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Do You Have the Right Plan for Your Future?
With the right game plan, I believe this is a great time for entrepreneurs of all ages (from young to old) to succeed in the world of online business. There is plenty of money and business out there to support you and your loved ones for years to come. However, I also believe it’s more important than ever to have a solid game plan in place to cover the next 3-5 years into the future.
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Unless you think it through, you could be facing the kind of competitors who can do everything you can do (and more) – faster, better, and cheaper. I'm speaking from experience here. One of my earlier clients was a credit union. This was before the days of online banking. Once things began moving in that direction (online banking), everything changed.
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Big money competitors rolled in, and my choices were limited to going big or going home. A watched the same thing happen with the auto industry. Don't get me wrong, the option to go big is fine if that's what you want to do. There aren't any guarantees either way. The point is, don't put yourself in a place where you're ill-prepared to face the challenges.
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Hybrid Business Models
There's an old saying about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence. Most people can relate to that in the business world. It's like getting what you asked for but not what you wanted. For all the multi-talented people out there reading this, you should be able to relate to this as well.
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You can do a lot of things, except you're never happy long-term doing one specific thing to the exclusion of everything else. Thankfully, there's a solution. I call it a hybrid-business model. Maybe you like doing a bit of design, but not enough to build a digital design business. Or, you like consulting... but you don't like it enough to leave everything else behind to just do that.
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What if you combined your gifts and talents to build something that, in the long run, will be less labor-intensive for yourself?
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Combining all your talents could give you the opportunity to create something that's truly unique to YOU. As long as the money and the pricing work (at least on paper), why not give it a try?
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The 3-5 Year Outlook
All the above brings us back to the 3-5 year outlook. Before the days of online banking, I had a credit union as a client. As big money began moving into the online banking space, I realized that my days serving that kind of client were limited. I saw it coming. I'm talking about things like insurance, compliance, online banking regulations, cutting-edge security algorithms... and more. Not to mention competitors with very deep pockets.
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The risk to reward ratio just wasn't there. Sometimes it makes sense to play your hand, and sometimes it doesn't.
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What potential threats do you see on the horizon for your marketplace? Are they worth facing head-on? Or, does it make more sense to regroup and focus your resources elsewhere? If you'd like to share some of your thoughts on this topic and how it affects your specific business, feel free to reach out!
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Bookkeepers and Accountants Replaced by Tech?
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The first year I started in business, I needed an account. Thank God one of my best friends was in college training to be one. Years later the business experts were saying, "Don't waste your money on an accountant when a bookkeeper will do most of the heavy lifting at a fraction of the cost."
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Fast-forward to now and they're saying, "Forget bookkeepers. Replace the bookkeeper expense with the right software and save even more money."
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It Doesn't Stop With Booking and Accounting
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I've recently seen surveys that have reported that 30% of business owners have adopted digital tools to help maintain operations amid a labor shortage. Other surveys report that nearly 40% of business owners are using technology to help onboard and train new workers, and nearly 40% of businesses experienced declining employee productivity.
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Other surveys indicate that technology adaption has increased significantly for small businesses overall since August 2020. Keep in mind, we're talking about brick and mortar businesses with physical locations. So, tech and automation are becoming the norm across the board.
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So, again - consider what your market may look like 3-5 years out and begin making your adjustments. Make the choice to be ahead of the curve on this one, not behind it!
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I bought this book at an airport back in May of 2019. I think it was the sub-title that sold me. "A Total Productivity System to Achieve More By Doing Less." At the time, I was heading to my In-Law's house for a little getaway in the countryside of Southern Illinois.
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I've never been a big fan of productivity plans, but that said, Michael Hyatt's approach is certainly doable. Also, I've personally experienced what it's like to achieve more by doing less. In other words, focus on a few things and learn to do those things really well.
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Free to Focus is well-written and a good overall read. If productivity is something you could use some help with, you can check this book out at the link below.
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You can scale your business income without a team and without a large budget overhead. How? By adopting a one-to-many business and marketing strategy for your existing business.
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A One-To-Many System allows you to build an audience and enjoy the kind of REACH (or greater) that used to be possible through traditional social media. Build a stronger personal brand and marketing system. Scale your business's reach without needing to manage a full-time team or employees. To learn more, watch the full presentation -
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Okay, that's about all for now. Thanks for reading and have good week!
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For more information, please visit:
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