The Kruse Way Economic Forum is a venue for informed presentations and open discussion of social, economic, and political issues affecting the Portland metro area and the Pacific Northwest. at one of these meetings, three business owners shared how they were able to survive, and ultimately thrive, during tough economic times by practicing change management. The three businesses were: Deek and Bryan’s Next Adventure, Imperial Stock Ranch, and Miles Fiberglass and Composites.
Each of the businesses faced challenges, both because of economic changes and because of impacts to their industries. But, each of these businesses chose not to focus on what they couldn’t change. Rather, they chose to focus on what they could do through proactive change management.
For Deek and Bryan’s, it involved looking at what they do best: used gear. They looked at how they could most effectively market that, without letting go of new gear sales. They became creative by looking at when most of their used gear sales happen – 3 months of the year. Then. they set up a temporary store in Eugene for those 3 months to take advantage of that window.
For Imperial, it involved looking at different ways to sell their product. They now sell directly to fine restaurants, rather than focusing solely on wholesale. They have worked hard to establish relationships with the environmental community. They also expanded their offerings to include fine yarns and clothing.
For Miles, when the bottom fell out of the RV market (more than 50% of their business) they looked at where they could use their existing skills and knowledge in an emerging market. Now, a significant part of their business comes from wind turbine repair.
Each of these businesses faced difficult choices with changing markets and decided to work with what was true now, rather than bemoaning the loss of what worked well for them in the past.
When asked what they felt their biggest mistakes were, they said, “Not reacting to changes quickly enough, not managing change as well as they could have, and trying make too many visions realities all at once.”
We can all learn from these examples. By building on your existing knowledge and skills, proactively managing change, not adding too many new things at once, and keeping up with marketing efforts so you’re top of mind when people are ready to take action, you can thrive in variable markets.
Take some time this week to think about how you can apply your currents skills to emerging trends so you, too, can continue to grow and prosper.
Wishing you fresh ideas that help your business thrive –
Cheri
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