The easiest thing one can ever do in life is to destroy. This is something one can do consciously. Yet often time you can destroy without realizing you are. This tends to be so because seemingly harmless actions or decisions precede ultimate destruction. That is why you must always take time to evaluate how you conduct your life. This is of critical importance in the world of business. There are many things you can do that seem harmless that can destroy your business. That is what we shall be delving into today.
Running Solo
There are upsides to running solo, especially when starting a business. This usually helps in keeping overhead costs at bay. It also helps in keeping the business vision untainted. You will also be in a better position to make decisions faster. When starting your business, this is all good. However, there will come a point where running solo can be destructive. You may end up biting more than you can chew and wallop in burnout. You can end up missing important timelines. Making decisions, solo can be riddled with biases. The capacity of your business tends to be capped when running solo. Thus you may end up running your business down without realizing it. Along the way, you must consider hiring, outsourcing, and partnering with others or other entities.
Partnering With Or Working With The Wrong People
We have established that being an island works only for a short while. This means partnering with or working with other people at some point becomes inevitable. Good as that may all be, but it comes with some caveats. The major one is that the quality of the people you choose matters. You will suffer the consequences if you partner with or work with the wrong people. Collaborations are always as good as their weakest link(s). Weak links usually stem from problematic or difficult people.
Business performance can be compromised due to having the wrong people on your team. If you find no rapport, it is best to consider changing who you work with. You might be interested to know that one of the leading causes of business failure is choosing the wrong co-founders or partners. Do not take this lightly. In Zimbabwe, people have often discouraged working with or hiring family or relatives. This stems from realising that working with the wrong people sabotages business success.
Getting Carried Away By Trends
In most of our discussions, I tend to highlight trends. There are many articles I have done solely on the latest trends regarding certain areas. This is all because it is vital that you know and tap into the latest trends. However, be careful not to get carried away by trends. It is not always beneficial to get sucked into the latest trends. This is because you may be running down your business by doing so. Tapping into the latest trend mounts so much pressure on your business. This is because you will enter a space where many other businesses are swarming. You will struggle to realise revenue if you fail to be competitive enough. Going against or being oblivious to the latest trends may sometimes be your ticket to business success. This requires you to analyse trends when they arise critically. Do not just follow the crowd; going the other way could be your answer.
Small Mindedness
Time and time again, it has been demonstrated that anything is possible. What can you see, or how far can you see? It is often those who dare to dream big that end up attaining global acclaim. Looking at all global business empires, you will see this constant, i.e. of thinking big. These are people who, against all odds and refusing to consider their starting circumstances, dreamt big. Now I know it can be daunting to think big. No wonder why many people may resort to thinking small. However, thinking small usually results in small to zero results. Thinking small does not push you to explore your fullest potential.
Reckless Bravery
Since I was a teenager, this saying has always stuck with me. ‘Discretion is the better part of valour’. It simply means it is better to be cautious than reckless and brave. Do you know what this also means? It means you need to appreciate that, at times, it is prudent to give up or let go. In business, there may come times when that uncomfortable decision is the best way forward. You probably have been conditioned to think that you should never give up. This sometimes puts you in scenarios where you exercise reckless bravery. The result is that you will regret and wish you had done things differently. Whilst you generally may not want to give up or let go, always weigh the merits of a situation. This can apply to a product, a service, a campaign, or even the entire business.
If you look closely at all the 5 aspects we discussed, something is recurrent. It is important to strike healthy balances in business. There is some good in exploring one side of each aspect. It becomes destructive if you take it to extremes. Run solo if you want but only for a short while. Consider trends but do not get carried away. Collaboration is important, but you must choose wisely. Do not set unrealistic goals but also do not aim too low. Be brave but do not be reckless. If you can strike these balances, you will avoid destruction from seemingly harmless things you may have overlooked.
