Experience, experiment, explore: Three-step business owner's guide

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Remember the time you decided to venture out on your own? The days of struggle, the relentless researching, never ending enquiries, possible networking opportunities, word-of-mouth promotions, and a one-man army that was ready to take on the world. A while later when you succeeded in your area of expertise, you considered diversifying. But this decision had to be made after a thorough risk analysis.

Taking risks is a part of business. But if you kept saying yes to every risk, without weighing the pros and cons, you could have also lost your business. When it comes to maintaining the margins in the balance sheets, it can be extremely tempting to oblige to any project that comes along. But if it’s not a cultural fit and does not agree with your business ethics, it can do more harm than good.

While there are no official rules as such for the business to flourish, I personally recommend these tried and tested golden guidelines.

Earlier, the industry was volatile and uncertain. Now, it is ruthlessly competitive. A mentor can not only help you plan for the short-term deliverables but also aid you in strategising long-term goals. A wider perspective towards your career will help you plan better. In times of confusion, a veteran can groom you to make quality decisions even when there’s a crisis to be handled. Giving you that much needed push when you are low, but also critically evaluating and providing feedback, when you end up getting used to looking through tinted glasses.

Hiring experts to help you recruit right and bringing consultants on board to help you strategise the bigger picture can make a huge difference. Yes, the business will be the slow at the beginning; especially if you have introduced something new. But when you have a meticulous plan in place, the business growth can be orchestrated with ease. Delegating work also saves a lot of time. It allows you to shoulder responsibilities better and create customised standard operating procedures (SOPs) that will ultimately reflect on your people retention charts.

What happens when you have to ‘take a break’ for your mental well-being? Having a backup plan is the number one rule of risk management and can cushion the blow of sudden market changes, in your absence. It gives your business something to fall back on, keeps the people calm that their livelihoods have been accounted for, and keeps the cash flow in check as well. A win-win situation every way.

While it’s easy to get overwhelmed with everything that’s going on, it is extremely important that every once in a while, you take time off to explore new avenues. Re-connect with your inner passion and experiment to see if it can be interspersed with work. If Rome couldn’t be built in one night, your empire too is in the making.

All successful leaders have one major attribute in common – Empathy. Just as you are empathetic towards your employees, also ensure that you have some empathy for yourself. While striving towards setting an example for your employees to follow, ensure that you have plenty of experiences that have been a result of your experiments, and will lead you on a path of continuous learning as well as exploration. It is your positive energy that drives the people. Once the people are driven, business will take care of itself.

The author is a Transformation Coach & Consultant and the founder of Cupela, a company that helps aspiring leaders define their direction through a series of powerful and purposeful conversations