A business doesn’t run by itself, it’s the choices you make and the things you do that determine the success or failure of your business enterprise. Unfortunately, you might at times choose to do or not do certain something because it seems like a good, safe, and convenient idea if looked at from your perspective, but the truth is this might actually be hurting the success of your business.
Examples of these sorts of acts that might be harming the success of your business include:
- Relying heavily on luck
Truth be told, there is no 100% way to determine the soundness of a business decision. If there was, every major corporation would see year after year of increasing profits and zero loss. Nonetheless, instead of relying heavily on blind luck or shallow information when making a business decision, you should instead be relying on solid data provided by a scientific research of the market. Using scientific research tools such as Return on Investment, Net Present Value, SWOT Analysis, and other business tools will provide you fairly accurate data that you can act on because they let you know what business decisions offer the highest potential long term gain. Running a business is not the same as playing dice. It is not a game and should not be treated as such.
- Stagnant/Playing it safe
No business that has been alive for more than 10 years has accomplished that by remaining stagnant. Constant innovation and reaching out is key. Take Coca-Cola for example; they started off making and selling only Coke, but now, the Coca-Cola brand is the parent company of over 500 brands.
While playing it safe in business and sticking with what you are good at might work out for a time, it’ll eventually fail (just compare MySpace to Facebook). This is because the market, as well as consumers, are ever changing. Thus, you’ll need to improve your business to meet the ever changing needs of your customers. Being dynamic with business doesn’t mean you have to abandon what you are good at, it simply means you have to evolve your services to satisfy your clients’ needs from more angles. A business that remains stagnant will never grow, but will eventually wither and die.
- Not using all the tools at your disposal
In this modern age, the greatest tool every business has at its disposal is the internet and successful entrepreneurs such as Anik Singal have learnt how to use it through social media to their advantage. Failing to use a tool that’s at your disposal simply because you don’t know how to use it, is one sure way to shoot your business in the foot. Why? This is because while you are hesitant to take advantage, your competitors are probably using it to get ahead. By the time you decide to join in, you are stuck playing a game of catch-up with your competitors which you’ll most likely be unable to win.
As a business person, you have to be awake to every rising opportunity and tool that is within your means to take your business to the next level.
- Poor branding
The point of branding is to set yourself apart from your competitors and stand out in the eyes of customers. But this will be impossible if you are letting your business’ branding potential go to waste. If you have poor brand management, you will be unable to market it. On the other hand, if you have a great brand image and you neglect to advertise it to the world, no one will even know it exists. If people can’t identify with your brand, they’ll have no interest in patronising your business. So rather than sleep on your brand, boost your brand. And the cheapest yet most effective way to accomplish this is through social media.
