still used household items, we still got gas and drove our cars, we still showered,etc. Situations happen, but people’s demands and needs never vanish. People are still spending their money. In fact, people are still even donating – large amounts too– to non profits. There have been no reports of non profits shutting down over these past fewyears due to lack of donations because of the economic downturn. People are also still going onvacations, traveling, buying new clothes (Nordstroms and Macy’s aren’t going under). Yes,things are not ideal, but it doesn’t mean you don’t have control.Yes, they might be spending a few dollars less here and there, but you still have control. Theentire world didn’t shut down or stop. People in many countries and here in the US are stillspending. Some quite frivilously too: the man overseas who offered $1M USD to anyone whowill streak (be naked) in front of President Obama when he next spoke at an event. And, yes, thishappened at an outdoor event. Sure, that is obviously someone wealthy, but the point is, money isstill very much exchanging hands, its if you want to be a part of it or not - raise your game, getout of your comfort zone. Now, that money went to a non-wealthy fellow, (not sure if he gotarrested or not, but Secret Service had him down on the ground quickly). But, it would beinteresting to see if he determined to change his ways so he wouldnt need to do something likethat to have $1M. Its all what you do with what you know, learn or obtain.6. Since your product isn’t moving as fast -can you show a little graciousness and help yourcustomers out and offer a limited time buy one get one free? Why not be really different, for 1week, have a buy 1 get 2 free deal. I dont know any business that has done that. Its always thetypical: "buy 1 get 1 free". Be different. Be bold. Be memorable. The item is better used bythem, than sitting on your shelf. Remember, inventory is a #1 big expense. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.comLook, people right in the middle of the recession on Easter weekend 2010, found between $500-$800 to purchase an iPad – a device they did not need. We are talking millions of people in 2hours, then more millions over the course of the week.No one needed this. This was a pure want. Not to mention, those who got the 3G model werewilling to add yet another monthly telecommunications expense to their bills.We all did just fine with cell phones, smartphones, laptops, computers before Easter Weekend2010. Again, not a need like toilet paper. And mind you, this was a high ticket item. So if Applecan do this, anyone can do this.Apple has a very loyal customer base. If you built that kind of customer base, top it off with afabulous customer referral program, and you actually provide a need and value driven product orservice (vs a want product/service) you should not be really saying anything about lack ofcontrol.Instead, you should be looking internally. Ask:What is the misfit in the company?Is it your leadership or lack there of?Is it your human capital or your actual capital?Do you have all funds locked up and not enough liquid/cash flow to play with?Are you spurring innovation?Etc.7. Were you nimble enough to adjust to this economic time and get in touch with all yourcustomers and ask them what they now need, so they can be okay as they muddle through this.This level of care goes very far.Mind you, it might not be something you can produce alone – it might be something that forgesyou to align with another company for a small timeframe. I call this a Mini JV which I define asunder 5 years. If its just going to be a one year situation, you might just form what I call aMicroTeam - combining some of your people with some of theirs to address a situation, becauseyou dont necessarily need to form a full fledge business model around this or build a new fulldepartment around it.But that goes back to constantly networking and expanding your contact base and nurturing it -helping others so they will know of you, and will want to work with you because you take thetime to care about them & help them when they need it, etc. Scrambling to forge alliancesduring a crisis is never a healthy way to go into something - having those establishedrelationships prior to a crisis sets a more solid foundation to what you will pursue together andwill reap incredible results. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.com8. Were you able to take your existing product and put a twist on it, or make an enhanced versionso that it would better be used or valued - in what is now essentially becoming our norm – ournew America, our new World?9. If you are a service based company – did you spend some time researching or learningyourself, so you might be able to add a new service to your company – even if temporary - tohelp businesses or people with their new struggles or all the changes they are having to make toadjust?Control is relative – it’s all in how you look at it. Control is not a universal word in the sense thatit means the same thing to everyone. Its all your perception.You can say that you control 99% of your business and the economy controls 1% or you can flipthat statement.When you formed your business, do you say before you opened your doors:“I hereby now relinquish 99% of my control to the haphazard world, the government, and thefleetingness of any human/prospect, but I will successfully build my business around the 1% Iknow I control!”No!!See - you still have control and much more than you realize! :) The government didn’t take thatfrom you. The economy didn’t take that from you. The only way you don’t have control in termsof your business is if you close your business/ you don’t have a business. GRINBusiness is still happening globally and in some industries it’s flourishing. Why? Becauseindividuals took adversity and they turned it into opportunity.Money is changing hands. If it wasn’t we would see massive Fortune 500 companies collapse.But look at the Fortune 500 list 2010 – see the revenues Walmart, Exxon Mobil, etc .made. Yes,gas is a need. But is Walmart? I don’t think so. You can get these products elsewhere and only fora small bit more depending where you shop.Walmart built a business around giving a discount not only once, but again, usually weekly. Whatcan you do to copy some part of that? Start thinking like this.Just as we study successful people, study other businesses and evaluate their practices and figureout what you can take from that or mimic in an ethical way and put your own personal signature/twist on it. One of the best business books I recommend is: "Business Genius" by Peter Fink Ithighlights some of the worlds biggest and longest surviving businesses and it gives youincredible insight into their history and decisions. A cute little red book that has moreinformation packed it in than a 300 page business book. Companies like Ferrari, Gucci, FedExetc. There is not 1 chapter in this book that you will read where you wont learn something new. Ican put my name and reputation behind that guarantee statement. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.comSometimes this involves more sweat equity for a little while – to get your name known assomething different or to establish new connections and prove you can help in a new area. I justdid this at the end of 2010 with Junior Sanchez, CEO of Rift Success to help create his massivecampaign: UrgentChange360 But all that sweat equity is worth it. You learn a great deal,challenge yourself, and the existing loyal customers (even colleagues) you have will greatlyappreciate your attempts to cater to their new needs. They will remember that and refer youoften and always. That is a successful and thriving business.Additionally, prospects will notice you because you will jump out in the lead amongst all thequieter, meeker ‘accepting lack-of-control companies’.Your message will be bold as you show you are there for them. They will resonate to youbecause you are changing your service/product for them.You are not just changing your marketing tactics, you are showing them you are not a businesswithout them. You are not successful without them. You need them more than they need you.Remember, the business structure has shifted dramatically since the 20th Century.You are humble, even as a respected and nationally recognized business professional. You arewilling to adjust quickly, just like they had to adjust their lives quickly, some had jobs takenaway instantly, with their homes to potentially follow. You are showing you are human: whenyou leave your business for the day or shut down your computer, you are like them, a communitymember, having the same or similar demands or needs.1 of the Best Ways to Have More Control & Have Your Business ThriveThe motto is: ‘Easier or Feel Good’. Anything you can do to make your prospect’s or customer’slife easier now because of the impact the economic twist had on their life. Anything you can do/make/provide to take their stress away, or make them feel conﬁdent.Anything you can do so they still have pride - even if they are about to loose their house.Anything you can do/make/provide to tap into their emotions – that helps them feel good aboutthemselves, that restores their dignity, that lets them know they didn’t intentionally let theirfamily down, that they can still be counted on, that they are still the best dad.Anything you can do/make provide that helps them see the positive side to all this and showthem this is not lasting, and share your positive mindset, thought process, and boundless energywith them. Need an example of this? Well, besides me of course :) ... study Robert SargentShriver (goes by R. Sargent Shriver) Just passed away at 95 on 1/18/11. Started the Peace Corpsin 1960. Maria Shrivers father, JFKs brother-in-law. No man like him in the world in terms ofignoring adversity, creating awesomeness and showing up each day with a tremendous andunprecedented energetic enthusiasm and positivity that he shared with everyone, whether youknew him for 2 seconds or a lifetime. He had an insatiable zest for life and a passion to alwaysdo remarkable good all led by his love of his faith. Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jaxi West Companies, LLC http://jaxiwest.comAnything you can do /make/provide as a business in your community, city, state, nation –showing your prospects/clients you are ‘right there in the trenches with them until it gets better’is a business that will survive during 2011, 2012+ and, in fact, thrive. These are core basicbusiness principles any company should be built around.So pounce energetically into that brainstorm session with yourself, your business partner, with acolleague, with your team - whomever! Grab the biggest white board you can find so you don’tlimit your ideas to the space available! Get colors going on that board so different ideas canreally stand out from the rest (different colored markers). Get fired up to make some tweaks oreven significant changes in your business (and maybe in yourself or your people) to substantially- and with true care and meaning behind it - help those that help keep your business doors open.The results will be positive on both your end and theirs, and by that, you are switching the toneof the international conversations to a better one andboosting positivism globally. That is a true leader. That is true change. That is control. That is asuccessful business person.So C’mon – BUCC™ the (economic) system with me and show the world this can be done!Businesses Unite with their Customers & Communities™Stay tuned over 2011 for more information about BUCC™ and how you can be a part of thisMovement! I will be providing more details beginning Q211.Let me know if I can help you with any of this, and your thoughts/feedback are always welcome:jaxikswest@gmail.com Keep “Shaking Things Up!” Jaxi West Companies, LLC ©2011 All Rights Reserved.

Control

by Solo Leadership, LLC on Jul 24, 2012

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