Hope is what drives us. 

It can take many forms.  

You hope for a better working life.

You hope your business survives the pandemic. 

You hope for freedom. 

You hope to make a difference. 

But hopes can be quickly dashed. 

56% of businesses fail within the first five years.  

To succeed you need more than hope, you need certainty. But how can you find that in such an uncertain world? You need to take steps to decrease the uncertainty and raise your levels of hope. 

You hope it won’t rain. By taking an umbrella you can be certain of not getting wet.  

You hope the restaurant you’ve booked is going to be okay. By checking reviews, you can increase the level of certainty your meal will be good. 

You hope your weight will go down. By reducing calories and taking exercise you vastly increase the level of certainty your waistline will decrease. 

To move from hope to certainty, involves action. It involves planning. It involves preparation. The same is true in business. There are many times when owners fail to get the thing they hoped for because they weren’t prepared. They didn’t put in the groundwork. They didn’t have the money in place. They didn’t have the right people around them. They didn’t have a coherent strategy.  

The more you leave to chance the more chance you have of things going wrong. The opposite is also true. The more attention you pay to being prepared, the stronger position you put yourself in. Even in difficult times, like we’re experiencing right now, there are positive actions you can take to vastly improve the odds in your favour. 

By having a robust, meaningful strategy you can ensure your business is well-placed to deal with problems your facing and take advantage when the market improves. That also means putting the strategy into place. There’s no point in having an umbrella and leaving it at home every time you go out. Sooner or later you’re going to get wet.  

By having a mentor, you can have a fresh perspective on your business, and what you need to do to overcome areas of weakness. It’s no surprise that nearly all of the world’s top entrepreneurs have mentors. They know they don’t have all the answers, and are prepared to listen to outside advice. 

By analysing your data correctly, you can plan with confidence. It’s no good glancing once a month at the numbers. You need to dig deep to unearth what the numbers are really telling you. 

By having the right technology in place you can get the results you need faster and more efficiently. The business world is moving ever more quickly. You need to be up to speed. 

Neil Laughton.  

To move from hope to certainty someone we can highly recommend is Neil Laughton. Neil is an award-winning entrepreneur, international conference speaker and world record-breaking adventurer. Here’s proof that Neil’s approach works. His company has just won an award from the Global Business Awards – Most inspirational leadership development consultancy 2020 – England.  

Laughton & Co is a company which helps individuals and organisations create the best strategies for growth and profitability, improving leadership and management skills, as well as developing happy and high performing teams. And what better place to learn these skills than a five-acre site in the South Downs National Park, on the River Adur in Brighton & Hove. Hosted by Neil, this unique venue can be used for off-site meetings, team development training, and fun adventure challenges. Facilities include an open-plan building, break-out spaces, fire-pit area and a 12-metre swimming pool. What better place to help build your business and find the certainty you’re looking for? 

If you’d like to know more, please contact info@laughton.co 

Don’t hope for the best. Plan for it.