Does Your Business Forecast Change Like The Weather?

Explore the “ready-for-anything” principle.

Uncertainty in Spring

It’s that time of year (early spring here in Canada) that we lose the general, sensible consensus on what clothing makes sense. For a couple of weeks in April, anything goes. At the school playground when I collected the kids, we saw everything from shorts and t-shirts to winter parkas.

The key – as anyone raised in Alberta will tell you – is dressing in layers. The more layers you can peel off or add on, the more comfortable you’ll be as the weather conditions change.

The “Ready-for-Anything” Principle

The same ready-for-anything principle can apply to your business. In business, “dressing in layers” could mean nurturing enough relationships to ensure you’re not over-reliant on one customer, vendor, or partner – after all, you don’t need the warmest coat if you’ve got enough on underneath it.

It could mean holding funds back in an emergency reserve that you can easily deploy when the unexpected snow squall hits.

Or, it could mean doing the equivalent of rocking a summer top under your raincoat so you’re ready for the patio the minute the clouds clear… because celebrating the good times is just as important as planning for the worst.

This Week’s Takeaway

Building a resilient business means being ready for whatever comes. As my Dad used to say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. So why not stick a sweater in your backpack, just in case?

They Ask, You Answer: by Marcus Sheridan

This book by Marcus Sheridan is a fantastic marketing and sales guide that challenges businesses to stop strictly selling and start actually answering questions to get results. It covers adopting useful marketing techniques, addressing your audience where they are at, and building a content strategy made for growth and success. Check it out!