Decide Today for Tomorrow’s Success and Growth!

June 27, 2016 / No Comments
In today’s world, it is vital to complete tasks that not only fulfill the needs of the present but will serve as building blocks for reaching your long-term goals.

Living in the moment isn’t the way for an entrepreneur to move the business agenda forward. Plans don’t just fall into place because you make them.

When you think about your long-term goals, consider what provides your agency with advancement and success. Then think about what might hinder your future growth – for example:

  1. Will I have enough assets to make it through a business building process?
  2. What will my cash flow look like this time next year?
  3. What is the ultimate result?
 short-term-long-term

When making decisions today, make sure they are achieving both short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals are those that have the immediate effects on your business.

Decisions that impact your long-term goals are those that ensure your business survives both today and will still be running ten or twenty years from now.

I have known agency owners take a ‘sit back and see what happens’ approach to decision making. Most of those agencies have either closed their doors or are now struggling. No matter your choice in your decisions, you are taking charge of your destiny.

One example that comes to mind is an agency I worked with through an acquisition. This particular agency bought an agency with an entirely different business model and culture than their own. The questionable decision was not the acquisition. We did successfully merge the two companies into one business model and culture – both groups adjusting so as to meet in the middle.

The short sighted decision was when the owner decided to use much of the capital investment made for the acquisition towards office expansion – specifically $50,000 for hallway artwork and $10,000 for branded M&M’s. The reasoning made was that this helped everyone feel more comfortable with the new culture and environment. Even with that justification, this was clearly a short-term goal decision with no thought of the agency’s long-term goals of being in business and long-term financial health.

While you live in the present moment, remember that the choices you make today will affect your business tomorrow.