Is It Time to Reset My Business?
We’ve covered 4 key areas in this series:
Before you make the decision to reset your business, make sure you answer these questions. As you do, your next step will come into focus. You will know what you should do in the short term, and you will also gain a deeper understanding of where you are and and where you want to go.
How to get there, is something we will cover in future articles.
For now though, I wanted to share my answers with you to give you a real-world example. Compare your answers to the ones below, and check to see if you can relate:
The business in question is The Hauser Design Group - my primary business. At The HDG we do premium website design & development, with a special focus on complete platform migrations. I have hit a wall, and feel like no matter what I do I am not making positive steps forward anymore.
Why?
Not sure.
I just know what I feel. I feel a sense of despair and as a result, a lack of interest. I am still doing my best work for my customers, however, I’m not offering them anything new. Something is just a bit off, and they deserve better (and so do I).
1. Am I still interested in my field? Is it exciting or have I lost interest.
Website design and development is still exciting. Things are changing constantly, ecommerce trends are fun to follow, and customers are always looking for ways to improve their website. My smartest customers recognized this investment opportunity before the 2020 pandemic, and those that had regularly invested made massive gains the last 2 years. I love talking to customers, and I love completing work for them - so no, I have not lost interest in my field. I know that people still need what I provide, and I want to continue to work in this field.
I got into this field because I love to design things. I still enjoy the process - which tells me that my profit has followed my passion, as it should.
So making an exit is not an option… which is good, but something is still missing…
2. Do I desire additional income, or something more? A profound purpose?
Let’s be honest - everyone likes income. More is just fine… however, as it stands today I am comfortable. I can pay my bills, which was one of the main reasons I started my business. I can afford time to smallmouth bass fish in Illinois, I can afford to coach my son’s little league team, and these are all very important. However, as I write this I wonder if my comfort is allowing me to be unmotivated?
It seems like I have slipped into complacency because I have achieved a certain level of success. I lost the drive to INNOVATE, even though like I mentioned I am still doing rock-solid work for my existing customers.
I need a renewed purpose. I am not rich by any means, but I am extremely happy and grateful for my simple, flexible life. This is more important than material items, and thus, my initial goal has been achieved - so… I need a new one.
Perhaps it’s time for me to focus on more high-profile customers and building out my portfolio so that I can attract a better breed of project, elevating my career to the next level without disrupting the freedom and flexibility I am currently enjoying?
Yeah… yeah I like that.
3. Will my decision impact others?
There are several people that a “business reset” will affect:
My Wife
My Kids
My Business Partner
My Existing Customers
MYSELF
How so?
My wife will have to allow me additional time to work, and this will be inconvenient for a while… but it won’t require a complete lifestyle change.
My kids will need to behave better so they don’t drive their mother insane. Having a loving spouse is incredible, but it also means that you have a teammate that helps you manage children. If you have ever dealt with kids - especially kids that outnumber you - you know the importance of a strong, unified front!
I’ll need to talk to my boys and explain to them that I need help. They need to start to monitor their behavior a bit more so that what I ask of their mother isn’t overbearing.
My business partner will need to strategize with me. What KINDS of next-level customers do we want to work for? Why? How can we attract them? What website improvements do we need to make? Other marketing assets? Landing pages? Funnels? White papers? If we are going to attract new kinds of customers, it’s going to mean we both take extra time working on the business, not in the business. We will need to do this in a way that we’re not taking ANYTHING away from our existing customers, because they are priority #1.
When it comes to my existing customers… I owe my way of life to them, and they must not be taken for granted. My decision to reset my business must not impact them in any way - which means the time it is going to take me to make these changes will need to take place after hours.
As we can see here - all of these groups will be affected by my decision in some way, there is overlap, but through a bit or planning we should be able to properly balance it all… and notice the last person it will impact:
Myself.
Make sure you properly plan before starting this process, because if you don’t, other may be frustrated and inconvenienced… but none as much as YOU.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
So… is it time to reset my business?
For me, the answer is a resounding YES. I NEED A RESET.
I started doing website design because I loved to create. Nothing there has changed. I wanted to pay my bills and free up my schedule, and these things have been completed. I need a new goal - and that new goal is to attract a new level of clientele. Higher-profile clients that will allow me to build a resume that attracts more and more clients at the same level. Working for larger clients will also allow me to learn more about their businesses, and this knowledge can be passed back to my existing clients as they work hard to grow their projects - ultimately increasing the value I provide to every single customer across the board.
I’ll have to have discussions with every person that will be impacted by this reset - from my family, to my partner, to myself. A realistic plan must be put into place, and I need to dedicate time accordingly. If I fail to make a plan - a plan that I can truly adhere to - then I am simply daydreaming.
Daydreaming is worthless.
Having a million dollar idea, without execution - means absolutely nothing.
So, if you are like me - if you come to the conclusion that YES, you need a reset. YES, you want to get back in the ring, then do it. Plan.
Plan, and then execute.
Remember - I’m here to help if you need someone to talk to along the way.
Let’s get to work.
🍻 Cheers, - AJ
Interested in working together? Sounds great!
I help website owners like you turn window shoppers & tire kickers into paying customers. I’m also a partner and Senior Design Lead at The Hauser Design Group where we focus exclusively on premium website development.