How to make a business decision

Before I start – I just wanted to credit Leslie Wood for her gorgeous image in the big box above – she’s my newest Pinterest discovery. 
She has an etsy shop here and you can connect with her on twitter here.

When there are so many factors to consider – sometimes it can be hard to make a strategic decision for your business.

One of the perks in running your business is that you get to call the shots. 
One of the downsides of running your business is that you have to call the shots.

Somedays its a big shot. Somedays, it’s a smaller shot.
It’s not exactly a walk in the park.  Although, somedays it does feel like I’m the dude here.

What sorts of decisions did we have to make?

• Moving office space - location + moolah. A studio and bricks look great, but is it worth the monthly rent? Are clients getting the right impression?
• Doing contra work or freebies. I like so many people and I want to help so many people. This is a really hard part of the business. When I’m asked, I’ll often feel pressure – and my friends are so kind, they don’t want me to feel pressure!
• Keeping staff or having to let them go – yes, we have had to see such days. I don’t know about you, but I’m personally attached. To say that I don’t care about them, their future and their feelings is a lie. I’m learning now that I don’t need to be their friend. But it has taken me a long time to get to here.
• Hire now or hire later. This isn’t a hard decision purely because of the money involved. Often, I’ll consider the clients, the space, the existing staff. See what I mean?
• Keep a client or let them go. I have very few broken relationships in my life. I’ve been known to let someone ride over me and not say anything. If you don’t know how and when to say no – this might help. 
• Get that printer now or later. These are small decisions. But often you’ll find you’re making them for other people like staff, clients and impression.

Lots of decisions. Lots and lots of them.

One thing Vivek taught me is this:

See your business as a separate entity.
When you make a decision think “is this good for Kish+Co?”.

Imagine if you go out to dinner and everyone else is pressuring you to have dessert.
But you feel full. But you eat it because you don’t want to be rude.

Often we make decisions because we don’t want to be rude. We don’t want to hurt someones feelings. We’re not 100% sure of ourselves. We don’t want to set the wrong impression.

I say. Forget about that.

Ask yourself one AND ONLY ONE question:

Is this going to be a good move for the business?

And you’ll have your answer.

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