Part One – The Future Is Already Written
People often ask me how I can walk into a small business and spot the problems within a few minutes.
The answer is simple.
I don’t look for problems.
I look for clues.
Years ago I worked for a manager called Graham. He was one of the best business people I’ve ever met. He had a strange habit.
He used to say he was going to “read us our horoscope.”
Not the sort you find in the back of a newspaper.
His horoscope wasn’t based on planets or stars.
It was based on what he saw when he walked through the front door.
Were the windows clean?
Did the phone ring too long before someone answered?
Did staff greet customers properly?
Was the diary so full of appointments that could never be kept on time?
Was the place tidy?
Were little jobs piling up?
Within ten minutes he could tell you what the business would look like six months later.
At the time I thought he had some kind of magic gift.
He didn’t.
He simply understood that today’s habits become tomorrow’s results.
Your Future Leaves Clues
Most business failures don’t come out of nowhere.
They creep in.
A customer waits too long for a reply.
A website goes six months without an update.
Google reviews stop arriving.
Invoices take a little longer to get paid.
The bank balance starts to wobble.
Nobody notices because each problem looks small on its own.
By the time they join together, everyone says, “We never saw it coming.”
Usually they did.
They just ignored it.
The Horoscope Never Lies
Every business is writing its future every day.
Ignore your cash flow and the ending is predictable.
Ignore customer service and the ending is predictable.
Ignore your reputation online and the ending is predictable.
Ignore your systems and the ending is predictable.
You don’t need a fortune teller.
You need to pay attention.
Start Reading Your Own Horoscope
Once a week, stop working in the business for half an hour.
Look at it as though you were a customer visiting for the first time.
Ask yourself a few simple questions.
– Would I buy from this website?
– Would I answer the phone like that?
– Is the place organised?
– Are customers being looked after?
– Do I know where my cash is going?
– What small problem have I been putting off?
The answers will tell you far more about your future than any business forecast.
This Is Just the Start
Over the next few weeks I’m going to publish a short series called
Read Your Business Horoscope
We’ll look at the warning signs hiding in plain sight.
Things like:
– What your diary says about your future.
– Why your website predicts your sales.
– How cash flow gives you months of warning.
– What Google reviews really tell you.
– Why the businesses that fail usually know they’re failing long before they close.
None of this is clever.
None of it is new.
But it works.
As Graham taught me all those years ago, the future isn’t hidden.
It’s already sitting in front of you.
You just have to learn how to read it.
Richard Smith is the Small Business Ninja.
Ready to move on this. Get in touch, tell me how I can help