Related Articles

7 Ways to Ensure Success and Profitability When Starting a Business

Up until the moment I asked myself this question, I had not realized how lavish my lifestyle had become. Time and money were wasted on things that did not matter, and the things that were most important to me, like time with my family, often fell by the wayside.

By asking better questions, however, I was able to analyze what mattered most in my life and business and ensure that my most valuable resources were allocated appropriately. How can asking better questions make a difference for you?

2. You'll get back to the basics of what made you successful.

As you achieve more successes in your career, and things get comfortable, you tend to forget the little things that made you successful to begin with. One day you wake up and you're in trouble. In these moments, entrepreneurs often seek counsel from mentors.

When I was at my own lowest point, one of my mentors -- whom I'll call Dave -- suggested that if I were to change the way I looked at things, the things I looked at would change. I took this to heart, as he too had been down this road.

Dave had been very successful in business, becoming a millionaire before the age of 30 and a multimillionaire in his mid 30s, before his life spiraled out of control. Looking back, he realized he had stopped doing the things that made him successful to begin with. It took losing millions of dollars and almost losing his family to wake him up.

As I considered Dave’s history, I realized I was traveling down the same path. I had stopped doing the basic actions that made me successful. In that moment I felt very grateful that it had not taken losing millions of dollars and my family to arrive at this realization.

So, should things get rough in your own life, ask yourself, “Am I still taking the actions that made be successful to begin with?” You may realize that you got comfortable and lost your way. If so, it’s time to get back to the basics.

3. You are the problem, and hope is not a plan.

Looking in the mirror and evaluating yourself and your situation objectively is not something that comes naturally to most people. When you face adversity, you hope your situation will change. Unfortunately, hope is not a plan.

Last year, I spent more than I made every month, and never developed a plan to get back in the black. The sales were not rolling in as they used to and I did not have a plan to rebuild my funnel. I drifted from day to day hoping things would change, but they just got worse. Finally, it took a financial crisis to wake me up and force me to take action: to form a plan that would stop the financial bleeding and rebuild my sales funnel.

As an entrepreneur, you'll discover that one of your most admirable qualities is the ability to create something out of nothing. But the thing that holds you back from taking an idea from creation to fruition is often yourself. The best entrepreneurs recognize this fact when times get tough. Learn to drop your ego and look at yourself objectively.  Where could you do better? Where are you falling short?

Got some answers? Now go put a plan in place and create the life you deserve.

About Author

Host of The Mentee Podcast, Medical Device Salesman, Entrepreneur, Real Estate Investor, Geoff Woods, a medical device salesman by day, is the host of The Mentee Podcast where he documents his journey from employee to entrepreneur and highlights conversations he has with his high-level mentors. Woods's passion is helping others accelerate their success by surrounding them with the right mentors and the right ideas..