Martell and Melody S. Holt of Holt and Holt Entrepreneurship in Huntsville, Ala. (Photo by: Chanda Temple)
By Chanda Temple
How good are you at what you do? Are you so good that if a consumer approached one of your competitors, the competition would send them your way because they knew you were the best?
It may seem like a far-fetched concept but there’s nothing wrong in wanting this for your business. It only helps you grow, according to Melody S. Holt of Holt and Holt Entrepreneurship, which she runs with her husband, Martell, in Huntsville, Ala.
Such advice is what she shared this weekend as one of the speakers at the Sixth Annual Hair and Health Expo in Birmingham. She opened up her speech with “Are you hungry for success?” Turns out people were. Here are six nuggets she served piping hot …
Redefine family.
When starting a business, it’s easy to go to immediate family for support. But what does family really look like to you? Could it be someone who’s not a relative. Now is the time to redefine what family really means to you. “Family” are those individuals ready to push you, encourage you and support you. They are not there to drain you and stress you. True “family” brings you joy and not worry.
Make alliances in business.
At an early age, we are conditioned to think that people who do the same thing we do is the enemy. This is wrong. Make friends. It’ll be good for you and your business.
Don’t just try to be good at something. Be great.
Don’t be better. Be the best. When you can say you are the best, competition doesn’t matter because you are already on top.
Melody S. Holt
Own your entire lane.
When you start out in business, you will have to do menial jobs to keep the business going. For Meldoy and her husband, that meant cleaning out or flushing out toilets as they rehabbed houses early in their construction career. That was their lane for a little while. But they kept at it to build the business. Eventually, bigger things came for them. Today, they run a multi-million construction company. But know this: While they were owning their own lane, they had to do things to keep it. For Melody, that involved late-night reading, research,, etc. to get better at what she was already doing.
Be proactive instead of reactive.
If you find yourself always having to put out fires, examine why that’s happening. Could you establish a plan to forecast when something may go awry and how you or your company will handle it? Dousing the flames can be mentally and spiritually draining. When you are drained and running a business, you can lose focus. Remember this: A CEO should focus on growing the company instead of putting out fires.
Have a spiritual game that’s on point.
Ask God to show you and guide you.
Melody S. Holt says that you should be so good at something that no one should be able to come in and take anything from you. (Photo by: Chanda Temple)
Chanda Temple is a veteran reporter now working in public relations. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chandatemple and on Instagram at @chandatemple.