Small Business Edge Newsletter

1) Is it Time to Pivot Your Strategy?

2) SBA Business Loan Improvements

3) Podcast

Hello Friends and Fellow Business Owners,

Happy Tuesday, August 20th!

My word for this week is Strategy.

One of my favorite quotes on strategy is a Japanese proverb, "Strategy without execution is a daydream; execution without strategy is a nightmare."

Strategy is about making intentional choices to achieve your goals, focusing on the long-term game, and putting your business on a path to success.

Without a clear strategy, it’s easy to get caught up in daily operations and lose sight of the big picture. Strategy helps you focus your efforts, allocate resources wisely, and stay ahead of the competition. It also helps keep you from chasing “shiny objects!”

I often talk with business owners about the “Clouds” and “Weeds” of their businesses. When you are in the weeds of your business, all you can see is whatever is 3-5 feet in front of you. However, if you first spent time in the clouds of your business, you got a 20,000-foot view of where you are right now, where you were six months ago, and where you want to be in the next six months. You can see the different options and paths to success because, in the clouds, you focus on strategy and planning. There is no execution in the clouds.

Once you finish your strategy and planning exercises and determine the best path to success, plus a few contingency plans if/when your original plan hits a dead end, you can go back to the weeds of your business and execute your plans as if your business’s success depended on them.

What should be the goals of a strategic meeting in the clouds? Here are three of them:

1) Know Your Destination: Begin with a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Whether scaling your business, expanding into new markets, or improving profitability, define your end goal so every action supports it. Where do you want to be on 12/31/24?

2) Create a GPS Plan Based on Your Strategic Goals: How do you specifically plan to get to your destination on 12/31/24 from where you are today (8/20/24)? There are 133 days between the two dates, and your path will have a lot of twists and turns. The more you prepare for them, the better your chances are for success. A good GPS Plan, broken out by month, includes everything you need to do to achieve your goals (Marketing, Sales, Investments, Social Media, New Hires, etc.).

3) Assess and Adapt: Regularly assess your progress, market conditions, and industry trends. Adjust as needed, but always keep your 12/31/24 goal in mind.

Before things get hectic in the fall, take time this month to confirm your strategic goals and how you plan to achieve them by December. Make sure to include key members of your team and advisers to help you see opportunities and obstacles that you might otherwise miss. Then, empower your team and make it happen!

Wishing you a strategic and productive week,

Brian

1)  Is it Time to Pivot Your Strategy?

The author (a consultant) of this article at Harvard Business Review maintains that, at some point, “most projects and strategies at some point require a course correction.” But he warns that pivoting “when it’s not necessary can be costly.”

So, how do you know when to change your strategy? The article suggests you ask yourself three questions to make sure you’re not pivoting for the wrong reasons:

1. Are you changing course because the strategy needs to change — or because execution has been poor?
2. Are you changing course because of outside pressure or impatience rather than accurately assessing whether you are on the right track?
3. Are you changing course because of a new opportunity rather than because you believe the current strategy is inadequate?

Learn more about finding the right time to pivot.

More on Strategy

• 13 Effective Business Growth Strategies for Success
• Small Business Strategy from the U.S. Department of Defense
• Accelerating Growth Through Change

2) SBA Business Loan Improvements

At the beginning of August, the Small Business Administration (SBA) expanded access to capital for small businesses by modernizing its signature 504 fixed asset and 7(a) working capital loan programs. While typically used for working capital, the SBA says the “7(a) loan is a flexible product that can also be used for debt refinance, change of ownership, etc.”

According to the SBA, “The loan program updates build on industry insights and previous announcements that address long-standing persistent capital access gaps, especially for small-dollar loans and underserved borrowers.”

Learn more about the SBA loan program improvements.

3) Podcast

Click HERE to listen to the podcast episode.