One of my favorite poems has always been Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken. Now, as a small business owner, the last few lines speak even more directly to me:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
If I do what every other small business owner does, I’m going to get what every other small business owner gets – a one-way ticket to mediocrity.
Making your business unique and powerful will require you to not only step into your greatness but also step out of the mediocrity swirling around you. It will require you to take a risk – on yourself.
Goethe said, “Whatever you can do, or dream, you can begin. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
That’s the key. Begin it now.
You can break out of mediocrity by taking small steps so you are not overwhelmed. Start, perhaps, by discovering your true difference. Ask yourself, who am I as the owner of a business? What do I have that no other small business owner has? Where can I go with that difference? Why will my clients care?
I truly believe we are entering the “Age of the Small Business Owner.” We are returning to the business roots set down by America’s founders. Work here was never meant to be the large, faceless corporation, it was meant to be the smaller, more personalized business.
Would you rather do business with an entity that doesn’t have a clue or care who you really are? Or would you rather work with a smaller business that knows you, that sees you as an important person, that understands we’re all in this together?
