I’ve come to appreciate that everyone’s individual story is so interesting. Especially in business, I like to know why and how someone got into the business they are in. I always heard growing up, “it takes all kinds to make a world.” With the increase of news sources and social media, we now have perhaps an all-too-close look at the many different kinds that make up our current world. In our region, I’ve heard great stories of how someone got their business off the ground, and why they have been successful. We face many challenges in commerce these days. I think it’s a good exercise to get back to why it all started.
Ah, The Exciting Rush Of Young Love—
Remember the early days of your new enterprise? You found something you were good at and that you enjoyed doing. You realized there was a market demand for your goods or services. You crunched the numbers, did your due diligence, arranged your financing. You opened for business. You advertised. You worked your social media and you studied and monitored your competition. You were probably in love with your future of living the American Dream. As the months and years pass, you up-level your goals. Your company has responded well to your vision, your expertise, and your know-how. Your growth and development keep you at the forefront of your chosen field. Your business is a beautiful thing—except for the parts that aren’t.
Rewriting The Curriculum For How To Succeed In Business
My college degree was not in Information Technology. I took all the required courses the program outlined as necessary to be good in my chosen major. I have learned, though, that other kinds of classes should be required for anyone who even remotely wants to own their own business. Classes like basic human psychology, for when you a) oversee employees, and b) deal with public consumers. I’ll bet that for most of us, learning to effectively supervise our employees reaches deep into our histories of how we managed to survive growing up with our siblings. Accounting; in business it’s more than just balancing a checkbook. Current geopolitical affairs; how do national and international policy changes affect supply/demand and where does stuff come from? And these are just a few I have thought of over the years. I would love to hear your suggestions as to what else should be required learning for wannabe entrepreneurs.
What Do Your Customers Want You To Do?
We grow gradually into the daily routine of balancing home life with business responsibilities and community commitments (to name only three.) The fears and restrictions that came with the Covid pandemic seem to have magnified every other little crisis over the last year and a half. Just when we thought we could breathe and relax a little, now we are dealing with the Delta variant and right at back-to-school time. Ugh. What if we all took a moment to go back to the early days of our chosen businesses or professions? What if we remembered how happy we were to learn that what we offered was a home run with consumers? Forget ever-changing employment laws, sensitivity or diversity training, the challenges of a remote workforce, and the often hostile and dangerous global commerce threats. Originally your customers wanted you to do those things that you do best. Your goods and/or services were a benefit to them. You found your place in the framework of trade and industry and you excelled at it. Maybe those memories will put the sparkle back into the eyes of fatigued and beleaguered business owners?
Aptica Can Help You Better Use Your Infrastructure
Lean on your local IT management company. Let them (us!) explain how you might find extra efficiencies in your IT infrastructure. Understanding your enterprise is basic for companies like Aptica. Combining the big-picture knowledge of how great technology can help you thrive with the day-to-day procedures required in your arena can help take some of your anxieties off your plate. This claim is at least worth a phone call, don’t you think? Assessments are free. Our empathy is a given. 260.243.5100. We always answer.
Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2101, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium-sized businesses for 19 years in the region that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.