How To Unlock Your Potential In Business

Being part of an emerging business can be an exhilarating prospect. Whether it's your own business that you're trying to grow or you're just one small part of a larger machine, the fact that the future is unwritten and you can take that business in an infinite number of directions is often what gets people out of bed in the morning and motivated to seize the day.

That's great if that's you, but if you're finding it hard to unlock the potential within yourself and your business, then each day can feel more like a slog.

Unlock Your Business. Show Your Potential

A Gallup poll in June 2022 (albeit conducted in the United States) showed that 37% of those surveyed felt their company was doing well, but still didn't see themselves as successful. Interesting.

Given the circumstances at that time, having been through the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine had just started and the economic downturn was taking hold, you might think that's pretty good. But it also tells us that 63% of people didn't think their business was on the up.

If you're one of those lacking direction, unsure of your next move or just frustrated wondering how you can finally unleash your entrepreneurial potential, then this is the blog for you.

Understand Where You Are

Before you can fully comprehend where your potential can take you, you'll first need to know where you are right now.

There are obviously factors going on in and around your business that are causing this frustration, so it's time to take stock of what they are and evaluate your current position in the marketplace, starting with...

1. Benchmarking

One of the best ways to analyse your current business performance is through benchmarking.

Benchmarking, simply put, looks at how your business performs against your competitors or other businesses that deliver the same (or similar) services. You can also benchmark yourself by comparing current data with historical data.

You take metrics and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) from the business and compare them against yours to see how you stack up.

There are 3 mains types of benchmarking:

• Internal - This is all about improving your business by comparing how it operates now and comparing current performance to historical data. You can do this to compare departments or different locations. Ideally, you'll uncover the most effective best practices that you can implement across the board so everyone learns from the time you were at your peak.

• Competitive - As the name suggests, competitive benchmarking helps you set goals and targets using data from your competitors. Whilst you'll probably have numerous businesses competing with you in the marketplace, it helps to pick those that are as closely aligned to you as possible for comparisons (i.e. those of a similar size, product range, price point, etc.). You can look at their social media metrics, financial records (available via Companies House in the UK) or marketing campaigns. What are they doing well that you can learn from?

• Strategic - This is one step up from the previous example and is aimed at larger organisations, but exclusively. Strategic benchmarking aims to compare yourself, not necessarily to direct competitors, but looking at world-class, industry-leading organisations that may not even work in the same sector. For example, if you have a cleaning business, you might look at how a Formula 1 Pit Crew changes tyres and aims for that level of efficiency; everyone knows their job and does it perfectly to get the work done. You're obviously not looking at that task 1-to-1, but the idea of strategic benchmarking is less to do with trying to compete directly but to take inspiration from what they do and see how you can learn from it. Larger organisations obviously have more moving parts so will have become very efficient at doing what they do, so there will be many more ways to improve what you do.

2. Competitive Advantage

Whilst your potential, and that of your business, lies within you, often unlocking it comes from those around you, including your competitors.

We touched upon this in the previous section, but your competition shouldn't just be viewed as a thorn in your side stealing your customers.

Remember they offer your customers options. So the question to ask yourself when it comes to unlocking your own potential is why do people buy from them and not you? What advantage do they have? What are they doing that you're not? It's time to analyse and find out.

During analysis, what we're trying to discover is known as the 'competitive advantage'. If your competition is leading the way, you need to understand what their competitive advantage is and turn it into YOUR advantage.

Try and evaluate them and identify their strengths and weaknesses as objectively as you can.

Look at every aspect of their business from how user-friendly their website is (or isn't), their delivery times, pricing (if available), their marketing campaigns and how they engage with people on social media, look closely at everything you can find out about them and look at it without prejudice.

As you begin to recognise what they're doing better than you, it's time to up your game and reevaluate how you do it. That doesn't mean simply copying what they do, but improving upon it with your own stamp and make it yours!

3. Customer Evaluation

No doubt that when you started your business, you did some research on your ideal customer. Since then, the marketplace may have shifted. It's time to take another look and understand your customer as they are now.

The demographics you're targetting may not have changed from your marketing and sales perspective, but the world in which they (and you) operate could have.

Economic factors, social shifts and cultural change, not to mention what they like, want and need today are often out of your control.

The money that they once had to spend on your product may have dried up in a difficult economy, it might not be as 'cool' or desirable as once it was, or their own lifestyle, values or peer groups may have matured and changed over the years.

This is the time to look at your own products, services and the sales and marketing channels you use to evaluate whether you need to change with the times too. Don't get left behind in this fast-moving world we live in.

If you know your customers (and potential customers) better and you have a depth of knowledge about who they are today, your ability to sell tomorrow to them is vastly increased.

4. Use Your Team

If you have a team around, whether they're employees, friends, family or any support network, use them to help you reach your potential.

The people around you who care and want only the best for you can be a fantastic resource if you listen to them.

Your employees will know your company almost as well as you and, as such, will also have seen how it's working from a myriad of different perspectives you may have not. Tapping into that resource can be enlightening.

Gather everyone who has a vested interest in your company's success and talk honestly and openly about your business.

Large or small. Top to bottom. What's working? What isn't? What can be improved? What do you need to stop doing? What do you need to be doing more of? Get creative!

This first-hand knowledge can be invaluable to you. They will also feel more motivated and engaged if you value their opinions and take notice of their input.

5. Know Your Limitations

Sometimes you're doing everything you can to help your business succeed but sometimes, that's still not enough, but that's not on you.

One of the most important traits in any successful journey is knowing your limits. Understand not only what you're good at, but also know those tasks where you struggle. That is absolutely normal.

We all have some things we're good at, some have many, but no one has everything. We all need help at some point.

If there are aspects of your business that you can't do, then get some help. If the online space is a black hole to you, talk to someone who can enlighten you. If marketing is a muddle, then talk to someone who can get you out of that mess. Hint. That would be us.

Whatever, wherever and whenever you need a helping hand, don't be afraid to ask for it so you can focus on doing all those things where you excel.

Conclusion

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" - Ephesians 3:20

Sometimes, especially in business, we can't see the wood for the trees, meaning that, whilst you might not feel like you're doing enough, you're actually doing absolutely brilliantly and you just can't see it.

Often that perspective is hidden by the sheer maelstrom that comes with running your own business.

We know how frustrating it can be to feel like you're not reaching your potential, to feel that you're not managing the best business you can, or that you're not the best entrepreneur you can be, but nothing's written in stone.

Everything can change, grow and evolve, so know that whatever you feel now, you can reach and exceed what everyone knows you're capable of.

Use these steps to help you unlock that potential or if it's been flatlining of late, reinvigorate it and give it the kickstart it might need so you can be who you want to be and so much more.

When everything feels like a looming deadline, every problem seems like a catastrophe and every sale seems like a battle, it's easy to place all those burdens on your shoulders.

If that's you, then we're here to tell you that you got this. For all the things you haven't, then we're here to help. #BelieveInSuccess

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We hope that you've found something in this post to revitalise how you feel about yourself and your business. If there's anything you think we've missed or you have. your own take, let us know. Have you found yourself struggling? What did you do to unlock your own potential? Leave a comment below and let us know.

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If you need any help with your sales, marketing or advertising needs, then we've got the team to help you unlock your boundless potential.

Get in touch with us using the form below or use our Contact Us page and let's work to fulfil that potential together.