Guest post: Tyler Jorgenson
Doing business in the OC is different than doing business anywhere else in the world. A few weeks ago I had a business meeting that reminded me of just how great it is to do business in this wonderful part of the world and more than that I was reminded of some key lessons in business. It all started when a quick trip to Dana Point harbor with two brand new 255 horse power Sea Doo’s turned into a lunch trip to Catalina and back. Hey, they have good hot dogs.
The Six Tips I Learned From My Trip
1 Know where you want to go
After enjoying our lunch we took off out of Avalon and started back towards Dana Point. Using the different geographic features of the coast we oriented ourselves and hit the gas. I was reminded how important it is to have a goal in mind when you set out to be successful in business.
This is illustrated by the exchange in Alice in Wonderland between the Cheshire Cat and Alice:
Alice: I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as…
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.
If you don’t know where you are trying to go, it doesn’t really matter what path you take. This is true in business, life and riding a Sea Doo.
2 Keep Your Eye on the Prize
Once we chose our targeted landmark we started to speed up. When you’re going 60 MPH it doesn’t take too large of a swell to knock you off course. Usually you can correct course pretty quickly, but if you take your eye off the goal for too long you can drift away pretty quickly. This can happen in business when we allow things of a lower priority to pull us away from the things that matter. Conference calls, meetings, committees, email replies, water cooler chatter and all of a sudden an entire day has passed you buy and you’re no closer to the goals that matter than when you started.
3 Have a Backup Plan
On the trip we had a GPS, two cell phones and an SOS device. You never know when things are going to break down and a great business plan just doesn’t work. Do you have a backup plan or an exit strategy for when you’re dead in the water?
4 Wear Sunscreen
It would be great if we lived in a world where people resolved issues in business using the skills of logic and reason. Instead most business owners realize that the litigious nature of our society can bake them to a crisp like my pale legs in the afternoon sunlight. Protect yourself in business with the proper business structure, insurance and good legal counsel. And when you’re out in the real sun, don’t forget your sunscreen.
5 Be a Nice Guy
While gassing up we realized we could use a second slathering of sun screen but ran out. The nice gentlemen in the boat next to us, who were escaping from the office for a day on the water, were nice enough to share theirs with us. Have you ever been around somebody successful that didn’t want to share their life lessons or even had somebody in the office not let you use their stapler? Don’t be that guy. That guy sucks. Be a nice guy and the journey will be that much sweeter.
6 Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk
As we approached Avalon my colleagues digital camera slipped from its mount and fell into the water. Although it was designed to float it disappeared for good. I was very impressed with the positive attitude displayed by the man who just lost another toy. He didn’t whine or complain, he just moved on into the harbor.
This lesson can be life changing If you have hitherto carried a grudge. If it’s in the past it is ok to learn from the lesson of the painful experience but it is fruitless to hold onto the pain and resentment. There is a lot of freedom in letting it go. For my friend that freedom meant he got a nice new camera the next day.
Entrepreneurship is something that runs through my veins and I tend to see business lessons in normal everyday situations. If you could share one business tip from everyday life, what would it be?
Tyler’s Bio:
“Tyler Jorgenson is a California based entrepreneur, USC MBA student, family man (and, just once, a reality show contestant). Since the age of 5, and possibly earlier, Tyler has been inventing creative ways to make money. Jorgenson finds great joy in assisting clients and friends reach their goals and achieve greatness. His blogs, radio show and daily communication carry the primary theme that every individual has a spark of greatness within them and a responsibility, to themselves, to live a life of magnitude and significance.”
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