As the old saying goes, “if you at first don’t succeed, try, try again”. But what if, when it came to building a business, the pain of the “try, try again” part was a lot easier to avoid?
It’s no secret that starting up your own entrepreneurial venture can be fraught with danger. But, if you keep in mind the following, you may be able to rethink your way forward and reach your goals sooner rather than later.
Here are four ways to rethink what’s important in your business.
It’s Not About Just the Product You Deliver, But Also the People Who Help Deliver It
When starting a new business, focus always seems to revolve around meeting budget, covering expenses, expanding your market and gaining new revenue. As important as those facets of a business are, having the right people in your business is just as important.
It is imperative that you set aside a few hours every week to go on the hunt for the employees that best suit your business culture. Even if you’re currently not looking, recruiting and interviewing people means that you will always have potential employees to consider when you need them.
But It’s Not Just About Getting New Employees; It’s Also About Growing New Employees
Once you have a couple of people working for you, that’s great, but it’s not the end. The most successful businesses in the world strive for continuous improvement and that’s exactly what you need to do. Although you may be strapped for time, try to understand that helping to grow employee skills will do nothing but help you in the long run.
Whenever possible, try to give constant feedback and offer mentoring sessions to truly help your employees grow. If you put the time and effort into helping to grow them and their careers, they’ll repay you in spades.
As Prepared as You Think You Are, You’re Probably Not
Suddenly you find yourself with delays or slowing economic cycles and if you’re not prepared to deal with the ever-changing business environment, it could cause you a major setback.
Try to develop a couple of contingency plans for different alternative situations should delays or GFCs befall you – again (fingers crossed they won’t though!). That way, you’ll merely be able to step through your pre-planned steps rather than wasting time wondering what to do. Remember the saying “he/she who hesitates is lost!
Don’t Stress on The Mess
As Marilyn Monroe once said, “sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together”. If you do run into a problem that seems like it will cause you a lot of stress and pain, remember that you can always turn your problem into an opportunity. Think about the last time you faced what seemed like an insurmountable problem that you ultimately conquered. When it was all said and done, you probably gained new skills and possibly even felt like a bit of a champion for making it out the other side. That’s how we as business owners (and humans) grow and get better at what we do. Sometimes the process even changes our businesses for the better.
So forget constantly focusing on the negatives – that’s just demoralising. Use the setbacks in your business to review plans and tweak action steps and know that you’re likely to be creating the next ‘big thing’ for your business – and as challenging as whatever is causing you pain is, it’s also just a bit exciting when you think of it like that.
If we can help you focus on your next big thing – by freeing you up from your dreaded admin or answering your phone – we’d be delighted to talk to you. You can call us on 9994 8000 or you can drop us a note here.
