To grow your small business and be successful you must expand your thinking.  After all, if your thinking never changes, then you will not be in control of creating your future.  Think about it.  If you don’t change then you will be constantly reacting to the changing business climate. 

That’s a tough way to do business.  You are always one step behind.  General Douglas McArthur, the famous World War II general once said that all defeat can be explained by two words, “too late.”  Too late in anticipating the problem.  Too late in preparing a plan of action.  And, too late in executing the plan. 

To have your small business successful you must embrace change.  If you don’t then it will run over you.  To this point I have talked about external success.  That is how success may appear to others.  Yet, true success is an inside job.  It starts within you, the business owner.  Embracing change is a successful performance strategy. 

Whether you are starting up your own business or running your own business all success starts within you, the business owner.  Here are four points to remember.

1. Your past shapes, to an extent, who you are. 

1. You determine who you become…..not circumstances, people or things.

1. The best helping hand you have is at the end of your arm.

1. Listen and learn  to focus

Here’s wishing you success and all the freedom and abundance life has to offer.

A parasite is an organism that invades the body of the host organism and ultimately sucks the life out the host, in most cases, causing it to die.  Too often, I have worked with business owners and professionals who have a good business but at the same time are stuck, overwhelmed or just plain unhappy. 

What’s holding them back?  You would think that it would be obvious.  It’s the parasites and they are not obvious.  If they were, we would never let them enter.  Whether you are starting up your own business or running your own business here are some things to look for. 

1. Process parasites
2. Relational parasites
3. Thought parasites
4. Client parasites

For this post let’s look at the first one, process parasites.  This refers to your process of doing business and the parasites are the things that need to be eliminated from your process to improve your business.  Are any of your methods causing you to have higher costs, greater inconvenience or adversely affecting your product or service?  Most of the time in small business there are things we can improve in the process. 

But to improve the process means to embrace change.  After all, the old way is the way things have always been done around here.  Why change?  As is said, “Don’t fix what isn’t broke”.  Sadly, the parasites in a business process have become tolerations. 

And, if you don’t develop the discipline of eliminating tolerations then guess what, you will keep adding them.  This is not a process for growing small business.  And, you will add them to the point where your business process and you will be a mess.  The small business growth and success you desire will be unattainable.

Look at your business process now.  Or, get someone to look at it for you.  To have the success you desire you must minimize or eliminate the tolerations.  After all, in owning your own business you have a choice when it comes to change.  You can either let it run over you or you can embrace it. 

Be in the habit of embracing change and you will be successful.   

After all if you have a good marketing business plan or a successful performance strategy for small business growth you should be doing well.  Maybe?