I commonly hear this refrain from many small business owners especially as we head into another year. There are good reasons to think that our best years of building our business are behind us. Certainly the popular press shows this every night on the news.
The reality of what we faced the last few years is brutal. While our overall economy is improving, there is still no credit for small businesses to grow from banks. Health insurance increases are still making that cost the second largest behind people for small business.
Stop moaning since there are reasons to be optimistic:
1. Only laziness holds us back from finding a new customer in a $14T US economy. There has to more customers in pain that will pay for your solution. Put systems in place to form relationships with them.
2. “Frugal Fatigue” has set in. As Rieva Lesonsky says, people are tired of not buying. Spending is up. Why shouldn’t they spend their money with you?
3. Employees are cheap. You can afford that person now to take your small business to the next level. They may have been out of work for a year.
4. Marketing is cheap. The playing field is more level to get your message out in a world that values human relationships over big fancy advertising campaign. Spend time setting a social media stategy and executing it properly.
5. Your business is “Anywhen“- As Chris Brogan coined this term, technology now gives us the ability to work at your business anywhere and anytime. We are no longer tied to a geographic location or a timezone. Take advantage of this to live the life we want as a small business owner.
Are our best years in business behind us?
