Auckland, New Zealand -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/22/2017 -- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics report revealed earlier this year that small businesses are failing at an alarming rate and the single biggest reason, says international bestselling author Ed Ludbrook, is that they lack vision.

The bestselling business author of 100% Confidence, Ludbrook was responding to news that US businesses surviving past the first year had dropped from 569,419 in 1994 to just 106,789 in 2016.

Bureau of Labor Statistics' says the top reasons are cash flow problems (82%), no market for products or services (42%), run out of cash (29%), don't have the right team (23%) and out-competed (19%).

'Things like being "outcompeted" are not reasons, they're symptoms,' says the author who has sold 2 million books on building high-performance communities and networks to pioneer new industries and products. "The real reason is that most small and micro businesses lack vision and purpose, so they start-up for all the wrong reasons.

'There's the 'hot face' moment when you start up a business. It's all enthusiasm and inspiration, but inspiration doesn't carry you through – inspiration has no stamina. Even goals evolve, and confidence evolves too, but vision endures.'

Ludbrook, who has seen countless micro-business owners fail says the difference between the minority who win through and the vast majority that don't, is that the few have a purpose, passion, a dream; a big WHY.

'The right way to start is to begin by asking yourself what inspires you beyond making money? Vision is your motivation, and motivation is a process.

'In my experience, less than 5% of people have natural motivation. The rest of us need a vision so that we can pay the price of success because success has a cost, and that cost is hard work, late nights and persistence in the face of failure and setbacks."

Ludbrook offers seven steps to creating an enduring vision for small and micro-businesses:

1. Your vision must be compelling. It must excite you. It must make you hot in the face. It shouldn't be based on what's nice or right or what other people think – your vision must make your blood race.

2. Verbalize your vision with one concept. For example, 'freedom' or 'family'.

3. Expand your vision with sub-concepts, e.g. The freedom to make my own choices.

4. Your vision must be congruent. It has to be believable to you. Going into space with Richard Branson at the age of 55 is congruent; setting your sights on becoming an astronaut at 55, isn't.

5. The vision can start with you. It can be personal and selfish, e.g. to set my family up for life. Eventually, it will evolve and become about other people.

'My vision is legacy,' says Ludbrook. I want to impact people and future generations.'

6. Your vision must have 'Heaven' and 'Hell' in it. In other words, your vision must take in what you want (Heaven) and what you want to escape (Hell).

7. Your vision must be driven by basic needs. Basic needs, those found on the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, are the most powerful. For example, belonging, and security.

"Once you have written down your vision you can go and create your story. Put it all down on a vision board and work from there," says Ludbrook.

About Ed Ludbrook
Ed Ludbrook Has sold more than two million books and audios, in more than 20 languages, on the subject of building high-performance communities and networks that pioneer new industries and products.

His focus is strategy, systems and leadership in the network marketing sector and is the recipient of a number of awards, including FTSE Company of Year, UK OFEX company of the year and NZTE Biotech Exporter of the Year.

Ludbrook's current passion is the booming area of crypto-coins and blockchain techs, where he plans to build the world's largest crypto-investor community.

CONTACT:
Name: Ed Ludbrook
Tel: +64 021 320011
Email: ed@dacxi.com
https://www.ludbrook.com/

Sources: https://www.fastcompany.com/40435072/this-is-the-state-of-small-business-failure-in-the-u-s

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/us-small-and-micro-businesses-failing-because-they-lack-vision-says-bestselling-author-ed-ludbrook-907516.htm

Auckland, New Zealand -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/13/2017 -- Many small to micro business owners will continue to be vulnerable to outside factors which are beyond their control, such as legislation and competition, because they lack something as simple as personal confidence.

Commenting on the concept of 'business confidence' as an index, international bestselling author of more than two million books on network marketing, Ed Ludbrook, said one of the most important lessons he has learned is that confidence is the single most important determinant of success in any business sector.

"Fortunately, confidence is a direct result of competence," said Ludbrook.

The award-winning network marketing business author and coach – whose books on building high-performance communities and networks to pioneer new industries and products has been translated into more than 20 languages – will certainly be felt by a sector he helped pioneer.

Asked about some of the most important lessons he has learned from working with small and micro-sized businesses at home and overseas, Ludbrook said taking direct, massive urgent action almost always leads to business success, but too many business owners lack the motivation that comes from confidence.

"Confidence – not self-belief because I don't believe there is any such thing as self-belief – releases motivation, and motivation turns into action. The thing is, it's normal to lack confidence; to be skeptical.

"After more than 20 years of working with countless business owners in the network marketing sector, I believe that just two percent of people have the confidence to take massive urgent action, and yet we take all our lessons from their successes because they're the ones everybody hears and reads about. But they're not normal."
 
Ludbrook said he called the other 98 percent of people 'intrapreneurs' because they are naturally more introverted and need a system to give them the confidence.
 
"There are three types of confidence. Number one is inspiration, which is that you believe you can. This belongs to two-percenters. Number two is the confidence that comes from results because it shows you that 'hey, I can actually do this' and then there's the confidence that comes from competence.

"If you're a small or micro-business owner who wants to succeed – and by that, I mean earn a six-figure income, rather than a million dollars or more because that's rare – then you need to get more skills because it's only in becoming competent at something, that most of us find the confidence to take appropriate action."

Ludbrook said competence-based confidence is a result of personal development and skills-based learning, which many small and micro-business owners ignore or don't make enough time to do.

He offers three steps which can help business owners take action and take charge rather than becoming subject to the vagaries of what the Government or international markets are doing.
 
1. Build structure into the business.

"McDonald's works because it runs on a system. Without structured systems and processes, you're always going be chasing your tail."

2. Never stop learning.

"Skills-based learning and professional development gives you the confidence to do something. The more you learn, the more capable of taking massive, urgent action you become."

3. Get a coach.

"A coach isn't there to do the work for you. A coach's job is to help you learn the necessary skills; to get competent so that you can take action.

"Rather than focus on money and numbers during your incompetent phase, the focus should be on discovering your business through learning," Ludbrook said.

The bestselling author and business consultant said he plans to turn his attention to crypto-coins and blockchain techs moving forward.

For more information visit https://www.ludbrook.com/.

About Ed Ludbrook
Ed Ludbrook Has sold more than two million books and audios, in more than 20 languages, on the subject of building high-performance communities and networks that pioneer new industries and products.

His focus is strategy, systems, and leadership in the network marketing sector and is the recipient of a number of awards, including FTSE Company of Year, UK OFEX company of the year and NZTE Biotech Exporter of the Year.

Ludbrook's current passion is the booming area of crypto-coins and blockchain techs, where he plans to build the World's Largest Crypto-Investor community.

CONTACT:
Name: Ed Ludbrook
Tel: +64 021 320011
Email: ed@dacxi.com
https://www.ludbrook.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/small-and-micro-business-owners-need-to-improve-skills-says-retiring-bestselling-author-ed-ludbrook-903720.htm