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  • Navigating or Drifting?

    Posted by beckywitt on May 4, 2013 at 8:33 am

    One of the biggest problems of owning a small business is the fact that you have no supervisor or Board of Directors to report to.  If you get complacent and decide that you can just drift with the tides for a while and enjoy the nice weather and scenery, you can get into trouble faster than you know.

            Every business needs immediate plans (next month), short term plans (1 to 3 years) and long term plans (3 years or more).

            You need a firm grip on “who are my best customers?”   Where do they live, how do they live and what’s important to them?   How does my shop fit into that mix?

             Why do my best customers come to me?   What am I doing to evolve with that?

              We need a map, we need a direction, we need very specific goals and objectives.  When we have those, we can then navigate towards our goal, in much the same way as you’d navigate while driving on a trip.  You know where you’ll eventually end up, you know where you’ll stop for fuel, meals and overnight stays.

             Without that, you are literally adrift, with no means of propulsion, no rudder and no defense in the event a storm or other emergency comes up.

             10 years ago, an investment advisor told me to take my money out of telecommunications, because “how many calls can you make?  Everybody already has a cell phone”.    Really?   Look at what cell phone usage has become in only 10 years.  Now look at how your shop business has evolved over the last 10 years.

            The pace of changes in technology today is frightening.  If you don’t think so, it’s either because you’re embracing it and using it to leverage your success, or you’re in need of some additional information.

              Whether your shop is gaining business, losing business or staying steady, pretend that you just got yanked into the boss’s office and asked about your plans for the next 2 years.   Pretend that you have to study things, learn as much as you can and formulate a plan and then a presentation to sell that plan (to your banker, your accountant, your attorney, your staff and, finally, to your customers and potential customers or prospects).

              Whatever you do, stay on top of this or you WILL have a new boss…   :o)

              Becky Witt

    victorsheed replied 11 years, 2 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • victorsheed

    Member
    October 8, 2013 at 11:26 pm

    Thanks for the post great to be inspired in such aspect of business to successfully improve for the better.

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