However, Small Business Saturday is more about promotions, sales, and driving customers into stores and on websites. It's also about being an entrepreneur and small business owner. Small Business Saturday should remind all of us why we are in business in the first place: to offer a product or service of value to consumers or businesses.
With that being said, here are some quick things to keep in mind tomorrow:
Instead of Buckling Down, Try Loosening Up...This time of year is easy for entrepreneurs and small business owners to get carried away and overwhelmed with trying to make year-end sales, sell off inventory, land new clients, and meet yearly goals. However, it's important to remember that in order to meet goals, it's important for entrepreneurs to loosen up when necessary. Avoid getting bogged down with the minutiae of daily tasks. Learn not to sweat the small stuff.
Learn Something New. Entrepreneurs and small business owners should dedicate themselves to learning something new each day. In fact, embracing any learning curve is important for the success of any small business. Learning something new contributes to the growth and development of any team, business, and entrepreneur. It also presents opportunities to expand.
So Small Business Saturday is no different. Meet a new customer who comes into your store or take the time to talk to him or her on the phone when they call, learn something new about a competitor and embrace that as an opportunity rather than see it is a direct competition, or if you think your Small Business Saturday strategy could have gone better, embrace that as an opportunity to improve for next year. Work with your team to make it happen.
If you are unsure of where to start to put together a plan for 2015, first start with what worked and what didn't and go from there. This might mean admitting failures and looking at what didn't work and why. Get feedback from your team or trusted customers, if necessary. Don't forget about the who, what, where, when, and why.
Finally, once you've thought about what you want to change or see in 2015, it's time to implement. However, your execution strategy is just as important as taking the time to plan. Think about how you want to roll out new goals and objectives in 2015 and work with your team accordingly.
Don't Be Afraid of Change. Entrepreneurs have the toughest time with change. Admit it, guys, we do. We hate change because it's uncomfortable. We put so much time, effort, and sleepless nights into making sure our small businesses succeed. So any event or decision that might deviate us from that focus generates a psychological reaction. That reaction could be fear or discomfort because we begin assessing the risks (personal, financial, opportunity, etc.)
This brings us back to the first point about not sweating the small stuff. This isn't to say that ANY situation or change isn't a big deal, this is merely to keep entrepreneurs in check. Their focus should be on devising a strategy, solution or plan of attack to address any situation or concern rather than focusing too much on that psychological reaction, which only turns the focus away from the business or team, and results in low productivity.
So here's a final shout-out to all those local businesses who are looking to make a huge impact tomorrow. Keep your focus on those year-end goals and objectives, keep open communication with your teams, and keep business planning for 2015 at your not-too-distant horizon.
Image credit: © Marek
Written content: © 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 J. H. Language Solutions
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