Martha Spelman
If you’re doing business the way you’ve always done it, you may be, in fact, putting yourself out of business.
Periodically, it could be beneficial to take a look at the products or services you offer, the way you handle operations, how you market your business…and see if it might be time to make some changes.
Company owners or managers often only make changes when they see a fall-off in business, competitors taking a larger market share, staff leaving or the bank calling. By then it’s often too late to resuscitate the business.
A business, to survive, needs to periodically take risks…to go out on a limb. Be willing to research what others are doing, pay attention when customers ask for something new, focus on possibilities to innovate, recognize where other opportunities may lie. In other words, adopt a revolutionary business strategy.
When the recession hit in 2008, many people (and businesses) thought it was an economic “blip” that would end soon enough and before too long, everything would return to “normal.” But for many companies, both big and small, things would never be the same. Gone are the days of 30-year careers at the same company, big-time perks are hard to come by, access to technology has leveled the playing field, startups and entrepreneurs seem to be the way of the future. Many that risked reinvention have come out ahead.
Taking a risk, making changes, and even gambling on an outcome, can be scary. It’s a venture into the unknown – launching a new business strategy requires learning, experimenting, making tough choices, hard decisions and potentially sizeable investments of time and money.
Whether your business creates a new product, offers different services, undertakes a creative marketing strategy or rebranding, restructures the organization, implements a first-time sales incentive program, merges or acquires… it could be time to shake things up. Odds are good that the risk will be worth the reward.
Has your company changed up its business strategy? Would love to hear the results of your risky business moves (comment below).
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