In business there are sometimes inevitable ups and downs, peaks and valleys or high and lows. Whatever way you choose to describe it, you get the point. The people who are most successful in business learn how to minimize the ups and downs by making sure their business is braced for impact should tough times or failure of some sort eventually occur. Failure is something that many entrepreneurs are afraid of because it implies defeat. However, smarter entrepreneurs realize that failure is a recipe for success when used the right way. If you want to brace yourself for success and avoid ups and downs it’s important to prepare. It is often said that hindsight is 20/20. So if that’s true, what lessons can you learn from the storms that you have already endured in your business life. There is no business that exists without hard lessons learned in one area or the other. With that said, there are many ways you can brace yourself and your business for the ups and downs that are sure to come at some point or another. Check out my short list of 5 easy steps to prepare for the ups and downs in business.

1. Plan Ahead. Planning is the art of thinking about and forecasting the activities needed to achieve a desired goal. If your goal is to maintain a successful business you need a plan. You need a business plan. You need a marketing plan. Without taking time to consider important things such as your company mission, philosophy, customer service management system, marketing strategies, tactics and so much more…you will be forced to make it all up as you go along. Flying by the seat of your pants is a recipe for losing big in business. Plan how many units you will have to sell to reach your goals. Plan how many special sales you will offer. Plan everything. And when the plan isn’t working, tweak it, start over and get a new plan.

2. Learn from past failures. When something goes wrong, don’t over-analyze it. Don’t sit back and play the “what if” game with yourself or your team. Agonizing over mistakes will only decrease morale and inhibit you from future success. When you make a mistake in business recover fast.  Write down everything that went wrong and how it could have been avoided. Then put together a game plan for how you will fix the problems that occurred.

3. Review what’s worked before. When something works, analyze it and figure out how it worked, why it worked and then duplicate it. Right down everything. What were the ingredients that helped you achieve a successful outcome? Be sure to capture the smallest detail to the largest. Create a recipe for success.

4. Avoid complacency. Many times when things go wrong we write it off as something that was meant to be. Or perhaps we convince ourselves that there was nothing we could have done differently or better. If you lose a contract or a client, make sure to learn why it happened. Perhaps that client left you because of price or because they did not get their needs met.  Do a little homework, by asking what went wrong. Sometimes, we are more likely to share feedback if someone takes the time to genuinely ask us how our experience was. Learning from mistakes is the only way you can improve upon them.

5. Stay informed. Learning is powerful tool. Instead of waiting for things to go wrong or guessing about why something is not working, ask questions and stay informed. A very easy way to stay informed is to conduct a survey with your customers asking them the critical questions you may need answers to. You just might find out the regular event that you host doesn’t hit the mark or maybe that product you thought everyone would buy is not in high demand. Most importantly, keep your eyes and ears open for trends in your industry and always be aware of what your competitors are doing. Staying informed will keep you ahead of the learning curve every time.

if you follow these easy steps, you’re sure to avoid the average pitfalls and ups and downs in business. Most successful people achieve success by learning from their wins and losses while  minimizing the ups and downs in business.

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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing For Trailblazers System;TM  that shows you how to get more clients, more visibility and increase your income, guaranteed. To purchase consulting  services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.