Keep on the Sunny Side

Entrepreneurs are inundated with lots of troubling news. They are very worried about the challenges that the recession has created for their businesses.

Many also have been voicing concern about the potentially crippling effects that higher taxes, increased regulation and eroding property rights may have on their business prospects.

However, we must never lose sight of the fact that entrepreneurs continue to survive -- and even thrive -- in spite of all that seems to be working against them.

Entrepreneurs have an amazing capacity to look at the glass as "half full" even during the worst of times. Keeping a positive outlook can be a powerful force to stay on track.

A regular reader of my blog, Mary Anne Thomas from Black Mountain, N.C., sent me an opinion piece she wrote for the Black Mountain News. She and her husband, Bob Thomas, developed what they call a "Good News Board" to keep looking at the positive side of things. They are convinced that such positive thinking has real power.

Bob Thomas is a well-known golf author. Four years ago, he started a company to sell golf books as tournament gifts. When the economic crisis broke, his sales completely stopped. Their income was imperiled. They had to turn things around, and fast.

Their "Good News Board" -- which is a dry-erase board hanging in the hallway leading into the break room -- is a place where their workers list good news as it happens in their company.

"It's infectious," Mary Anne said. By keeping the focus on the good things, they have gotten their business on track once again.

Bill Evans, owner of Evans Glass Co. in Nashville, is another entrepreneur who has refused to let the bad economic news of the past two years get him down. "I know that my attitude is one of the very few things I can control," Evans said.

"A positive attitude is a choice, and I choose it," he said. "I have also found that having a defined, measurable goal keeps me focused. The more focused on a goal, the less I can be influenced by the things preventing me from reaching my goal."

Evans has never lost faith in his ability to endure. He is convinced his positive thinking will play a big part in the long-term success of his business.

I have decided I need to add one more New Year's resolution to my personal list. While I am going to continue to be a watchdog on the policies that are detrimental to entrepreneurship, I will not lose sight of why it is so important to do so. I will keep my focus on the half-full side of the equation, finding inspiration from the small business heroes who continued to pursue their dreams in the midst of this troubled economy.

Like those entrepreneurs, we must all keep looking at the glass as half full.