Year end – this is an interesting time for me. I get to find some quality time to reflect on the year that has been and start thinking about what I want to do in the year coming. I enjoy the thinking space I get once I have tidied up the loose ends and find myself with a bit of spare time.
There's a great quote from Alice in Wonderland - “If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”
I have recently moved my accounts onto Xero. This is an online accounting system that has a lot of advantages over your standard programs. One obvious advantage is that it is accessible anywhere any time via the internet, a very good thing for me as I am often travelling.
<p>Take time each day to think. Business owners survive and grow their businesses by taking time out to think and look ahead. Unfortunately this is often the one thing that small business people find hardest to make time for. Too often we are responding to the immediate needs of our business and not stopping to take in the meaning of those needs and the bigger picture.
There are a lot of thoughts on the wisdom or otherwise of getting started in business during a recession. I think there are a lot of opportunities, but they will only work with care and planning. I think the wise move is to research and plan a business that will work well in the down times. Then you need to be prepared to adapt and diversify when the economy picks up again. What people want now wont necessarily be what they want in 2-3 years time. You need to stay in touch with your market.
Over the last month I have spent a fair amount of quality time with people in my existing network and been introduced to new people to add to my network. All of these people have inspired me and provided me with new ideas. I hope I have done the same for them. We have so much potential with technology to provide services to many people and through my networks (old and new) I am piecing together more ways to do this better. I am looking forward to the new partnerships as we grow.
I've just been in Timaru running a workshop for one of my Certificate in Business Ownership courses. While there I saw a quote on the wall. It was a quote from Ernest Rutherford: "We don't have the money, so we will have to think" I feel that this is such an appropriate quote for small business people. So many people have an idea for a business or want to make changes in their business but lack the funds to do it. Ideas get put aside because of no money. This quote reminds me that there can be other ways to get where you want to go, you just have to spend time not money - thinking.
There are few things that annoy me more than people who don't make decisions. I believe a great deal of the success of my business is the fact that I make decisions. Most decisions I have made have worked out well, they are not always the best decision but with the information available they were seemingly the most sensible. Not making the decision would have been worse. Procrastination does not get things done and opportunities are missed.
This week has challenged me to practice what I preach. It has been a difficult week for me personally with family issues taking up a lot of my head space. In addition to this my Admin Assistant has been away sick for 8 days (not with Swine Flu!) adding to my work load. I have a number of projects that I need to get on to but am struggling to find the time and space to do them. In amongst all this I had signed up for a seminar through my bank (National Bank) and nearly didn't go. However, I did go and I am glad I did.
To be successful in business you need to be an optimist. With the recession and all the negative talk around about the economy this becomes increasingly hard for the small business person. We have been riding high on the good times for a number of years now and a lot of people in business are not experienced at managing their way through tighter economic times.