Change You Can Believe In...

There's a case to be made for the small business these days. While big corporations are going through these massive restructuring plans to stay afloat--and small businesses certainly have their vulnerabilities they also have one big commonly overlooked advantage.
Flexibility....

"I can change in a day," a successful small business owner once told me. He looked around his small office, snapped his fingers as if to drill his point home and said again,"If something stops working out...I can change it all in a day."

While his statement may have been a bit of an exaggeration, his comments do have an interesting underlying question. In these challenging economic times how many small companies are taking advantage of their unique opportunity to change in a day...a month..or next year for that matter?

Many of the fashion business owners I encounter are just trying to keep what they have, lower prices, push the sales reps, find new production.

However maybe now is the time to pull out that small business trump card and "Change in a Day!"

So who's going to dream up all this change..as if the small business owner doesn't already have more than enough to do? Well as the saying goes "Fish can't see water." If you're in the trenches of running your everyday operations you may not even know quite where to begin...

Why not get some outsiders involved to give you some ideas to create change you can believe in....

1. Hire Some Bright Interns--And not to answer the phones, file or fax. Encourage them to share ideas, give feedback and even have a pet project. Schools like, The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising allow employers to skip the clutter of craigslist and post opportunities for interns directly on their website.

2. Meet with a Consultant--Why not get the assistance of someone that knows how other companies have managed to succeed and fail. Many times their insider perspective can make the difference between a golden parachute and feeling like your business is trapped at the bottom of the ocean with an iron anchor. You can find these helpful industry insiders presenting seminars at trade shows and other industry events or you can check out Fashion Business Inc Consultants that may be able to help.

3. Get Some Free Business Advice--Score.org is an association of retired executives that helps small business owners plan and assess their businesses completely free of charge. Maybe you need to revisit your business plan...or maybe you never even had one to begin with. Now could be the perfect time to rewind and restart. Get the scoop on score and its services at www.score.org.