Have you ever heard someone say they know someone who is lucky in business? I have, on many occasions and have wondered if they realise what they are saying. If it was just luck then why are there so many courses available to develop business skills in a wide range of areas.

For some they may be fortunate enough to enter a business that has great growth prospects. An example here would be mobile phone sales, where many businesses have opened, some of which are riding on the wave of interest Australians have in mobile communications and despite some seemingly providing poor service still thrive.

If you know someone that is doing well in business consider some basics, are they really lucky or have they developed their business interests by good management, training, having a good mentor, or all of the above?

I have often heard it said that luck is simply Learning Under Correct/Constant Knowledge, then you have luck. People that are wise to this can then know that they can develop the skills they need for any area of their business and it will be an ongoing process of development to keep their business on the cutting edge of development.

For others however there seems to be a sense that ignorance and complacency can soon set in once they have established their business. This makes it hard for them to be ahead of the pack as they can tend to rest on their laurels.

This is a real pity, many businesses have the chance to do well, yet far too often we are seeing businesses fade into oblivion due to poor ’luck’ they failed at some stage to get information to assist them to develop the business. In the first instance it may be market research. Or a lack of start up capital to ensure the business can run without needing huge turnover and profits in the initial phase.

Others may start off well and let complacency eat into their initial good fortune and learning around business. In time they may do well with some good fortune mixed with the initial business training, however my experience shows few of these in actual practice.

One that comes to mind is a gentlemen whose business has been going 12 years. He found that he learnt more about business the minute he realised that it is all about how you work with your customers. He finely honed his rapport and communication skills and was delighted to find customers coming out of the woodwork to purchase his goods.

In this instance he worked on earlier knowledge he had gained while working for another organisation. They had done some training in this area and he pulled out the old notes , dusted them off and topped up his memory on the points of interest.

In actual fact there is that element of luck kicking in again, he continues to learn more these days finding excellent ways to ensure that both his internal (staff) customers are effectively communicated to as well as the external ones (the payers)

Life and business can be a series of lucky experiences in many ways, the question now is how lucky do you want to be?