I was reading through the news the other morning and came across an article detailing how mortgage prices were at an all-time low. At 3.6 percent interest rate, it seemed like the American dream should be in reach for everyone. However, the immediate next article read, “Generation Rent—The Slamming Door of Home Ownership.” The last few years have been an interesting ride to say the least, but the relationship between rental versus buying seems to be one of the most telling signs of the economy. If you were financially sound and established enough going into the economic storm and put a strategic plan in place, the last four years could have profitable in many ways.
Business or personal finance is a chess match. Constantly thinking fives moves ahead of your competition (and sometimes even yourself) is key. The Internet Center for Management and Business Administration has a straightforward view of strategic planning.
Here are the concepts they recommend building into your strategic plan: map out your goals, do your due diligence (or what they call “environmental scanning”), formulate and implement your strategy, evaluate your results, and adjust your strategy accordingly if necessary.
It seems simple right? But simple enough to totally forget key steps along the way. I had one distributor tell me about a nursing campaign he launched with a color scheme all in pinks and lavenders. He completely forgot to scan the environment and later realized there were many male nurses who were left out of the promotion. He was able to rectify the misstep with some products in navy blue, but it could have been avoided all together. Or how about the countless times you have put a strategy into place and then forgotten to evaluate your work to see if all the effort is even working? A simple survey or audit can do the trick to tell you if you are hitting your mark.
The promotional product industry is filled with energy and a hard-to-match entrepreneurial spirit. And I firmly believe there is room enough for success across the board. However, without a solid plan in place, it is difficult to know if you’ve even reached your max potential. If we all put our noses to the grindstone who knows how many houses on Park Place we may be able to grab at rock-bottom interest rates?
Happy opportunity hunting!
