[Sales & Marketing] Turtles in a Forest Fire

If you’ve ever walked through the woods after a forest fire, one thing you notice is lots of scorched turtle shells.

I was discussing the current bad economic times with a small business owner the other day and he told me his business was definitely starting to feel the heat. He said, “It’s affecting everybody.” And I said, “Duh.”

This declining economy certainly is affecting everyone, especially small business owners. And as I constantly interview them and observe how they confront the situation, it is clear to me that we are like turtles in a forest fire. We have two choices: 1) We can pull in our heads, necks and feet and tighten up and wait for the fire to come and cook us, or; 2) We can stick our necks out and run like hell in a different direction and make every possible effort to avoid the flames. Not surprisingly, it’s mostly this second group that you see out crawling around after the fire is gone.

It‘s a fact that a turtle can only stand so much heat. The problem is…it doesn’t come natural for turtles to run from trouble. Their natural inclination is to pull in their necks and feet and sit tight and ride it out. They just don’t like to stick their necks out at all. It makes them vulnerable. It’s taking a big chance.

After all, conventional wisdom says a running turtle is easy prey, but I disagree. Could it be this is one reason why 82 percent of small businesses fail within the first two years? Could it be this is why the vast majority of those that do survive the first two years are reduced to burnt turtle shells by the end of year five?

When I think about folks like Donald Trump, Sam Walton, Mrs. Fields, Charles Schwab, Colonel Sanders, Mary Kay, J.C. Penney, Walt Disney, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and the endless list of other successful entrepreneurs whose names have become synonymous with outrageous success, I notice that they all have one thing in common. They didn’t pull in their necks and feet and tighten up and wait for the fire to come and overtake them. Nope. They all stuck their necks out, laid their money on the line and moved forward like hell. They made something good happen!

And they each survived many a forest fire in their time. (And the funny thing is, many of them began their most successful ventures during economic recessions and depressions while all of their friends and associates strongly advised them against it!)

Recently, I attended a seminar in Alpharetta, Ga. The speaker was an expert on “How to Use the Internet to Market Your Business.” A couple of folks were there from Augusta, Ga. They left their business and drove 150 miles to attend a seminar in order to learn something new that would help them grow their business. They are running turtles. They will be out crawling around after most of the others burn up!

If you think you can suck it up and sit tight and weather the storm, more power to you. Some of you will make it, but very few indeed. The ones who come through this with flying colors will be the ones who dare to stick their necks out and forge ahead. The winners will be the ones who ignore the naysayers and pessimists and open their hearts and minds to new ideas and new direction. The trendsetters will be the ones who lay their butts and their money on the line and forge ahead with self-confidence and vision and fortitude.

The ones who keep saying, “I’m gonna do that as soon as ...”; or, “Wait till I get my ducks in a row”; or, “I know I need to do that, but __.” Yea, but __, yea, but __, yea, but __.

Those folks will end up being yesterday’s fried turtle shells!

Just food for thought (no pun intended). Now, go out there and stick your neck out and make something good happen for YOU.

The author, a former pest management professional, is an industry marketing consultant and the author of “The Networking Ninja Handbook.” He can be reached at hcoleman@giemediia.com.