Sticking to the Knitting

It is all too easy for entrepreneurs to get distracted in business.

There is always a new idea. A new service offering. A new target market. An entirely new business model!

This makes entrepreneurs want to tinker with their business.

Then on the flipside, there is the daily grind of sticking to a plan. A business plan that you have devised - a plan that stood up to scrutiny at the time that it was devised and so should be adhered to, even when there are temptations abound.

Sticking to the plan takes self-discipline. It is easier to try new (interesting) stuff. To experiment. To explore whether the 'grass might be greener' elsewhere.

But all of the time that you spend 'experimenting' is time lost on the plan. The original plan. The plan that was going to get you to where you want to get to in life.

There will, on rare occasions, be times when you have to face up to the fact that the original business plan was flawed. You have given it a good go and after careful and prolonged consideration you reluctantly agree to change tack. But this is the exception to the rule. This sort of decision is the last resort - to prevent bankruptcy - not because you 'fancy a change'.

Every business undoubtedly needs to iterate as it goes along. Responding to changing customer requirements and market demands. But the overall plan needn't change.

Change for change sake is simply creating a diversion to stop you from feeling bored. This is not good business practice.

There is nothing better than meeting the 'overnight' entrepreneur success story that was 10+ years in the making. Someone who had a dream and a plan to make it happen. Then saw that plan through to its finale through the application of 'pig-headed' self-discipline. Unswayed. Intentional. Deserving of their success.

So next time you are tempted to switch businesses or change business direction, ask yourself whether you really should be simply getting your head down and doing the work that matters to achieve your plan - in effect, sticking to the knitting?