How to spot when it's time for change in your business

When you run your own business, the best part is that you call the shots. You get to decide when you work, who you work for and how you’re going to run things. The worst part? You call the shots. When things feel off, when the work isn’t flooding in, when you’ve lost your motivation, you’re the one who has to roll their sleeves up and fix it.

Deciding what to change is the fun part. It could be something as small as a new content plan or taking a course. But maybe you’ll go big. Will you add a new service, approach a different type of client, shake up your branding or your words or your website? Like I said, that’s the fun part. The challenge, the bit where most of us slip up, is realising we need a change. We get so lost in the day to day. We’re so used to jobs being just that – jobs – that we forget how excited and sparky we felt when we started our business. We forget how brave, entrepreneurial and daring we had to be just to get this far.

So I’ve put together this checklist to help you recognise when it’s time for change in your business.

1. You’re feeling flat

Remember when you first started your business? When you’d go to bed unable to keep your eyes shut with the excitement to wake up and start again? Do you still feel like that? If not, have a think about why. What would it take to get you racing to your desk again? We all have off weeks, but check in with yourself: is this more than an off week?

2. You hear crickets when you open your inbox

Maybe at the beginning you thrived on word-of-mouth clients, contacts made in your previous job. But now that particular pipeline has dried up or flatlined and you’re ready to look further afield for clients. Trouble is, they aren’t finding you or they aren’t biting. It might be time to shake things up.

3. You don’t do the cliched small biz happy dance when you get an enquiry

You’ve got a good stream of enquiries, but they don’t have the budget to work with you. Or the work they want you to do doesn’t align with the work you’re best at, the work that fulfils you. If you aren’t itching to win the job and get started when the enquiry lands, maybe it’s time for a change.  

4. You’re on cruise control

You’ve been in business a while. It’s going well, you’re selling enough to get by. Whilst that’s amazing, is that where you want to be in a year? In five years? If your numbers are levelling off and you see growth in your future, now’s the time to do something about it.

5. You’re gasping for air in a busy pond

Maybe when you started you were the only one doing what you do. But years down the line it feels like everyone’s jumped on the bus and you no longer have a seat. You blazed a trail once, it’s time to do it again. If you’re feeling overcrowded and like you’re struggling to stand out, it might be time to change.

6. You’re side-eyeing the competition

You see that amazing person in your sector on Instagram. Their brand, their clients, their testimonials – why does it always have to look so amazing? Yes, the internet can be a well of toxic positivity, but the point still stands. This envy you’re feeling is your body’s way of signposting you towards the things you really want. What do you need to do to get there?

7. You’re playing it safe

Do your prices give you a little belly jump when you quote? Do you have a moment of panic when you start a new project? Those aren’t bad feelings. They’re the ones showing you care, showing you’re excited. And those things are important to the quality of your work. If you aren’t getting those moments of electrical charge, maybe it’s time to up your rates or take on more challenging projects.

If you’re ready for change and you think some new words might help, I’d love to have a chat.