running on empty - by Peter Roper

Focus – look what it did for Apple!

positiveground — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:00:22 +0000

I read the authorised biography of Apple inventor Steve Jobs recently by Walter Isaacson, which is a fascinating read. Funnily enough, I spoke to my son a couple of days ago to find out he was reading it too!

There are many things to learn from Steve Jobs, both good and not so good, one thing though totally stuck out for me and that was his ability to absolutely focus on a given thing.

Jobs would focus like a laser beam on whatever he was doing and wouldn’t let it go until it was done – sometimes to the detriment of those around him – and he rarely wavered.

In our lives focus is an absolute essential, both personally and professionally, yet there is so much to distract us. Funnily enough the very products that Jobs became so famous for are exactly the things that can distract us!

Focus brings results, brings the things we want and can bring us peace…

Focus.

Until next time,

Regards,

Peter.

Presenting A Negative Can Sometimes Be A Positive

positiveground — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:19 +0000

Point
The expectancy in business is always to paint an upbeat picture.

The message doesn’t always have to be positive however…

Story
After my challenges through bankruptcy I felt it strange to be asked to speak on a regular basis; in my eyes, at least for a while, I felt my failure should preclude me from speaking.

One day, after lots of encouragement from my family, I stood up and gave a keynote speech, a little of which reflected on my recent challenges. I found to my total surprise that the audience were far more interested than usual.

The truth was they recognised that the information I was sharing was hard earned and not glib theory, and were far more appreciative.

I’ve never shirked from sharing with an audience the fact I have failed as well as succeeded since that day…

Application
Experience with business audiences has shown me that the audience respect you far more when they recognise the fact that you are prepared to confront challenges as well as the nicer sides of any subject.

However, please do share challenges that are relevant to the audience. A well-chosen challenge that empathises with the audience gives a much stronger result, a badly chosen one will be seen as self-indulgent and will go badly.

Speaking about your challenges when they are relevant will create a greater bonding and understanding not only with the audience at the time of speaking but also if meeting them personally afterwards.

Until next time,

Regards,

Peter.

Clarity – time for a spring clean!

positiveground — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:00:33 +0000

I recently went to an event which was hosted by an entrepreneur. He has been successful several times over and had a lot of very good points in his presentation.

The one that really impressed me on the day was clarity.

When you’re constantly fighting money challenges life can become very muddy and it is easy to become confused in all matters of your life. The ringing of a telephone when you know it’s a creditor can be very draining and, although in most cases it’s not personal, takes far more out of you than you can imagine. Long term, the clarity of your life becomes less and less and from a business perspective a number of tell-tale signs develop, such as long meetings or agitated phone conversations.

The trick I feel is to de-clutter as much as you can both personally and professionally. Tidy your desk, tidy your house, get rid of ‘stuff’ and help yourself through the myriad of assaults on your senses, then you can think more clearly about you and those most important to you –clarity will emerge like a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps it’s time for that spring clean!

Until next time,

Regards,

Peter.

Find out what inspires you every day!

positiveground — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:21 +0000

Point

Running your own business can be exciting, challenging, frustrating, tiring, irritating and fun, and yet also at times very boring!

Story

Some of the most successful people I have met operate businesses that probably wouldn’t excite the average person very much. They are comfortable making money sufficient for their needs; the businesses are well run and do what they’re supposed to do for their clients and customers.

There is a point in most people’s lives when they start asking questions like;
“What is this all for?”
“Why am I doing this?”
“Is there something better for me?”

These thoughts invariably pass as they get immersed in the day-to-day running of the business. But there is no doubt if you’re not careful you completely forget why on earth you started the business in the first place!

It’s very easy to forget why you start out in business for yourself. Certainly I did, particularly in the dark times!

In the last few years it’s very clear to me now why we are running our business; for our family, to get to a point where the business allows the opportunity for any member of the family to do the things they want without recourse to banks, or others. It’s a big dream which means a great deal of work, but we are clear why we are on the road we are and where we are headed.

Application

My recommendation to you is to take some time out on a regular basis, perhaps once a month, once every three months, six months or yearly, and remind yourself why you are doing what you do.

The trick with this is to find out what inspires you, what is it that makes you tick. For me, having gone through all the things of nice cars, houses, motor racing and many others, there are just two things that are really important to me in my life which are my family and my very close friends, they inspire me and I hope I inspire them.

For me they are my daily inspiration, the reason why I get up at a silly time in the morning and perhaps come home late at night, and the reason that drives me forward to build the business we are currently building – to not only help provide for them now but also long after I’ve gone.

I work at short-term external motivation, such as watching the Olympics, a football match, music, dancing or my love affair with motor racing, but the long-term motivation comes from my family.

The question is what inspires you?

Find out what inspires you; it doesn’t have to be something expensive, it doesn’t have to be something that’s tangible, it’s something that’s in your heart, in your gut, that makes you smile!

It will get you excited and make the adrenaline flow, because that’s how, when the chips are down in the business, or frankly when it’s boring, you will inspire yourself to get on with things, overcome any challenges and carry on.

Get inspired!

…And remember, if I can help you any way just let me know!

Regards,

Peter A Roper

Find Out What Inspires You Everyday

positiveground — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:02 +0000

Point
Running your own business can be exciting, challenging, frustrating, tiring, irritating and fun, and yet also at times very boring!

Story
Some of the most successful people I have met operate businesses that probably wouldn’t excite the average person very much. They are comfortable making money sufficient for their needs; the businesses are well run and do what they’re supposed to do for their clients and customers.

There is a point in most people’s lives when they start asking questions like;
“What is this all for?”
“Why am I doing this?”
“Is there something better for me?”
These thoughts invariably pass as they get immersed in the day-to-day running of the business. But there is no doubt if you’re not careful you completely forget why on earth you started the business in the first place!

It’s very easy to forget why you start out in business for yourself. Certainly I did, particularly in the dark times!

Application
My recommendation to you is to take some time out on a regular basis, perhaps once a month, once every three months, six months or yearly, and remind yourself why you are doing what you do.

I work at short-term external motivation, such as watching the Olympics, a football match, music, dancing or my love affair with motor racing, but the long-term motivation comes from my family.
The question is what inspires you?

Get inspired!

Until next time,

Regards,

Peter

A Touching Email…

positiveground — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:00:02 +0000

A short while ago I received the following email from a very good family friend. It moved me greatly and so I would like to share it with you:

Hi Peter,

I hope you don’t mind me writing to you but I listened to your talk from oceanic videos this morning about 2007. It got me thinking and made me want to write this.

I’m not sure if we spoke about it at all but on 17th august 2007 I also had my moment with a judge to be declared bankrupt. I had no idea you had gone through this until this morning. I’m not going to compare our situations as there is obvious clear differences between a business and personal insolvency. Not to mention the fact you had a family to support. I just felt moved to write this.

My situation began after uni, where I had lived the high life on a seemingly endless supply of credit on the belief that after uni I would suddenly be earning banker level salaries and it would be easy to pay it off in a few years. The real world soon kicked in and then the next 7 years were taken up with trying to pay it.

In the first few years I borrowed more to keep my standard of lifestyle but as time went by it was borrowing from one bank to pay another. It always felt like I was inches away from getting on top of things and I would catch up sooner or later. I was making all my payments, it’s just that that left me with less and less each month to live on, which was made up by credit cards. All I needed was that promotion I was due, or a really good bonus and I would tilt the scales back in my favour. I genuinely believed that I would turn the corner all the way until the moment my world caved in.

It all came to a head when one day in 2007 my Amex card declined, and knowing there was plenty of balance left on it I phoned up with indignation. After 7 years, during which my initial post uni debt of approx 20k had increased to close to 60, the banks had finally decided to cut their losses. My moment of lighting was driving down the sea front considering if I drove the car into the sea could I just swim away from everything and never come back. The moment with the judge when he quotes the time to you seems so easy for that one moment. The official receivers ordered me to make payments for 3 years that basically reduced my salary to just under minimum wage, but it was liveable on. I moved to a cheaper shared house and I learned a lot over those 3 years both about how to handle my finances but also slowly learned to deal with what had happened.

I’m at no point saying it wasn’t my fault as I spent the money and I made the mistakes. Your point about speaking to the right people sooner really rung home. If I had done that it might have changed my life so much. For me the hardest thing was the guilt. Not towards the banks or even there shareholders. Between fees and interest over almost a decade I’m pretty sure they got most of these original money back. Just not the interest and profit they anticipated (and I do feel lending so much to people that young is wrong). My guilt was to my family and friends who were always there for me but in my head I felt I had let them down. I had failed them and myself in such a colossal way it was unimaginable. I had had a great upbringing with a stable, supportive family, great friends and every opportunity and somehow I had managed my life so badly as to turn this around and end up where I was. I felt like such a failure it was almost unbearable. Thinking about it now it does still hurt, but I have been through my 3 years, things are on the up, I am happier in myself and have some amazing friends around me. It was my fault yes, but I made mistakes, like everyone does, and it’s hard to admit when you get to that level. You just want to keep afloat and try desperately hoping for a miracle solution. Personally the emotional effect on me personally was far worse than any financial penalty.

I don’t know whether you felt any of this at any point but from your talk I recognised the moment of desperation when everything falls down around you. I would guess writing your book has helped you in a way, and perhaps this note is my version on a smaller scale.

Basically I would just like to congratulate you because writing that book must have taken great courage and if it helps other people avoid getting to the bankruptcy stage, regardless of business or personal, then you have done those people a great service.

Regards

I was truly honoured to have this experience shared with me and believe it totally speaks for itself. We are not alone in these situations, but if we can share the lessons we have learnt then we may be able to help those going through the same thing.

Until next time,

Regards,

Peter.

There Are Times In Negotiation When You Need To Take Charge

positiveground — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:49 +0000

In the first podcast of 2012 I speak to Seán Brickell and ask him the question ‘where have you screwed up in business and what did you learn from it?’. Seán kindly shares his experiences and why he believes that there are times in negotiation when you need to take charge.

Seán is an award winning journalist and broadcaster who was the UK’s youngest network TV news correspondent, aged 21, and then, at 22, he became one of the UK’s youngest network TV newsreaders.

Now a certified neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, Time Line therapist and hypnotherapist, Seán runs a successful business working around the world helping people and the organisations they work in build and sustain powerful levels of confidence and communication skills.

Just click here to listen to the podcast now!

Until next time,

Peter.

Corporate business is very different to being a small business owner

positiveground — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:00:39 +0000

Point

Having left my corporate career in 1996 and starting my own business I quickly fell into the trap that took me some nine years to get out of. In fact I was only talking with my ex-accountant recently (she has long since retired) and she said she couldn’t believe how someone who had been so successful in corporate life could misunderstand even the most basic of needs of a small business!

The trouble is I had well over twenty years of indoctrination in the corporate way of thinking where I was used to looking at balance sheets with lots of zeros. When I looked at our own bank statements I tended to think the same way. Unfortunately it took me a long time to get in my head that those zeros (or lack of them) were my zeros and not those of some faceless corporate machine.

I know you’re probably reading this and thinking “what an idiot”, but I have met many others who have had the same challenge.

Story

It wasn’t the case of treating this with a lack of self-respect, more a case that I had been so programmed into thinking about how important the money was for the company that I completely took my eyes off my own finances. To me it was a simple case of earning sufficient money so any challenges would go away – so long as enough cash was in my bank account or in my back pocket, I was happy. All we really wanted in business was to ensure that all our bills were paid and we could sleep at night.

When I started in business I used an accountant who I was recommended to go to – which I didn’t question…

It was only later I found out he charged £500 an hour! Yes, that’s right, £500 an hour (and that was in 1996!); he was always telling his team to save me money in terms of tax or anything else for that matter and would always charge me a further third in fees! It took me over a year before I realised that I was being fleeced.

You see, he had recognised that I was a corporate man and would look at things in a corporate way with corporate zeros on the end of bills.

Application

Unfortunately I have found on many occasions that many people have fallen for the same process – don’t get me wrong there are many good accountants in the country, we certainly have two excellent accountants, both we would term friends, and we also have accountants as clients, and again look at them as friends.

What I’m trying to get across to you, particularly if you’re starting in business having left a corporate life, is that you have to get down to the absolute nitty-gritty of the business.

You have to understand what’s in a bank account, you have to understand what costs are coming and you have to understand the basics of cash flow. It took me a long time to get to grips with this. I can honestly say that now I’m much better at it than when I started, but it is still something I have to watch closely on a very regular basis so all the old training doesn’t comes back to haunt me.

It is my contention that, in the majority of cases, corporate thinking is a major challenge to many starting on their own; whatever the level on the ladder of employment you came from it is a mentality that people take into their initial business opportunity.

The definition of an expert I understand is a combination of three things: doing the same thing for at least five years, knowing your field inside out, and being good at what you do. When you start your own business you have very little experience and we don’t have the time to wait five years and so most of us make it up as we go along – sometimes living lives of quiet desperation.

The answer for me is simple; to get as much information as you can from people who understand what is it is like to run their own business.
Talk to people who run their own business! Try and find information from them, go to seminars and training workshops, network, meet people who are running businesses in a similar way to yourself and learn from their experience – good or not so good!

The key thing is to understand that running your own business is very different to being employed and you need to educate yourself constantly.

…And remember, if I can help you in anyway just let me know!

Regards,

Peter A Roper

A Festive Message

positiveground — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:00:30 +0000

After a year full of difficult times and lots of negative news regarding the economy, it seems much easier to enjoy the simpler things this festive season – the twinkling lights, a ‘Merry Christmas’ to a passing stranger, a holiday song or two, or the enjoyment of being able to spend a day surrounded by the ones we love.

Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or another festival this month, everyone here at Positive Ground wishes you a very Happy Holiday and a prosperous 2012.

Reach inside yourself, look at what is really important to you and then go for it!

positiveground — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:00:31 +0000

Point
For most of us in business we start because we are passionate about the business we are in – at least I hope so. For me, whenever I have been involved in other businesses for pure revenue generation they have never worked, because they haven’t been important enough to me or to those affiliated with them.

Story
On two occasions I’ve been involved in businesses that have not worked and cost me a considerable amount of money and heartache. Even though the business filled the needs of prospects and whilst undoubtedly I could have done more, on each occasion I am totally convinced the key reason for their failure was that all the individuals, including myself, were looking at how much money could be made – not how exciting the project was.

Some reading this might ask, “Isn’t the idea of business to generate cash and make money?”
Perhaps, however it’s my experience that most people have to live and breathe the business and frankly if it’s not important to you it is unlikely to succeed.
Since we formed our family business the reason why we are increasingly successful is not just because as a family we are working together (many people admire and respect this and certainly it is an attractive quality to them), but because we are all doing something that we enjoy, i.e. first and foremost working together as a family unit and secondly serving a market that we enjoy working with.

I always sympathise with the many people starting in business, particularly from a corporate background, especially when attending events such as franchise shows.
I see prospective franchise purchasers walk through the door with a wad of cash because they have been made redundant by their previous employer, looking for something that potentially will generate money – and the lure of being an entrepreneur!
Sounds great in principle, the trouble is it’s more than just a job – it’s a way of life!

I have spoken with some of these same individuals months after they have invested their cash. They say things such as “You know, I invested in the business because I thought that it was simple, a way to generate cash, yet now it’s taken over my whole life!”

Application
So I would suggest you look inside yourself and find out what’s really important to you as an individual, and as a family, and ask yourself “Is this business it?”
Two of our clients are independent financial advisers. One thing they have in common is they both very clearly care about the clients they are dealing with. As one put it to us only recently, “I want to be able to look at you in the face if you have lost your partner and say yes everything is sorted as I promised.”

It’s very obvious that he clearly means it when talking with his clients and it’s very obvious that his increasing client base recognise the fact that he’s very sincere in what he’s talking about.

Sincerity goes a long way in business and sincerity happens because you’ve really looked inside yourself and said yes, this is what I want to do.
In truth, if it’s not inspiring why still do it?

Reach inside yourself, look at what is really important to you, and then go for it!

Remember, if I can help you in anyway, just let me know!

Regards,

Peter A Roper.