A viable business is never smooth sailing all the time. If it were, your business wouldn’t be growing, it would be stagnant. Learning to identify the signs that tell you your business has been too long in a non-growth period and finding out what has caused this are part of your ongoing business education. Realizing that your business is not only NOT growing but is actually boring you can be a wake-up call that something is wrong, not only with your business, but maybe with the way you look at it. When this happens, you have hit a brick wall and it’s time to take a closer look at many things in your life.
First ask yourself why you feel your business isn’t going anywhere. Is it because of something you did or didn’t do or is it your attitude and the way you are looking at your business that has changed? People change and their businesses should change right along with them. Do you see something as a wall and have the motivation to break through it or does it stop you in your path? How badly do you want to reach the other side?
Sometimes, when you imagine reaching the other side, the options available don’t appeal to you. If that’s the case, then this is a wall that has stopped you for a reason. If you see something you want, then the wall is there to tell you that you have some more work to do. The biggest decision you will make at this point is which scenario fits your present situation.
You don’t necessarily have to knock down the wall or even climb over it. With the right tools and a good attitude, you can open a door in your business and walk right through. The wall itself may actually mean that you are getting close to a long term goal and have hit a plateau. If this is what is happening, there is no need to worry. Take a deep breath, look around at where you are now, regroup and plow forward with your best and most original ideas.
If you’re worried that it is more than that, if you are worried the you aren’t really sure of where you are or where you mean to go, a little more in depth planning will be needed. Maybe you don’t want to lose the position you are at now but trying something new or different scares you – you are afraid to take the risk. Maybe you feel comfortable right where you are – maybe too comfortable but you also have the feeling that you haven’t lived up to your potential.
Step back and take a closer look at where your business is now. Are you still holding on to business methods or ideas that are outdated or are no longer compatible with the way you work? Being busy in or with your business doesn’t mean you have momentum…you can still be running in place. Are you taking action or are you reacting to what is thrown at you each day? Whichever way you act it will either be from the offensive or the defensive – which side would you rather be on? By being on the offense, it shows that you are pushing forward, while running your business from the defense implies that you are reacting – possibly in a negative way – to everything that is thrown at you. It also means that you may be putting up boundaries and walls in place of letting in new ideas.
Follow through on your new ideas and see where they take you. You don’t always need a business plan to get ahead. Be persistent in gradually examining each section of your business and look at what you can do now or in the near future to move ahead. Not everything in your business will be something that needs to be changed. Never take action just for the sake of change, only change the things that no longer work well for you.
You don’t necessarily have to knock down the wall or even climb over it. Use your common sense. You can open the door in your business and walk right through that wall.
© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc 2013
Image courtesy of drawsketch.about.com
