Have you ever heard the saying “Think Big be Big”? I first heard this from a good friend of mine who ran a very successful box business. Yes there really is such a thing, a set up box specialist. We were talking one day about my business and where I wanted to take it. He just casually said “Think big be big” then we continued on with our conversation. I have never forgotten it. The more I thought about it after that the deeper its meaning became to me.
I started thinking about the really big thinkers in the business arena. A couple names stuck out to me and one was Andrew Carnegie. He created US Steel. There’s a great documentary called “The men who built America” and I highly recommend you watch it. Carnegie is one of those men. When you look at the scope of what he accomplished you can’t help but be dumbfounded. The absolute massive scale of the things he created was impressive. He pioneered the industrial revolution. He thought bigger than big and made amazing things happen.
The same goes for Henry Ford, JP Morgan, Thomas Edison. All of these men were big thinkers. There seemed to be no limitations to what they could conceive and create. What was even more impressive was the speed at which they could accomplish it. They had factories and manufacturing plants go up almost overnight. They were able to saturate the market with their product and dominate their marketspace. Nothing seemed impossible to them. They were also handsomely rewarded for that big thinking too.
Now don’t confuse thinking big as relating only to big numbers, big real estate, big overhead, etc. Thinking big is also dominating your market space. It’s running your business with absolute efficiency and attention to detail. It’s unsurpassed customer service and product delivery. It’s a number one ranking on Google. It’s a well branded and user friendly website, it’s having an amazing social media outreach. It’s having the best, well trained employees.
That’s thinking big. That’s total commitment to your business. That is how you lay the groundwork for scaling your business to massive proportions. That is creating something that you can be proud of, not to mention having something of real value to “sell” to another potential owner. A lot of business owners tell themselves they want to “stay small” so they can control quality and keep things “manageable”. This often is code for “I really don’t know how to run a business.”
This is not a dig, it's just reality. Most owners are kind of stuck working IN their business and not ON their business. They haven’t found a way to step out from the day to day tasks so they can concentrate on dominating their market space. This is where things need to change for you if you find yourself in this position. Think Big be Big! I actually love this saying, there is so much power in its simplicity. I suppose it can work the other way too: “Think Small be Small.” I will tell you I see the second one way more in business than I see the first one. And usually it’s an unconscious thought process. It’s a major roadblock for a business owner. It’s a mindset that holds them back in most areas of their business. These of course are their own personal limiting beliefs. They’ve never allowed themselves to think bigger. Oh sure, they’ll get the rare moments when they’ll mutter “Sure would be nice to have a bigger business and make more money.” Then it’s right back to the same everyday things they were doing before the thought entered their mind. They don’t sit down and study HOW they can get what they really want. The saying “Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one fills up first” comes to mind. You have to take action if you want to change your situation. You have to get uncomfortable with where you’re at and be ready to stay uncomfortable for quite awhile when you Think Big.
It starts with delegation, then moves to efficiency, then value increase and customer service, right into marketing excellence and then profit increase and control. When you have all these factors attended to you then have a thriving business that can expand and grow to whatever level you desire.
I’m going to recommend again that you watch the entire documentary called the men who built America. Watch it through the business owner's lens. You’ll be marveled at what they did and you’ll also see your own potential to achieve greatness. I’m not saying everyone should be an Andrew Carnegie. I’m saying that you can think without limits. Imagine if you grew your business 10x what it is now. Isn’t that thinking big? Even if you just stopped there, what would your life look like then? For others you might want to 10x your 10x time and again. Lifting your limits is where Think Big be Big can take root and produce amazing results for you and your business.
Thinking big is really just dominating your market space and perfecting your business. I can reasonably say we all want that for our businesses right? Focus on these things and you’ll see your business begin to transform into the business you first dreamed of when you opened the doors. You’ll start to create something of real value. Something that can be envied and desired by others. A business that someone would write a very large check to own. By the way, that person who will write that large check for your business, will be another person who knows how to “Think Big be Big.”
