Many businesses and companies, comfortable in their growth up to the present time, tend to be leery of changing their present methods of doing business, afraid it may upset the balance that they have achieved so far.
While it’s wise to be cautious in a slow economy, concerns that verge on paranoia will not help your business survive, let alone thrive. There are several methods that obviously help businesses to expand and learning more about them can help.
I don’t need a website or a shopping cart.
My products and services sell very well right now, so why would I bother selling them online also? As of last year only 11% of Canadian companies sold online, yet the value of what Canadians bought online more than doubled. Canadians spent 18.9 billion dollars online just three years ago and the amount is increasing rapidly but a lot of those dollars went to companies outside of Canada, due to the unavailability of what they were looking for in their own country. Businesses need to look at what consumers are asking for and provide it, otherwise they will be left behind by those who will.
My relationships with my team and original supporters are not or no longer important, as long as the job gets done and I make money.
While team members can be a source of relationship problems, the original relationships that you brought into your business should always be taken care of. These include financial and marketing experts who may have originally helped get your business started and gave you advice that kept you from making mistakes that would have caused your business to fail. All businesses, even those where the sole proprietor wears all of the hats, have supporting members and those members should be taken into account as your company expands.
Details don’t count.
Most business owners have no idea from month to month how they stand in comparison to previous months. You need to know your numbers and the numbers are in the details. While working with a team can help your business expand faster, if you aren’t keeping track of the little things, your expansion can quickly slow and even start to contract. The smart business owner does his or her homework and takes care of any outstanding issues before they cause major problems.
Managing and pinpointing the key areas where you need help – either from the outside or from learning more, are the stepping stones of a long term, financially viable business. Understanding the underlying details and determining what needs to stay and what needs to go will help you avoid the mistakes that will keep you from growth. Keep your vision for your business intact by always being aware that there may be something you are missing, new ideas you could apply to your business and changes you could make that will help you avoid major business mistakes.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015
image courtesy of growthagenda
