COVER STORY
www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT MAY 2015 17
OPE
A sense of purpose in life
A sense of personal control in your life
A sense of accomplishment once the final destination has
been reached
Increased self-esteem and self-confidence
If you have no goals or very few goals, either personally or
professionally, it is going to be tough for you to move ahead.
Generally speaking, good things don't happen accidentally, but
because you set a goal to progress toward. I'll quote the wise sage
Yogi Berra to reiterate the point, "If you don't know where you
are going, you'll end up someplace else."
My purpose with all of these articles is to make sure that you
look at everything that it takes to be successful in the OPE busi-
ness. Sometimes, it isn't about the numbers — it's about you as
owners and your well-being. You need to stop and evaluate your
situation, and mid-year is as good as a time as any. Look back
over the past five-plus months and see how far that you've come,
knowing that there is always more that you can aspire to become
both personally and professionally. You are not a robot that can
just continue on working without experiencing some sort of suc-
cess. You need to sense that some sort of progress is being made
in building your business — one you can be proud of and not a
place where you are just in a routine that really leads nowhere.
Make sure you are not burning yourself out with too many long
days and no time away. Challenge yourself to find new opportu-
nities to move the business in new directions and bring in new
customers. Now is the time to really start making these dreams
into realities by setting goals and accomplishing them.
Jeff Sheets is the founder and owner of OPE
Consulting Services. Whether a business
is thriving or struggling to survive, Sheets'
rich experience in both the corporate and
not-for-profit sectors allow him to partner
with business owners to customize unique
strategies for their needs. For the past nine
years, he has worked extensively with hundreds of outdoor power
equipment dealers to create best practices in business structure,
personnel management and financial profitability. For more
information, he may be contacted at opeconsultingservices@
gmail.com or (816) 260-5430. You can also follow him on
Twitter @opeconsult, connect with him on LinkedIn, and visit
his website at www.opeconsultingservices.com.
