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How To Successfully Navigate Change In Your Business

business strategy making changes pain points plan carefully May 27, 2024
Man navigating a ship with text: How To Successfully Navigate Change In Your Business
The entrepreneurial journey always includes some twists and turns. Pain points will come up and it’s crucial to know how to change course without going off track in your business. 
 
“Technology changes, business changes, and we change as humans.” Kerry Zarb
 
But how do you know when to persevere and when it’s time to make some serious changes in your business? 
And how big or small should those changes be? 
And should you cut the cord quickly or take baby steps? 
 
Change will come, so it’s really important that you plan carefully how to make those shifts so you don't derail your business, your clients and your team in the process.
 
Here are 4 practical things to include in your business strategy to help you navigate change as an entrepreneur. 
 

Consider What Needs To Change

 
“What are your pain points?” Kim White
 
This is one question to ask regularly if you want to stay on track in your business. Ask yourself. Ask your team. Ask your clients.  
 
Don’t ignore the pain points, even the small ones. If you or anyone on your team is in pain, and you don’t deal with it, the pain will just build and build and build. 
 
You’ll get tired of all the pain and do something wreckless to ease the pain because you are “just done.” And every human involved will get impacted by you getting fed up. 
 
You can plan carefully for change by having a regular opportunity to share pain points on your team and with your clients. If they know you are always looking out for their good, then they’ll trust you to work through the pain points. 
 

Consider Making Gradual Changes 

 
Once you’ve figured out your pain points, it’s important to stop, have a think, and make a plan. Can you solve these pain points in a small way that doesn't completely change everything in your business? Or is there a small piece of this process that's making it painful?
 
“To cut the cord immediately will keep us in the pain.” Kerry Zarb
 
You are already in the pain point so just slow your roll and endure until you can plan carefully for a transition into something better. You might need to just tolerate the situation for a bit. 
 
The thoughts to ignore are those urges to make quick changes because you think you don’t have a lot of time available. 
“Flip the switch now, tonight, this weekend!”
“The sooner you get over the hump, the sooner you can get back to blissful business and things will be better on the other side.”
 
If you're going down a certain path in your business with all your processes in place, and all of a sudden you want to make a massive change, you can really derail everything you've been building for however long you've been in business. 
 
"A right turn for a train is always a disaster." Kim White
 
So when the pain points are too much for you and you can see it’s the right time to make a shift, then your business strategy should include giving yourself the space to make gradual changes, not sudden “right turns.” 
 

Consider The Impact

 
As exciting as it is to think about moving away from your current pain points, you have to keep your eyes on the path ahead as well. 
 
Making changes in your business will have a ripple effect on your team, your clients, and anyone that’s watching you. 
 
“We are intelligent people. We can learn something new. We can adapt and shift. But  everyone is going to be different.” Kerry Zarb
 
What will that ripple effect do? And have you allowed for that change in yourself and for everyone involved? 
 
There is a lot to be considered when you make significant changes in your business so it’s important to plan carefully and include your team and clients in making these shifts. 
 
Be mindful of the humans that will need to learn something different and will be impacted by something foreign to them.
 

Consider The Costs

 
“The cost isn't just about money. What will it cost us to learn something new?” Kim White
 
What's the cost in time?
What's it going to do to you and your capacity?  
And what will it do to your business for that period of time? 
 
An important part of your business strategy to navigate change is TRANSITION.  If you’ve spent time planning carefully for this shift, it will give you the opportunity to transition before you cut the cord. 
 
Try using this transition strategy next time you start using a new platform. Start using it before you have to make those changes. 
 
You can really see what your new platform will be like. It gives you a chance to navigate any new pain points. It takes the pressure off and gives you space to figure out the learning curve. 
 
If you're experiencing pain points, figure out why.  And give yourself the space to plan carefully how you are going to be making any big changes. 
 
Transitioning is all part of the entrepreneurial journey. 
 
Our Groundwork Brigade is the perfect place to work on how to navigate change in your business. It’s a community of entrepreneurs learning how to build a relational business using irresistible marketing strategies, tailored around your individual needs, in a group setting, with lots of accountability and support.
 
If you missed the conversation between Kim and Kerry on their podcast Buckets and Boom Gates, you can catch it here. (change to episode 56)
 
To connect and find out more about Kim or how to create a sexy business for a sexy life, you can reach her and the My Sexy Business Team at www.mysexybusiness.com 
 
And to connect with Kerry Zarb go straight to her website www.kerryzarb.com and you’ll find her there!