Are you one of those people who chops and changes with the wind and follows the next shiny object to enter your radar? It sounds great to be in with the next exciting development but is it really?
If you jump around too much or have too many diverse products and services, your potential clients get very confused about what you actually do! Look around your own network and see what other people are doing. How many of them can you say exactly what they offer and how many are giving out very confused, mixed messages? Now look at your own business and think how others are viewing it. Perception is key so how other people view your business is far more important that what you think.
Having a focus makes life much easier for you – and also for everyone else. They know exactly what you offer, what sort of clients they should refer to you and how best they can help and support you.
For you, it is so much easier to know whether the next opportunity takes you closer to your goal or not if you know what your focus is, what you want from your business and how you are going to achieve it.
All of this means that you need to go back to your vision. What is it that you want from your business? What sort of lifestyle do you want? Are you going to be a sole trader or are you going to build your business so that it can run without you? The more you drill down and answer these questions honestly, the easier it will be to keep focussed and within the scope of your vision.
Reviewing your business on a regular basis is always a good option. It takes time but the results will help you move forward and avoid the “shiny object” syndrome. Write a business plan and review it annually to see how far you’ve moved towards your goal. Writing it all down makes it more real and also enables you to see where you are in your plans. Set goals and targets and review them monthly to see if you’re on track. If you’re not, what action do you need to take to rectify the situation.
When new opportunities present themselves, look at your business plan and see how they fit in. Do they help you move towards your bigger goal or not? Lots of opportunities sound fantastic but they may not be for you at the current time. You don’t have to say yes to everything! Sometimes it’s hard to say no but you don’t have to justify your decision. If it’s not right then just say so. It’s very easy to get distracted by other people’s goal and aspirations and forget what it is that you want to achieve.
Look at every opportunity on its merits and how it fits in with your own business plan. If it’s not right, just say no!
