Expansion

     Logical progression of business typically indicates expansion. It's an interesting thing, expansion. From a business standpoint, looking at nothing but profit? It's attractive. Alluring, even. But what is the real cost? A scary endeavor. Budget has just expanded. We now service more areas, but it is a scary thing. Most people see an expansion as signs of a business doing well. And it is, but what some fail to see is how costly an expansion can be, especially if it is done incorrectly.
     Sometimes, I've seen it as a last resort. A way to attract more customers to a failing enterprise. It always seemed stale to me, futile. So this begs the question, are we expanding (or you, for that matter) because we want more business and are doing well, or are we simply fooling ourselves?
     Doubt is an ugly thing. That's why I don't have it. Well, I do. I was just trying to sound dramatic. But as far as Budget is concerned, I make my decisions carefully. But I make them. And I stick to them. So I guess I'll find out the answer when business starts picking up in different areas if I'm kidding myself, or I'm moving forward into greater things. What about you? Ever expand? Ever have trepidations about expansion? Leave a comment.

Holidays...Good and Bad?

      Three day weekends are a special thing. They really are. The passing holiday this month marked a whole host of things, all the way from a new season, to students returning to school. Some businesses take the 5th off, some do not. Budget did. I understand that some businesses choose not to. Hell, it's an entire day of business that gets missed- profits, phone calls, e-mails, it all goes to the wayside to the next day. But what's more important? A day off, or a day on?
     Many would argue that a day on would be better. You get those missed profits, you get those important calls and e-mails. But, what's the true cost? My last entry warned readers about working on your business opposed to in it. And that still holds true, but as humans, we need breaks. Even the most dedicated workaholics need to stop. The brain must rest, the body must rest. It's important to a business' health to make sure its employees are refreshed and ready.
     Too many make the mistake of working themselves into the dirt just to get a little bit ahead. Just to get a little bit of an edge. And these is NOTHING wrong with wanting to do a good job, and wanting to work hard. But you must realize. If you have a good work ethic and are working hard without rest, your work quality will eventually slip. It's human nature. We're all mortal, after all. We need to eat, sleep, drink. If we ignore these basic things, everything else suffers.
     So the whole purpose of this entry was to make one point, one point and one point only. Taking a break can sometimes be more important to the longevity of your business and yourself. Remember that. We can all only go for so long until we start to unravel.