The Savvy Contractor

OK here’s the question, do the majority of people really understand how to  use Twitter and other social networking sites? I mean, if your Plumbing contractor living in South Dakota how can a Roofing Contractor in California benefit you? So here’s my question, if we follow each other on Twitter, and check out each others profile,  What comes next? Do you interact with any of your followers?  Do they add any value to your life?

Here’s what I’m seeing,  I have a few people I follow on Twitter that I communicate with on a regular basis and I generally get something out of it. But I have been to some  of  my followers blogs that I actually post content on, and then never get a reply from them. Sometimes I was the only one ever to post on their blog.  Now why would someone write good content, post in on their Blog, and then let it die? Now don’t get me wrong, if you have  5,000 people who follow you, there is no way you can directly interact with all of them.  But if your blog has a few followers like this one, and you don’t interact with them, you can bet you wont have them for long.

Another concern I have is the amount of people who post on Twitter and then just talk about themselves. I had people I use to follow on Twitter that would post things like “I’m going to the Gym now” or “I had french toast for breakfast today”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you go to the Gym and French toast for breakfast, well what can I say to that? What I do care about, is how we are going to help each other move to the next step in our lives and business and monetize directly or indirectly with the help of Social Media.

What are you afraid of ? I don’t mean things like flying. I mean what are you a really afraid of? Most small businesses and people in general are afraid of some “THING” or “THINGS”. One of the main fears in almost everyone, is the fear of change. Face it, most people go through life working for the MAN, knowing there is something else out there, only never to find out because they were afraid to change.
That leads us into the next fear which goes hand in hand with change and that’s the fear of failure. We are afraid to try anything new because we are afraid to fail and to most people failure is not an option.  This is not who I am, I refuse to live the status quo and I welcome change in every aspect of my life.  Remember this quote by Thomas Edison I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.
We must remember one thing,  life is not a dress rehearsal, you get one chance, why not LIVE it. Believe me when I tell you, most people don’t care if you change or not, Hell in the grand scheme of things most people don’t  even know you exist . But if you do change, and with your change comes something different than the status quo, then you have a real opportunity  to change others as well. Good luck in your journey.
Also if you get a chance, read this book by Seth Godin. He understands change

For years now it seams that people have  not been held accountable for there actions. Look at what has happened to the Banking and Investment firms not to mention the Fund managers in the last  two years. Bernard Madoff should be stoned in public for his scandal. Governments, businesses, and people in general just seem to pass the buck on everything. Small businesses today have a chance to change all that.  If you educate yourself, and your employees, on what it means to be responsible for your actions, and then hold yourself accountable for them, you are ahead of the curve. I say educate yourself because we all tend to place blame once in a while, but it’s not necessary. People want to hire honest, reliable companies and people who can admit if a  mistake was made, and then fix it. This is the time for small businesses to come  to the rescue and bring honesty and accountability  back to main street.

Everything you accomplish in life is a direct result of your attitude. If you go through life with a “Man I have a crappy life” attitude, that is exactly what you will have. It is apparent to me, as a small business owner, that I can’t have that attitude or myself and my business won’t succeed. What do you do when times are tough like they are now? What do you do when that phone is not ringing and business is not coming through the door? The answer is easy. You change your thoughts and you change your attitude. You dig deep down inside yourself and do what ever is necessary to succeed. No matter what life throws at you, you can overcome it with the right attitude and right state of mind.
I know your probably saying, “Well Mr Savvy, what should I do to get the business I need?” Well here you go, and in no particular order

1) Network with living breathing people. Online networking is great and very important, but if you have a brick and mortar business it’s not enough. Attend local events in your area for small business. Hell maybe speak at one.

2) Keep in contact with your past customers. My motto is, “If they bought from you once, they will buy from you again”. Unless, of course, you had a shitty attitude.

3) Give time to your community. Is there a homeless shelter in your town? How about Habitat for Humanity? Visit a nursing home and talk with the elderly to see how they’re doing. When you give like this, it is very humbling, and you see that what you have is far greater than a lot of others. When you do these things you become a better part of your community, and people will respect that and want to do business with you, mark my words.

Any successful person you meet, any self help book you read will tell you the same thing, “you are who you think you are”. If your a business owner and you have a shitty attitude you can bet your customer service is shitty, and if your customer service is Shitty… well then customer loyalty is gone. I’m writing this because I want you to check your attitude and see what it is you could do different. I know we all have our moments, God knows I have mine, but if we are constantly aware of our thoughts, we can change them for the better.