{"id":406,"date":"2017-10-05T15:50:32","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T15:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advicoach1.wpengine.com\/va\/2017\/10\/05\/its-flu-season-is-your-business-feeling-the-symptoms\/"},"modified":"2017-10-08T18:50:35","modified_gmt":"2017-10-08T18:50:35","slug":"its-flu-season-is-your-business-feeling-the-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/2017\/10\/05\/its-flu-season-is-your-business-feeling-the-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Flu Season: Is Your Business Feeling the Symptoms?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that flu season has arrived, you may feel like you\u2019re not the only one feeling the symptoms; perhaps you feel like your business is showing the ill effects of something \u2013 be it employees out due to the cold or flu going around, the \u201cslow season,\u201d which is typical around the holidays, or maybe it\u2019s something else…<\/p>\n

If your business isn\u2019t firing on all cylinders, maybe it\u2019s time to stop making excuses; maybe it\u2019s time to take a closer look at the problem. After all, one of the roles of the business owner is to solve problems \u2013 that never ends. For some entrepreneurs, problem solving comes naturally. Others are thrown into a tailspin when faced with a decision; they\u2019d rather go swimming with sharks than be the decision-maker who\u2019s ultimately responsible for the outcome of their decisions.<\/p>\n

How can you be a better problem solver? One word is \u2013 preparation. Entrepreneurs who are faced with problems have a secret weapon and it\u2019s called knowledge. When a business owner is armed with ample information about a given subject, he or she is in a better place to make educated decisions. They eliminate the what ifs. They eliminate the mystery and reduce the unknowns as much as possible.<\/p>\n

Mastering the Fine Art of Problem Solving<\/strong><\/h4>\n

All business owners must master the skill of problem-solving regardless of what industry they are in. This is because every business is designed to solve customer problems. If your customers don\u2019t have problems, you don\u2019t have a business, right? The everyday business environment is chock-full of problems. From employees to customers to legal issues to accounts receivable to vendors to contracts to insurance and everything in between, there\u2019s never a shortage of problems!<\/p>\n

With the above in mind, it behooves small business owners to consciously work at mastering the fine art of problem solving. Here are some steps you can take to become a better problem-solver in business and in life:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Stop ignoring the problem. <\/strong>You\u2019ve probably been aware of the problem for some time, even if it was deeply buried in your subconscious. Acknowledging that there is a problem is the first step.<\/li>\n
  2. Clear up any confusion. <\/strong>Do you know how or why you have a problem? If not, it\u2019s important to clear up any confusion asap. Are you missing information? Do you not know why your customer is upset or leaving? Are you hearing different stories? Do you not understand the laws? If you lack data, it\u2019s time to get to the bottom of it and clear up any unknowns.<\/li>\n
  3. Identify the problem. <\/strong>Identify the actual problem. If you\u2019re not 100% sure of what it is, don\u2019t be afraid to put on your investigator hat or ask trusted colleagues or a business coach for help.<\/li>\n
  4. Investigate the area. <\/strong>One of the most effective ways to solve a problem is to thoroughly investigate it. We recommend taking a close look at an issue before making any snap decisions you may later regret.<\/li>\n
  5. Question the cause. <\/strong>Once a problem is identified, it\u2019s critical to find out who or what is responsible. From there, assign responsibility.<\/li>\n
  6. Adopt a firm policy to prevent the issue from recurring. <\/strong>Now that you know the cause, ensure that all applicable parties adopt a firm policy to keep the problem from recurring. You don\u2019t want the mistake repeated.<\/li>\n
  7. Look for multiple solutions. <\/strong>It\u2019s important to evaluate all possible solutions and weigh their pros and cons.<\/li>\n
  8. Narrow down the potential solutions. <\/strong>Once you have identified all possible solutions \u2013 there could be two or there could be ten \u2013 narrow them down to the most ideal solution given the facts and circumstances of the situation.<\/li>\n
  9. Come to a decision. <\/strong>If you have more than one solution, it\u2019s time to make a decision on which solution to implement.<\/li>\n
  10. Take action. <\/strong>Solutions are useless if they aren\u2019t incorporated. Now that you\u2019ve decided on one course of action, it\u2019s time to pull the trigger.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Entrepreneurs who are excellent problem solvers are some of the most successful business owners around. However, problem solving doesn\u2019t come easily to everybody, especially in the early years of business. In most cases, problem solving is a learned skill that\u2019s developed over time.<\/p>\n

    The key to tackling problems is to fix them as fast as you can, and one way to do that is with the help of a business coach. At AdviCoach, we understand that it can be hard for business owners to see the forest for the trees, especially when they\u2019re deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of their businesses. Our coaches offer a fresh perspective, a third-party point of view. We help business owners identify the fundamental cause of their problems and implement practical solutions.<\/p>\n

    Interested in taking the next step? It all begins with a conversation. To learn more about how our business coaches can help you, contact us today.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Now that flu season has arrived, you may feel like you\u2019re not the only one feeling the symptoms; perhaps you feel like your business is showing the ill effects of something \u2013 be it employees out due to the cold or flu going around, the \u201cslow season,\u201d which is typical around the holidays, or maybe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,8,14,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth","category-leadership","category-success","category-team"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2017\/10\/1002.AdviCoach-October1.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2017\/10\/1002.AdviCoach-October1.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"AdviCoach","author_link":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/author\/admin\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advicoach.com\/va\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}