I believe that every business has make or break decisions. Firing, hiring, selling, pivoting can be crucial. Adapt or die as they say.
For me firing and deciding to do the work myself (fix ‘n’ flipper) hurt short term but paid off huge in the end. For my other business (video production/editing) I’m thinking about hiring for the first time (any suggestions would be welcome.)
What was your best decision for your business?
Trusting my instinct and not listening to nay sayers that couldn’t possibly relate.
This was mine too. The initial jump out of the birds nest is often the biggest part of it all. You can’t fail if you never even attempt to fly.
Actually starting. Put it off for years due to procrastination or being too much of a perfectionist. Seems strange to say, but many people just talk and don’t take action…
I don’t think it’s strange. Human nature is wired to avoid risk taking (body wants to stay alive, not take risks) and some people are more wired for risk than others. More fear requires more courage, so congrats on the first step
my best was to hire admin staff to get me out of the office so I can actually do what I like to do! (meet customers, sell jobs, do the work…)
Using credit lines aggressively for growth. I was careful about it, but it helped me the most. Unfortunately though I say credit lines. Banks wouldn’t touch what I did though.
Firing unqualified people who never wanted to learn (even if they had all the resources), I learned that many times a small but responsible team is better than many “professionals”.
After that I started to slowly regain stability, I am on my way, but slowly. We also closed our marketing agency business line and we have built two saas, it’s been a crazy road, but for sure it will improve little by little.
I fired 90% of my team after a disastrous 2 years of only 65% satisfaction rate + lost a tone of money. I was afraid of losing everything if i had fired the 90%. I was a big problem myself too as I was the one who hired them and they were allowed to do as they please because I let them. So one day, I just fired everyone, and decided to move to another location with a better rent and switched up all our structure. It took me around 3 to 6 weeks to process it. after 4 years of that decision, my company is on track for 1 million in sales annually with 300k profit a year for 3 years in a row. so that was the most insane thing I’ve done…
I still remember the aftermath of the 1st day of letting everyone go… i was sitting alone in the office and going “what the f have i done”, i sold all the items / furnitures and prepare to move to a newer place. Insane heavy loans breathing down my neck, and I just decided I had enough of a toxic environment, and decided to make a change and take responsibility for my mistakes.
So… for what it’s worth… that’s my story lol
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I still remember the aftermath of the 1st day of letting everyone go… i was sitting alone in the office and going “what the f have i done”, i sold all the items / furnitures and prepare to move to a newer place. Insane heavy loans breathing down my neck, and I just decided I had enough of a toxic environment, and decided to make a change and take responsibility for my mistakes.
Damn that took guts! Congrats glad it worked out well for you
Just the act of starting it in the first place. My life is completely different because of my business, and it’s all positive change.
- I make more money
- I work fewer hours per week
- I work from home (no commute)
- Way less stress
- My business is an asset I can sell in the future if/when it’s time for a change
Back in 2017, I cleaned up some black mold. I went online to research what kind of respirator to use during the cleanup, and it said to buy something called an N95. I bought a few extras and tucked them away with my work tools just in case I needed them for something in the future…
Trusting myself, and started my own business. Best decision ever. How did I do that? You can read here https://www.cuppa.so/post/selling-an-experience-the-power-of-storytelling-in-marketing
I have so many good decisions in my journey.
I go blind faith in my business. Go all in with bank loan. It was do or die. May not be today if i was not going all in. Cant sleep for the first 3months, leaving all the parties maybe for first 2 or 3 years
Rebuild almost all my core team because it is not efficient.
Doing the expansion while covid hit, while everyone is holding back
But i think i have more bad decisions made
Investing in a franchise! I wanted to start a franchise consulting business, so I became affiliated with the worlds largest franchise development company and instantly had access to represent over 700 different franchises in 80 different industries. Everyday I work with aspiring entrepreneurs and help them identify franchise opportunities. I absolutely love it!
I’ve started and ran independent businesses in the past but this time I have a tremendous amount of resources and a large community to support me. It’s not for everyone, but franchises provide a lot of training and support!
Check out r/franchiseentrepreneur a community I created to provide franchise education.
Interesting I’ll check that out
My best business decision was embracing digital marketing strategies early on, which significantly expanded our reach and customer base. Additionally, investing in ongoing employee training has empowered our team to adapt to industry changes, ensuring long-term success.
I copied my competitors SEO strategy. Wherever I saw them post an article, I posted an article. I used some online tools to see what keywords they were using and began pumping out content using the same keywords until they overtook them.
To bet on myself and take the first step into creating my own business.
I’m allowed myself to get bought out.
2 of 6 us did.
This was several years ago.
The company is basically gone & I used part of the money to purchase one of my lifetime dreams.You’ve got to know when to get out.