The past has gone; the rest is the future. If you’re a small business owner and want to be just as relevant in five years as you are today, then you’ll need to keep one eye on what’s coming up ahead. While you shouldn’t neglect your day-to-day operations, developing a strategy that looks to the future will instil in your company a strong platform from which to grow. Below, we take a look at a few ways in which you can stop looking over your shoulder, and start carving out your future.
Know The Rules Of Today
The differences between a small company and a big one are often tangible, but one of the main differences is non-tangible; it’s a way of operating. The big companies are innovative by design, and in the process of their innovation, they’re creating the future. Their bold approach is their biggest asset. While smaller companies play it safe, big ones create the rules. If you want to take your business into the future, then study what the big guys are doing. It’s their future we’re heading for anyway: you may as well get a head start!
Technology-infused Ideas
The technology revolution has arrived, but compared to what’s coming up in the future, it’s barely got started. Over the next few decades, everything that can be infused with technology will be infused with technology. Take a walk around your city, and you’ll see it in action, with posters and the like containing website links and other scannable data. You can integrate this technology into your promotional items. If you’re producing marketing freebies, such as pens or key rings, infuse them with NFC Direct contactless technology. It’s a subtle difference, but one that’ll generate more website hits (or whatever data you want to see), and show that you’re a company for the future.
Embrace Workforce Change
Say goodbye to the old nine to five routine: it’s ineffective, costly, and plain old boring. The future of work is much more open and autonomous. If you allow your workers to work from home, pick their hours, or otherwise work in whatever environment they feel most comfortable, you’ll boost their productivity, and their creativity, too. Your company’s future will depend on the ideas of your staff, so give them the right platform to think properly.
The Power of Data
If you don’t already have the systems in place to capture all the data you can soak up, then it’s time to start. But it’s not just about capturing the data: you need to know what to do with it. This is something that even big companies struggle with, but it’s being figured out all the time. In any case, it is the future: soon, most decisions will be data-based. If you can have all your data in front of you and spot emerging patterns, you’ll have the future in your hands.
Final Thoughts
The above tips are starting points for moving your company to the future, but these are far from exhaustive. Keep an open mind, be ready to embrace risk and change, and you’ll have the correct forward-thinking attitude.
