While many small businesses seem to be perpetually in survival mode, others are ready to move up to the next level. Even with this economy.

I’m currently working with the owners of two businesses who are in this situation, although their circumstances are very different. One has been surprised by the growing number of orders, and unprepared for what to do next. The other is fed up with playing small and determined to do whatever it takes to uplevel.

What both of them have in abundance is enthusiasm; unfortunately what both of them lack is a clear strategy of what they need to do next.

Clarity cuts through the busyness

If all you had to do was visualise where you want your business to be in 1, 5 or even 10 years’ time; and the results you want, it would be easy to see the path forward. Unfortunately the day to day running of your business takes priority and it can seem like a guilty luxury to spend some of that limited time visualising.

But you can’t move up to the next level with the same thinking that got you to where you are today (to paraphrase Mr. Einstein). Playing bigger requires bigger thinking. So making time for thinking, visualising and daydreaming is essential in order to get clarity.

Another wonderful benefit of gaining clarity is that you can then identify those activities aren’t actually worth doing anymore – and stop doing them!

Strategy defeats overwhelm

One of the reasons many business owners struggle to uplevel their business is that they become overwhelmed at the enormity of the task. It appears too big to tackle, so they give up and continue playing small.

Yet once you have clear goals to aim for, designing the strategy to take you there becomes so much easier. And then planning out the action steps to take is easier too.

No longer is upleveling an overwhelming mountain, it’s an exciting expedition in manageable stages, along a clear path. As my clients are discovering!

If you enjoyed this post, please share by clicking on the button of your choice. Thank you.