Staying the course

How do you react when you know it will work out, but it isn't just yet?

What do you when things are going slow? You know, those times where you are making the right sales calls, your staff are doing everything right it’s just that the sales aren’t coming in.

Personally I hate not being busy in paying work – so either I take time off or I go find other paying work.  I know I am not alone in this approach, and it’s taking years for me to learn how to be comfortable letting things take their natural course.

When you know that everything is working as it should and your business model is essentially right it takes a lot of faith to trust that everything will work out according to plan, but maybe a bit behind schedule.

To stay the course you need to turn your days and weeks into routines as best you can. For example, mornings on customers, after lunch on product issues and late afternoon on administration. You might spend Tuesdays making cold calls and Fridays on administration. It’s up to you, but by having that routine you can turn all the gut churning uncertainty that goes with starting a business into a process.

What you really need to watch out for is make work. That is, you make up extra work to do, whether it is new customer types, new business processes, even a new business. This feels productive but is really taking you away from what you need to do.

Your people also need to feel calm in this time of uncertainty. Many will not have any experience to compare with these kind of quiet periods, and they may start applying for jobs – just in case. Some will try to help but end up being destructive. Some will be fatalistic but still come to work every day but not contribute any more than they have to.

The key is to show your determination and let them know that this is entirely expected – after all panic is something you should do behind closed doors.

Stay the course when you know you’ve got the right business and wait for everything to work out.