When I was thinking about writing this blog, a thought came to mind—that of a cowboy (or girl) or a ranch hand who goes out walking along the fence surrounding the ranch. Walking over every inch, the ranch hand looks for gaps, holes and breaks in the fencing that need to be fixed in order to keep the cattle—the product and potential profit for the ranch—for escaping. Even in a small home business, we need to periodically walk our fence line and see if there are any gaps or holes that need to be fixed so we can optimize our profit.
Gallons and gallons of water can seep out of a leaky hose or leak from a bucket with even the tiniest of holes. In our home businesses, places where we lack efficiency or make mistakes can cost us a fair amount of money in the long run. As a matter of fact, since many of our businesses are so small and compact—a small hole or gap in service delivery or operations can have a big, comparative impact. We have to keep our eyes out on a regular basis to make sure we stay functional.
As a guideline, look for ways to improve service delivery and make the most of the time and energy you put into your business on a daily basis. How can you do things better? More cost-effective? More profitable? And with the least amount of unnecessary or repetitive steps? All of these situations can create holes or gaps in our businesses that cause our cattle to escape. Consider approaching your operations with fresh eyes and see if there aren’t ways that things can be upgraded or, at least, inefficiencies can be eliminated. Walking the fence lines periodically looking for gaps and holes will make for a stronger business!
See Also: Making Business Changes Painlessly
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