Business is full of opportunities.  Will you be ready when they present themselves?  Will you be ready when it’s time?

The problem is that you never know when they will arise. So, you always have to be preparing.  Here are three ways to prepare your business for when that key opportunity arises.

Build your infrastructure

It’s pretty simple. Your business can’t grow unless it has the infrastructure to support that growth.  That means having the people, processes, and systems in place to properly support current operations as well as accommodating future growth.  It takes money to do this, but it’s an investment in your company’s future.

Make it turnkey

In Michael Gerber’s book, The E-Myth Revisited, he talks about creating a turnkey business.  This entails making sure that all processes and procedures are documented, training programs are in place, and all operations are simplified to the point that even a non-skilled worker could do them.  In short, he espouses the franchise model.

By striving to set your business up like a franchise, in which you could hire anyone and they would know exactly what to do, you are creating a self-sustaining model.  This allows you to plug people in as needed and have them quickly come up-to-speed and be productive.

Stay on top of your numbers

All organizations have to stay on top of their income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow. But every industry has a specific set of key metrics that can quickly show the health of a company.  It may be accounts receivable or no-show rate, or it may be staff utilization.  Whatever your key numbers are, you must stay on top of them every single day.

So, when that wonderful opportunity is staring you in the face, are you going to be ready to take it on?  Is your infrastructure is in place? Do you have a turnkey operation? And, do you know your key numbers inside and out?  If not, get to work on these items today.  If you do, you’ll be ready when it’s time.  You’ll be very well prepared when that amazing opportunity presents itself to your business.

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