Enterprise

Good decisions consider future

biz

In business as in life you need to set strong foundations. FILE PHOTO | NMG

A friend of mine recently told me he has been in business for over 10 years but other than subsistence and educating children he has nothing else to show. This is contrary to bliss he expected when quit job to start his own venture.

It is not uncommon for people to examine their lives and wonder whether they are really making any meaningful steps in life or they are just mark timing and aging. It feels as if one is on a treadmill; running very fast and sweating but going nowhere.

Well, such situations whether in business or in employment may be due to forces beyond our control. However, in most cases it may due to they way we manage our affairs, mostly our finances, time and activities we value.

If your business has been operating on loans for many years and you are not growing and you can not stabilise and get out loans, then there is a problem. If you are in employment and you are stagnant and you cannot appreciatively account for your several years income, then there is a problem.

One of my best authors James Clear talks about a concept called time assets. Time assets are decisions that you make today that will save you time or improve your life in future.

For example, if you invest in a software or setting systems in your business it may be costly now but in future it makes life easier and you leap benefits. If you invest in gaining crucial skills or doing some relevant courses it will cost you and limit your pleasures now but make you grow in future.

One the other side we have time debts. These are choices or things we do today that are easy but will cost us more time and money in future and hinder growth. It also includes the decisions we don’t make or things we don’t do so as to have pleasure or save cost now.

One of the time debts is not doing things right the first time. In publishing, for instance, if you don’t edit a book well the first time, it will not only cost you some customers but you will be forced to spend time re-editing to weed out mistakes in subsequent reprint.

In business as in life you need to set strong foundations that will give you dividends in future if you want stability.

If you treat your customers and employees well you significantly cut down the cost of marketing and hiring and also save yourself a lot of headaches.

Consistent saving and investing your income regardless of present financial constraints is one way of ensuring financial stability.

Ensure you have a health balance between present and future needs. This is the only known moral way of growing your business as well as your personal life. Cutting corners or always focusing on solving present pressing needs makes you live in eternal bondage.