To Change or Not to Change

Is it always necessary to pivot or change things up in my small business?

I took over the business after my master, Mr. Arthur, died of a heart attack, a few years ago.

I bought part of the business from his family after he passed away.

My master was an excellent landscaper and he opened the business way back in 2002.

He run the business and handled everything all by himself.

So, ever since he passed away, things haven't been the same.

To be honest, things wasn't that great before he died. 

But now, it's even worse.

I mean, we haven't paid our taxes for almost 7 years now.

I've lost two-thirds of sales and I'm in about $230,000 in debts.

I haven't made any loan payment for six months.

And if I don't fix it in 3 or 4 months, I will have to close the business.

I do want to make changes. But this is Mr. Arthur's legacy.

I'm afraid making changes will mess everything up.

Danny*
Landscaper and Owner of a Landscaping Business

We opened 7 years ago.

Back then, most of the salons and barbershops in the area were not modern.

And, they didn't even have well-trained stylists.

That's why I decided to do a unisex salon – and it worked.

We quickly became the top salon in and around the area.

We were doing really good, until just two years ago.

Two new barbershops opened within that time.

Both shops are modern.

But each one is different and each one is offering a different experience for customers. 

As at now, I've lost almost half of my male customers to those two barbershops.

On top of that, a new modern salon just opened near us.

Things don't look good. But we'll pull through.

I don't think we need to change anything.

We are still number one.”

Lydia*
Hairstylist and Owner of a Unisex Salon

We make dresses for little girls.

I mostly design them and sew the dresses with the help of apprentices.

Well, it all began when I started to make dresses for my two little girls.

I posted a few pics on social media.

And all of sudden, I was getting orders all over the place.

So, I saw the opportunity, took a loan and opened a shop.

But it been a year now and things I haven't gone as I planned.

Things have been slow despite all the work I've put in.

It's so frustrating. 

I don't know whether to keep things as they are or make some changes.”

Stacy*
Dressmaker and Owner a of Tailoring Shop

*Names in this article have been changed.

If it isn’t broken, why fix it.

Right?

But, this is business.

Things never stay the same and things don’t always go as planned.

And, even when things do go to plan, they never last.

That’s because, for any business to become successful, it has to grow – in stages.

And every stage requires a new way of doing things.

Besides, every business goes through a struggle from time to time.

And you can’t overcome your struggles unless you make changes.

“making changes is normal in business“

So every business gets to a point where it has to change direction or make changes.

We call it Pivoting.

Many small businesses have used pivoting to great success.

And, big companies like Uber and Twitter did it when they were starting up – and still do it.

There’s nothing scary about it.

Well, it can be scary if you don’t know what do to save your business – like Alexander.

Other than that, making changes is normal in business.

“can’t always rush into making changes“

Now, that’s not to say you should just make changes whenever you like.

You can’t just change your business model or product or even your target market just because you feel like it.

First off, it takes time for some strategies to work and things to get going.

So, you can’t always rush into making changes.

Besides, this is another reason why you need to have a vision, values and goals.

They will help you monitor and also decide when it’s the right time to make changes.

With that said, making big changes all the time also confuses customers.

It makes it difficult for people to keep up with your business; and for customers to understand and trust what:

your business stands for
and the value it’s offering.

You’ll just create more problems if you just keep rushing into making changes.

“only when it’s necessary“

So, No.

It’s not always necessary to pivot or make changes.

You should only do it when you’re really sure the situation really calls for it.

For instance, a situation such as:

When things are moving too slow despite all the work you’ve been putting in.

Or, when there’s too much competitors to deal with.

Or, when you’re getting few or even, many responses, but still, no one is really buying.

Or perhaps, when only one or two areas of your business is working and bringing in the money.

Or, when nothing is moving or growing and your business has hit a plateau or a low point.

Or, when your vision, values, or goals has changed and you just want to take a new direction.

“do it as soon as you can“

Now, when you’re are sure that you need to pivot, do not waste any time,

Do it as soon as you can.

Problems don’t solve themselves. They only get worse when nothing is done about it.

What’s more, pivoting is also a chance to:

to improve and better how you do things
and seize opportunities in the market.

So, the quicker you pivot, the better.