I recently posted a quote from Muhammad Ali on LinkedIn that got me thinking. Here’s the post:
At this point, I’m closer to 50 than I am to 20 and his words resonate loudly. My outlook on life, the way I carried myself, making decisions, all of it was different when I was 20.
And still, we allow a fear of change to hold us back.
Experience Brings Change
Change can come from facing your fears:
One day you’re certain zip-lining isn’t for you. The next you’re suspended from a rope flying through the air.
Change can come from enduring difficult times:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020 was a record year for people starting new businesses. The COVID era changed many lives in different ways.
In fact, I started my business late in 2021, in part due to COVID and the way it changed the work landscape.
Change is simply inevitable and it’s these experiences that will help you grow as a person.
You may be reading this at 20 or you may be reading it at 50. In either case, there are still more changes ahead and you will learn and gain new perspective from them.
Roll with the Punches
Human beings are incredibly resilient. You don’t know how much you can withstand until you actually go through it.
Bruce Lee once said you should “take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.”
When starting a business, everyone screams out that you need a business plan.
While it’s standard practice and you should have one, you should also know that plan will change — often from day 1. And you have to be ready to roll with those changes.
The business that succeeds will probably look different than you envisioned on day 1.
Change & Experience ➡ Growth
Punches land and they hurt. Some punches will knock you down.
This is not defeat. It’s an opportunity for growth.
If you’re struggling with any aspect of your business, this is the time to take notes.
- Ads not working? It may be time to change your audience or the content itself.
- Losing customers? You may need to retrain your staff or review your product.
- Spending more than you make? If you have the customers but not the profit, you probably need to review pricing.
Even if you find it is time to shut down a business, a new idea that solves a different problem can arise from this.
A Few Examples
Here are just a few companies you know that gained experience and evolved to come out stronger on the other end of change:
Netflix
Netflix began as a DVD rental service through the mail. It famously dethroned Blockbuster as the leader of movie rentals.
It pivoted to streaming earlier than some customers would’ve liked but it meant they had a strong foundation when others were just trying to figure out the streaming market years later.
Lego
Lego was a wood toy maker that made every type of toy at the time.
It embraced plastic as the future and found success with yo-yos and toy guns before cutting their entire line of toys to focus on only one: the brick.
Play-Doh
What we now know as Play-Doh was a coal residue cleaner for walls until sales declined due to gas appliances.
A few company executives met with a teacher using the clay for arts & crafts projects. They retooled everything, becoming a new company with a new target audience and surviving what could’ve been a full shutdown.
Remember
The one constant is change and the more experience you gain going through changes, the better prepared you will be when the next big wave of change reaches your business.
The businesses that thrive and stick around are the ones that can adapt and ultimately outlast the others that are set in their ways.
If you need additional content marketing help, contact me today to set up an introductory call.
Your friend,
Jose
