It makes sense to look at business trends for small business, so that you can know what to expect and how you should react as you shape your small business. But what are some of those trends? What do they mean for the development of your company and your industry as a whole?
Those are questions we’ll be exploring in this post, so keep reading to learn more about the changing direction of business trends.
The Hot Ideas that Any Small Business Can Utilize
One of the great things about owning a small business is that you have a great degree of versatility involving how your company is run.
You should take that into account when looking at some of the following trends and determining what works best to benefit your company brand.
- The Office Becoming Less of Necessity – Just because your team isn’t physically close doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be able to reach them when you need to. With high-speed wireless internet present in more places now than ever before, being able to work from anywhere is easier than ever.When you couple that with the fact that more people have Smartphones and devices like tablet computers, it’s easy to see how working from anywhere is an emerging trend among small businesses. As a business leader, you can likely use this fact to provide your employees with an option to work from home on occasion.
- Alternative Funding – How do you get the money you need to get your business going?If you said by getting a loan or by pitching to investors, you wouldn’t be wrong.But have you given any thought to alternative methods of funding a business?You’ve likely heard of the many “crowd funding” websites and tools that are out there, and it may be something you can use to develop your own business or products in the near future.
This could be one of the changing business trends going forward because it promises early adopters the first use of a company’s products and offerings in exchange for funding. Since it can sometimes be difficult for a first-time entrepreneur to get funding, this is a practice you might want to consider.
- Transparency in Leadership – This is something that could affect customers and employees alike.As a business leader, you will want to forge ahead in 2013 as a name that can be trusted. That means showing transparency in how things are run and making sure you deliver on promises made.Good leadership means that you can be trusted, and this is something that you want to practice early and often. Remember: it’s easier than ever for customers to find alternatives, so you don’t want to give them a reason to look.When it comes to transparency and your employees, practicing strong leadership will give them little reason to look for work elsewhere or not give one-hundred percent while they work for you.
- Focus on Changing Demographics – One of the changing business trends that you might be able to rely on could involve changing demographics in the marketplace.In the coming years, baby boomers (people born between the late 1940s and mid 1960s) will be retiring. This means they will have money and time to focus on staying active in their retirement. This could be something that you might want to make a part of your business plan as you move forward.
- Working with the Conscious Consumer – People are becoming far savvier about the nature of the products that they use. It’s with that bit of knowledge in mind that you need to make sure that customers recognize that you think the way they do.Find out what your customers care about. It could be about green technology, where your products are manufactured, or any of a number of other things. Whatever it might be, make it part of your operations so that you increase your chances of retaining the customers you truly want.
Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated. Keep it simple!
For more interesting topics to help you successfully manage the challenges of growing your business profitably, please search our blog at our website www.portalcfo.com.
Manny Skevofilax is a consultant and speaker that helps his clients successfully navigate the challenges of growing their businesses profitably. Since 2003, Manny helps businesses enhance their results by using his experience in strategic planning, financial statement analysis, operations, organizational development, and team-building. His consulting firm, PORTAL CFO Consulting, Inc., has attracted clients from diverse industries in the United States and abroad.
Manny can be reached at 410-808-3441 or via email at manny@portalcfo.com.