The Smart Kids

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The Smart Kids – Classifications

In a discussion yesterday with two of my best marketing friends, after some craziness on our part, the discussion turned serious. 

We started to evaluate our past experience and the reason; we all started our own business and The WHY behind our decision to do so.

As we talked, I flashed back to almost forty years ago. I started my career as a high school teacher. I had high hopes for not only myself but my students as well.

It didn’t take me very long to discover that if I could reach and help just a few students that were about as good as it was going to get.

Not exactly what I had hoped for!

Most students fell into four categories:

Exceptional Smart Kids – They pushed themselves to success without little or no help from anyone.

Average Smart Kids – These found it fairly easy to get thru school with a little success along the way. Many were you B/C students, doing just enough to keep parents and others off their back.

Slightly below average Smart Kids – These were the students that teacher had a chance to reach. They had to struggle to get any success at all and every little success was a triumph.

It was fairly easy for teachers to deal with each of these types of students but there was a four category that I personally found hard to take.

Lazy Smart Kids – I must admit this class of student drove me crazy.  You may recognize this person as well. The one, who had all the potential in the world but just didn’t care, took the easiest classes just to get to skate thru. They got good grades but never challenged themselves to go higher or to do more.

The Smart Kids – where are they now?

Here it is thirty plus years later, the arena is different but it seems as though the classification are still the same.  It seems that in the world of business, marketing, and entrepreneurial ship, nothing has changed over the course of time.

Those smart kids back then are the parents and grandparents of today’s families and children of our world.

The scary part for me is how much the world has changed and yet how little the smart kids have. The definitions have changed a little bit, but not really all that much.

Exceptional Business Owners – Just like before this group makes decisions quickly based on risk and reward. When they commit on a path of operation, they are totally focused on success.They account for around 2 % of those in the business arena.

Average Business Owners – Like their counterparts they are successful enough to keep their business afloat but usually they are one mishap away from disaster. They make decisions slowly and many times need more than the usual risk/reward ratio to act on anything.

Slightly below average Business Owners – This group of business owners must work harder than all the above. They must spend all their time and energy on the task at hand. In many cases they are the business, the owner and the worker all wrapped up into one. Decisions will come very slowly, but any help that you can offer will be accepted. Be patient with these owners..

Lazy Business Owners – These are those that believe that there is a push button to instant success with the least amount of work.They can be successful business owners, but in most cases it has little or nothing to do with them. They will make decisions quickly but only if the results are just as quick. Remember their whole objective is to succeed without working hard at all.

The Smart Kids – Recap

There are many different ways to describe people and how they fit into the puzzle we call business. It really can give you insight into current or future business owners that you will deal with building your own business.

With a few well placed questions in your discussing with clients, you can come very close to classifying the person. Knowing this will dictate the direction you should precede.

Obviously this is only the tip of the iceberg into clients personalities and their decision making process.

The better you can get at evaluating your clients, the better your chances of success will be.

Please let me know if this has been any help to you?

Robert Dill (fortmyersbob)

P.S. Here is some homework, If you care too?

• · Opened a new FB fan page – Like my page for daily information
• · Visit my Blog for additional content and value at:/Fortmyersbob/blog
• · At the top click the link, do your research.