Swimming Smarter in a Fish Eat Fish World
By Candace Runaas (published in The World Magazine www.yesyoucandoitclub.com)
Swimming peacefully, serenely, in a quiet and still pond, the little fish drifts past the place he has always called home. His fins effortlessly move with the ebb and flow of the currents to which he has grown accustomed. In his complacency, he doesn’t notice there are eyes watching him, keeping track of his every movement, waiting for the opportune time to strike.
This is the world of the small business owner who has finally gotten his or her feet wet in the economic and emotional tides of the business world. You have maintained your place in the business world and have emerged confidently with a track record of accomplished successes. Your business has earned a good reputation along with established clients or customers. The delicate balance between work and family has improved and the daily routine of an entrepreneurial life is now one of familiarity and comfort. Even though it has been a challenge up to this point, it has all been worth the effort and business is going fine.
Until that fateful day when there is news that a larger corporate entity in direct competition with the small business owner is moving into the neighborhood. Uncertainty of what the future holds stirs up feelings of anxiety that border on fear. Your clientele reassure you that they aren’t going anywhere, but you wonder how faithful they will remain once given the choice between your company and the brand name. It is truly a fish-eat-fish world as this scenario plays itself out time after time across the country and around the globe.
The business world is a complex ride on waves that seemingly come from nowhere. Recessions, mergers, vendor business closures, road construction, weather, and other unforeseen circumstances act as big fish that can gobble up your resources. The successful entrepreneur will use as much foresight as possible to anticipate and factor in any potential upsets that could present themselves and affect their standing in the marketplace. If you think about it realistically, your customers always had the choice to go elsewhere, but they instead chose to patronize your business. Consider this carefully.
What does your business offer that keeps them coming back for more? Capitalize on that. Reevaluate your business plan and the economic and consumer-related risks associated with your field. Reflect on your strengths and maximize them. Less is sometimes more. The fact that you offer unique novelties, excellent customer service, or quality homemade organic food will be a direct contrast to a corporate giant who may not be able to offer that same exceptional and first-class personal touch.
My advice to the little fish is that you have to swim smarter and faster to continue to grow strong and, perhaps, to become a larger fish yourself or, at the very least, to prevent yourself from becoming another entrepreneurial casualty.
We all have stories of the restaurant that we love to go to that has down home cooking that tastes almost as good as mom’s or the company that knows you by name and remembers your special request from your last visit. These are the businesses that are still around after whirlpools of others get sucked down the drain because they can’t resist the flow of change. Don’t be counted among them in the ‘where are they now’ water cooler conversations. Your business can survive the unexpected just…Swim smarter!