Bruce Outridge

Lock In and You May be Locking Yourself Out!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Bruce

Have you ever been on your way to a meeting, been in a hurry to get there, and then boom, a traffic jam? This has happened to most of us at one time or another and this morning was no different. I was hurrying to a meeting with a fairly large client of mine thinking I had lots of time when boom, the highway signs ahead of me showed all lanes closed ahead at my exit. What do I do now was the first question, thankfully I was on a highway that wasn’t closed, but the one that was closed was the one I wanted to be on. At first I was glad that I had at least kept my options open and had alternate ways to go, so I was able to bypass the confusion. In the end I made my meeting on time and was glad that trip planning had paid off, yet again. For any transport driver trip planning is the first thing that should be perfected and most certainly is extremely important for making money and delivering goods in an efficient manner.

What about for business? How many of us keep our options open for business and leave room for opportunities to develop. Many may think we do but often we shut the doors on opportunity before the right formula develops to succeed. You may have heard statistics that say many businesses fail within five years. Often that’s because they don’t leave the door open long enough to develop their products or services properly. I have some products where I started the process and then have put them on hold, the idea may not have been strong enough. In my gut I get a feeling that I know they will work, but now may not have been the right time for the product or service, or maybe the marketing plan wasn’t quite right. I already know I am the type of person that likes to jump in with both feet so I am willing to take the risk much of the time. I never want to be someone that wondered what if? What if it hadn’t tanked, what if it worked? Of course the amount you are willing to invest in a project will also define the time the project may live before being shelved. A few simple rules can help to keep your options open.

Never start a business on one product only, make sure that product can be developed into other products or services to develop complete lines. Focus on the business and add product or service lines as required or opportunities are found. Keep products or services in editing mode until you are sure you have a hit. This way the basis of a product can be used for another item if the planned one doesn’t work out. This way you will beat the odds and keep your options open for success.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an author, artist, consultant, and speaker. For more information please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Your Belief System Starts with You!

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Bruce

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We all go through ups and downs in life and sometimes staying positive is very hard to do, however the only person that can keep you motivated is you. I do my best to be positive and even I get down, but I am doing what I love and I have put myself in that position. I enjoy entrepreneurship even with the hardships that it brings. Over time I have met some people who feel a little less enthusiastic about their positions however and wonder if they know how they present to the industry they are in.

In the transportation industry there is a great driver shortage that will be no small feat to get over. A few of the recruiters in that industry however are very negative about owner operators yet their job is to recruit them to their company. How do you become enthusiastic to bring someone into your organization if you don’t believe the applicant will be successful once in place? Owner operator opportunities are plentiful right now so someone negative against those opportunities will have problems hiring people in that area.

If you have something similar going on in your workplace realize the only person that can change your way of thinking is you. If your job is to do something that you truly don’t believe in then you are best to get out of that position or find the benefits of it. Maybe you don’t understand the owner operator position and need to find out the positive of the position so you can be more enthusiastic when explaining it. Your attitude comes through even when you think you are hiding your disbelief. If your position works directly opposite of your belief system it may be time for a new position.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a transportation consultant and author of the book Running By The Mile. For more information on Bruce and his programs please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Join Forces, Lets Stamp Out the Bad!

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Bruce

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If you’re like me right now you are pissed at the world, Too much devastation, too much demolition, too much hurting each other. I used to love old sci-fi movies, they would show a world devastated by aliens, or in some cases humans themselves. Usually it was because of some chemical that got into the water. Some times our world was just taken over by aliens with better technology. Normally humans would save the world and make everything come out all right. That world seemed so far away, something that wouldn’t ever come into play. My thinking has been changed lately by the devastation happening in the world, the latest incident in Boston really got me. My Mother is a marathon runner and although she wasn’t in Boston that could have been any marathon and that could have been any finish line. Enough is enough! It is time to take our world back, it’s getting to the point where you can’t take someone to the movies in case you’re shot by some nut-bar, you can’t push yourself in case the finish line is bombed, and you can’t let your kids go to school in case assassins show up that day. Enough is enough!

If you like sports consider this the playoffs, if you like humanity consider this a call to action, it is time to take back the wonderful world that we know. We can drown out the news of gunfire, we can take back our communities by doing the right thing!

Here is what you do, I want you to take a page from the movie Pay it Forward, lets drown the world in kindness. What if we were to do one nice thing per day for someone, even if it is just a smile, just be kind to someone, if you can help make someone’s day better then do it, don’t become a vigilante, that won’t help the situation, use kindness as your weapon. Offer help to someone in need, I am sick of terrorism, join me and take back the world, the only people that can do it is us, lets stop the terror! Some people say I am too optimistic, too positive, at least I am trying to do something. Let me ask you, what are you doing to change the circumstances? Are you fueling the fire or trying to put it out?

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant and author of the books Running By the Mile, and How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps. For more information visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Being Serious About Where You’re Going is the First Step to the Goal

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Bruce

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I work with many new people looking to start out a career or new business as I instruct at many of the training institutes in the transportation industry. Like many young people when you start going through the information you learn about where they want to go with their lives. When you tell them that you can make it if you work hard they get excited realizing they might have a chance at reaching their goal. As the course progresses it is at this point that the actions don’t add up with the goals at the end. They stop thinking about their goal fearing it is too far away to attain. Instead of looking for ways to attain their goals while completing the course they begin to send in unfinished work, stop reading the information, or stop working towards the goal.

In my class I have two different types of students, both want the same outcome, either a job or owner operator business. One is going through the motions and barely squeezing by, and the other is listening and doing what he can. I have been telling them to start applying for positions while still enrolled so that when finished their course they will have already set up a plan. One is following that plan and realizing the opportunities available and the other is plodding along at the same pace. Reaching your goals involves making the opportunities happen, some call it luck while others call it opportunity. If you are trying to improve your career, start a business you have to make the opportunities and that happens by getting started in contacting people that may listen to what you want to do and making sure you are creating the opportunities that can help you succeed in your goals. Waiting to see what happens is the true way of making sure you miss important opportunities.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership author. For more information visit his website at www.outridge.ca

What Is Your Best Day?

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Bruce

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Recently I was feeling a little stressed and exhausted. I dreadfully needed a few days to recharge. Looking at my calendar I realized taking days off was not part of the program as the next day was lined with meetings. When I ask people what their best day might look like I get answers such as, “I would win a million dollars” or “I would suddenly become a success.” For many of us the day would be focused on us and most of us would feel that is the way it should be. What I found out through my meetings the next day was totally the opposite.

I had five meetings set for that day, three were business oriented and two were people requesting a block of my time. The first meeting started as a breakfast meeting with a good friend and business partner who had come down concerned for my stress level. After a great breakfast and some good conversation, expansion on some business advice we both attended to our busy schedules. My next meeting was with a major client of mine and the business at hand was awarded. My third meeting was with a University student that wanted to interview me for his final project and was so excited from my advice by the end of our meeting he is planning to start his own business. The fourth meeting was with another client and again the business at hand was awarded. My final and fifth meeting was with a person whom I met by chance in a coffee shop and asked me about a project I was working on. I was able to help him down a path he was stuck on and this old guy was in heaven. I had agreed to meet with him again when in the area and today was the day. He left this meeting floating on a cloud.

Now you would have thought that the day would have added to my exhaustion level but it was exactly the opposite. I was pumped up and excited, when I look back on that day the best meetings were watching other people’s dreams come to life. I believe in what goes around comes around and I believe we need to spend time helping others. So I ask you, what will your best day look like? Who will you help today?

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an author, artist, consultant, and speaker. For more information on Bruce visit his website at www.outridge.ca