In the last Blog Expert post in this mindset series we discussed clear thinking and ensuring everything we do each day fits in with our overall business direction.
In this post we explore one of the fundamental traits that many business owners ignore and that is ‘CHANGE’.
I was in a meeting with a customer recently, and he surprised me by stating with absolute confidence: “I don’t like change.”
Don’t like change?
Is that possible?
I paused for a moment and then queried his statement.
If he bought a winning lottery ticket, would that make him happy or sad?
There is the potential for change, on a mammoth scale.
If he was invited to pick up an award as a leader in his field of small business ownership, would he turn it down, preferring for things to stay the same?
My client thought about it for a while, and finally decided that winning the lottery or being nominated for an award would be fine. It wasn’t that he didn’t like positive change, he decided. It was just that he has always associated the word change with bad things.
Why do we need to accept change as business bloggers?
The ability to embrace change is fundamental for anyone who runs their own business.
Customers often commission work and then decide they want something different half way through. Service providers may leave us in the lurch after agreeing to deliver certain products, and industry rules and regulations may shift and alter half way through us deciding to work in a certain way, leaving us heading back to the proverbial drawing board to revise our approach.
Whichever way you look at it, working for ourselves still involves engaging a number of stakeholders and suppliers, and working with customers every day either face to face or online.
This means that we are always going to be at the mercy of other people’s demands and wishes, leaving us at times wondering how to stay ahead of the changes which our various relationships may send our way.
The ability to keep up with shifting demands will arm us against business failure, by giving us the techniques necessary to ‘go with the flow’, adapting and transforming our approach in line with external influences.
People who fail to adapt and change find themselves being left behind, as competitors innovate and alter to anticipate shifts in their industry, and static businesses fall by the wayside.
How to learn to embrace change as a small business owner
Becoming acceptance of change doesn’t involve a huge shift in mindset in order to radically alter your personality.
If you’re inherently a cautious person, there are still a number of things you can do to run with change with a positive outlook.
The following steps will support you to adapt to changes easily, without feeling insecure about heading off in new directions…
Understand the reason behind the change
Change happens for a reason, whether it is to adapt to industry regulations, gain more customers or increase your revenue. Knowing why you are making changes will help you to accept them.
Be proactive
Thinking of ways to change ahead of demand will support you to accept it, as you remain in control and have an active role in instigating it.
Watch the industry you work in
As circumstances and situations evolve around you, keep aware of what is taking place. This will make it easy for you to anticipate new directions for your business and meet the requirements of your customers without feeling as if you are falling out of your comfort zone.
Accept that change is inevitable
As a business blogger, you will always come in to situations that require shifts in thinking to improve your strategy and support evolution and growth, in a positive direction. Over time, you will get more accustomed to moving with the changes which come your way, understanding that it is part of running a successful business.
Previous posts in this blog expert series, the Six ‘C’s of blogging success :
How do you deal with change?
Please share your views in the comments below.
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Andrew is a website builder and helps small businesses with their on-line presence…so they can grow their customer list and increase sales. That’s it! That’s what we do each and every day.
Hi Andrew
I believe if we don’t embrace change we will stagnate and go backwards. Even though I did a comprehensive biz plan on embarking on my blogging & biz venture; have needed to be flexible and bring change as and when necessary.
Some changes I have wanted to implement I needed to be patient and wait for the right moment and also some changes had to wait till I could get them done for me. One of these example just happened yesterday 🙂
At last I have my site looking the way I want it. Please go and have a look. A friend has done it for me and so far all my readers love it. Also I just have my first guest poster and he has written a mega post. So I’m excited by what change can bring.
Heaps more things happening and some of the changes have been encouraged by my connecting with experienced bloggers/marketers who have made suggestions or have offered assistance even without me asking.
Really enjoyed the post. Very important aspect if wanting a successful business. Thanks Andrew.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia
Your site looks wonderful. You must be so pleased.
The change you have personally gone through is amazing…I remember your first wesbite!
Andrew
Change is definitely something important all business owners should be aware of. Those who don’t adapt to changing market conditions will just be buried by the competition.
Henway
Exactly!
Andrew
Andrew – I used to be one of those people who always associated change with being a bad thing. However, once I started to accept that things were going to change and I have to just deal with the changes the best way I can I started to realize that change really isn’t that bad.
I think when you look at change in a positive way it will give you the opportunity to grow and to get better at what you’re doing. This is why I agree with your point that if you want to adapt to change better you need to accept that change is inevitable. Thanks for sharing.
John,
What you say is all very true.
Change will happen…no matter what. Best to go along with it.
Andrew
I think if you are going to try and succeed in any online business, you need to be able to adapt. The reason is that the internet changes quickly and you need to keep abreast of the change. But the good news is that the change generally is to the benefit of the entrepreneur. The internet is constantly moving to connect more of the world. It provides better ways for us to connect with our audience. All we have to do is keep up and we can succeed.
Richard
Change is also about changing your approach when things are just not working.
That’s a real skill…knowing it isn’t working and being brave enough to change.
Andrew
It is very true that “change ” is inevitable in both big and small business. There are always new strategies and techniques in the world of business. Therefore, a CHANGE is essential if you don’t wanna be left behind. You must stay in the loop when you are an entrepreneur. Thank for sharing such a nice post.
You are welcome.
Andrew