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Rethinking Your Business Plan

CHICAGO — Many times we think we have everything figured out, that all is good because we have owned our laundry businesses for a few years and there is some cash flow. Let me tell you, that’s going be the downfall to being able to successfully sustain and maintain a business lifeline.

I am seeing businesses, in many cases, barely getting by month to month, scratching for cash because they either do nothave a business plan or refuse to listen to advice. They will not adapt like a chameleon and rethink their business plan in an ever-changing marketplace.

Do You Want Pennies or Dollars?

That’s the decision you need to make as you are running in circles trying to manage people, customers and your business. If what you are doing is not really making you and your family real money, then why are you not changing, listening to advisers or paying attention to all the red flags around you? Simply because you have had moderate success is not really being successful.

People go into business because they want to live the American dream, right? If you’re not in the financial position you desire, pick up the phone and seek advice from someone who has already been there and done it, someone with a successful track record in the industry who can help you re-think or create your business plan.

Do You Want to Be a Player or Not? 

In my 22 years of industry experience, I’ve learned that the people who are successful business owners are willing to listen, to make changes, and to build a solid team. They are willing to regularlytake meetings with their employees, be on-site to feel the pulse of what’s really happening, and then take the necessary steps to push their business over the top.

I released my first book more than four years ago and it has since gone international. I share this not to try to impress you but to empower you. I was willing to seek out and follow the advice of others who walked before me.

So ask yourself, do you want to be a player or not?

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Photo: © iStockPhoto/Yuriy Chaban

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].