Future Proofing Your Business

It's TIME for a Rethink while Away from Work.

You might be fishing or lounging on the beach, when suddenly a great idea pops into your
mind….why didn’t I think of this before, you might think….well maybe
your mind was just too busy!!

Many businesses, large or small, have enough problems dealing with today’s markets
and consumers, let alone tomorrow! But failing to focus on the future leads to
many businesses drifting into oblivion because their products or services no
longer suit the needs of consumers and clients.

There’s no denying the recession blasted some businesses and altered their status
Where as some businesses were not affected at all. Mine was the former…so I reshook myself
and came back to this. What did I really know I had to do? Since then I’ve
revamped my business online, blasting into the USA market, working on a movie
and revisited old ideas I didn’t think would work into ideas that will slam dung my business.

The reality is that change has never been as rapid or as dramatic as that which we have seen
and will continue to see over the next decade. Developing an understanding of a
number of key trends including the impacts of new technologies currently being
introduced or developed, the aging of the population and a decreasing interest
in rearing children, growing individualism, psychological age becoming more
important than physical age, the effects of smart networks, the shift from B2C
to C2B, changing logistics and delivery systems, and sustainability issues is
essential to ensure long term business robustness and excellence in
performance.

As the pace of change quickens, senior management and business owners need to be far more
aware of the trends that may impact on their businesses in the next 5 to 10
years than ever. The best way to enhance this awareness is to develop simple
scenarios that depict how the market may look in five to ten year’s time. The
sorts of questions that might be addressed when developing a scenario include:

· Are our products or services likely to be relevant in 5 – 10 years time?
· Will our currently high value product or service just become another commodity in 5 – 10 years time?
· Which technologies are being developed that might affect our current products or services?
· Who are my consumers going to be in 5 – 10 years time (age group, relative demographic importance, lifestyles, characteristics)?
· How am I going to be able to deliver the solutions that customers require?
· What channels will I use to access my consumers (bearing in mind that traditional mass saturation advertising strategies have, at best, a 1- 2% success rate and the retailing
scene is changing quite rapidly).
· Do I need tooperate effectively in both place (locally) and/or space (virtually)?
· How will the increasing focus on sustainability affect my business?
· How is increasing globalisation going to affect my business?

Focusing on the future rather than projecting from the past, the approach most business tend to
rely on today, requires a major attitude shift. Such an attitude shift is becoming increasingly critical in order to future proof a business

It is always difficult to change old habits. However, the shift required is not impossible.
Most staff respond very positively to forward thinking vision based strategic planning that moves the business forward if in they can see there’s still a job for them.

So time out for you is an opportunity to tap into your right brain and find creative
ideas that will propel you forward. Of course none of this happens without risk…and you need to
have confidence and courage to take a new step.

And I leave you with this…being a small business owner and then stepping up to become an
entrepreneur utilising your gifts, talents and passions in your business, means
stepping up and out with XFactor Confidence...and getting into the flow and
mastery of your life. It’s learning how implement the 3 Vital Keays to Create
More Success and make More Money for you….which is my new program.
http//:www.xfactorconfidence.com. Visit for your free ebook.

The Be, Do, Have principal is this concept in action. Future proofing your business embraces
your life mission from the past, aligning in the present and projecting into
your future.