Results Or Excuses, Which Are You Known For?

First some housekeeping…

It’s still crazy here at the office, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have finally finished finalizing the list of our 11 week clients and we expect to have our 12 month customer list finalized today.

Wednesday we had our intro call for 11 week members and it was fantastic. Today we have the intro call for the 12 month members and I am buzzing with excitement.

Our support center is up and running – so if you are still not getting our emails then please visit and let our customer service reps know. You can do that at www.strategicprofits.com/supportsuite/

We have chosen the technology that we will be using temporarily to deliver the content and managing the resource center, and man is it hot, you will absolutely go nuts over it! It’s looking like it will open for business on Monday and we’ve got some great bonuses in store for all of my new members (both 11 week and 12 month clients).

We’ve also set up our online scheduling system that allows our 11 week clients to schedule their own appointments and even reschedule their appointments without any of my staff having to get involved.

With all that great news you might be wondering why the headline to this post reads “Results or Excuses”, well, allow me to break things down for you.

Even with careful planning and testing – Murphy (of Murphy’s Law) has been working overtime here at Strategic Profits. Here are just two (there were more) of the presents that Murphy has dropped on strategic profits over the past week:

–The speed of the orders coming into our system crushed our PayPal integration – which left us with incomplete lists of clients for both programs. (this required to manually rebuild both lists by going through our PayPal account and our shopping cart system and analyzing each and every transaction to see the disposition for each and every person)

–Our email exchange server somehow developed a bug and so no emails that were sent out from Rich@StrategicProfits.com were received. I have 3 virtual assistants answering the emails that I receive so you can imagine the number of emails we are talking about.

I can hear members of my staff screaming at me right now, “Rich, why are you writing about this on the blog? Keep it a secret!” But you know what? There’s a very important lesson to be learned here and I don’t mind sharing our challenges to help you understand a very important business lesson.

My experience in business, after starting and growing my own businesses and working with some of the best internet companies, in business after all is said and done (and unfortunately there is usually a lot more said than done) bad things will still happen.

And that’s why I am proud of my team, because as we get ready to close out this week and I find myself writing this post… when you strip everything away you are left with one of two things Results or Excuses, and I am proud of our results this week.

What about you? Are you proud or the results you accomplished this week or do you have a bunch of excuses as to why you haven’t accomplished anything of significance? What about for the past month or year?

Here’s the big takeaway from this post, no matter what time frame you are looking at (day, week, month, year, or your entire life) if you are achieving the results you want – congratulations, but if you aren’t then all you’ve got is excuses.

The results you want and the excuses you use are mutually exclusive, they cannot coexist.

My virtual staff grew from 3 to 7 this week, Dan and Sheila have been working lots of overtime, and I have even rolled up my sleeves and gotten my hands dirty. And the net result is we’ve gotten a lot of great results this week because we were simply unwilling to let any excuses get in our way.

If you’ve got more excuses in your life than you do results, start keeping a list of the most common excuses you give for not achieving the results you want. It’s the same in your business too, if you’re staff is delivering more excuses than results start keeping a list of the excuses that you are given.

Your job – whether it’s you or your staff generating the excuses, is to get rid of the most common ones that keep rearing their ugly heads. But I’ll tell you how to do that in a future post. For now, take a look at yourself and your business, and decide whether you’re better at generating results or excuses. Then make your list…



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Comments:
  • Steve M.

    Thanks Rich for a terrific teleconference on the layout of the the 12 month program.
    Just great! I can’t wait to continue. Those who joined your
    program will have a tremendous
    advantage.

    Steve M
    12 Month Student for Success.

  • Cathy

    I am very happy to be part of this 12 month program. Thank you for a great introductory call and for heaven’s sake – let Sheila go to the beach!

    Cathy

  • http://www.TechnologyDiet.com Lena West

    The 12- month group had our first call with Rich today. It wasn’t a working meeting but rather general housekeeping.

    On the call, Rich asked us to predict what he’s going to do next. And, my prediction is that he will BLAST us off our chairs with the first working meeting so that we’ll know that we’re dealing with a force to be reckoned with. Hmm…I could be wrong but, I doubt it. :)

    Lena
    http://www.TechnologyDiet.com

  • stephanie

    What I appreciated about the call was the caliber and substance demonstrated even in an orientation. Perfect for a group of “very special people”, newcomers and seasoned entrpreneurs alike, the standard is neither dumbed-down nor elitist.

  • Janine Giordanelli

    heavy sigh, I tried and tried, but try as I may your site was so busy I could not get my CC info in fast enough to make it in
    I am so dissapointed I actually went back to my mail account and deleted all 1500 messages with an attitude of apathy.
    The only thing that was crystal clear to me last week was that I was going to be one of your students and finally, good ness, finally get off to the start I have been searching for 3 yrs.
    Rich, I never give up, I never allow defeat to creep into my feelings, i refuse to allow even a simple sentence or statement that even smells like a mind virus to set root, and I was amazed at my response to not being able to get in, like the observer on steroids!
    I am depressed, downright uninterested in anything anyone else has to say on the subject.
    Here is the funny…..I pounded out this e-mail that shares way too much info about my thoughts because I caught myself talking to the computer screen very snidley and petulantly as if,I would get some satisfactory reply to another site offering coaching. I was immediatley annoyed, aggravated because I was not going to read endless pages of a sales pitch possibly from someone who has never had success with online businesses and was not going to waste one minute of time on it. All of the sudden out loud (unknowingly) I said “Oh no you did not just try to tell me you are the best and baddest game in town”
    my 3 yr old, startled by my outburst, looked at me and smiled, and quietly said “MoM, why are you talking about games when you said you were working!!”
    there you go, my own human stay focused program.
    anyway, I do not know what to do with myself, I was so sure and so excited to be in your group and now I feel like a limp balloon.
    Could you grant me a favor? would you be willing to post your fav resources for outsourcing marketing for projects, hosting websites, autoresponders,site design/editors, etc……?
    I would be most grateful, if you said yes!

    Janine

  • http://awesomewebessentials.com Linda

    I am happy to be one of the “special” people in this group. I am looking forward to the next 12 months. Super motivating call!

    ~Linda

  • http://www.nexusgate.com Shane Wilson

    I wish I could have been on the call. I was working my “Temporary” 9 to 5 job so I could not make it. I hope this call was recorded. I would love to have heard what was said.

    I want to wish everyone in the 12 month program the best of luck. My goal is to make $100,000 in sales before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st this year. I am already a quater of the way there ;). With your help Rich I now I can quadruple that figure.

    Take care everyone.

    Shane

  • http://www.doityourself-tips.com Manuel

    It has nothing to do with the post, BUT it’s very important.

    Your RSS feed isn’t working.

    FIX IT … please.

    thanks Rich, keep the great work

  • http://www.MrOrigano.com Dave Origano

    Hey Rich,

    I missed the call! Is there some place I can download it?

    -Dave

  • http://www.fathers-resources.com Danny

    Rich:

    Great Call! Thanks for the very thorough overview. It’s a great model and example on how to do the housekeeping when you begin such an endeavour.

    I sure hope you share the details on PayPal with us thoroughly so we can profit from your experience. Your honesty about the pros and cons on that were refreshing. Thanks for the transparency!

    I’m just taking a break before i begin my homework…want to make sure I get all my questions to you on Monday ;-) Thank you so much for this fabulous opportunity. I really mean that.

    It couldn’t come at a better time for me.

    I’m working on taking my current business to the next level http://www.Fathers-Resources.com

    We help divorced dads remain in their kids lives…I was one of those dads and raised two kids as a single parent. Being a Dad changed my whole life for the better.

    Given your obvious pride in your daughters, I’m sure you can appreciate how vital it is that men support, coach and mentor each other to be the best dad they can, especially when their marriage or relationship fails.

    My two successful adult kids are my pride and joy. My deep love and commitment to being the best dad I could be had a lot to do with forming the great adults they became. I look forward to sharing your knowledge with them, so they can live their dreams too!

    I wanted to let you know that I am already beginning to apply your thinking to our business and as a result, I will soon have several very motivated volunteer assistants who get access to legal research in exchange for posting it to our site which will make it a more valuable resource, add content and increase visibility. We have also begun outsourcing transcriptions of our podcasts – We have 12 hours of audio on our site currently. I’m looking at outsourcing the posting of interesting news articles on our blog which will help our Alexa ranking. I am looking forward to removing myself from the work bit by bit and involving myself deeply in the planning and growth of our enterprise.

    Your materials have been the missing link for me, as I was getting ready to put together an operations manual per the E-Myth by Michael Gerber. The process mapping will really help!

    I’m also involved with two other start-up’s an e-learning course on Family Court and and internet marketing venture with a well known guru…

    Your course and my burning desire for success at a new level will make 2006 the year of our biggest business gains yet!

    With a whole lot of gratitude,

    Danny Guspie
    http://www.Fathers-Resources.com

  • Michael Molloy

    It will be interesting to see how you can go from 3 to 7 assistants in one week.

  • http://www.advantageconsult.com Jim

    Rich,
    Thanks for the great call. Very much looking forward to the program.
    A quick note, on the call even though you were speaking very clearly, a number of your words ‘disappeared’. Not sure what the issue was, but it was a bit frustrating.

    Take Care,
    Jim

  • http://FreedomsProcess.com Elsie Roach

    The call was just what I expected. Can’t wait and am downloading all the info and going over it again and again. Am also going over all previous post and found the time manager. Just started using it also. Will be interesting to see where all my time goes. Just never seems to be enough of it. LOL So much excellent info on this site. Also have received several like offers, makes me real sad too. As there are so many hungry people out there and so many vultures just ready to scoop up their money and take them down the river. The voice of experience speeking here on that one. That is why I knew I had to make this investment, it felt right. Hugs Tenderspirit

  • http://www.10MinuteHowToGuides.com Jerold Johnson

    Rich,
    Excellent call amigo! Your Manifesto and Missing Chapter were ‘spot on’ as far as what I and many of my fellow I.M. have been struggling with Online.

    I am very excited about the possibility of losing this “part time job” I have added to my schedule and really grow a BUSINESS that is beyond just me and my capabilities.

    Thanks and God Bless,
    Jerold Johnson
    http://www.10MinuteHowToGuides.com

  • http://www.MrOrigano.com Dave Origano

    Hey Rich,

    your program looks great. Just finished listening to the recording, accompanied with your slides.

    Really looking forward diving into all the materials.

    Also, you said that in module two you’re going about discovering our strengths. That’s great because I don’t know how to find them exactly. So that’s a worry less!

    Many thanks again,

    -Dave

  • http://www.portalfeeder.com/blog Jason Katzenback

    This is good… this is very good!

    After reviewing the PDF’s and listening to the first call I already can see this is not going to be the ordinary.

    As successful as I may think I am, I can see how much more potential I have and I think Rich, you have the secret.

    This is going to be a fun ride!

  • Nathan

    A 126pg powerpoint for the first call! Sir, thank you so much, this is amazing.

  • http://www.highertrustmarketing.com Jeff

    Rich – in case I’m missing something, there is a challenge with the current setup. I’ve tried emailing Sheila direct, but not getting anywhere fast.

    I am a paid member to the 12-month program, yet don’t have a password to access the support system, which I keep being guided back to for support (you must see the irony here :-)

    I can’t seem to get the password that gets me into the support system that gets me the support that I seem to need.

    My registration was confirmed by Sheila, but somehow my email doesn’t seem to be in your system.

    Help man!!

    Jeff Smith

  • http://www.resultsrevolution.com Marianna Hayes

    Rich,

    I stumbled across your blog – and I love what you have to say. It sounds like you don’t have time right now, but I’d love to learn more about what you’ve got going on – I believe we have a lot of passion and true concern for small business owners in common. Kudos!

  • http://www.Listcast.com Sharon Tucci

    I had to miss the 12 month call today because of prior committments but I don’t see anywhere where we can download it?

  • Erik

    Rich,

    I would like to test an assumption ,hope you can clear it up.

    The paypal meltdown you describe seems to suggest that there was no capacity planning. A very basic concept in BPM.

    One of the most basic internet rookie mistakes is to get shut down by paypal because you failed to notify them of a new promotion.

    Can you give us some idea to your capacity planning and risk mitigation strategies for this launch. It would be a great story to hear how a guru like yourself does all the right moves yet still because a victim of email and payment gateway lock-down.

    Warm Regards

    Erik

    p.s. love to see your work in business process management coming in the mainstream!!