HOPSON POTTER BUSINESS

Have you read the book yet?

Seen the movie? Whatever you do, don’t skip reading the book in favor of watching the movie or you’ll miss all the rich storytelling-texture the book has to offer.

Elizabeth Gilbert has written a book that many women entrepreneurs will take inspiration from. Some will enjoy her fun prose with its mix of intelligence, charm, and wit. Others will resonate with the honest and transparent way she talks about the good, the bad, and the ugly that led her to and through her yearlong journey.

There have been mixed reviews of the book. Oprah loved it and dedicated two episodes of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to it. Maureen Callahan of the “New York Post” harshly criticized “Eat, Pray, Love” and Oprah for devoting so much time to it.

So what does this have to do with being an entrepreneur? You might be surprised.

First and foremost, this memoir about Gilbert’s yearlong travels to Italy, India, and Indonesia underscores just how much a woman’s inner journey affects her outer life journey.

For the woman entrepreneur, it is also her inner journey that makes her entrepreneurial journey so well worth taking and ultimately determines the success or failure of her business.

Five Quotations from “Eat, Pray, Love” to Sustain You along Your Entrepreneurial Journey

1.

“Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”

That’s a tough one for many women in general and women entrepreneurs specifically. Because women are such community and consensus builders focused on the good of the whole, we often lack the backbone to just stand up and tell it like it is.

In fact, that’s the main thread of Gilbert’s book: Tell the truth.

Tell the truth about who you are and what’s important to you. Tell it to yourself and to those important people around you. And when you do, you’ll find you’ve developed the backbone you need to complete the entrepreneurial journey.

2. “I am stronger than Depression and braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me.”

This quotation is part of a much longer one that both calmed and strengthened Gilbert when she was at her point of greatest despair. Alone and crying out for the first time to God, what she heard, from deep within herself, was this: She was never alone, eternally loved, and always protected.

As women entrepreneurs, haven’t we all been there? Alone. Crying out in the dark. Looking more for a relationship than for answers. Whether that calm, all-knowing voice actually comes from God or from within, it is good to know that we are not alone. Together, we are stronger than we ever realized, with a deep reservoir of energy.

3. “‘Tis better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else’s life perfectly.”

This quotation from the “Bhagavad Gita” is a powerful mantra for women entrepreneurs. Shades of what society once considered women should be—perfect daughters, wives, and mothers—still color our world today. Yet times have changed. No longer is the right of passage for modern women one of age (from girlhood to womanhood); it is one of thought.

As a woman entrepreneur, you already have a strongly developed thought form of wanting to live life on your own terms. You already have as your driving forces independence, wealth, and wanting to make a difference in the world. This quotation reminds us that the joy of the entrepreneurial journey is when it’s not so perfect.

4. “I am a better person when I have less on my plate.”

What “Eat, Pray, Love” exhorts you to do is fill up our body, mind, and soul with smiles. “Smile from your liver” with what is pleasing to you. From an energetic perspective, that which we focus upon is added upon. It may sound clichéd to say, “Let go, let God.” However, you must find a way to let go of the little irritations that occur throughout your day and move quickly past that which annoys you to a more pleasing thought form.

5. “You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That’s the only thing you should be trying to control.”

The first time I read this, I laughed out loud! How true. How true! Show me a woman entrepreneur who doesn’t want to be in control of her life, and I’ll show you a woman whose business is struggling.

The key is to select what thoughts to think. “…select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day.”I like how easy this quote makes it sound. After all, controlling someone else’s thoughts is never easy. It’s not even possible! However, controlling your own can be done, can only be done by you, and is well worth the effort.

Gilbert’s book is not the first book of its kind nor will it be the last. However, its popularity means that it struck a universal chord of recognition with many readers. As a woman entrepreneur, this book is a present-day reminder to you about how important your inner journey is to your entrepreneurial journey. If you want to run a successful business, first learn to control your own thoughts. Let these five quotations from “Eat, Pray, Love” remind you to select your own thoughts each day, to smile both inside and out, and to stay strong along your entrepreneurial journey.

More or less, almost any and every sales professionals is, by self-definition, a relentless “hunter” who claims to only want to effectively sell their respective product or service and, thus make large quantities of money for both their  employer and, of course themselves.

Despite the fact that almost all  strongly claim to be hunters, not all sales professionals are well fed.  Comparatively speaking,  deciphering how to effectively close a sales deal is not all that different from having to figure out a relatively complex and hard to teach two prong-puzzle.

The most effective, most sought after sales professionals proved to be those business development veterans who always work harder than the general sales population in order to solve the puzzle and determine exactly what  are  the underlying motivators that will trigger the buyer and then leverage this information In order to gain the trust and  perceived expertise  that will quickly result in direct sales representative getting the deal inked.

While most working professionals who, for whatever reason are not properly networked into the business development community, fail to realize that it is precisely the above discussed type of sales representative  who is more than simply a cold caller but instead is  in entrepreneur who is exceedingly strong and self reliant  when it comes to stepping on the same field as  big business executives.

Regardless of how many know, the revenue driving sales professional seems to  consistently maintain  their uncanny ability to  be able to intellectually break down and  leverage their rare knowledge of the typical American corporate structure  to persuade just about any and  every client who crosses their path.

Furthermore,  these sales professionals  tend to be triple threats as they  can creatively market themselves as business partners who are reliable, intelligent and successful for the reason that they continually care and produce for their corporate client base.

In the end, the only way to know if you’re truly sitting next to him entrepreneurial sales professional is to ask them if they would leave their job for a management promotion and the response you would get would be to the tune of Looking at you as if you were from a different planet.  in most case scenarios, you are that  foreign to them.

A facilities management consultancy specialise in working with companies by carrying out all the jobs that a company might require without them even realising it. This may be things like maintaining the electricity supply is correct, the plumbing works, all the building is safe and secure and the building is in good condition so it is not suffering from damp for example.

Some people are even surprised that work like this goes on as they expect the companies employees to do it themselves. Others are even surprised that there is a whole organisation and industry committed to carrying out this type of work as many don’t even think work like this needs doing. It is background work like that can really help a company save costs and harmful waste to the environment. 

Companies can really reduce costs with the help of a facilities management consultancy on board.

Facilities management consultancies are expert in this type of work so therefore they know how to cut costs where normal employees of the company probably wouldn’t. They will know local businesses well that could give them discount on products and they will also know how best to conserve energy. They might switch to a different energy supplier for example or bring in systems and strategies that will reduce the energy used by automatically switching equipment off at the mains and turning off lights when no one is present in a room. 

These professionals will be able to advise on any sorts of problems you may have with your building or with concerns you have about energy usage. They will assess the situation and take appropriate action if considered necessary. As they are skilled and have prior knowledge of how to effectively manage the workplace they will work much faster than employees you already have in the business whose main regular job may be selling double glazing for example.

With many businesses nowadays taking the blame for much of the pollution caused in the world it is obvious that having a professional and expert facilities management team on board is a very wise option.

University graduates are still sought after, which makes a degree in this difficult financial climate worth its weight in gold. Graduate positions have actually increased over the last year, during the recession, and this is leading companies promoting their HR policies of capturing the best minds straight from university.

Jobs in IT, accounting, mechanical engineering, bio sciences are particularly impressive for the graduate as firms in these sectors offer high salaries and many graduate services that announce jobs, like MilkRound will advertise all of these particular jobs. Some jobs are obviously with companies that could feel the pain of the credit crunch but with any gain of experience, you will become immediately more employable even if the worst does happen to you.

Obviously qualifications and skills will get you so far, but with many graduates applying for the same jobs, how can you set yourself apart and differently then the rest? Well the answer is in your character traits, and making them visible to the recruiter.

An attitude of enthusiasm, self- motivation and determination will go a long way in any job interview, some companies who offer jobs at entry level, will make a decision based on this alone!

Obviously verbal and writing skills are a necessity and having problem solving skills and being a team player will also endear you to the employer. It is also important to apply for jobs that you are skilled to do. Obviously jobs with 40k salaries look great and you’d love to be on that one, but you need to stay realistic and gain experience in your first few years after university, so apply for jobs you are happy to do.

If you have a Masters degree of an even higher education award then larger businesses in certain sectors may head hunt you, this is certainly true in the past in the banking, insurance and retail management positions.

If you have just a bachelors degree then there are many opportunities out there but it will take you longer to get there!