Consider using a start-up mentality
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Is it time to re-examine the many aspects of running your business? Whether your business is relatively new or multi-generational, ask yourself if your company is in line with the vision and mission statement you’d established when you started your business.

I am constantly inspired by the enthusiasm and energy of start-up companies. I wonder how well our businesses would prosper if we reviewed our mission statements and visions with a renewed focus.

Perhaps this is a good time to re-evaluate our day-to-day processes and revisit the entrepreneurial spirit which inspired us from the beginning. As time goes by, like anything else, we may become blind to areas that can be improved upon: our “house” gets dirty, dust balls accumulate—we get used to seeing the clutter and it becomes viewed as acceptable. We may get used our company culture the way it is right now, which may not be in line with our original vision.

So, maybe it’s time to take a moment to assess where you’ve been and where your company is now. Make sure that you’re not just drifting in a particular direction out of complacency—if so, adjust your sails to proceed full-steam ahead in the direction of excellence and growth. Even if your day-to-day schedule is booked solid, consider taking the time to pull back, look with fresh eyes, and examine the core of your business.

I often ask myself, what would Steve Jobs do? I am sure he was constantly reviewing and re-evaluating Apple’s progress. Is it time to take on new products or take the company in a fresh direction? How’s the temperature of your company— where are you, how are you forging ahead?

That’s where the SWOT analysis comes in as a valuable tool for plotting your company’s course. This analysis is a study to identify a business’ internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external opportunities and threats. It takes a snapshot of our companies: where they are strong, where they are weak, and where they are not aligned with our original goals and values.

After looking at your current vision and mission statement, you may find it antiquated—it may have worked 15 years ago, but may not fit today’s rapidly- changing climate. Our ability to adjust our course to reflect our renewed vision will help create a successful path into the future.

Onward and upward-
Eliana Barriga
​eliana@retailobserver.com

​By Eliana Barriga
Publisher and Managing Editor for The Retail Observer

​With school now back in session, great professors are stimulating young minds by challenging their students to look beyond the obvious. I stumbled upon this story the other day and it struck a deep chord for me personally, and invited me to explore deeper both my business strategies as well as this journey called life.

One day, a professor told his students they were going to have a surprise quiz. He handed out the quiz, placing it face down on each student’s desk. He then asked the students to turn over the paper. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions – just a small black dot in the center of the paper. The professor told them, “I’d like you to write about what you see on the paper.” The students looked very confused but completed the project. At the end of class, the professor read each response out loud. Every single student wrote something about the black dot, either explaining its size or position on the page.

Then the professor said, “I’m not going to grade you on this. Instead, I just want to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the large, white portion of the paper. Instead, everyone focused on the tiny black dot. The same thing happens in life – we tend to focus on only the black dots in our life and careers.” –Author Unknown

As retailers, I know how easy it is to be looking at several black dots at once, your challenges, such as Internet competition, rising operating costs, competitive pricing, and shrinking margins. So often we get so caught up in the overwhelming details of our lives and businesses that when things go wrong, we tend to obsess about them. We focus on the small details, distractions and problems–the dark spots. We fail to take the time to step back and look at the big picture: the wonderful abundance of white space that can be explored and filled with infinite possibilities for change and growth.

As Henry David Thoreau once said: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” This is the absolute truth.

It's time to see the world differently-
Eliana Barriga
​eliana@retailobserver.com