11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Michael Dell

1. Think Big - In college, Michael Dell said he wanted to "beat IBM." While you may not desire to take your small business to such heights, be sure not to limit what you might achieve.

2. Draw Your Own Map - Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson?each took a different approach to doing better what someone else was doing. Blaze your own trail to success.

3. Learn From Mistakes - Every company makes big ones - including Dell - and the best use mistakes as opportunities to grow and improve their people, products and services.

4. Simplify - Great leaders have a great ability to break big things into small parts. Share your vision and the steps for getting there with your small business team?in language they understand.

5. Read - Michael Dell said, "Just work to understand the world around you. Read books. Read websites. Read other people...then build a vision of how it could all be better?"

6. Open New Doors - Dell continues to innovate?offering cameras, printers, MP3 players, TVs and other electronics. Look for ways to increase what you provide current and future customers.

7. Cultivate Relationships - "There's no such thing as a self-made success," Michael Dell said. The best opportunity you have to grow your small business is by widening your network.

8. Seek Harmony - Michael Dell is married with four children, and, when asked about his legacy, said, "That this is a guy who was a great dad and a great husband."

9. Strategize - With 40,000 employees, Michael Dell admits his ability to impact any other area besides strategy is relatively small. Take time to think about the direction of your small business, because no one knows how to get there better than you.

10. It's All About Winning - Not about victory over opponents, Michael Dell said; it's about winning the "contest with your own potential" to achieve all you can in life.

11. Don't Be The Smartest Person In The Room - "And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people?or find a different room," said Michael Dell. Surround yourself with talented people.

Copyright © 2005 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (www.successhandler.com">http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there - as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.

RELATED ARTICLES

---

Wealth Building Scams
I have some good news and I have some bad news. First the good news.

---

The Seven Secrets of Top Performers
Let's put to rest the fallacy that success, in sales or any profession, is due to luck, chance, and/or hard work. There is nothing further from the truth.

---

7 Secrets to Writing Inventory Procedures
What would You do with $1,000,000With $1 Million would you:? Pay off debt?? Purchase new equipment?? Invest/save for the future?? Give yourself a bonus?$1,000,000 Waiting in the WingsWhat do you and your business need that you have been putting off because you don't have the money today? $1,000,000 certainly would fill those needs. But where do you find $1,000,000 just lying around your business right now? Well, you probably have $250,000 in each of four areas in your everyday business, and you don't even realize it.

---

10 Nifty Tips for Better Business Cards
Not having a business card is as bad as using an eMail address that ends in AOL.com It's just not professional.

---

Top Ten Reasons to Write a Sales Letter for Each Product? - Part 2
Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know their products.

---

Ten Tips to Build a Culture of Inspirational Leadership
Leadership, leadership development and leadership training are "Hot" issues in today's business world. A recent Internet search uncovered over 44 million hits on leadership, over 20 million hits on leadership development and 15.

---

10 Tips to Successfully Use Business Networking as a Marketing Strategy
Networking is probably the best way to build a profitable business, or sales pipeline over the long term. Many of us understand the value of networking, but we don't always know the best way to go about it.

---

10 Great E-Commerce Businesses You Can Start Now
If you've been thinking of starting a business on the web but you're not sure what type of business to start then this article is for you. You could be wasting valuable time trying to make your first move.

---

How to Become an Expert in Your Niche Business
What is a niche business? A niche business is one that caters to the common needs and interests of a focused group of people. For instance, people who play golf forms a niche market and people who are golf instructors form an even tighter and smaller niche.

---

Surviving When Clients Arent Rolling In
As the holiday season starts to settle in, the workload for many Micro-Businesses can slow down.Service-based businesses in particular consider this a slow time of the year.

---

10 E-mail Organization Tips
Who doesn't have issues with organizing their inbox!? I receive close to 600 e-mail each day due to the variety of activities and contacts I have online. Some I am truly interested in their content - most I am not.

---

Seven Steps to Achieving Your Dream
"Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to carry out the mundane." -- Chris WidenerCan achievement be broken down into steps? Well, it isn't always that clean and easy, but I do know that those who achieve great things usually go through much of the same process, with many of the items listed below as part of that process.

---

The Top 10 Reasons Businesses Succeed
Only one of every 5 businesses makes it to its 5th year, and fewer still make it to 10 years. What do the successful businesses have in common?1.

---

No More Lists To Remember
Are the endless lists of Top-7's and Top-10's taxing your brain and your memory? Do you ever feel like trying to keep all these ideas straight, let alone apply them properly at the correct moment in time an overwhelming chore? How often do you find yourself having to review these lists? Perhaps endlessly until the next list comes out and then it's back to square one again.Wouldn't you rather live, work and be spontaneously effective, without having to pull out your "how to" lists? Just imagine for a moment beng able to live this way.

---

Tips to Starting your Own Busniess
The 9-to-5 grind can make you feel like a just another cog in the corporate machine, constantly punching the clock for someone else's vision.  One day, while dreaming of the world outside the cubicle, you have your big "Eureka!" moment-you've come across an idea so perfect that you need to start your own business around it.

---

10 Things To Ask Your Accountant
This is a quick checklist of a few things that you, as a new business, should expect to ask your accountant (or potential accountant).1.

---

How To Finally Unlock Your True Potential And Discover The Secret To Lasting Success
Did you know that there is one critical difference between average businesses and super-successful businesses?Many of the success experts who are quoted time and time again refer to this one common characteristic as the big differentiator between being mediocre and actually unlocking your true potential.Take a look at the following popular quotes and see if you can identify the common thread that ties them all together.

---

7 Reasons Why Training Doesn't Produce the Desired Results and What You Can Do To
Seven Reasons Why Training Doesn't Produce the Desired Results and What You Can Do To Improve Your Results OverviewAbraham Maslow said, "If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail."  As managers, leaders and change agents, we want to improve our organizational performance.

---

7 Reasons You ARE Your Own Best Product, or Lessons From the 2004 Presidential Election
The 2004 election is over--at least in the minds of the public--and analysis runs rampant as to why Senator John Kerry lost. From a business viewpoint, one could say that he simply didn't sell the product.

---

10 High-Impact Viral Marketing Strategies
Viral Marketing is allowing people to giveaway and use your f.ree product or service in order to multiply your marketing quickly over the internet.