Published: May 14th, 2020; By: Judi Hughes
It’s time to look past our current situation and set our focus on the future and the growth of our business. None of us have been through this before so we are bound to make mistakes and fumble a bit. That’s okay there is room for error and apology.
We are happy to share four tried and true tools that you can start to implement right now. Give these a try and we know you will be able to look into the future with greater focus.
- Vision
- GAP Analysis
- SWOT
- Cash Flow Confidence
Vision:
You need to know where it is you want to be so you can start moving in that direction right now.
I’m not suggesting you abandon your foundation and everything you’ve built to start something brand new. Quite the opposite – you simply need to be clear and honest about what was working before and what wasn’t, so you can leave behind bottlenecks and burdens to embrace possibility.
Paint a picture – if absolutely everything was possible what do you want your business to look like? Tap into your original vision and combine it with your new possibilities. Take this opportunity to re-visit your plan and get even more clear.
The world is embracing technology. Can you go global? Are there more speaking opportunities online than in “real-life”? What will it take to move your training online? Is there a new way to help your customers that you hadn’t envisioned? What work can be delegated to a virtual team?
Look at, consider and dream about absolutely everything. Go on and on in detail. Do a vision board if that’s what you like. Write a story about what it is going to look like for you a year from now and what you will be doing. Do what ever it takes to get absolutely clear, because if you don’t know where you are going you won’t be able to do the things you need to do to get there. Want to see your future with 20/20 Clarity?
GAP Analysis:
Once you know where you are going you need to figure out how to get there.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could simply look into a crystal ball and wave a magic wand to make it happen? Trust me, it doesn’t work that way.
You’re a resilient business owner and you will figure out how you’re going to make it happen and what you need to do. You’re need to do a GAP Analysis so you can set your path.
Identify the gap between where you are today (current situation) and where you want to be in the future (Vision). Might sound a like the gaps are obvious but listing them allows you to consider how you are going to fill those gaps and identify what you need to do to make that happen.
You can plan! Make Your Plan Your Blueprint for Growth.
SWOT
It’s true – every challenge carries with it an opportunity – we just need to look closely to figure out where the opportunities are. This is a really good time to do a SWOT Analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Strengths.
The purpose is to identify your Strengths and Opportunities, so you can develop strategies to maximize results and work on new and better ways to do things. Identifying your Weaknesses and Threats allows you to develop strategies to minimize the risks associated with them.
SWOT is one of the oldest business tools around and it is still around because it is so simple, and it works. Here are the instructions to facilitate your SWOT.
Cash Flow Confidence
The first step in recovery for many has literally been surviving the financial situation right now. If you plan on being in business and growing your business, you need to know your financial situation and meticulously manage your money now and going forward.
You may not like what your numbers tell you but knowing your numbers will give you the information you need to make wise decisions. The numbers may tell you that you need to grow slower or you need to collaborate, or you need to take out a loan.
But you can’t make those decisions is you don’t have the confidence of knowing your true financial situation. Join us for our webinar on Thursday, May 21st.
In Conclusion,
Change is always bumpy in the middle, but it smooths out toward the end.
Work with what has worked before; I suspect it will work even better now.
Be open to new ideas.
Set your focus on the future and growth.
Have fun and enjoy the journey!
