Wouldn’t it be easier if you were just told what you should do to grow your business, make more profit, and get out of the red into the blackness of wealth? But it’s never that easy, although we spend an inordinate amount of energy in search of the guru who would save us time and money, the advertising strategy that worked for countless others or the book that has just the answers we need.
WAKE UP! This is your life that you are living, and your business that you’re running and it is up to you to take control and direct yourself to where you want to be. Done any other way and you’re heading for disaster.
Clarity of thought is what gives you the power to make changes. For an immediate profit increase: remove worry from Your ‘To-Do’ list. You cannot commit fully to a new direction if you are turning your head and looking over your shoulder for a glimpse of what you might be missing. To move on you need to do so with tunnel vision. Get comfortable with the fact that in life – you do not have a practice run to see how things will turn out. All that we can do is to try and work out what might happen if we act in this way or that. But you can’t wait forever trying to figure out what is your best move.
Your first step is to have clarity of intent both logically and emotionally. What is it that you want to achieve? What is your vision? Where would you like to see your business – what changes do you think are necessary?
Whether you sell products or services, in order to sustain your business you need people to buy what you’re selling. Make sure that you are clear as to who your perfect customer is, where to find them and why they need you. Make sure you know how to talk about what you do in succinct and attractive terms and that you are a credible authority in your niche. And finally review your pricing structure and make sure that it is right for your market and that you don’t negotiate on those prices. Don’t gloss over this – it is the most important part. Most businesses are in trouble because they’ve glossed over this part figuring that there market is everybody and that they will discount their way to financial freedom. If you haven’t got these bases covered – COVER THEM because you are only going to be about 20% efficient (and I’m being generous here), if you don’t.
Make use of what you already have in place. I interface with so many companies that, early on in their business, designed great systems that they simply do not follow today. Not because they don’t work but because they did not insist on sustained use and the procedures fell by the wayside. Having a system is the secret to your success. Go back and look at all the forms and procedures you have in place. Keep those things that are working seamlessly for you and discard the rest and make sure you have a system for reaching, meeting, and keeping customers.
A great acronym to remember is CABS. There are things that your business can CONTINUE doing that have served you well. There are areas that need ALTERATION. You may need to BEGIN/START some new activities and there are going to be things that you will need to STOP.
Next look at your staff and make sure that you are aware of all their talents and skills. As businesses grow – so do people. They may have acquired skills or learned about things that you weren’t aware of that could help you grow your business. If it’s you alone in the business then take an inventory of what you know now and see what you can put to good use to elevate your business.
You will only make your move, and decide on a direction in life once you are clear about what you want. It is very easy to be in two minds over things. Often you may feel that you only have two choices, but if you were to look a little further you would realize that there are probably an infinite number of choices which you could make. One thing is for sure is that if you keep sitting on the fence…you will remain exactly where you are, sitting on the fence, and many an opportunity will pass you by.
Your expertise is your business! 