“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw
In the world of business, reality can be very cut throat and difficult to swallow. However, the truth remains that if you are not volatile and willing to adapt to your environment as well as the constant changing business model, you are pretty much left behind. Industries change and so do your clients or your target audiences needs and wants, and so must your business and its growth model. Being two steps ahead of the game is your key to business growth and long term survival.
Many successful entrepreneurs will tell you that their business today looks nothing like what it did when it started and that the rules of the game have drastically changed for them. The way they do business or the way they think about their business is very different because of factors like global marketplaces like eBay, free information on the internet, growth of social media and the importance of brand awareness, and last but not least mobile commerce like iPhone or Droid marketplaces.
The reality is that despite our likes or dislikes of technology and the integration of social media into everyone’s day to day lifestyle, the face of business is changing and so are who you are competing against. Many of your competitors are now now selling state side and yet never have had a business here but global services enables them to provide a similar service or product with a much cheaper labor cost. There comes your ability to change and stay ahead of the curve.
Being an entrepreneur means being innovative but more importantly, understanding how to adapt and how to outgrow change. Allowing change to dictate how you run your business is the single most dominant mistake made by new and inexperienced entrepreneurs worldwide, but being able to foresee what’s coming, jump on that train before it leaves and be able to turn a changing world into an advantage is where success steers away from failure. If you are not 10 steps ahead, you are 3 behind your competition and that means a fatal defeat.
Here are some basic tips on how you can analyze basic market trends to help you stay ahead:
– Understand what others in your industry are working on globally
– Try before others succeed, if not you’ll be too late
– Look at related industries and grasp marketing and strategies in advance
– Understand the economy in relation to your business
– Get educated by reading books and articles online.
These are all just basic tips on how to initiate change in your own mind and be able to find creative ways to retain and grow your clients. Ultimately, your willingness to accept a changing world and a changing business is going to be why you win or lose.
