Business decisions

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     to help you better manage your small business.

     Never fear making a decision. Good or bad, you will learn something.

     Everyone makes decisions everyday. Most are small with few consequences. These are throwaway decisions. They are part of living.

     Big decisions, however, require careful thinking, planning and execution. Big decisions have big time consequences. Especially in your small business. 

     Example: Antwan started his business delivering packages. He delivered pizzas, auto parts, and other items to local people and businesses. Lots of competition taught him to be lean and mean--he didn't worry about UPS or Fedex. His dreams were bigger. He thought he saw a market for quick local deliveries--not only in his town, but others as well. He hired an employee to make deliveries in an adjacent town. His margins were very tight, but it worked. Then, the unexpected happened. The employee he had hired quit suddenly and Antwan scrambled to find a replacement. In his search, he talked with a lady who was interested. But she wanted to have a business of her own. The idea really came from her, but he set her up on a path to own a franchise. It took many decisions and time and hard work to get it to happen, but today Antwan has franchised his local delivery service and expanded into several towns. The basic idea is the same--local same day deliveries. But the overall business has grown into an operation much larger because of a critical business decision. Today, Antwan sells franchises to people who want to have a little business of their own. He no longer does the delivering himself. 

     Sometimes you are forced into decisions. To realize an ultimate dream for your business can take an avenue different from the original plan for your business.

     Your own business forces you to make decisions. You are at the leading edge of the marketplace which is constantly changing. And, ultimately, it's the marketplace that puts you in a corner. 

     When you decide to change the direction of your small business, do that business plan. That planning is where you meet the marketplace.