Wanted: Small Business Solutions! At all costs!
Aaahhh…business solutions for your small business…they are so desirable but oh so elusive!
How do you know what is right for your business? How do you know when is the right time? Do you have the courage to try something that just might not work?
Hello, I am Lorna Barrow Founder of Impact Training and Development Services (ITDS). I started this business because I passionately believe, and I have proven, that the best way for small business owners to grow their businesses is first to grow and develop themselves and then to do the same for their teams.
In addition, I also know that it is a mistake to take “big business” solutions and resize them to fit our small businesses. You see, small businesses are unique and as such require unique solutions.
Naturally, with these 2 perspectives and approaches, I became a one-stop source for providing affordable business solutions to small business owners from around the Caribbean for many years. Add to this, the fact that I have started or acquired several businesses of my own.
So you will understand, that over the years, in some form or fashion, why I am often asked:
Lorna, How can I be successful in business?” or “Lorna, what can I do to grow my business fast?”
Well, the time came, when I knew I could no longer avoid answering giving a comprehensive answer to this question. I also knew that what you were really asking me for was a collection of smart business solutions to improve yourself and your business.
In order to answer you in the widest possible , I decided to reach out to other small business owners with a question of my own. but one I believe would help me to give you really practical answers
So, I began asking entrepreneurs and small business owners this single question:
What useful business solutions would you share with other small business owners that will help them to really explode their business growth?
Whom did I really ask for these business solutions?
Well, I talked to approximately 300 product-based and service-based business owners, mainly from across the Caribbean.
They included consultants, coaches, beach vendors, manufacturers, retailers, contractors, service providers, boutique owners, painters, plumbers, tilers, artists, tax accountants and corporate trainers like myself.
I interviewed business owners and entrepreneurs below and above 50 years old. Some I knew, some I didn’t know. I had conversations with both men and women, and those who work exclusively from home.
When I decided to stop the questioning and start analysing the answers, I noticed a certain pattern emerging.
What did I find from the research?
Over and over, there were a set of failures, flaws, frustrations and fears that appear to be common to all the businesses.
But what I found most exciting was that a similar set of quality business solutions kept coming up to fix what I want to call those “F-Factors” mentioned above.
Furthermore, I couldn’t help but notice that these personal business solutions were almost all about something business owners could do better, could do more of, could learn to do, etc. They seldom mentioned any issues relating to their external business environment.
When I shared my findings with some of the business owners I had interviewed, their reactions were interesting.
Some said that they had used some of the solutions in their businesses and had gotten really good results. But many said that they wished they were more aware of them earlier, so they could have used them in their businesses.
And so, for all you serious business owners like me, I have boiled down my extensive but informal research into “10 Business Solutions to Really Skyrocket Your Business” .
They are practical, they are relevant to any small business and they have already been tested “positive” since they come from small business owners just like you.
