Archive for the ‘Passion’ Category

Adriaaaaaaaaaaaaan ……!

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Don't give up....

Don't give up....

I love Rocky Balboa ! I admit it.

Not the last movies but the earliest ones, where he’s young and hungry and the iconic moment when he shouts Adriaaaaaaan ! Ah, iconic cinema moments (and I’m a girl !)

So what do I love about Rocky? Simple, he doesn’t give up – He’s a survivor, and he keeps pushing through when all the odds are against him, but he’s totally determined and victory is sweeter because everything was against him !

Is there a bigger icon of triumph over adversity ?  I don’t think so !

So many times in life we get kicked in the bum and its hard to pick ourselves up time after time and remember what we started the damn business for in the first place…..?

To be our own bosses ….

To sell beautiful things we love ….

To set our own hours ….

To create something ….

Whatever your reason was, come Monday mornings it’s sometimes hard to hold onto the dream, so this is for everyone that doesn’t give in, that keeps pushing, learning new stuff when they feel a hundred years old, sorting out staff dilemmas and schedules, finding new suppliers, creating new displays and generally motivating everyone around them and keeping the spark alive.

Lets celebrate that we’re all still here !

Its enough of a reason, we don’t need fireworks and a band, lets just acknowledge that we’re fighters (maybe not as fierce as Rocky) but with the same determination !

Admit it now, how many of you have got “eye of the tiger” on your gym i-pod mix… I thought so !

In case you’re in need of a little pick me up this Monday morning… here’s the words to Eye of the Tiger to get you in the mood for a totally kicking week !

Risin’ up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive

So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the cream of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all in the eye of the tiger

Survivor, Eye of the Tiger

Cinderella and retail !

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Cinderella and retail

Cinderella and retail

We all know the story of Cinderella, its an inspiring and heartwarming story. But any idealised version of what we should do, doesn’t really come close to how it really is, or even how it might evolve as time goes on.

To continue the Cinderella analogy, we all want to find our Prince Charming, and put on the beautiful glass slipper and live the fairy tale. We all want the love story !

But idealised love and real love are not the same thing, just as the idea of having a shop and the reality of having a shop are not the same thing.

Falling in love is easy, putting on the glass slipper is easy, but being in love is harder and making it work day after day, year after year is much harder. Sustaining the dream is the difficult part.

Getting the keys to your first shop is usually surprisingly easy, fitting it out and choosing the products is exciting, but it’s just the beginning, not the end.

Getting a shop is the easy part, like putting on the glass slipper. The rest takes hard work – hard work to sustain the enthusiasm, motivate the staff, check on the competition, find new and exciting products, keep up to date on new trends and market your business.

Just like the Cinderella story, someone missed out on telling us that life can be unfair, big local businesses can close, town centres can evolve, and not in a good way, competition can open up next door, and economies don’t always work in your favour.

So, what are we to do ? The only option is to choose it the way it is…. After all it isn’t any different to how it is. Then go to work on making it the way we’d like it to be and that’s a serious business decision.

True love is not a temporary thing, it comes with time, it’s not a Cinderella story. It’s a story of commitment, and doing the little things well, with a light heart, not because you have to do them, because you want to do them.

Naturally it’s the same for owning a shop and running a shop. Most of the hard work is behind the scenes, but its vital, and its vital that you maintain your passion for your business, because when the passion starts to fade it’s obvious to everyone……