“Watch for Hurricane Irene in your Business”

Take a look outside this weekend. If you’re on the east coast, it’s possible you’ll see some of hurricane Irene! As hurricane Irene slides up the coast and people prepare to sit out the storm, I can’t help but think of how important it is to pay attention to the changing weather in your businesses to avoid getting caught unprepared in a hurricane.

Checking on the industry’s weather is vital for you to keep your business out of a hurricane like Irene. But just like some people don’t believe a storm could really be that bad, some entrepreneurs find themselves ignoring evidence that it’s time to get out of a business before disaster hits. They choose to stubbornly hold on to their enterprise and trust that rain won’t hurt them.

This is another danger of plowing straight through to your goal: you don’t stop to make sure what you’re doing is going to keep you out of danger of losing your business or money. But when you zig zag to your goal, you pause to look ahead and think about where you’re going. You make sure your market is still around. You are able to react to changes in competition and demand. You avoid potentially devastating hurricanes.

I hope and pray for the safety of everyone who has to batten down the hatches and deal with hurricane Irene this weekend. I hope everyone in its path was able to either get out of the way or sufficiently prepare for what comes, and I hope you can also learn to watch out for hurricanes in your business.