Think Outside the Box

What does it mean to "think outside the box"?

When it comes to small businesses, many owners and managers tend to have an "internal focus" with their operations. A few examples are:

• Finances
• Employees
• Operations
• Product development

These areas of business are very important, but small business owners and managers must also have an "external focus" to be successful. A few examples are:

• Technology
• Economy
• Social trends
• Politics

Historically, these are the areas that have destroyed small businesses. Small business owners and managers have been so focused on the day-to-day internal affairs of their business operations, that they've overlooked and missed key drivers that have major impacts on their long-term success rates.

A current example are the new FDA regulations for smoke and vape shops across the country. Businesses can no longer explain to customers how to use vape devices, and it could cost these small businesses up to $1 million dollars to sell juices that are made in their stores. This is an example of how political processes can seriously hurt many small businesses and put them out of commission.

Successful CEOs focus their attention on "external" factors and act strategically. They constantly "think outside the box" and stay two steps ahead of anything coming their way. But they don't do it alone!

Big businesses have the financial resources to hire strategic advisors from major firms such as Bain or McKinsey. And small businesses eventually fail to keep up because they can't afford to do so.

This is where Scopo comes in, for a very small fraction of the cost that is guaranteed not to break the bank!

Scopo works closely with small business owners and managers to strategically plan for the long-term success of their businesses, and a major part of this includes analyzing the external environment that impacts their operations. In addition to the political, economical, social and technological factors that impact businesses, Scopo also looks at the following external factors:

• Customer segmentation
• Demographic landscape
• Competitor operations
• Industry trends
• Substitutes and compliments
• Unmet consumer needs
• And much more!

In the end, our small business clients are in a "position" for long-term growth and success. And when our small businesses succeed, our communities succeed!