As a small business owner, you ARE your business. If you have ever seen any of the worldwide Dragon’s Den type programmes on the TV, you will observe that the dragons invest in the person behind the business as much as the concept itself.
It is important for the business owner, to constantly watch trends, be familiar with their market, and adapt to the changes that invariably happen. We also need to keep an eagle eye on what the competition is up to, and notice what they are changing, and are those changes in line with consumer changes, or are they trying to influence the consumer / client.
This is where business owners can get “bogged down”. Constantly watching out for the enemy, copying their strategies, playing cat and mouse to try and gain ground.
Let’s say our business has been successful in the past, and now, inevitably things are tough. We batten down the hatches, cut costs, cut prices, downsize, and cut budgets. You are probably familiar with any one of these strategies.
But why do we do this? Because the strategists recommend it? Because your competition is doing it? Because of the proven facts from the past? Because historically, it works?
Think about this: where do we get the notion that repetition is the best tactic? What influences us to think that what worked before will work today for our business?
Now think about this… Is this the same type of recession as before? Will the next boom (there WILL be a next boom) be the same as the previous one? I would imagine no, and no!
So, why then, are we doing the same things now that we did before?
My challenge to you today, is to question everything you are doing in your business, that is based on something done before. Survival in business is similar to survival in War. The great warriors survived, and succeeded because they improvised and never used the same strategy in two battles.
Napoleon was ridiculed for his childlike behaviour by the Prussians in the late 1790’s (The 33 Strategies of War). They used previously successful strategies to finally declare war on him in 1806. The only problem was, they were so busy executing known tactics that Napoleon himself, who had no rulebook, was already marching on Prussia by the time they declared war. He practically destroyed their armies.
He used the Keys to Warfare:
- Re-examine all your cherished beliefs and principles
- Erase the memory of the last war (sale)
- Keep your mind moving
- Absorb the spirit of the times
- Reverse course
He “forgot” his last victories or loses, swiftly moved on, and prepared for the next battle based on what he was faced with ahead of him, not behind him.
Today, how are you going to prepare for tomorrow’s battle in business? Please share with us below…
