Navigating Tough Choices: Insights and Strategies for Small Business Owners
Whew, 2022. What a year.
In all the years I have been in business, no year has been like this one. But isn’t that a familiar refrain? Whether it’s year one, or 2020 during a global pandemic, or whatever shit is hitting the fan that particular quarter (pardon my French, but poop isn’t the right word to use here)–the surprises, twists and turns, pivots, gut-dropping fallouts and euphoric highs never end in small business land.
Running a business is the hardest thing I have ever done.
Don’t misunderstand me–I consider it a privilege and an honor to do the work I do with the people we have here that I get to do it with. But it is never not hard. EVER. The type of hard just changes. Because the reality is your business is in a constant expansion or retraction mode. And that translates into change. Constant change. And as we all know by now, change is hard.
I read somewhere once that when you start your business you think- “one day, I won’t have problems like these”, and you fantasize for that moment to come. But the reality is, you will always have problems. In business and as a human. The nature of these problems and the types of problems you have just change as you evolve.
I have had to do things this year that I never wanted to do. But ultimately, being a leader comes down to standing up for what you believe in and being brave–especially in the moments when you feel anything but. I am so far from an expert on this it’s laughable but I DO know what’s got me through all the tough choices I have made this year. Hopefully some of them will help you when you’re faced with the fork in the road as well.
Trusted Advisors: Finding Support and Guidance in Challenging Times
It does not feel good to have panic and anxiety over work stress. It feels EVEN WORSE to have those feelings in a vacuum. Your spouse may not get it. Your Mom is probably entirely unhelpful. But a mentor can make all the difference. I have a COO who happens to know my faults and is the absolute best co-captain to have in any given situation alongside the leadership team. This sounding board has prevented me from all sorts of bad choices. Find your person and listen to them–especially when you don’t want to. Avoidance is easier but NOT better. It just delays the inevitable.
Responding with Clarity: Taking Time to Formulate Effective Responses
My initial reaction to bad news or disarray is to wait. I need time to process my feelings, get over the initial reaction and formulate my response. I need to “marinate” as I like to say. I can say that 100% of the time this has been the right move. Clarity comes with time and with consulting with mentors and guides. Just make sure you don’t take TOO long. Action is inevitable, but feels better with a plan you can feel confident in.
Legal Protection: The Importance of Having a Lawyer in Your Corner
I am a big fan of relying on experts. Have them read the contract, hear about the situation and give their honest feedback. You need one no matter what. Don’t wait for an emergency to get representation. Your business may depend on it.
The Power of Numbers: Making Informed Decisions through Financial Analysis
There is no emotion in the financials. They are either improving or declining. You are either in the black or the red. Your passion project may be tanking your company. Your overhead might be through the roof and if you don’t turn it around pronto, you’re only hurting yourself and endangering the very foundation of something you have built with everything you have. Don’t lose your business because you can’t read the writing on the wall. The money is a window into what is working and what is not. Letting money guide your decisions entirely is of course not the point. But don’t shirk away from the truth it tells because you don’t want to make the hard decisions that go along with that.
Upholding Integrity: Acting in Alignment with Your Business Values
A refresher for us all, shall we? Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In other words, do what you say and mean what you say as my Grandpa liked to say.
Being a business owner tests your integrity all the time. But if you have a mission statement, if you have values, it makes acting with integrity that much easier. Follow the map you wrote and run your actions through the test. If you say you value your team but you allow a client to treat them with contempt, does that jive? If you have a contract that you have people sign but they disregard it, do you enforce it? It’s awkward. It’s anxiety producing. But it’s the right thing to do and often it’s really hard. But if you have a standard of ethics and core values, you have to uphold them no matter how tough the going gets.
Finding Purpose: Having a Clear Why and Plan to Navigate Challenges
When I quit my job right before I started Anchorlight I used to dread going to work every morning. Anxiety, low-grade panic- all of the things. I felt that way every day for a year before I quit. That experience is a litmus test for me. If I feel remotely like that, in a job that I created for myself I ask myself what is going on? What choices am I making that are contributing to this and what do I need to do to alleviate it? Most of the time it’s a hard decision that I just need to make but I don’t want to. But having a clear picture of what I don’t want, coupled with a plan for the future that I DO want-like our strategic plan for 2023-is enough to get me unstuck and out of the weeds. Back on the path of moving forward.
Some days the progress is easier to make than others. Some days its inches and some days it’s feet. And sometimes you fall back down the mountainside and want to give up. The next peak feels so far away its barely visible. But find the things that make this tough job worth doing. Find the people who appreciate you, the team that supports you and the plan worth fighting for. No matter what struggle you face, I KNOW you have it in you to overcome it. Onward to that next peak.
