"Which silver car is it?" Tony Kibonge shouted as I tagged a car and he raced by.
This race to the silver car was a rematch on another race I had won one cold morning in Stuart Lake when we had raced through the water up to my chest and Tony's neck.
While I had won both races, the truth of the matter is that Tony who is 13 years old is a much faster runner than I am. In fact I think that Tony Kibonge might be one of the fastest 13 year olds in the country. However, in both races against Tony, I made sure that I had distinct advantages. I really had no intention of losing, although in both races it was a real possibility.
But what about you?
Are you intent on winning with your business?
Do you have a strategy or are you going up against, quicker, faster, better competition and just hoping that you are going to win, without really even a hope?
So often we are going against competition that is so stiff that our goal is just to keep our heads above the water and pay the bills.
So why don't we change the game?
When I raced against Tony Kibonge and his class the first time in a lake full of water, I knew I had a clear advantage. I knew that I weighed 100 pounds more and was a good eight inches taller than Tony and this would help me as I moved against the water in the lake to the finish line. In business, we often think that we have to run the race that our competitor has already established an advantage in. I knew that if I was to race Tony in the 100, 200 or 400 metres that he so loves to race, that I would be left in the dust. So I don't race those races.
In business, too, we need to change the odds so that they are in our favor. We need to think about what we are better at than our competition. If our competition is really good at customer service, perhaps we had better focus on speed. If our competition has better prices than us, then, we better focus in an area where we can add value and price is less of an issue. To distinguish ourselves, we need to really be different and find customers who are willing to pay for that difference.
And what does winning mean? In every race, there is a finish line and a goal that we are striving for. However, most small businesses don't have real goals. We are just plodding along hoping that our business is going to grow without having any real plans, any targets for sales or marketing, profit or any other measurable outcome.
If you would like to double your business in three to five years, you need to grow at 20 per cent a year. So how do we do that?
1. The first step is to establish a goal and to write it down. Put up that goal where you will be reminded of it often and everyone on your team can see it. For example "Sales Target - By 2020 we will have $3 million in sales."
2. Pick a strategy to achieve your goal. It might take time to work this out with your team but if you want to get people on board you might want to include them in picking the best strategy. If you have a really small company that it might mean that you need to set time aside to put some thought into how your business will achieve the goal.
What markets are you going to go after?
Where is the area that you are going to have a distinct advantage over your competition? Do you need to change your pricing model or your marketing strategies?
3. Lay out some tactics to achieve the strategy. These might be things like: We are going to research the x market; I am going to spend 50 per cent of my time each week finding work for my team and 50 per cent doing the work; We are only going to go after contracts that we have a good chance of winning. Show our customers how much we appreciate them. We will concentrate on doing exclusive work not done by others which our customers will gladly pay for.
4. Measure your progress. Once you have started working towards your goals by implementing your strategies and tactics, you need to measure the progress and celebrate the wins.
In business, we need to play to our advantage. Just as I tried to beat Tony by setting the parameters of a race that I could win, you need to do the same thing with your business. Focus only on areas where you have an advantage. Know where the finish line is and celebrate each and every accomplishment. Make your business a winner.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is the author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Dave likes to help small business owners and leaders have great wins! Are you ready to start winning? Email dave@profityourselfhealthy.com.
