Change in business isn’t easy. Especially when something that once worked or sold well, no longer does so. I experienced this in a major way back in 2008. I was at a crossroads with a website development service I owned. The times were changing and I had some important decisions to make. Basically, my choices were – adapt or be left behind.

Change is a part of business just like it is a part of life. But, it’s a bit easier when you get ahead of it instead of waiting until you’re in a do or die scenario.

Think about how focus changes in a very short span of time. For example – people don’t care about the bestselling products of 2015 anymore (or any other year besides this one for that matter). That’s in the past. The bestselling books of yesterday are history. There’s always a new lineup of books coming down the line replacing the old ones.

The same goes for just about everything. New isn’t new for long is it?

Think about how this may be affecting your business over time.

Now, ask yourself the question, “Am I giving people what they want TODAY?

[spp-tweet tweet=”Now ask yourself the question, Am I giving people what they want TODAY?”]

The very act of asking this question can snap you out of what I call circular thinking. That’s where you always end up exactly where you started, never really answering the questions that started the process. It’s the place where you feel like you (and your business) are stuck with no realistic options in sight.

Most of us have said to ourselves at one point or another, “This is all I know how to do! I’m stuck!”

If that’s you, and we’ve all probably felt this way at one point or another, let me give you something to think about.

Your skill set has more than one or two applications as it relates to solving problems and helping people. You can repackage your skills to target the issues and challenges your marketplace is currently facing?

Absolutely. Let me bring it down to a personal level. When someone asks you for advice or help, you draw upon your past experiences and do your best to apply some wisdom to their situation. You’re basically repackaging what you know for another person’s benefit. Isn’t that the approach in a nutshell? You can apply this same approach to your business to adapt to changing times and shifts in consumer habits.

The process, when applied to small business, involves adapting, repackaging, relabeling, etc. Sometimes the process works even better when you remove certain items from the equation to make something easier or faster.

Isn’t that what “new” really is more often than not?

You’ve been through this process your entire life. You’ve gone from one stage of experience to the next, making adjustments as you’ve learned how things really work. You can do the same thing with your business and the products and services you offer.

Remember, we’ve all been trained to believe newer is better. Some people believe the opposite. They believe older is better. You can combine the two at times and create something that appeals to both sides.

The point is, you don’t have to be stuck or anchored in your past.

You can create a newer, up-to-date version of your business… and you can keep it simple.

Yes, sometimes you have to part ways with certain products and plans. It isn’t always easy to do.

The alternative is holding on to something that, if you’re honest about it, just isn’t working and is slowly sucking the life out of you. You just keep it going because the “negative you” keeps drowning out the “positive you” – telling you things that sound believable on the surface but aren’t upon closer examination.

What do you need to succeed in business today?

You need to have a product or service people want to buy in 2017-18.

You need a website that’s easy to update and maintain.

You need to be able to accept payments.

And… you need a primary method of connecting with new customers and keeping existing ones updated.

Maybe you can see where the disconnect is with your own online business when you consider the above list? If so, feel free to comment and share your thoughts about this topic below. There is an increasing number of business owners facing a crossroads in their own business. You may be one of them. If so, you have the opportunity before you to turn the negatives into positives.