The Clock Is Ticking: It's Decision Time

Many of the decisions you'll make as a small business owner will be difficult and stressful. Although there's no way to guarantee that every course of action will be the best for your business, using a sound process to arrive at your decision will go a long way toward being able to implement it with confidence.

As you gain experience making decisions, you'll be better able to tackle the inevitable choices that are more complex, or must be made quickly. As time goes on and technology becomes more advanced, the need to make quick and bold decisions that affect your small business becomes that much more of a reality.

Here are some tips for making thoughtful, well-informed decisions:

Define, as specifically as possible, what the decision is that needs to be made. Is this really your decision or someone else's and do you really need to make a decision at all? If you do not have at least two options, there is no decision to be made.

Brainstorm the alternatives. Draw on all available knowledge resources to learn as much as you can about the implications of each option. Identify contributing factors that potentially can be changed in order to improve a particular alternative and those that must be accepted as is.

Weight costs versus benefits. The time-tested exercise of listing pro's and con's on opposite sides of a piece of paper still works. Try to match up direct causes and effects as much as possible, but also consider intangible influences and outcomes.

Balance your information inputs. Seek out as many perspectives as possible, but remember that many opinions, even those of "experts," are subjective and potentially based on incomplete information. Also, avoid blindly accepting an opinion because it's exactly what you want to hear. Every day, I tell people who are launching their first business to get outside their circle of influence and find target customers in areas of town or even in another town and ask strangers the key questions that will give you the intangible knowledge of knowing whether or not you have a viable business.

Trust your instincts. Intuition can be your ally, especially if what appears to be a good choice just doesn't "feel" right. Think about the reasons for the uncertainty and look for further evidence that counters or justifies your level of concern.

Recognize your limitations. We all have likes and dislikes that can bias our thinking in a certain direction. If you lean toward an alternative simply because "it's always worked," you may be missing out on something that may prove to be a better choice.

Do a reality check. Cross off those alternatives that most likely will not occur.

Divert your attention. Take a break from your decision-making and do something else, unrelated to business if possible. That wonderful machine known as your brain will still be chugging away on the decision while you take a walk, watch your kid's soccer game, or simply look in the window. The decision factors may not change in the interim, but a fresh look is sure to make a positive difference in how you evaluate them.

Just do it. Once you have made your decision, get moving on it and move on. Don't agonize about the "what if's" or wonder what someone else might have done. If it turns out that another option was better, so be it. Mistakes are just as important to small business success than being right, sometimes, even more so.

Get Focused. Get Busy. Sprout and Grow. 

P. Simon Mahler, nominated as both an 'Expert' and 'Leader' Influencer in North America for small business, currently volunteers his time for the SCORE organization as part of the "Mentors to America's Small Business," as well as manages a Venture Firm's Start-Up Portfolio and teaches Entrepreneurship at Boise State University.

Dedicated to building stronger economies in small communities and helping small businesses succeed through educational entrepreneurship, Simon is committed to the future success of each and every small business in small towns across America. He is always available to take calls for action and is willing to mentor to any small business out there across the globe.

Follow him on the journey of his next endeavor, by starting a business of your own. His daily blog of activities will be posted on LinkedIn for you to enjoy. Find him on social media and connect to get some great ideas to get your business growing!