Maximize Your Resources – Part 1
Over the next few posts, we’re going to talk about how to take a hard look at your current resources and get the most out of them. This can help your capital go further and increase your profit margin.
Today we’ll cover three different ways to maximize what you already have. These include:
- Recognize the obvious
- Unconventional breakthroughs
- Face the facts
Recognize the Obvious
Sometimes when you are too close to something, you can’t make out the big picture. You need to step back and take a hard look at the resources you currently have in front of you. You are surrounded by opportunities that can boost your career and help your business become more successful.
Unconventional Breakthroughs
Don’t sit around waiting for breakthroughs. You need to create them yourself. A breakthrough is merely a new way of doing things or finding a new thing to do for the same or better results. It would be best to have regular brainstorming sessions and encourage your team to come forward with breakthroughs or ideas any time they have them.
Some great examples of breakthroughs are:
- A health and beauty company discovers a side effect of a product that can be re-marketed and sold.
- A company creates a roll-on deodorant inspired by the shape and size of a ballpoint pen.
- Nike’s founder poured rubber onto a waffle iron and created the most innovative and successful running shoe ever.
When attracting or strategizing for a breakthrough, there are some key objectives you need to keep in mind. They are:
- Look for the hidden opportunity in every situation.
- Look for at least one cash windfall for your business every three months.
- The more value for your client, the better your breakthrough.
- Create multiple streams of an idea to find the best breakthroughs.
- Effective breakthroughs remove all risk or resistance.
Face the Facts
Before you can put your breakthroughs to work, you need to face the facts of the processes and systems that are not working for you and work to correct or get rid of them. System analysis is an excellent way to do this. Once you have a listing of your strengths and weaknesses, you need to compare those to your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
You can present some great questions to you and your team to get a handle on where your business is right now. They are:
- Why did I first start this business? Why am I in this industry?
- What products/services did I offer then? Which were the most popular?
- Why are my customers/clients buying from me right now?
- How did I generate new customers/clients then?
- Which of my marketing efforts were bringing in the best results?
Once you’ve got some answers to these questions, you’ll know better how to approach your weaknesses.
These three areas we’ve gone over give you a jumping-off point for how to utilize your current resources to their fullest potential. If you need any help with your strategic or systems analysis, try our GUIDED TOUR to work with one of our amazing business coaches.