Red tape and where to stick it.

For the past six months, I have been following a news story about a young entrepreneur who is establishing a funky new entertainment outlet to be opened in time for the festive season. Their social media campaign is centered around visual storytelling, which is ideal, as pictures generally get 50% more likes on Facebook.

The story unfolds as the audience is let into the history of the building and company philosophy. Fans are encouraged to feedback on suggested menu items and we get an exclusive peek at architect drawings. My study of the page and fanbase reveals that the business does not simply have the approval of locals but the enthusiastic, indeed excited support of the local community.

Without a doubt everyone is looking forward to being the first to sample the locally sourced, fresh produce, washed down by a sparkling white on a fine Summers evening (not that we have had too many of them of late!!):

‘We need this,’ says one comment.

‘Hey, check this out, a great new venue, let’s go when it opens.’ says another post.

‘yesssssssssssssssss.’ says it all.

There is so much love and passion driving this business forward and that passion flows over to the group, as the page likes grow to over 4,000 in the space of a few weeks!

Everything is going so well, suggested opening dates begin to appear and then…BANG!

Red tape!

Reams and reams of the damn stuff. I won’t bore you with the details, but ultimately this is a set-back for the new venture, not devastating but problematic enough. We all know that the tape is necessary, but why oh why does it need to be so complex and time consuming and well such a killer of entrepreneurial spirit…But let’s not go there.

The point is, the very next day, as I reach for my iphone over breakfast, I see that the dust has not settled on this would be captain of industry’s dreams. Nope there it is:

‘Join us to show your support.’

I sign up straight away, applauding not only the downright determination of this proprietor, but his initiative as he collects my email to rally support and keep me updated, all the while building his client database – ingenious.

As business owners, we can all share in this story, we too live it, the good days, the bad and the outright amazing days, when everything comes together. We have the strength, perseverance and grit to show up every day – day in, day out, good and bad. We, like this determined business owner, never give up at the first sign of difficulty. Nope we rally the support of our people, our community and get to work!

The truth is, every business endeavour can only be achieved in increments, and some days that may just mean turning up and on others it may mean waking up to 4000 page likes!

So promise yourself and me, (otherwise I’ll hunt you down on twitter) that every day you will do something to further your plans and make positive steps to achieve your goals.

And if you need help setting off in the right direction, then sign up to our challenge.

*this is a work of faction.