From Deseret News archives:
Blind spots sap firm's potential
Do you believe your business is performing at its optimal level? Are you performing at your optimal level? If not, why not? It may be that you have a blind spot something that you can't see but is nonetheless real that is preventing you from reaching your potential.
Years ago I was a banker. Over the course of just a few weeks I had the owners of two different lumberyards approach me seeking loans for their businesses. The lumberyards were both located on the Wasatch Front less than 45 minutes apart. They were relatively similar in size and had roughly the same target customer base. But that's where the similarity ended.
Lumberyard A needed a loan because it was struggling. The owner was a second-generation manager of a 50-year-old business who told me how tough the market was and how they were waiting out a down cycle. They needed capital to meet their immediate cash needs and were planning to borrow against their assets so they could get by until business improved. Lumberyard B needed a loan to expand. Its net profit percentage was twice that of lumberyard A and it needed more inventory to meet the growing demand for its products.
All entrepreneurs have blind spots. Here are a few of the most common:
Unawareness of deficiencies: If you aren't able to identify your blind spots, or even the potential that you have them, it is unlikely that you will be able to correct them.
Unfounded assumptions: This is when you assume things are different than they really are. For example:
Do you assume your customers are generally satisfied with your company? What if they are really buying from you because they don't have a reasonable alternative nearby? What will happen to your business when one becomes available?
Do you know how you really compare to your competition, or are you assuming you're doing OK because people (at least some of the time) are buying from you?
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