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Threats to your small business are everywhere. The competition might be about to unveil something that will devastate your offering. Markets can turn on a whim. A key employee might be about to leave just when you need them the most, and nothing you say can keep them on board.
Despite all these threats, small businesses grow into thriving companies every day. Often, it comes down to leaders maintaining their composure and having the mental strategies required to withstand the challenges that face them. Here are a few mental strategies you can use to stay on point, survive, and thrive!
1. Stay Informed
The power of surprise cannot be underestimated. History is littered with boxers who’ve gone down to a punch they didn’t see coming. It’s not just the shock value — when you’re hit with something surprising, you probably don’t have contingencies in place to handle it.
The best way to keep this from happening is to stay informed. Most of the time, you don’t even need exact information to maintain situational awareness. If the competition has started a big recruitment drive, you can reasonably assume that they’re planning to scale somehow and that you need to respond to that pressure.
2. Have Plans and Contingencies Ready
The best way to deal with threats to your small businesses is to have plans and contingencies ready. Responses to threats can’t be done on the fly. Contracts have to be signed; people have to be hired, and so forth. You require some foresight.
There are two things to remember when you’re making contingency plans. First, you don’t have to plan for everything. That’s unreasonable and impractical. You just have to plan around the most likely threats to your company. The second thing you must remember is that your plans don’t have to be perfect. You don’t know what exact form those threats will take, so exact plans aren’t necessary. The ‘skeleton’ or framework of one plan is enough.
3. Trust Your Instincts – When Appropriate
There will be plenty of times when what you know won’t make things any clearer. You still have to make a decision, but nothing really tells you which path leads to greater success. At these junctures, all you have is your gut or your instincts.
While many will tell you that trusting your gut isn’t the way to go, that’s only true when information can give you a clear solution to your current dilemma. In an ideal world, you’ll always have something to work on. Sometimes, (hopefully very seldom), that’s not always the case. Sometimes you’ll have to take a shot in the dark and go with the decision you can feel good about.
4. Accept That Challenges Exist
One of the most surprising things about many small business owners is that many expect things to go smoothly, despite all the evidence saying otherwise. Nothing is smooth about running small business. This lack of perspective often causes these leaders to stumble at the first issue. When you accept that threats and challenges to the company exist, you’re more mentally prepared to deal with them. It’s not a surprise — it’s just another part of your day.
Mental fortitude, strategy, and preparation, are critical aspects of being a successful small business owner. Your ideas and your personnel are important, but those rely on you to stay on point despite the challenges your company will face. Keep your mind and emotions under control and ready, and you won’t fail your people, or yourself.
“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."
