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Explore your options! Business decisions can be the difference between failure and success.  It is critical to the success of any business to make informed decisions.  Taking action as an entrepreneur is great, but making informed decisions is even greater.

Many people have hired us for web design, because they did not know anyone else who did it.  However, in some of those cases we were not the best option for them, because we were either too expensive for what they wanted, or we did not cater to the type of website design they were looking for.

Small businesses do not have time or funds to hire people.  They do not spend the time interviewing multiple people; they will often hire the first person that comes through their door.  But it is vital to have options and to make informed decisions.

At the beginning phases of my business I did not make many informed decisions.  I chose the first option that came to me.  However, I was lucky with the first person I hired because he worked out great.  Nonetheless, I wasn’t able to pay him very well, so he did not stick around.  I continued following that same hiring process, but I ended up with a bunch of losers, which cost valuable time, energy, and effort.  Had I taken the time to do the interview process fully and completely, I would have saved myself a lot of time in the long run and I would have been much happier.

In Episode 2 of the Defining Success Podcast, I spoke with Kim Nelson of Daisy Cakes.  When Kim began her Daisy Cakes business, she was shipping her cakes across the country for more than double what she currently pays.  Because she decided to explore her options, Kim went from paying $45 per shipment to $20 per shipment just by switching shipping companies.

That one business decision allowed her to lower her price point so she could reach more customers and increased her profit margin so she could make more money on the cakes she was selling.

An added bonus of exploring your options and talking to other people is that you become a more informed decision maker, you get a better understanding of what you are looking for, what you are not looking for, what fits best for your business, you get ideas on ways to improve and enhance your business, and you get to see what your competition is doing.

Another added bonus are negotiating points, not only will it help you a better understanding but it will also give you very valuable negotiating techniques with the companies you are doing business with, because you will understand what it costs, what it takes, so it will help your bottom line as a business.

It is important to explore your options.  With major business decisions it is always important to give yourself an opportunity to analyze the effectiveness each option will bring you.  In the long run, making effective business decisions from the options available to you could save you thousands of dollars and even save your business.  Never overlook the importance of making informed business decisions.

If you explore your options when making important business decisions you can have your cake . . . and eat it too!