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A Lesson from the Luddites Smart Ways to Keep Your Small Business Agile and Adaptable

A Lesson from the Luddites: Smart Ways to Keep Your Small Business Agile and Adaptable

You’ve probably heard of the Luddites – a group of English textile workers who protested against the rise of mechanized weaving looms in the early 19th century. They believed these new machines would lead to widespread unemployment and take away their livelihood. To save their jobs, the Luddites focused on destroying the forthcoming state-of-the-art technology instead of adapting their skills to work alongside it. This inflexible approach ultimately proved futile.

But, they didn’t anticipate the long-term benefits of mechanized weaving, such as increased efficiency and lower production costs. These advancements ultimately led to a more competitive textile industry and potentially more jobs in the long run. In other words, the Luddites are a prime example of a small group who failed to recognize the emerging situation and simply weren’t agile or adaptable enough, which ultimately spelled disaster.

Why Companies of All Sizes Need to Stay Agile and Adaptable

Today, small businesses benefit from staying agile and adaptable because they can respond quickly to market changes, customer needs, and technological advancements. This allows them to outmaneuver larger competitors who may be slower to react due to their size and complex decision-making processes. Being agile and adaptable also enables small businesses to foster a more personal connection with their customers by quickly addressing their needs and concerns.

Agility and adaptability are crucial in our incredibly fast-paced business environment, where sudden global events, technological shifts, and changing consumer demands can impact the market. By embracing change and staying flexible, small businesses can maintain a competitive edge, innovate more effectively, and ensure their long-term success.

Moreover, small businesses have the advantage of making decisions and implementing changes more quickly than larger organizations. This agility allows them to experiment with new strategies, products, or services, and learn from their successes or failures without significant financial or operational risks.

Best Ways to Keep Your Small Business Agile and Adaptable

To keep your small business agile and adaptable, you can start by encouraging a culture of adaptability. It’s very important to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable taking risks, experimenting with new ideas, and learning from failures. This can be achieved by rewarding innovation and promoting a growth mindset within your team.

Additionally, embracing technology as it improves. Moreover, staying up to date with the latest technological advancements in your industry and being willing to adopt new tools and processes that can improve efficiency and adaptability.

While these are fundamental starting places, you can do much more. Your small business can pursue more strategies to keep it on the cutting edge, and up-to-date, and make it agile and adaptable by doing the following:

Listen to your customers. Regularly gather feedback from your customers and use it to make informed decisions about your products or services. This will help you stay in tune with their needs and preferences, allowing you to adapt accordingly.
Stay agile in your operations. Implement agile methodologies to streamline your business processes and improve collaboration within your team. This will help you respond quickly to changes and make more informed decisions.
Foster cross-functional collaboration. Encourage collaboration between different departments and teams within your organization. This will help break down silos and promote a more holistic approach to problem-solving and decision-making.
Invest in your employees. Provide opportunities for your employees to develop new skills and expand their knowledge. This will help them adapt to new challenges and contribute to the overall adaptability of your business.
Monitor market trends and changes. Keep a close eye on market trends, competitor activity, and changes in your industry. This will help you identify potential opportunities and threats, allowing you to adapt your business strategy accordingly.
Embrace change. Be open to change and willing to adjust your business model or strategy as needed. This will help you stay ahead of the competition and maintain your competitive edge.
Maintain financial flexibility. Ensure your business has the financial resources to adapt to changing market conditions and seize new opportunities. This may involve diversifying your revenue streams, managing your cash flow effectively, and maintaining a strong credit rating.

Also, be sure to communicate openly and honestly. Keep your employees, customers, and stakeholders informed about changes within your business and the reasons behind them. This will help build trust and support for your adaptability efforts.

Want to Accomplish More?

Do you want your company to grow faster and earn more while you spend more time with your family doing all the things you started your business to do?

We can make that dream a reality. Give us 30 minutes and we will show you how to get your life back. Skeptical? Good! Put us to the test.

You can call us for your free appointment at (602) 541-1760, or, if you prefer, Waters Business Consulting Group to learn more about us and the services we offer.

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How to Set Business Product and Service Prices

May 16, 2017 No Comments

Pricing products and services is difficult for any new business owner. Though it might seem to be a simple equation, that’s hardly the case. There are quite a few factors which go into setting your price or prices. Even within industries that buy from manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, there are variables from one vendor to another. Location is part of pricing, not just distance, but also demand and population. Services aren’t much different in this respect. Let’s say that you’re a dietitian, and you work with various doctors, hospitals, and gyms over a large geographic region. You travel quite a bit, so you go from big cities to rural communities. Chances are excellent you’ll charge more for your professional services in the metropolitan area than you will in sparsely populated rural areas. How to Set Business Product and Service Prices One important aspect to keep in mind when setting prices for goods and/or services, is they are promises to your customers. A price reflects value and consumers are careful about which products and/or services they choose. This means that price, while a very important factor, isn’t the only consideration consumers take into account when purchasing. For instance, a big bag of individually wrapped chips complete with select flavors is priced for $6.99. Next to it is a generic store brand priced at $4.99. Based solely on price, you’d opt to save $2 and go with the store brand. After all, you’ll save money and the chips will taste the same. Price is the most important factor in determining profit. Yet countless businesses fail to get their pricing strategy right. The price you charge for your products or services is directly related to your Cost of Goods (labor & materials to produce the product/service), your overhead and the competition or demand. Your focus needs to be on your desired Gross Margin. Price is a major way you communicate your firm’s value in the marketplace. Yet many small business owners set prices arbitrarily or sheepishly follow the crowd. —Bloomberg Business Now as you wind your way through the grocery store you visit the meat department. Inside the display case there are four ready-to-cook hamburger patties made mouthwatering with fresh bacon bits and cheese and is priced at $12.49. Right across the aisle in the frozen section there’s a 10-count box of plain, frozen hamburgers for $9.99. Suddenly, saving $2.50 doesn’t seem worthwhile and you splurge because the fresh, mouthwatering ready-to-cook hamburgers are simply irresistible. The point, of course, is perceived value — you’ll have to base your business’ product and service prices on their value. However, that’s just one factor of many others which go into pricing. Here are some steps you can take to help you set the right price: Learn about demand in your area. No matter how wonderful your product or service might be, if there’s no demand for it in the area, it won’t sell. Think about the old sales joke, “Selling ketchup popsicle sticks to customers in white gloves.” Obviously, people wearing white gloves have no need for such a mess. The same holds true for demand in your area. If you’re selling snow shovels, it’s should be to consumers in climates where it snows. Check out competitors’ pricing. This is a simple way of learning what consumers will pay for a product or service. Of course, you should only rely on established prices by flourishing businesses. Always factor-in costs. There’s no getting around the fact that it costs money to run a business. Even freelancer contractors have operating costs. For brick-and-mortar operations, there’s rent, utilities, insurance, inventory, employee pay and benefits, and other costs. Be willing to discount. One way retailers sell products is by offering discounts. This is a great strategy, if it doesn’t wipe-out your margin, or it’s a one-time deal to establish a relationship for future business. Don’t undercut simply to attract business. A big mistake that some new to business make is to undercut competitor pricing, only to learn the hard way they can’t deliver. After all, it does no good to attract business if customers aren’t receiving what they expect. Pricing is a science and an art. The science is an equation based on your Labor + Materials (Cost of Goods) divided by your desired Margin or divisor. If you desire a 40% Gross Profit Margin (the amount left over after you cover your Labor and Materials), then your divisor is 60% and not a 40% markup. Using a 60% divisor based off your Cost of Goods will yield a 40% Gross Profit Margin. A mistake many businesses make is to mark up their Cost of Goods which yields a lesser Gross Profit Margin closer to 28%. We call this “Profit by Accident”. Because it is feasible to guarantee your business makes a profit, we developed our “Profit by Design” strategy. Contact us for a complimentary consultation to review your pricing strategy and learn more about “Profit by Design”. Now, what about the art of pricing? The art is in the research, testing, creative marketing and demand for your product or service and how you promote its value. The art is in your ability to pivot and massage all of the components (labor, materials, overhead, marketing, value, customer perception, etc.) to work together. Combined, you will develop a pricing strategy that proves out in your bottom line profits and more money in your pockets! Pricing is a delicate balance, but with some research and a bit of critical thinking, you’ll be able to set prices for your business’ products and/or services. Do you know and understand your pricing strategy, or is yours Profit by Accident? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

I’m Struggling with a Staff Shortage and Inexperienced Workers — What can I Do?

January 20, 2022 No Comments

There’s a popular meme going around the internet right now that reads, “Everyone is short-staffed, please be patient.” It’s a polite reminder of the current environment amidst serious disruptions in the supply chain, scarcity of materials, and most importantly, the lack of workers. Last week’s employment numbers were, to say the least, unimpressive, coming in at about half of what economists forecasted. Such a tight labor market means that businesses can’t afford to be picky in order to staff their operations. Unfortunately, this means that some companies will hire individuals that are completely inexperienced in their industries. This causes two major problems simultaneously and business owners and managers must deal with both. Hiring during a Labor Shortage Hiring is always challenging, even during normal times. But it becomes far more problematic when the labor pool is so very small. It sometimes necessitates relaxing some qualification standards and can even mean abandoning those parameters outright. Although it’s best to screen applicants as normal, this might not be realistic. The process of hiring a new employee doesn’t end when the offer is accepted. A key part of onboarding new team members is training. Having a good training process in place is crucial for making the new hire feel comfortable at your company – it’s also a great opportunity to communicate your business’ culture, encourage good habits and ensure alignment on long-term goals and strategies from the beginning of the relationship. —National Federation of Independent Business The result can easily lead to hiring individuals who don’t meet your expectations. It’s important to remember that this isn’t your fault or even theirs. It is simply a reflection of the economic circumstances of the times. So, there’s no personal blame assignable and it’s best to set this aside and address the most real and immediate problems first. Strategies for Training Inexperienced Workers Exasperated business owners can successfully transform inexperienced employees into productive team members by doing one or more of the following: Exercise patience. Your very first order of business is to put yourself in the right mindset. You yourself were probably once green and inexperienced. Just as then, these individuals will need to learn the trade. So, give them a stripped-down, crash course. Begin with the highest priorities first and make this repetitive so it quickly becomes second nature. During this time, you’ll need to be patient as they struggle through a learning curve. Create a boot camp course or environment. If you’re in a franchise business that already has training materials, make good use of these. If not, come up with a simple, point-by-point flow chart that your employees can follow and build a productive routine. Make this process as simple as possible, highlighting the priorities over and over again. The point is to get them as familiar with the operations as possible without confusing them with extraneous details and/or minutia. Offer incentives. A great way to motivate your inexperienced hires is to give them rewards when they reach certain goals. Remember, they’re the ones who showed up for the job in the first place and therefore have the work ethic that you would expect. Put this self-starter mentality to work to your advantage by offering little incentives when they reach milestones. This will also help you readily identify the leaders in the pack and will also reveal who isn’t actually motivated. What other suggestions do you have for training inexperienced workers? Please take a few moments to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your perspective! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

You Don’t have to Meet a Politician to Find a Hypocrite — Your Mirror Might just Reflect One

March 1, 2019 No Comments

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just moved into a luxury apartment in Washington D.C. It doesn’t contain one affordable housing unit. In fact, the complex doesn’t even comply with D.C.’s Affordable Dwelling Units program. This, after campaigning on a platform which included “Safe, affordable, adequate housing for all.” George H.W. Bush infamously said, “Read my lips. No new taxes.” LBJ promised the country not to escalate America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. George W. Bush campaigned, in-part, against excess government spending. Then, expanded several federal programs. How Hypocrisy Hurts Businesses The list goes on and on and on. Bernie Sanders, who rails against wealth inequality, owns three houses, has a net worth of about $2 million, and earns a six-figure salary. You get the idea. And, these are just a handful of politicians. It doesn’t include entrepreneurs, celebrities, professional athletes, and other public figures. As a business owner or manager, it’s important to practice what you preach. If you require employees to be available 24/7 while you’re MIA, or you’re constantly texting on the job while you prohibit employees from using their phones, for example, your hypocritical behavior is sending the wrong message to employees, and they may resent you for it. —Business News Daily Of course, hypocrisy is everywhere. When it occurs in a business environment, it’s very harmful. Hypocrisy undermines your ability to lead. After all, it’s essentially telling your employees to literally do as you say, NOT do as you do. You lose respect. It compromises your standing. Plus, it makes it very difficult for others to even work with you. 3 Key Ways to Avoid Hypocrisy as a Business Leader Hypocrisy is a dangerous trait. It essentially subverts morale and threatens the very viability of a business. It can even go so far as to cause a self-inflicted implosion. So, just how do you avoid being hypocritical? Here are a few helpful suggestions for how to avoid hypocrisy as a business leader: Practice self-awareness. You might call this “practice what you preach.” It’s an obvious reminder but one definitely worth mentioning. Every day, you should stay vigilant and stay self-aware about your own behavior. While it’s not rocket science, it’s quite difficult to put into practice. Be consistent with decisions. It’s almost impossible not to have or even show bias. We all do it in a variety of ways. You might treat team members differently due to your own personal biases. When making decisions, consider all sides of the equation. Actively solicit constructive criticism. It’s always good to encourage feedback from your employees (as well as your customers). And, doing so could reveal hypocrisy you commit but don’t consciously act against. What other advice would you give about avoiding hypocrisy? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.