 Change is Good!
How many times have you heard someone say “One day I’d like to own my own business?” Whether a romantic notion with no basis in reality or a fact-based plan with numbers and contingencies, most people have an idea for a business lodged in the back of their heads.
For businesses owners, the sobering reality is often much different from what they imagined when they started things. There is a saying that no battle plan survives first contact, and that can also be said of starting and building a business.
A great example of this is Apple, Inc., formerly Apple Computer Inc. In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started a business making computers in their garage for hobbyists. The business morphed from a niche dealing mostly with nerdy computer types to a success story bringing personal computing to the masses.
Apple recently dropped the “Computer” part of their name to reflect growing emphasis on consumer products like the iPod and now the iPhone. Could anyone have predicted these devices would drive the business while siting in that garage in Menlo Park, CA in 1976?
Although the Apple example is something most of us dream of, reality will probably be less spectacular. Often, small business owners are faced with challenges that threaten the very existence of the company unless they come up with solutions that are creative and reflect an insight into the underlying dynamics of the business model.
When I started Whirled Planet in 1996, it was merely a vehicle to pay for my travels. Sales were made to friends and at venues like coffee shops and flea markets. We started a website and rode the wave as people started using the internet to buy wholesale for their businesses.
Things have changed as the internet has grown and become more complex. Increased competition, silver price fluctuations, currency inflation and deflation, and changing trends in fashion have all contributed unique challenges to our business model.
We have responded by providing unique products at a lower price, offering superior customer service, bringing new products in more often, streamlining operations to become more efficient, and varying our marketing efforts. Not everything we’ve tried has worked, but we have continued to change as the market presents new opportunities.
In 2004 we opened our first retail store, adding a second in 2005. There has been success in that venue, but lots of challenges too, with employees, new competitors, and a constantly evolving market that wants hip, fresh and inexpensive products.
But one thing that almost all businesses have in common as they change to meet different environmental conditions is that they get better. Whether it’s Apple changing the way we interact with our computer or the corner grocery store that has a fantastic selection of wine, when a company successfully adapts to challenges in the market, the result is almost always a better product and ultimately, a more successful business.
(This
article written by Mike McGinnis and published originally
on indiasilver.com.
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