Keeping Ahead of the Game | Being proactive

Many people who start their businesses want more control over their lives. Tired of relying on what other people might do, they take the reins and move in the direction of their dreams. Since you’re starting a new business, you can set your course as well. Take control. Be in charge!

Being mindfully and consciously in control means being proactive. You identify what you want and make a plan to get it. Instead of reacting to whatever comes your way, you influence the world around you. Life can still surprise you, but you’ve prepared for surprises. You’ve also created conditions around you that will more likely bring you what you want.

A proactive person is resourceful. In The Princess Bride, Westley famously says, “If only we had a holocaust cloak.” Then Fezzig pulls one out of his shirt, saying, “you mean like this one?” Like the heroes of that story, you collect resources. These resources may be materials for your products. They may be pieces of software you know about which might serve your enterprise in the future. Perhaps you’ve collected relationships with people who can help out in a pinch. Stay ahead of the game by knowing what resources you have available, no matter how extraneous they may seem.

Your proactive nature makes you keep the future in mind. Using data, you plan for that future. Guessing won’t work. You want to ensure success. Therefore, you collect all the relevant information that you can concerning your industry. What is trending? What seems to be dying off? Being proactive means you anticipate the time to exit a position as often as you sense the time to begin a new effort.

You can see threats before they get to you. It is easier to stop a problem while it is small. You can feel problems coming because you expect them. Life is not perfect, so you know that occasionally something will go wrong. That does not bother you, because you’re ready to pivot when you need to.

 Because you are proactive, you can take the initiative before your competition. By the time your competitors act on a new idea, you’re already there. The pandemic has everyone staying at home? You acknowledge this without judgment. It is what it is, and it brings a new economy, an isolation economy. Guess what? A new market opens up in the delivery systems industry because everyone is home. You happen to run a company that develops organizational software. With a few tweaks, you can implement an existing product as a tool to keep deliveries moving.

 Being proactive defines an entrepreneur. Starting a business is a proactive thing to do. So you keep the trend going. As you stay ahead of the game in your industry, you will find yourself emerging from the herd as a leader.