My parents instilled a strong work ethic in our family. To this day, every time my mom hears that I am heading off to work she says, “Work hard and make lots of money.” Whether it was to leave the house for my first lawn mowing job or to fly to New York to negotiate a new contract for my company, she would repeat the phrase, “Work hard and make lots of money.”
Over the years I always worked hard, but I rarely made the windfall she predicted. And it wasn't until very recently I learned that there was a simple flaw in her philosophy. Her intentions were good, but her execution was off on one fundamental point... Working hard is not the way to make lots of money. Sure it seems correct, but working smart, not just working hard, is the key success.
Believe me, I have been running small business and working hard for over 20 years (and I mean really hard, as in 18 - 24 hour work days and over 100 hour work weeks), and no matter how many hours I worked, there was always more to do. It wasn't until recently that I learned that working effectively is more important than working hard.
I now believe that as an entrepreneur, if you truly want to achieve success you need to implement steps to make you, your employees and your company more effective. By working smart you can increase sales, productivity and quality. And over the last few years, I have learned some fantastic lessons, and implemented some great tools, that have helped me and my company work smarter and more effectively, and have allowed us to make more money.
This weblog is my way to document the things I have learned and the steps I have taken to "Work smart and make lots of money." If you are an entrepreneur, or just someone who would like to learn how to work smarter, I hope you find this site helpful.
