Most businesses want to change but are not sure how to improve the business. In my 14 years of business mentoring, I have found owners will invest resources and want the best results for their investment. Sounds fair enough, but what should the business owner be investing in, new equipment, staff, business advice, education, new skills, training? There can be a long list of requirements. Answer – business owners are always looking for efficiencies, but what about change?   

If an owner doesn’t have the skills set to effect the changes, how does the business owner know what to look for and how to assess it?
 
Generally speaking I have found that most obstacles in business are knowledge and information based. Knowledge could include Small Business Management skills, Technical knowledge, Communication skills, public speaking skills etc.    

Ego and Pride also has a fair bit to do with the resistance to change.  Year after year the same problems, the same cash flow issues, the same staff issues and the same tax issues, the same profit issues.        

Growth is about Change, Status Quo is about Change, and if we don’t change we will become extinct. Change requires courage and business owners need to be open to new ideas, adapting old strategies and adopting new ones. The strategies that worked 10 years ago, are not working today; its time to find some new ways of conducting business (Change).
Organizations that are slow to change or don’t respond could find it difficult to maintain current profitability. Owners that want to improve the position of the business are open to Change. If we change nothing, nothing changes.

Think about creating a new culture in the business, one of education and training. Look at new techniques for performance, identifying those areas of change will require a thorough investigation. Be open to a range of options and understand that to change, the first thing is “Are You as a business owner Ready and Want to Change”

In Summary – barriers to change are technical and personal.