Summer Is Almost Over: Take Some Time to Focus on the Future of Your Business

Welcome back to Small Business Straight Talk, a weekly newsletter covering small business topics and highlighting the best small business resources. I am the editor of CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You can sign up for CO—’s newsletter here and follow us on LinkedIn here. 

Hello from my summer vacation! I’m away this week so I’m going to keep it short but wanted to take a moment to encourage any small business owner who can manage it to take a little break. It does wonders for your creativity and focus. Even if you can’t get out of your own house, taking a break from your business - even for a day or two - will go a long way toward helping you gain some perspective on all you’ve been through this year and what you need to focus on to stay the course.

Why? Because vacations - even staycations - are the times when you are able to step back and do your best thinking. You’re out of the everyday grind and taking a break from putting out the never-ending fires that surround you when you’re working. This allows you to get some long term perspective on your business, your goals and the bigger picture, in general. 

When I am able to take this time away, I tend to focus on asking myself three key questions.

1. What is it that I am really trying to accomplish? When you remove all the noise of your regular work day, you can start to refocus on what your actual goals are and why you’re trying to accomplish them.
2. What is keeping me from accomplishing those goals? Whether it’s the way you have your business structured or your own inability to delegate, take the time to consider what is standing between you and your success. 
3. What are the next steps I need to take to solve those problems and get back on track toward my goals? Often we have a vague idea of what our problems are but don’t have a solid plan to solve them. Taking time to map out three or four solid tasks - in very concrete and specific language - is the most important first step to moving forward.

If you do get the chance to take the time to do this kind of work - which requires getting away for a few days - here are some CO— articles to inspire you to think about what’s next for your business.

• Getting beyond the bottom line: Research shows that focusing only on profit will hurt your business in the long run. Here’s what to do instead. 
• Rethinking your sales strategy: Here’s how five small businesses are doing that during the pandemic. And here are some free sales tools to help you do it. 
• Expanding your marketing: Is it time to think beyond traditional marketing? If so, here’s how to create a native content plan for your business and how to turn your employees into brand ambassadors.
• Reconnect with your customers: Sometimes it’s hard to ask for feedback. You never know what you’re going to hear. But, if you want to grow and improve your business, it’s essential. Here is how you can do that by conducting customer research or by holding customer focus groups. 
• Getting serious about diversity: If your company is staffed only by people who think and look like you - you may be cheating yourself out of the opportunity to leverage the life experience and perspective of people who have different world views and experiences. If you already know that but haven’t figured out how to build a more diverse team, start by writing a diversity and inclusion statement that actually helps you make that happen. 

Jeanette Mulvey is a passionate advocate for small business and the Executive Director of Content for CO— by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.