ChApter 11 | AFTER YOU OPEN—KEEPING ON THE PATH TO SUCCESS | 185
business success: customers, suppliers,
and employees. Again, each person in
these groups has her own set of goals and
objectives. Your job is to reconcile all those
competing interests so that your business
prospers.
Incidentally, I hope this doesn’t read like
a nightmare to you, because it isn’t a night-
mare. In fact, I think it’s one of the best
parts about being in business for yourself.
As a business owner, you decide the goals
and the steps to reach them. The compar-
ison is similar to the difference between
riding in the back seat of a car and driving
the car. If you’re like me, you’re a lot more
comfortable when you’re driving the car.Axiom: If you need approval from others to
function at your best, you will be uncomfortable
as a business owner.
Advice: Get tough. Learn how to set goals and
reach them. Learn when to take others’ views
into consideration and when to ignore them.Anticipate Problems
Before They Arise
Your business plan describes the risks
your business faces. Periodically reread
that risk discussion to see if you’d like to
add anything to the list. If you’re like most
people, you’ll admit that there may be
something you missed and that you don’t
know what it is.Things always go wrong in business.
Your job is to notice troubles and problems
before they become major hurdles. If you
don’t notice the mistake until others tell
you about the unfortunate results, it may
be too late for an easy, inexpensive cure.
If your business is like most, you’ll
spend some time every day creating
solutions to problems. But, if you don’t like
playing detective and prefer sailing along
on smooth waters so much that you don’t
see the first signs of storms, you may have
a problem surviving for long.
Here’s one way to keep a handle on
problems. Every month, make a line-by-
line comparison of your monthly actual
profit and loss statement to the monthly
Profit and Loss Forecast you made for
your business plan. That way, you’ll see
problems as they develop and before
they become serious. For example, if
your profits are down by $1, 400 and your
advertising expenses are up by $2,000,
you’ll want to spend some time analyzing
why that happened and what you should
do about it.
Another way to spot problems before
they become too large is to listen to what
your customers, suppliers, and employees
say about your business. While some of
their comments may be self-serving, you
can’t afford to ignore all their complaints
and suggestions. Experience shows that
most customers will tell their friends about
a problem they had with your business
long before they tell you. So, you may have
to develop creative ways to encourage your
customers to communicate with you.