A few weeks ago, a friend and I were ecstatic to attend a poetry event and quickly purchased tickets when I found out about it. It was two events that comprised of North and South Carolina poet laureates presenting a panel discussion, followed by a poetry reading later in the evening.
Two days before the event, the event center sent an email stating that the program had been cancelled.
As disappointed as we were, we went to the city anyway since we had planned an entire afternoon and evening there. I left our dinner reservations in place and we figured we’d bop around town. When we arrived in the city, an area I am not so familiar with getting around, the entire Main Street was blocked because they happened to be hosting an arts festival (maybe that’s why the poetry event was cancelled?) with over 90,000 people. We had no idea. It took us forever…well, maybe 30 minutes…but forever to find a parking garage that wasn’t full.
Once we settled in, though, we spent our time enjoying the arts festival, perusing the bookstore, and enjoying a fancy dinner (translated: you are really paying for the food’s artistic presentation because you don’t get much food. But it was tasty.)
Overall, we enjoyed our girls’ afternoon because we both needed to do something different than our usual routines.
I reflected on this experience when I thought about the changes I’d made in my business, and how even if we map out our goals and strategy, sometimes it doesn’t always work out the way we planned.
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
But when things suddenly change, can we alter our course? What can we take away from the unexpected experience?
Are you prepared for change?
One thing I learned is that to change or alter your course, you must have an open mind. You can only plan for so much. Yes, it is a good idea to expect the unexpected as people say and try to think about what could happen and how you, as a business, will respond.
But understand that things happen. And there are other possibilities you might not have known existed until they are suddenly in front of you.
Studying trends will help. We do this to know what our audience needs and wants and also so we can create a need for them. This way you are not paralyzed by change. And your loyal audience sticks with you despite your shifted path.
Creating new experiences
Sometimes when we start out in our business we have a plan, goals, and an objective we desire to meet. But along the way, things change, and we realize that it might not happen the way we thought, or something different will present itself.
Remaining focused on only one direction without room for compromise can hinder our growth. Instead, being open to opportunities and new experiences can often expand our possibilities. Trying new systems and programs and ideas is brave. And sometimes, costly.
When a new concept presents itself to you, think first about your objective: Will this concept align with my objective? Your objective does not change even if the path to get there does. If the experience will take you away from your objective rather than strengthen the road to reach it, consider passing on it.
Give yourself a deadline. If you are interested in trying something different, give yourself a reasonable timeframe to see if it will work out or you need to cut your losses and move on.
Map out your goals and create a strategy. Outline what you hope to achieve, how it will help you realize your objective, and how long it will take to reach it.
Trust your instinct, which is built on years of experience. If you try the idea and you feel as if you must force it, if you are not even enjoying it, or something is off to you, it probably is the wrong direction. It might have worked for someone else, but it won’t work for you.
Create your own story
When we have our objective in place, the journey to reach it can be eventful. As business owners, we are creators of our own story. We have some control over the direction of our path, even if how we started out changes. The decisions we make are how we navigate our current.
Avoid being rigid and instead, try new ideas that fit with your end goal. Explore the variety around you. You just might like what you step into the middle of.
When we start out in our business we have a plan, goals, and an objective we desire to meet. But along the way, things change. Remaining focused on only one direction without room for compromise can hinder our growth. Instead, being open to opportunities and new experiences can often expand our possibilities. As business owners, we are creators of our own story. The decisions we make are how we navigate our current.
(Photo by Jadson Thomas from Pexels)
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