This week our Business Doctor asks: are you getting out there to learn what's going on and realigning your business to the best opportunities?
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Being aware of and understanding the external drivers to your business environment are one of the key success factors in having a sustainable and successful business. You may have heard the phrase, “Stop working IN your business and start working ON your business” but what does this mean?
One Key area you could spend a time on, over the summer months, is being aware of what, where and which new opportunities are worth targeting for your products or services. Also understanding the potential threats and changes in the marketplace which could detrimentally affect your business. However as a business owner or manager we can be very busy due to all the day to day tasks, which is why sometimes we “can’t see the wood for the trees” .
With development of modern technology and the advancement of social media, news is generated in vast quantities and travels fast. So you can request and set up personalised feeds to obtain information about your industry direct to your phone, or tablet, automatically saving you time looking for it.
1. Register with a business news site , to receive bite size chunks of what’s happening through a daily or weekly blog. All the national newspaper and business magazines have constant newsfeeds, however a good regional example is www.in-cumbria.com , there's a daily breakfast news feed and a weekly round-up.
2. Use Social media , such as www.linkedin.com which is not just for looking for a new job, you can connect with key industry contacts and there are many groups you can register with, whereby you will receive feeds and updates on industry news and events related to your business
3. Listening to the radio whilst travelling or in the office , such as Radio Cumbria’s morning news at 8pm, or BBC Radio 4 Today programme for a broader national viewpoint.
4. Setting up Google alerts with key words such as ‘Cumbrian business’ ‘New business Cumbria’ “industry you are in” etc. whereby you will be emailed any new and relevant information from the web as it’s published.
Ultimately it is all about knowing what’s going on and creating time to allow you to attend Events, Training courses, Seminars , join Networking groups and even visit your customers . A change of environment will be good for you socially but also help you reflect on and even promote your business. There tends to be some excellent speakers at some of these events and you will learn about new business opportunities and even “best practices” that you could apply when you get back to your business. Training events, seminars and workshops can help stimulate you to start putting some actions together which you can apply when you get back to your business and therefore to start working “ON” your business.
An example : Why not take an S.T.E.P. back from the day to day and join Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Business Doctors Cumbria – Breaking Big! - http://goo.gl/DhEs3I
If you are looking to grow your business, Business Doctors Cumbria offer a free business health check where we can help you set a clear vision and understand the steps you need to take to fulfil your aspirations. www.businessdoctors.co.uk/health-check
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