Improve or Die 3 Keys to a Profitable Scaling Business
Summary:
Change is good for business. Every entrepreneur knows it, but that doesn’t mean that change comes easily. I have dealt with a LOT of change in my life, and one theme that stands out is our belief that change is hard. Although, it doesn’t need to be.
Whether you live for change or despise it, one thing is sure. Change is inevitable. It’s like time. You can’t stop it or delay it. Why deny it when you can embrace it?
Embracing change is the key. You have to “improve or die” in your business because change is what makes your business last for many years. This article will explain the three keys to harnessing change for a profitable and sustainable business.
Why Change Is Key
At your very core, you are the guide for your change. Twenty years ago, would you see yourself where you are today if change didn’t occur? Chances are you wouldn’t have the opportunities, relationships, and other things in your life that resulted from change.
Now let’s talk about why change is good for business too. Harvard Business Review found that companies that embrace change and change due to culture and strategic implementation outperform the bottom 25% of companies they studied, two times in profits.
What does this mean? This means that companies that adapted to change doubled the profitability of those that did not. They also found that companies that embraced change grew three times faster than those that did not.
If you are not changing, then your business is likely in a slow and painful death. This is where this idea of “improve or die” comes from. It’s time to redefine our relationship with change. We can’t control whether or not change will happen, but we can change our attitudes and philosophy toward it. A negative state puts you in a reactive state, leading to burnout and feeling exhausted. In comparison, a positive state reaps more benefits for you on a personal and professional level.
The Three Keys To Harnessing Change For A Profitable And Sustainable Business
1. Rewrite The Story Of Your Culture
Your culture needs to be one that can unite and one that has a purpose. It needs to offer clarity and direction. This clarity can happen universally. It can be within the team or organization as a whole. When it happens universally, everyone is on board with the change, which drives it forward.
Having change run vertically from the owner down to the entry-level employees is important because this implements a strategy called distributed authority. This empowers every employee to make a change if it aligns with the company's culture.
When you've got a business whose culture can handle, embrace, capture, and cultivate change, that also translates personally. You've got to have that personal mindset that can embrace change because change happens in our personal lives as much as it does in our professional lives. With this, you have more stable, resilient, and healthy mental health. And that type of energy is contagious. It makes an upward spiral for the betterment of not just your team members on a personal level but the business as a whole.
2. Stop Reacting And Get In Front Of The Eight Ball
Sometimes it feels like you are five steps behind change, but it’s time to get out in front of it. When you are reactive, you always feel behind the eight ball. When you are strategic, you can be energized by change. This is because you are in the driver's seat. You are directing and leading the way for change.
You have to get out of the realm of reaction and into the realm of strategic intention. This is where you start to harness change. Strategic intention starts with your attitude and energy- your capacity to change.
You must consider your capacity and know how much change is feasible for you at a particular time. It is okay to say, “This is a good change, but maybe not the right change for right now.” Part of capacity is knowing that you may still be recovering from your last growth and need more time to recharge your batteries.
3. Know When To Reprioritize
Reprioritizing is all about being flexible. Things that may have been a priority before fall lower on the list sometimes in times of change, which is okay. Flexibility is sometimes easier said than done, so how will this happen? We rely on data to back up our intuition on what needs to be prioritized. Numbers don’t lie.
There are times when our intuition overpowers our numbers. In these situations, we have to stop and LISTEN. Be all ears. For entrepreneurs and business owners, it is hard for them to refrain from jumping to speak some days and allow for listening. Listen to your team. Listen to your clients. Listen to yourself.
Final Thoughts
Change is going to happen whether you want it to or not. Do not fear change. See it as a potential for growth and scale for your business. There are three key things that you can do to harness this change.
Define and rewrite the culture in your business. Doing this helps the organization as a whole to embrace change. Next, Realize when you are in a reactive state, you are always behind the eight ball. Get out of the realm of reaction and into the realm of strategic intention. Altering your attitude allows you to harness change. The third key is knowing that it is okay to reprioritize. During times of change, different things may take those first three spots on the priority list, which is okay.
If you are having those growing pains in your business or feeling like change is happening and you need help with it, we are here to help. Reach out to us today.
Are you still looking for an action plan to grow and scale your business? I’d invite you to take our scaling rich quiz. It takes 10 minutes and is SUPER easy! It's going to ask you a little bit about where you are in your business, and it's going to offer up a tailored plan on what you need to be thinking about, what pitfalls you need to avoid, and what areas of your business are likely needing more attention right now so that you can grow and scale in a way that's profitable and sustainable. Click here to take the Scaling Rich Quiz!
Leslie Hassler
Leslie Hassler is a dynamic author, speaker, and business strategist guiding businesses into more profits, cash flow, and success. Business owners come to Leslie seeking a way to strategically scale their businesses richly, stop the money leaks, and get back in control with confidence.
Using her more than 15 years of experience in business, finance, mindset, and more, Leslie takes multiple 6 and 7 figure businesses from cash-strapped and struggling to profitable and thriving with her unique Profitable Growth Incubator program.
Her genius has also been featured on stages around the United States, such as the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and in publications such as Entrepreneur.com.
Leslie is a mother of two high school boys, an avid traveler, a Past President of NAWBO DFW and an alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business program.