In business the possibilities are only limited by your vision. We explore the small business quest for big picture thinking.
Quick takeaways if you’re in a hurry
- Identify some businesses that represent the success that you would like to achieve. You can use them as guides and also consider them as a source of a mentor to support your business growth
- Be careful to preserve your energy and avoid burnout. Your business will absorb all the time you can give to it: it’s up to you to schedule in the down time that you need
- Creativity will give you the edge in business, so it’s important to allocate time to think big picture.
Read on: Use big picture thinking to reach your business potential
(estimated reading time: 6 minutes)
Small business can do big things. Sure it takes hard work and smart planning, but it is achievable. It starts with believing that you can make that vision a reality.
Here are three things to mull over in the quest for big picture thinking.
Learn from experience
We all have business heroes that we admire. Make a list of businesses that you would like to be like and take the time to understand what made them big.
It’s rare that a business will succeed first time. Connecting with like-minded businesses will allow you to learn from their successes and failures. Understanding how they overcame challenges similar to those that you face with your business will allow you to see the possibilities in tough situations. Celebrating their successes will help you shape your potential.
Consider them as a source for a new mentor or adviser if you feel there is an ongoing opportunity for you to benefit from their expertise. If you can take the experience of these businesses and use it to shape your own journey, it will make your goals even more achievable.
Manage your energy reserves
Getting big will not happen overnight. You need to protect yourself from small business burnout by recognising the stamina needed to achieve your long term goals. Most importantly don’t try to do everything now: small steps will get you there much more effectively.
Building a business plan will help you work out the path you need to take to achieve your goals. It will also keep you on track so that you don’t veer off and start using precious time and resources on pet projects.
Establish some good habits that will protect your energy reserves for the long term. Small business owners are notoriously bad at taking time out. Manage your work/life balance. It’s easy to slip into the habit of turning free time into extra hours to push the business forward. But it’s important to preserve some down time to give yourself a chance to recharge.
Schedule in some holiday and try to set some boundaries for working hours to give you some time back at the end of the day. Remember to give your brain a break, as it is during mental down time you have the chance to out-think the problems and creatively build solutions.
Think big picture and experiment
Time to think creatively is something that few of us build into our calendars: but it’s something we could all benefit from. And if you want to move mountains and achieve big-picture growth it’s something you can’t afford to miss out on.
Expansive thinking will allow you to think beyond the challenges that stand in the way of your success. By taking time to explore possibility you will create solutions that really allow your business to move towards greatness.
And experimentation is a great way to test these ideas out to find out if they work. Experiment with your solutions by testing them: through pilot stores; focus groups; or follow up with customers.
Starting out in business and growing a business are opportunities to think beyond your current position and imagine where you could be. Thinking big gives you the chance to explore your possibilities and broaden your horizons.
Look at businesses that you admire and take away the learnings that will help you to take your business forward. Protect your energy reserves and put plans in place to think creatively so you can imagine and realise your future goals.
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