I know I said in my last post that Mosaic Mandalas would be off the grid until after New Year's but why wait? I used to write a blog devoted to the topic of small business and sometimes the idea for an article still comes in the wee hours of the night. So I dutifully write down the idea on the pad of paper I keep by the bed, hoping I can read it the next morning because, in the dark and without my glasses, there's no telling what scribbles get jotted down.
Last night I had the idea of 'recharging' a business. Many people have small businesses...many of those are nano-sized one-person entrepreneurships who have been struggling mightily to survive over the past two to three years. Among them I count artists [like me], business consultants, independent distributors of one type of product or another [also like me], contractors, software engineers...all sorts.
January is the perfect time to steal away for a two- or three-day recharging retreat to benefit your small business. Can a large business use these ideas? Sure. Anyone can. They aren't new; but they tend to be things we forget and ignore. Too often the emphasis is on coming up with new ideas, untried formulas or crazy schemes.
What about this: let's look at 3 re's: Revisit, Repurpose and Revitalize. You can think of "re" in this case as "again."
REVISIT
Ask yourself: why did you choose the business you started? Why do you follow the path you chose? What was it that attracted you to the idea in the first place? Revisit those reasons; look at and examine them again. They were valid then, they are valid still.
- Did you choose your vocation or were you born with a passion for it?
- Did it make economic and financial sense for you to build a business around this passion?
- Was this business something introduced to you and you fell in love with it? Why?
- Did you begin with a dream and then find the vehicle to get you there? Have you run out of gas? Where can you refill?
- Look again at the business itself and outline its virtues. Look again at the marketplace and discover anew where your niche lies. Look again at yourself and rediscover your unique strengths within that niche and why you and your business are such a great fit.
REPURPOSE
If you are like many of us, the economy caused a serious bogging down of the doing of business. For awhile there it became a scramble just to survive and then we fell into a mentality and mode of only surviving...without thinking of thriving.
- Look around and see what needs fixing, replacing or refreshing: hardware? software? knowledge? mailing lists? business plan?
- Because of your scramble to keep afloat financially did you forget the point of your business? Do you need to turn the boat, adjust the course, repurpose your reason for working so hard?
- Look again at what you have at hand to conduct business day-to-day: sufficient? needs tweeking? are there obvious holes that need repair? Did you set aside anything that needs to be now dusted off and put again to good business use?
REVITALIZE
It's not enough to rediscover your dream, your big WHY and make a poster and tape it to the wall above your desk. What is needed now is to again taste that dream. Again make that dream very real and attainable.
It's not enough to dust off the business items you stored in the corner because you were so busy surviving you decided to ignore them...what is needed is the commitment to read those books and journals; attend those classes and complete those courses; call those cold contacts; send those lukewarm contacts a friendly hi and how are you; re-design your marketing plan based on up-to-date information; set a realistic monthly milestone calendar based on knowledge and research not hopes and wishes.
- Look again at what initially gave life to your business and give it a transfusion of fresh enthusiasm. If your health suffered due to stress, address that...Now. Get enough sleep and eat a healthy diet and get daily exercise. Adapt where you need to adapt.
- See every day as a new opportunity to tell folks about what you do and why you believe in it.
Happy New Year! How are you addressing a New Year for your small business?
Hi Peter, first, Happy Birthday! I also have a birthday around Christmas, mine is after. I read your 'About' page on your blog and sounds like you have much you want to do. Have you considered developing an app for the iPhone and iPad? Learn some code, apply to be an Apple app developer and build your own game. Ever thought of this? I hope you continue with your blog. I like what you said in your comment about maybe there's a difference between owning a business and being self-employed...I see myself as both: I'm an artist and an independent distributor of MonaVie [aiming to have an international business] and the internet makes that possible. I call it having a nano-sized business, being a solo-preneur. My goal with my art business is to sell my products [my art] and my goal with my MonaVie business is to help others find better health through the products and to have a business of their own. I "re-purposed" my business this new year by fixing my web presence - updating where necessary, focusing where necessary etc. Have a great New Year! - Linda
Posted by: Linda C Smith | 01/05/2011 at 02:31 PM
I think there is a different element between owning a business and being self-employed, and that decision could change how exactly you go about recharging for 2011.
Re-purpose might be a lot more useful to a business then it may be to a self-employed person, (unless they are going broke and need to change everything they've worked for)
Same as Revitalizing might be more useful to a self employed person than a business.
Posted by: Peter Joseph | 01/04/2011 at 05:38 PM