Since the column I write every week for USA TODAY is in a Question and Answer format, I hear from a lot of small business owners on a regular basis. Not surprisingly over the past few years, the questions and comments have tended to revolve around the challenges of running a business in this tough economy. No big surprise there.
That is, until recently.
The time is now. The opportunity is there. The world is waiting.
Something seems to have shifted lately, and if you own your own business, you may have noticed it too. Slowly, but surely, more deals are getting done and customers seem to be spending more easily. Good times are coming. Can’t you feel it?
Which begs the question: If you, like many people, have been waiting for the right time to start your own business, or, if you are already in business, waiting to take things to the next level, the question is: Is this the right time, or would you be better off waiting a bit longer, just to be safe?
The time is now.
But don’t just take it from me. Consider the wise words of Warren Buffet, who, I think we can all agree, knows a thing or two about business. He says, “Buy when everyone else is selling, and sell when everyone else is buying.” The time is now to conquer the world.
Despite what has been a challenging economy, this remains the most amazing and exciting time ever to own and run a small business, for several reasons:
- First of all, the computer/Internet revolution has made it so that it has never been easier to be a smart, savvy business person. For example, you do not have to be an accounting wizard to do your books as software makes it a breeze. The same is essentially true for your marketing, advertising, legal needs, etc.
- Second, you are not alone. There are numerous sites out there designed to teach you everything you may need to know to run a business (like this one!) Similarly, organizations like SCORE and the Small Business Administration offer free, confidential business coaching. Help is out there.
- And finally, advances in technology have made this a small world after all; a world where you quite easily can, and should, compete. Mobility tools like laptops, iPads, apps, and smartphones allow you to work whenever, wherever, and however you want.
Look, even just a generation ago, small businesses had no choice but to sell their wares in their neighborhood. If times were tough, that’s the way it goes. It was only large corporations that could do business on a global level.
But now we all can. Every small business can be an international business.
That is revolutionary. It is all revolutionary – the technology, the attitudes, the tools, the choices, the markets. This is as fundamental a shift in business as the Industrial Revolution, and if you are not figuring out how to start a business for one, and take it global, for two, you are missing out on an incredible opportunity.
The time is now. The opportunity is there. The world is waiting.
(photo credit: http://soul-amp.blogspot.com)
