One of the biggest challenges I have faced in my business and watched my clients face is trying to figure out where to focus limited resources—time and money. Even though I help entrepreneurs do this by providing them with greater insight into their businesses, the decisions are generally not easy, there are usually additional unknowns, and there is always some level of risk.
If you have been in business for any length of time, you likely understand by now that the name of the game is to figure things out as quickly as possible before you run out of money. Figuring “it” out refers to understanding the right combination of things that will allow us to see cash flowing into our businesses and ultimately into our pockets. While we want to figure “it” out as soon as possible, sustainable business growth takes time. So, on the one hand, while we can and should learn from others, there are some things we must learn and validate on our own.
Ultimately, no matter how smart the owner, every business has gaps, inefficiencies, things that no one on the team is good at doing.
Fortunately, there are a million and one options for fixing all the things.
Unfortunately, there are a million and one options for fixing all the things.
If business owners aren’t careful, they can easily find themselves trapped by something termed shiny object syndrome. Shiny object syndrome is a type of distraction in which an individual is constantly chasing new, differerent, or the shiniest and most exciting things, and never making real progress. Shiny object syndrome can distract to the point that a business ultimately fails because it never properly identifies and addresses the critical issues.
As an entrepreneur, you might have suffered from shiny object syndrome if:
- You purchased a solution to a problem only to realize later that that particular solution didn’t solve your most pressing issue
- You find yourself paying for and or taking course after course or working with coach after coach and not implementing most of what you learned
- You have a million and four ideas for new products or services, and you jump from one idea to the next and on to the next…and the next never really seeing them through
If this is you, or has been you at some point in time, here are a few steps you can take.
- Ask WHY? Do you have a sales problem, an expense problem, a profitability problem, or an operations problem? While the cause of the issue could be due to a variety of things, most issues fall within one of these four areas. It is worth noting that it is possible to have some combination of these four. Often by getting to the core of the problem, it is easier to determine the next action.
- A sales problem looks like your business doesn’t have a steady and semi-controllable stream of clients and customers paying for your goods and services. It could be that sales activity is low, or that it fluctuates greatly. Any solutions forward must directly address the sales issue, if not you are wasting time and money.
- An expense problem means a business hasn’t assessed its spending for money leaks. The solution forward must help the business look for and correct the money leaks before they run out of resources.
- A profitability problem means the business is making sales consistently, but the money in the bank account doesn’t show it. The business has low or no cash even though the money keeps flowing in and clients/ customers are buying. The solution forward should first help identify the source of the profitability problem (pricing, excessive discounting, etc.), then help you address the issue.
- An operations problem means that something in the way the business is doing business is keeping it from reaching goals. Maybe one of your employees is overloaded (maybe that is you, the owner), perhaps your customer experience is lacking in some way, or maybe your product has quality issues, or possibly your website is slow and potential clients get frustrated and leave. Again, the solution forward must address the operations issue directly.
- Set goals for your business for the year that include a financial roadmap (budget) and look at your goals daily or weekly. To stay focused, I keep a copy of my vision posted in my office and try to look at my goals every Monday morning before starting the week.
- Be accountable to your goals – When considering any solution to grow or improve your business hold it up against your goals. Possibly more importantly, hold it up against your budget. How will this be paid for? Cash, loan, credit card, owner financed from personal funds?
- Plan New Ventures – Vet new product and service ideas through a business plan format. No, you may not need to create a full-blown business plan, but consider all the sections of a business plan and take the new idea through each section— goals, target market, the problem you are solving, marketing plans, and financial projections. Especially financial projections because you are in business to do what??? Make MONEY!
- Give it a chance – Give new product or service ideas a real chance before you consider moving on to the next thing. Once launched, give it at least 6 months and during that time gather feedback and make adjustments as needed based on that feedback.
Even with all these techniques, staying focused is still not an easy task for busy entrepreneurs. There are simply too many things calling for our attention. When I am most needing to stay focused or accountable, I have found the use of an accountability partner or group to be helpful so that I could be more focused on those really big things that will move my business significantly.
If you need help determining whether you have a revenue, expense, profitability, or operations problem, or you simply need help tracking and understanding what is going on in your business, we can help. As a business solutions expert, I have helped dozens of businesses untangle complex issues and clarify a path to greater profitability. Let’s schedule a Discovery Session .
Want to learn more profitable strategies for your business? Check out my free guide 5 Things You Must Do If you Want To Increase Your Profits.