Business has taken a big hit lately due to Covid-19 and the government response. Many businesses won’t survive because they did not have good fundamental business practices in place when this pandemic started. Other businesses will struggle to get restarted. But sound business practices can still help you navigate the relaunch of your business after Covid-19.

In my book It’s Not Hard, It’s Business I outline some of the fundamental principles to business success. In chapter one I introduce you to some important thoughts to get you started.

What You Will Learn

• You can’t leave your business to chance or luck.
• What got you to where you were before Covid-19 may not be what will get you to your future success.
• You need some basic skills to take your business to the next level.

Start your journey to future success. Watch the first chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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There are some fundamental principles that apply to all businesses and help to generate success.

Business growth acceleration is like driving a stick shift on a car: You have to start your car in first gear before you can shift to the other gears, accelerate, and gain momentum.

What You Will Learn

• The ten important steps necessary for all business success.
• That there are no shortcuts.
• That you don’t have to work harder.

Start your journey to future success. Watch the second chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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Business was humming along in one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history until COVID-19 brought it to a screeching halt. Most businesses have been negatively impacted from the rapid shutdown of the country.

Although these past months have been discouraging, as you restart your business, it is critical to have a positive mindset. This mindset lays the foundation for success. When you program your mindset for the future you desire, it makes all the difference.

What You Will Learn

• How to feed your mind
• How to reprogram your negative thinking
• The importance of spending time around positive people who play at a higher level

Start your journey to future success. Watch the third chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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Strategy is about an intentional focus on meeting your customers’ needs and organizing your business to meet those needs. It is fundamental to business success.

What You Will Learn

• That effective strategy relies on identifying needs
• Most customers will not pay to have a non-need fulfilled
• Businesses need to be organized to meet needs in the most efficient and effective manner possible

Start your journey to future success. Watch the fourth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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All businesses need a clear direction and a vision for the future. Without that, they tend to meander and fail to achieve the results they want.

What You Will Learn

• How to decide where you want to be in the future
• That working backwards is the key to creating a compelling vision
• The value of putting your plans in writing

Start your journey to future success. Watch the fifth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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It is common for organizations to create a vision yet fail to execute it because business owners are busy running day-to-day operations. Having a map of how you will achieve your vision guides you from where you are to where you want to go.

What You Will Learn

• That any journey starts with where you are currently
• To create a map to navigate your journey to the future
• To break down your journey into 90-day increments

Start your journey to future success. Watch the sixth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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With a vision in place and a map to navigate, you need to intensely focus on the plan of action, your 90-day goals. People underestimate the power of intense focus and minimize the negative impact of distraction.

What You Will Learn

• The high cost of distraction
• What being intensely focused means
• How to increase your focus to maximize your results

Start your journey to future success. Watch the seventh chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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The word discipline often gets a bad rap. I am not talking about discipline as punishment but the discipline to remain focused and stay the course you have mapped out.

What You Will Learn

• That discipline can deliver results
• To stop dabbling and get serious
• To use a calendar to help you stay disciplined

Start your journey to future success. Watch the eighth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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Numbers drive everything in your business, and without a complete understanding of them, you really do not know how your business is doing. It’s like thinking that you have a full tank of gas when really you only have a quarter tank.

What You Will Learn

• That your business has scoreboards that tell you how your business is doing
• Why learning the language of business will help you to succeed
• How to use the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow projection to help you manage the numbers

Start your journey to future success. Watch the ninth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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If you do not have cash flow, you do not have a business. Inadequate cash flow is like Kryptonite to Superman—it will kill your business. Tracking the movement of cash in and out of your business is critical to your success.

What You Will Learn

• That net income on the bottom of the P&L is not cash
• To develop a rolling cash flow projection that will help you see the movement of cash in and out of your business
• That metrics help you to see what is going on and to ask better questions in order to make better decisions

Start your journey to future success. Watch the tenth chapter of It’s Not Hard, It’s Business.

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