I used to work for a live entertainment agency owned by an energetic little old lady. I worked in sales/customer service and also performed comic roasting and celebrity impersonation. Business was buzzing along in 2006.
In early 2007, the owner told me her business reports showed a slowing. She didn’t know if she would need me for all the hours I currently worked. Believing in being proactive, I searched for another job. The owner watched business stagnate but did nothing.
I tracked down another job and moved on from sales/customer service. The agency business dried up to trickle. The little old lady perceived the bus behind her and let it run her business down anyway.
All the business reports in the world are useless if you don’t take action. Being proactive in your business will keep it humming along even in spare times. You’ll have that new product or service to bring in more revenue because your company got on the ball and developed an opportunity before the whiff of a slowdown.
Take advantage of technology to anticipate problems and seek out new opportunities. Get your arms around that big data with inexpensive web-based apps and plan your next business move.
Use your favorite SWOT template to fend off potential threats to your business. Examine your current business software. It supports your company today but what about next year.
Anticipate the bus bearing down on you. Move your business off on to another highway before it runs you over.
Author: Kris Keppeler, writer for Crossing Genres on Medium.com, and Does This Happen to You? on Channillo. Follow her @KrisKKAria on Twitter.