The path to success in business is not straight and narrow. There are many bumps in the road and many choices on which direction to take as you journey. For entrepreneurs that want to rise above ordinary business results to extraordinary success, a certain amount of calculated risks are necessary.
Look at four ways you can implement strategic risk to your business advantage:
Understanding Potential
The biggest payoffs in business don’t happen in fields or niches that are already established. If you want to see the biggest return on your investment, go in a totally new direction. Find an area of need in your industry, even if no one has ever attempted to fill it before. Do you think Mark Zuckerberg knew exactly how big a success Facebook would be when he started it? He took a risk that paid off big time – and it happened because he noticed a need that no one else stopped to see. You find that many traditional business markets today are being disrupted by technology or a whole new business model being applied. This could be brick and mortar shops going totally online or apps like Uber who are cutting out the middle man giving consumers a better product at a better price. Compare business potential to playing video poker – there’s no guarantee you’ll win on the first pull, but understanding your odds and what you can gain with the right strategy informs your actions.
Tapping Delegation
You truly can’t do it all – not if you want to keep growing in business. It’s difficult for many entrepreneurs to loosen up on the reins and let other people handle aspects of their businesses, but it’s a valuable skill to learn. Start by looking at aspects of your business that are repeatable tasks which don’t require your input to accomplish. Create a process document that can be used as a step by step guide for employees to follow and complete the tasks. Once you feel comfortable with delegating thes simpler tasks you can move on to more complicated items. You can reduce the risk of issues with delegation with vigilant hiring practices, proper training and appreciation for employees through compensation and a positive work culture that makes them loyal to your brand and goals.
Embracing Failure
No one sets out to fail but you should understand that it happens sometimes. When something doesn’t go as planned, examine it for any important lessons and then move on. Analyze the entire process and where your failure point were to correct them moving forward. Failure is not the end; it’s a step in the path to business success. When you take risks, you won’t always win out. When just one of those risks pays off, though, it will be worth all the setbacks along the way.
Breaking the Rules (Sometimes)
There are some business boundaries that you simply can’t cross – and most of those have to do with legal and ethical standpoints. There are some unwritten “rules” though that are meant to be broken by the most ambitious of entrepreneurs. Perhaps there is a client that, on paper, is out of your league to land. So what? Come up with a killer proposal and pitch that client anyway. Maybe you want to run your business in a completely different way than the rest of your industry does. Go for it! In the process, you may find a more efficient way to operate than anyone else has discovered before – and that will give your business an advantage. It’s okay to step away from the status quo when it comes to building success.
Risk is not a negative thing; taking calculated ones can mean a huge payoff for your business, either immediately or down the road. Remember that you know your business better than anyone else. Go with your gut, and back it up with industry know-how, and you’ll achieve more in the long run.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
