When the Ford Motor Company was facing financial difficulties around the time of the Great Recession, Willie Jolley, Ph.D. was one of the men the automaker called on to avoid a financial bailout and turn the company around.
He worked with Ford for three years and, in 2009, Ford went on to billion-dollar profits.
[Related: 4 Emotional Takeaways from Speaker Hall of Famer Willie Jolley]
Jolley speaks globally with corporations such as Walmart, Verizon, Coca-Cola, and Prudential. He is also the host of the top-rated motivational show on Sirius XM, The Willie Jolley Wealthy Ways Show. He is known on the motivational speaker circuit as ‘American’s Comeback King.’ For many small business owners and entrepreneurs who might be struggling to find their way, Jolley, author of Turn Setbacks into Greenbacks, offers the following five tips.
- Stop commiserating: People who sit around and commiserate are the people who would rather complain about problems than do anything to fix them. We can complain about the dark or we can light a candle. Business is tough and doing it on your own is hard work. No matter where you are though, commiserating isn’t going to help.
- Don’t let your pride poison your prosperity: Some people feel that some work is beneath them, and that it would bring a stigma to them if people knew they were doing supposedly ‘demeaning’ work. Yet they are struggling to pay their bills. Stop trying to put up a facade of success and get real. The fact that you are taking a shot at the American dream and entrepreneurship is commendable and honorable.
- Stretch your financial goals this year: If you’re thinking small, you’re never going to make it. Start thinking about success in an uncommon way. Start thinking about making it big. Start dreaming about your bank account full of greenbacks.
- Keep trying: When faced with a challenging time in business, people will say, ‘I’ve tried everything.’ When I ask them if they have tried this or that, typically they will say, ‘No, I never thought about that.’ Grab a pen and paper and list all the things you can come up with. After you have exhausted your own thinking, ask other people in your network. Trust me, you haven’t thought of everything.
- Speak positivity into your business: Even when things have hit a rough spot or business is slow, you must speak positivity into your business and your life. For instance, never say, ‘I am desperate for work and I’m never going to make it.’ Instead, say, ‘I am an expert and very good at what I do. I do occasionally have some challenges, but so does everyone, and they are always temporary.’ What you speak is what you attract.