Ride the wave: Three disruptors change averse business owners can use
Around 10 years ago I rethought my life!
I had to get clear on why I went into business in the first place.
Yes, it was to make money but what about lifestyle!
I read Tim Ferris’ Four-Hour Work Week.
I didn’t agree with everything he wrote, but it definitely made me question the learnt nine-to-five.
I needed motivators. My own burn-out and chronic fatigue motivated a lot of my changes.
Recently, I was pleasantly surprised when our family went on holiday. We discovered that our holidays are not that different from our work days!
Many people crave a lifestyle change. For some, a seachange or treechange might be a pipe dream as they wistfully gaze at the real estate ads in shop windows on their holiday.
I’ve already written about how play and lifestyle have helped my own work. I’d like to discuss three environmental factors that provide business owners the opportunity to live a healthier and more productive life. The interesting thing about these three disruptors is that they are forcing change. So, if you’re change averse, these disruptors will force you. I think this is positive, because I’d rather these disruptors change you than burn-out change you.
It’s a strange thought, but…
…you might be exhausted, but not quite burnt-out enough to restructure your life!
Three disruptors to work practices
The three factors disrupting work practices that I can see are:
Covid/WFH: This has forced WFH (work from home), but more deeply than where we work it has changed how we work. As a business owner, you can ride this wave. For example, communication has changed. Using a digital shopfront, rather than a physical shopfront, there is an opportunity to train customers/clients to make productivity gains for your business. You can use videos to train them to submit comprehensive paperwork, to update their details, to diagnose their problems. Another example is management practices. If you have a propensity toward micro-management, the WFH trend provides an opportunity to grow leaders within your organisation. This means educating them on the values of your business rather than the tasks of your business and moving them to a point where they are effective brand ambassadors. Finally, a real practical one: cutting down your travel time. What if you used 30 minutes each day to instead exercise and dream about how to reposition your business?
Technology: All of us have access to swathes of technology, but the adoption of technology can be maximised. How much software do you own for which you do not use the full functionality? What are the outdated work practices your business is using that are more akin to an office of the 1990s than the 2020s?
The devaluing of capital cities: Driven by the two factors above (Covid/WFH and technology) is this third factor: the exodus out of major cities. “Run to paradise” was the mantra of Australian property hunters in 2020, according to one article. One real estate agent in my home town of Port Macquarie said: “Locals who left in their late teens to early 20s and settled in Sydney were returning to the north coast town. They forged a career and now, as 30 to 40-year-olds, they are coming back. They either have businesses that they can work remotely from, or are starting up restaurants or cafes.” The wave that businesses can ride here are: 1/ Lower overheads; 2/ Lifestyle benefits; 3/ Gaining connection to and inspiration from different parts of Australia.
I work with a lot of business owners who need to shift gears. They either want to sell much of the business they’ve built to retain a premium set of clients who “get them”, or they want to reposition their business to enable a lifestyle change, or they want to scale their business.
I can see that the three disruptors we’ve discussed above - Covid/WFH, technology and the devaluing of capital cities - could form a current of change. As long as we don’t swim against this current, it could push us in a better direction. A healthier direction. And even a place of greater profit, in our bank accounts and in our souls.
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