If you’ve ever served more than one day in the military you will know it is a structured lifestyle, with a ton of rules—especially when you’re a raw recruit struggling to survive boot camp.
Long after I left the Air Force, the Army invited me to attend an ad hoc boot camp for former Air Force guys. They called it, “Blue to Green Training.” Let me be the first to say, the Army and Air Force may share a common history (up to September 1947), but that’s about all they have in common. Joining the Army was a huge culture shock for me.
Like any soldier worth his salt, I did my share of griping and complaining about the rules—but when push came to shove, I fell in line and did what I was told to do. And like any decent soldier, I could spend the next week telling you war story after war story. But that’s not my point here. I want to share a brief story with you to illustrate a point that I believe you can apply to your life and your small business startup dreams.
I can remember a time “back in Bragg” when an NCO (the man or woman with all the stripes and the booming voice you first meet at boot camp) asked me to transport some ammo to the firing range. En route, I came across a motorist stranded on the side of the road. Now, if you’ve ever been on some of the back ranges at Ft Bragg, you will know it could be a good walk back to post if your car breaks down.
So, I did what anybody would do. I stopped and offered the stranded guy a ride back to post.
When I finally arrived at my assigned range about 20 minutes late, my NCO introduced me to the pleasures of doing pushups in the mud, and then tacked on some extra duty to reinforce his message…
“…stay in your lane.”
In military speak, that means to remain focused on your primary mission and don’t allow yourself to get distracted. It also means you have to set priorities, and then take action to meet the requirements of a mission in the order of their importance.
When I mentioned it would be impolite, if not dangerous, to leave somebody stranded in the woods, he suggested that I should have stopped and told the motorist I would send for help.
As aspiring business entrepreneurs, we face similar challenges everyday. Think about all the distractions that rise up to claim your time, discourage you, or prevent you from excelling in your business. Are you “staying in your lane,” or are you allowing each of these distractions to move you away from your goal of achieving success? Are you “prioritizing” and doing the most important tasks first, or are you doing the easy stuff, and avoiding the difficult things that must be done?
Back in the 1980s management guru Tom Peters introduced us to an exciting new way of running organizations in his book, “In Search of Excellence.” One of the cornerstones of Peters’ management philosophy was the simple maxim: “Stick to your knitting.” In a sense, Peters was telling managers the same thing my NCO told me: “Stay in your lane.”
From a business startup perspective you are going to need every advantage you can muster to achieve success in your business. It makes sense, therefore, that you focus your startup in an area or industry that you can easily master—or preferably already have experience in. For example, my daughter has always been fascinated by fashion and cosmetics, and she is very good with this stuff. Personally, I don’t know the difference between foundation and mascara, but that’s another story.
Anyway, after leaving high school and deciding college was not her idea of a good time, I encouraged her to get involved in a small business. We worked together to find the perfect match for her skills and interests, and determined joining a company like Avon or Mary Kay would be the perfect match for her.
I’m not suggesting a network marketing or direct sales business is the only way to go, but in her case, the low cost of entry into a field she loved seemed ideal. That is what it means to stay in your lane.
As a child I grew up in a restaurant family. By the time I was an adult I knew virtually every facet of restaurant operation. After leaving high school I picked up a part time job in a small steak house restaurant and quickly realized the owner knew nothing about the industry. Restaurants are tough, and demand mastery of skills in numerous areas, including: manufacturing, cooking, marketing, retail sales, and customer service. The owner was a nice guy, but he was out of his league and doomed to fail.
About three weeks into my new job the health inspector paid us a visit and discovered the automatic dishwasher was not operating correctly. I remember the owner discussing the dishwasher situation with the inspector and lamenting that replacement parts would take two to three weeks to arrive.
“I’m sorry,” the inspector said. “You’ll have to close down until you can get the dishwasher working properly.”
My owner friend shook his head in dismay. “Then I guess this is it. I’ll lose the business.”
As the owner and the inspector huddled together over a government form I quietly filled the three sinks in the dishwashing room with hot water and added a splash of bleach to the final rinse sink. Prior to automatic dishwashing machines, restaurants used a three sink procedure that is still recognized as a safe and economical way to wash and sanitize dishes.
I loaded the wash sink with a stack of dirty plates and began to scrub without saying a word. Behind me the owner confirmed my suspicions about his knowledge of restaurant operations when he asked, “What are you doing?”
The inspector turned to the owner and gave him a brief tutorial on three sink dishwashing and acknowledged that this would meet his health code requirements.
I was too young and inexperienced at the time to put it into words, but I knew intuitively that this particular restaurant owner had no business being in the food service industry—and sadly he is not alone. The Small Business Administration is proud to inform aspiring entrepreneurs that 90 plus percent of all businesses fail in their first 5 years. But what their numbers do not tell you are how many of those failures may be attributed to entrepreneurs who simply refused to stay in their lane.
I realize the current hottest trend, or the business opportunity that your brother-in-law told you about, may appear to have all the answers to your burning desire to succeed, but I want to warn you, you may be better off sticking to your knitting and building a business in an industry you know.
As you search the marketplace for the best business opportunity, focus on the industry or area that best suits your interests, skills, and background.
Believe me, if you can “stay in your lane” on this one, you will significantly increase your odds of achieving success.
Day 2 Assignment
Whether you are thinking about joining a franchise opportunity or not, there is a lot you can learn from successful franchises in your chosen industry.
Prior to joining the military I worked in the restaurant industry and among my many jobs in this area I spent over a year working with Denny’s and McDonalds. Both of these restaurants are leaders in the food service industry and I knew there was a lot I could learn from these companies. For example, while at Denny’s I worked in the kitchen and was amazed at how their extensive menu was built around a handful of raw materials. And at McDonalds I learned how the best way to train new employees and increase productivity was to narrow the food preparation process down to specific steps.
For today’s assignment I want you to visit http://business.usa.gov and spend at least one hour reviewing various programs and regulations relevant to the franchise industry. Familiarity with this website may save you a ton of money and anguish in the future as you review prospective business opportunities.
It’s been said that struggle gives life meaning, and that the journey to success is often sweeter than the destination itself. But I’ll withhold judgment on that. In the meantime, we can put that ancient wisdom to the test by continuing to work hard and to take daily action to make things happen in our lives.
I mentioned Tom Peters in the above text, and if you have the time or inclination, I highly recommend you read some of his books, or watch some videos on Tom Peters over at YouTube. Another great author in this vein is Jim Collins. His excellent book “Good to Great” has remained a bestseller for years, and offers sound advice on what it takes to be “great.”
For now, let’s tighten the screws a bit. I want to challenge you to spend 2 to 4 hours reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki. This book will give you a solid foundation in money management and help you focus on starting a business or making investments that may potentially help you achieve financial success.
As before, if you cannot access this book, hop over to YouTube and watch some videos. You will find a huge selection of Robert Kiyosaki videos at YouTube that in my opinion represent the equivalent of a master’s degree in business administration—free for the taking.