Everyone talks about the first year of a new company or new SMEs. It is common knowledge that 90% of new businesses fail.
“If you can spend the first year are on the other side.” Say out there.
What they do not tell you is that once you are “the other side” there is imminent danger of stagnation.
If you achieve a minimum customer base, a good team and a healthy finances can navigate in a comfortable midpoint (face it: mediocre) for some or many years until external circumstances make your SME gone unnoticed for history.
If your SME is stable it is ideal to make tough questions that take you out of a bubble of comfort moment and tell you if you:
Your SME is ready for an external sudden change
There is within your SME agent sufficient to keep improving and growing continuously change.
5 quick questions for self-criticism are:
1) Does your SME is the best at something?
If there is something your company does or offers better than anyone put a checkmark. If you turn around and you’re pretty much like the rest of your concern yourself market.
2) your customers Do you dread the thought of you gone?
Of course your customers can survive without you, but if the thought of losing them as a supplier is extremely uncomfortable’re in a good position to change: your customers will not want to miss whatever the external change. If your answer is “No” is time to take some action. Work on your value added. If your answer is “No” put up some action to know what they are essential or ideal regarding the service you provide them.
Another way of asking this question is: If my SME disappears Who would miss tomorrow? o What implies for my customers to switch providers?
3) Are you squeezing the maximum potential of your team?
Your team can be good, even extraordinary in the execution of your product or service but … Innova? ¿Invent? Are you in a state of constant challenge and improvement?
4) Are you learning at the same speed as the world changes?
An SME is born as a frequently innovative sleep. Still learning or performance has transformed you a poet or philosopher in a machine?
A convenient and fast way to evaluate this is to consult the curricula of universities for careers that are related to your line of business. Do all topics you are familiar? Are you a day in which you competence?
5) Are you committed to change?
Basically: All SMEs must have (at least) a director or partner who creates and constantly worry about the change. Of course, without sacrificing performance. But remember to do it today, change is tomorrow.