If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening an axe. -- Abraham Lincoln
Outstanding quote for small business owners. It's all about preparation, planning, innovating and then implementation.
Your competition is sharpening their axe... are you?
Although most of us are not out there whacking a large dull piece of metal on the end of a stick into a 100 foot tall tree all day agreed. But many of us do in fact use less than perfect tools, processes or resources to accomplish the tasks at hand. Or we purchased our "axe" many years ago and have neglected to give it the time it deserves sharpening it.
Your business is a tool to meet your personal achievement goals and just like the lumberjacks' axe, it needs to be taken care of.
Have you ever tried to use a dull axe? I have and I'll tell you there is an amazing difference between the dull axe and the sharp one. A business can also be sharpened by examining the difference aspects of its operation. From the handle to the sharpness of the blade, your axe should be well tended. It would be much more effective to use an old axe that has been well sharpened than a brand new one with no edge... the same can be said for an entrepreneurial endeavor.
There are quite a few ways to look at this. A brand new business start up may seem like a great idea, but an
existing business may only need a little sharpening to make it work much better. So it really pays to make an investment in the evaluation of your current or planned business and see if it needs a simple sharpening, a head replacement or outsourced to a lumberjack with a
shinny new chain saw!
As a business owner I
continually evaluated my operation from the ways the phone works, to the accounting method, to services that I pay for and the methods in which I perform services. If I see a place I can "sharpen" then I do so.
I could list dozens of areas to examine for you, but your best place to start is in your own head.
It's your business after all ... right? Sure, sometimes it's a good idea to get an outside opinion but don't give up so quick. Buckle down and dream a little. Imagine your business and all the things that are involved and then start sharpening!
