When your business faces an unclear future, it becomes especially important to frequently assess and RE-assess the sitution. And above all, you must remain OBJECTIVE about the developments unfolding around you- something that can often be very challenging for a small business owner with a lot of time, effort, money and "sweat equity" invested in their project.

For the purposes of this article, my focus will be on the small business. I have been a small business owner several times, and have been through many changing situations- and have experienced how small business often have to face uncertainty with very limited resources.

Since we can't hope to control uncertainty in the world, the best way to deal with an unclear future is to stay on top of what you CAN control. In other words "know your business" and "know your market." Develop a strong and thorough understanding of where the business' strengths and weaknesses are, and reassess them regularly. Get to the bottom of what makes the future seem unclear. I went through this process with a retail business located on a street that suddenly became part of a 4-year road construction project while being upgraded from "city street" to "limited access highway." I also operated a business in a business park whose owner went bankrupt, as a result of which services and support infrastructure around the business suddenly disappeared. In both cases, "staying informed" was one of the keys to survival.

Understand your finances- not just whether or not you're making a profit, but WHERE that profit comes from. Are there certain products and/or services you offer that seem to "drive" the business? Does 90% of your bottom line seem to come from 10% of your efforts? Which areas of your business seem to be growing rapidly, and which are shrinking? If some radical change has happened to you market, or core business, understand the PRECISE financial implications, as soon as you can.

Understand your employees- know how your key people help the business; what their strengths and weaknesses are. Entrepreneurs tend to be creative individuals, but sometimes they get trapped by "The Vision" they have for their company, and forget that they may have an untapped resource WITHIN the business. Employees- because they have less "investment" in the master business plan- often have ideas for innovation a business owner is blind to.

Understand your market- one place where small business often has an advantage over large corporation

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about What to do when the future of your business is unclear?
We want to hear your view. Write now!