Final Steps

There are a few final steps to being open for business we'd like you consider. Without an idea of what you want to happen, you cannot evaluate success or failure. And you don't learn if you don't try.  Embrace what your learn when you try and fail.  Remember you have to test your assumptions about what you want to be true for your business to succeed.  Set some metrics to understand the size of your market, the willingness of your customers to interact, and create some evidence-based decision-making on your team. Measure your activity and discuss the results.  Be nimble enough to adapt and grow. Test against customer relationships, revenue producing actions, supply channels, and be systematic in asking your self, "We will know we are wrong when..." and be prepared to pivot, patch or persevere. Do you have evidence that your current strategy is getting you closer to your vision?   

Build a team willing to take ownership of the issues they are facing and to take responsibility for solving any problems and improving their work. Continuous improvement should be a part of your business culture.  It is empowering and motivating.  It's a chance to see your team in action doing their best job, given what was known at the time, based on their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand.  

You may have some aspirational tools and ideas that you may need to shelf until the time is right and the resources are available.  Allow yourself to grow incrementally, celebrate milestones, and learn to have a feel-good moment without adding to the frustration of working thru the process. But be aware that disinvestment can have a negative impact and properly plan for future development so you are ready if you need to reimagine business operations.  Access to capital happens when you are in good times and not bad so make sure you've equipped yourself financially to manage the bad times. Internet communities can dictate the fate of companies so be prepared to manage your online presence.

 A good final step is to navigate your business in the right direction by having a "North Star Metric".  It takes precedence over everything else.  It is unique to you, your purpose, and for many in business, it's why they started their business in the first place.  It helps to determine the results from your actions that deliver the outcome you want.  It helps you decide what to say yes to and what to say no or maybe even not yet.