Scars acceptable when fighting on battleground of business

Dale Shumaker has formed "The Business Partner Resource Network," and writes about surviving the business battleground.

"Show them your scars" was the advice Jack Stack from Springfield Remanufac-turing Company gave to me more than 10 years ago. People relate to you when they know you've been there.

"Failure in business is not a crime. Learn from it," said Joe Jenkins of Jenkins Diesel. Survival in business is a learning-by-doing experience.

Every day is a "great day with new opportunities" advised City Councilman and former home builder Ralph Manley. If you learn from every day and look for opportunity in all experiences, you'll keep increasing your odds for success.

Manley pointed out that close to 80 percent of businesses fail. But with vision, inspiration, research, education and a willingness to listen, a business owner can increase the odds for success.

Back to Stack, when I told him about my business struggles (which included leaving one business because of a health problem, experiencing a hostile takeover in another, going broke and having to rebuild) he pointed out that this is where you learn and have the opportunity to find the right solutions.

Jenkins echoed the same sentiments. In business, failure is many times your ally.

If you can learn from your failure and use it to find out what will work, it is one of the best business training programs you can take.

From my own scars, I have learned the following about business survival:

Street-wise wisdom

Assume you know nothing Talk to everyone to get advice and ideas, especially business owners. Ask your potential customers their ideas for doing business with them.

Self-confidence is good, but overconfidence will ruin you.

Ask for help Be humble and ask for help from those who can help you. Don't think you're big enough. Business loves to eat up the ones who think they're big enough to make it on their own.

Forget the "independent success" stuff. You need help from as many people as you can get.

Create networks As you ask for help, create relationships with those who have proven to be most helpful.

Create pockets of contacts that will refer business to you, and find ways to reward them.

Get in their face Face-to-face marketing is most effective.

The more personal visits you can make to potential customers/clients, the more of them will do business with you. The more personal visits you make to existing customers, the more business they will do with you and introduce to you.

Have a lot of money or friends Always keep looking for money to build your business.

If you don't have money, make a lot of friends. Friend-capital works great. When you have money, use it to make more friends.

Spend little, spend slowly and trade Watch overhead. Be virtual and outsource. Use companies as suppliers who can work with you on terms. Don't worry about "looking successful" be successful. To save cash flow, work out strategic trade arrangements.

Think through everything Everyone has a marvelous brain. If you use all of it you can figure out almost everything. Think through everything. Most problems can be solved with an idea you can make work.

Use brain capital. Trust your brain always believe in its genius, then add other's great ideas to your great ideas.

Plan strategically, revise Create a working business plan "strategically" for you.

Use your strengths and resources strategically. That's how David nailed Goliath. Revise continually.

Take action Keep doing something even if it's not perfect. In doing it, you'll get closer to perfection.

Mistakes are OK along the way until you make it work. (Again, see mistakes as your business education classroom.) Think, evaluate, make better.

Be bold Big problems take bold solutions. Big problems make you be bolder. They are good for you as they build the level of boldness you'll need in what you do.

Pray Most get to a point where they finally say, "OK, God, help." Then something great happens. You ask yourself, "why haven't I been doing this all along."

The late Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft once advised me, "Spirit creates matter." With faith, vision, plus belief, what we dream may materialize through unexpected avenues.

The businessperson's best friend is God and the Bible.

Survival in business is many times based on staying with it long enough or making the right adjustments soon enough. Believe in what you're doing that keeps you going.

Business is a battle. You'll be wounded and have scars, but it toughens the business warrior in you. Victory may lie ahead, and now you have been conditioned for the fight.