A trend I noticed a few years back seems to be gathering steam. My business clients seem to be doing either exceedingly well or just barely surviving. Those in the middle appear to only be there while they are either growing rapidly or continuing a long-term slide to elimination.
Granted, my client base is a small sample. But my online research and talks with other CPAs seem to back up a trend that is basically being ignored.
I believe that it is no accident that this separation of businesses into the extremes is occurring. What I have noticed is that successful businesses do the following six things that are critical to their growth:
- Successful business owners have a success plan that they update annually in order to stay focused on their objectives.
- Successful business owners have a monthly implementation plan designed to help them reach their goals.
- Successful business owners never stop learning. They read constantly, they take courses, and they hire coaches.
- Successful business owners understand that in a sales transaction, the information available on the internet has shifted the power from the seller to the buyer, and have adjusted their marketing accordingly.
- Successful business owners stay current, and often lead the way, on tech trends.
- Successful business owners also understand how these changes in technology will affect how their customers interact and buy from them.
So what does this mean for you?
In the past you could just operate your business and make a decent living. Now what I am seeing is that every niche is being dominated by one or two companies who have acquired 85-95% of the customers. All the other business owners are left fighting over the scraps.
What are you doing this year to ensure that you are one of the successful business owners?