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I spent a good portion of my day today meeting with two of my local clients. Both clients have growing, profitable small businesses with multiple locations and they are about to implement a brand new point of sale system along with a new online presence strategy. As you might imagine, this is a major undertaking and one that truthfully neither small business owner has time for right now. To their credit, both business leaders are moving their companies forward. If you are considering the implementation of a new process or technology solution, it can drive you crazy and distract you from your core business if you are not intentional about it.
Here are four tips I have learned from these owners and hundreds of other change initiatives, about how to embrace change in your small business without going crazy.
#1 – Decide Carefully and Slowly.
My background is in sales and marketing so you would think my advice would be to make a quick decision. However, I have learned that true sales professionals get nervous about their clients making quick decisions that they may regret. If you are considering a major shift for your business, take your time and ask lots of questions. If someone is rushing your decision, you know you have the wrong vendor and your representative will probably not stick around after your decision to move forward. You will need lots of help with implementation so find a serious local representative that is willing to answer your questions, customize a solution for your business and then stick around to help you implement.
#2 – Get your people involved.
If you are the leader of a growing small business, there will likely be several people effected by your decision to make a major change. Get input from these individuals and have them meet with the sales representative from the vendor you are considering. Today, I spent an hour and half meeting with a store manager and then with the person who ships orders from the warehouse for a 6 location retail client of mine. The owner was already sold on our system but he was very smart to defer to his front line managers and give them veto power. They brought up dozens of questions and concerns that the owner did not think of and they were then able to make a much more informed purchasing decision.
#3 – Implementation should take place in stages.
Many small business owners feel that once an initial investment has been made, a change should be implemented as quickly as possible but this is a big mistake. Implementing in stages not only makes it a bit easier on your personal time management and that of your team, but it also allows you to see opportunities to improve the end result as you work methodically through the implementation process. You only get one chance to create the system you want. Take it slowly and create milestones along the way. Rather than simply rushing to the finish line only to realize you past up some great opportunities, tweak and perfect your processes along the way.
#4 – Use this new project to grow your people.
As difficult and time consuming as a new project can be, it can often seem even more difficult to delegate tasks to your team. A new project is scary and it can feel as though you are losing some control. However, you cannot waste this rare growth opportunity for the people on your team. Think through each task that must be completed as part of the implementation process and delegate not only to save yourself time, but also to give your best people a chance to learn, grow and show their value to your organization.
I hope these short tips will encourage you to take the leap, make the big change you have been procrastinating on and then implement it without losing your sanity.
Have a great week!
James Shepherd
