What Next?
As a small business owner, you have overcome the biggest hurdles, you have carved out a unique niche in the market and raised enough capital to survive those beginning years. Pat yourself on the back because you deserve it. Many small businesses fail within the first five years of entering the marketplace, and you have survived. This is a great achievement and one that deserves to be celebrated.
As your business continues on its journey of success, it is important to think about what comes next. Even though you are established, and your clients are satisfied with your offerings, you need to look to the future to determine where your business can go and how you are going to get there. Having future plans is the key to success, as you must continue to grow and find new offerings to keep your customers coming back and to identify and interact with new customers.
So, what next?
There is no shortage of answers to this question, and the right path will be different for each unique business. However, technology has to be one of the avenues that every small business pursues. The possibilities of technology are only limited by our imaginations and our goals. For this reason, goal research should be the next step.
Set Goals
Having one year, five year, and ten year goals can give you and your team the motivation they need to keep heading in the same direction. Goals keep the team on the same page and allow for celebration when the goals are achieved. Team unity and goal creation go hand in hand in this next business step. Identify targets that you know your team can reach and then work together to get there.
You should also identify some goals that may be a little harder to reach. Goals that appear too difficult or impossible, may be the best goals you ever set. Once you have identified that impossible goal, have your team brainstorm how to get there. Their ideas can be the foundation of your success, and their buy-in will help keep the goal in the fore-front of their mind.
Identify Solutions
Do your research. Google is a powerful tool, and one that can really help you to identify the possible solutions to reach your new business goals. Look into the varying options for solving your business challenges and growth opportunities as a company. Talk to experts, network with other professionals, and read customer reviews. There is so much information out there that can help your business grow.
Once you have a list of possible solutions, it is time to weigh the pros and cons, and do some real world research. Try out the different solutions and see how they will work for your business. Go back to your team for input about the solutions and re-evaluate your goals.
Does the solution bring you closer to your goal? Does it give value to your employees? Is it beneficial to your customers? All of these aspects should be evaluated to determine if the solution works for your business.
Now that the right solution has been chosen for your business, it is time to implement! Put that solution to work and use metrics to gauge its success against your needs. The more data you can generate regarding the impact of the solution, the better off you will be. You will be able to fully understand its impact on the business, your customers, and your employees.
Start Over
Now that your goals have been reached, it is time to start all over. Identify new goals and challenges and work towards reaching those goals.
CM2
Here at CM2 Software we believe in the iterative life cycle of development. Just like goal setting, we identify a need, brainstorm solutions, develop a prototype, implement, and then start all over. This system allows us to provide software solutions that solve challenges while also leaving room to develop additional features that can easily be added to the deliverable.
We want you to reach all of your goals and we are here to help you do just that.
