16
Jul
2015

Is There A Straight Path in a Business Road Map?

Running a business is not always a straight path. It is a series of detours before an entrepreneur finds himself in a new destination.

Well at least that’s the case of some famous businesses we know today. What they are today was far from the original idea of the founders.

When Ray Kroc (http://leadrite.blogspot.com/2015/05/leadership-style-of-mcdonalds-founder.html) started McDonald’s, his original idea was to sell his multi-mixer machines for making shakes. He envisioned the product being sold in every Mc Donald’s restaurant all over America.

Flickr used to be a gaming site for many years before it transformed into what it is today, a photo-sharing social media site.

Long-haired and bearded hippie entrepreneur Steve Jobs (http://leadrite.blogspot.com/2015/06/winning-leadership-strategies-of-steve.html) used to sell Computer Kits for kids before going into Apple computers and emerging as the most valuable company in the world today.

A fire that destroyed a factory that used to make wooden ducks made its owners switch to making plastic toys. What emerged later is a multi-billion dollar business making interlocking bricks called Lego that changed some of the ways kids all over the world play today.

A paper mill expanded into making rubber goods and then moved to electronics and eventually to mobile phones. With the entry of smart phones, the world is waiting for what will Nokia do next.

David McConnel was in the book business before he changed course after realizing that his female customers were far more interested in the free perfume samples that he gave out to them than on his books. That’s how Avon started.

All these stories went to show that it pays to change the course of your business when necessary.

When is the right time to switch?

What if your original idea is a winner and is destined to change the world?

Is running a business like swallowing potato and then spitting out when it’s hot?

Not necessarily.

What is preferable is a level-headed assessment of every situation that comes along and change course when needed to find your way again to the road that leads you to achieving your ultimate goal: to become a successful entrepreneur.

Many of us have our blind spots. For David McConnel, his original idea of becoming a book seller (his blind spot) was overtaken by the new reality that opened his eyes: the huge market not only in perfume but in products that satisfy the vanity of majority of women.

I don’t think David lived to the day when Avon is into brassieres like it is today.

It’s alright to make a detour in your path towards the road to business success, even making a trial and error if necessary.

“There’s no straight line from point A to point B” says Entrepreneur Contributor Jeremy Bloom. “Success is never linear”.

Before a pilot starts the engine, a flight path is already mapped out and considered as well as the route elements where the plane would pass through.

But when the situation calls for a detour, a detour must be made.

Likewise, in starting and growing a business, one should have a road map to serve as a navigational aid.

However, when the time calls for a diversion, you must be flexible enough to make adjustments in your plan. Who knows, the new business could be the dream business most dreamers dream about.

 

About the Author. Jun Miranda, (https://plus.google.com/u/0/+JunMiranda32051/about) is a veteran business start-up and development consultant helping new business owners start and grow their businesses since 1989. He edits and publishes his new blog, The Small Business Clinic, (http://jmirandapartners.blogspot.com/) to guide entrepreneurs with useful tips and ideas during the start-up and development stages of their businesses.

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1 Response

  1. It was very useful for me. Keep sharing such ideas in the future as well. This was actually what I was looking for, and I am glad to came here! Thanks for sharing the such information with us.

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