What Should I Do? 3 Ways to Quit Making Bad Business Decisions

2. Keep your long-term objectives in sight.

Even if you are an impulsive decision-maker, you should identify what you want in the long run. What direction do you want your business to move? Where do you as a person want to go? What would you like to avoid? Without a clear understanding of your business goals, you will have a hard time making productive decisions. In other words: “begin with the end in mind.”

To do this properly, you should set aside a formal time to consider where your decisions are taking the business as well as how your business goals are holding up in the face of any changes in the market or overall economic environment.

3. Get help from others.

If your decision-making skills leave much to be desired, then it definitely pays to include others in the process. These other people can be your business partners, employees, or hired professionals, such as a trusted consultant, lawyer, or accountant. In some cases, you may even be able to enlist the feedback and advice of your customers. If you know what you are doing, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ can all be used as efficient and effective crowdsourcing platforms. You just have to be open to letting others contribute.

Regardless of whom you turn to, make sure that the people you ask have adequate experience, skills, and insight needed to help you decide what to do. It also helps if your personalities complement each other.

In short, if you want to keep your business afloat and steer your ship clear from imminent demise, then you need to do what you can to navigate the sometimes choppy, unpredictable waters. This is a process that begins and ends with the decisions you are making on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis.

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Photo Credit: Zara

Gary Barzel is the manager of business development for Fastupfront. Fastupfront offers small business loan alternatives for existing businesses in need of working capital.