Small Business must embrace change

QUESTION: With all the technological changes, I am in a quandary about how to position my business for future growth. What do you suggest?

ANSWER: I can remember back in the early 1980s being encouraged to automate my business accounting system. We were still using IBM Selectric typewriters and a manual invoice batch system.

The idea of departing from the familiar and embracing a new technology was intimidating. Thankfully, I bit the bullet and listened to younger employees who were on the cutting edge of the computer age.

One lesson I learned over my long career is that change is inevitable and, unless you are open to change, your competitors will leave you in the dust. The trick is to not just embrace but anticipate changes that will affect your business model.

The following are a few things you should consider:

• Keep tabs on your competitors: Check out their websites, visit their stores, pay attention to their advertisements and promotions. These will alert you to changing trends.
• Consult with your customers: Ask them if your products and services meet their needs. Try to personalize the relationship and take notice of a change in their buying habits.
• Consult with your suppliers: They may have a feel for changing trends. If you are a boutique and the clothing lines you sell are about to be updated or replaced, have a fire sale of the old and be the first to offer the new lines.
• Join a trade association or networking group: Attend their meetings and workshops. Find out what other business owners are doing. You may gain insights from changes in other area businesses which are similar or different than yours.
• AI can quickly process large volumes of current and historical data, drawing conclusions, capturing insights, and forecasting future trends or behaviors. These can help businesses facilitate better decision making about customers, offerings, and directions for future business growth.
• Seek help from qualified advisors: The Naples Chapter of SCORE has more than 50 experienced advisors with a wide variety of business backgrounds. In addition to free and confidential face-to-face counseling, we offer a variety of educational workshops on topics of interest to small businesses
  __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  Gray Poehler is a volunteer with the Naples Chapter of SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business. To ask a question or request free and confidential business counseling, call 239-430-0081 or log on to https://www.score.org/naples/local-mentors

  •