Small Business Owners: The Future Is Your Responsibility

Get out of the weeds.

How many balls can you keep in the air at one time? Some business leaders are better jugglers than others, but everyone has their breaking point—or, rather, their dropping point.

Juggling priorities is a challenge for every business owner. You’re overwhelmed with business development and all the things you need to do to attract and retain customers. Whether you’re a solopreneur, salesperson, or CEO of a small business, you feel the constant push/pull between prospecting, working with existing customers, managing social media, and staying in touch with everyone (which can seem like an unending task).

As a business owner for more than 20 years, I’ve faced these challenges and more. I know it’s tricky to take your head out of the weeds long enough to work on the business when you’re so busy working in your business.  The problem is, if you don’t make the time, you won’t have a business.

My solution: I’ve dedicated two Monday mornings a month to working on my business, reviewing and adjusting my goals, and planning next steps. Who wants to talk on Monday morning, anyway? Working on my business is creative and refreshing.

Whatever you decide for your business, stay focused on the future. That’s the takeaway from Jim Blasingame’s recent blog post: “As CEO, you’re the futurist of your business.” It brought me back to the real world and provides actionable tips for future-proofing your business. I understand we can’t do everything on this list at once, but pick one, set aside time, and your future might just be more predictable.

Here’s a snippet of Jim’s post…

As CEO, you’re the futurist of your business
By Jim Blasingame

Every small business owner should display in a prominent place this John F. Kennedy quote: “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”

As the CEO, you’re the futurist of your business, and the product of a futurist’s work is foresight.

Professional futurists are neither inspired by God, clairvoyant, nor have ESP. But they do look at the world differently than the average person. They typically see things before others do, largely because their focus is influenced by the following factors …

Read the rest of Jim’s post on The Small Business Advocate blog.