You can be reactive when you run a business and you can be proactive - which one is best? The truth is that you’ll actually need to do a little of both because as much as you might put plenty of useful measures in place to help you be more proactive, unexpected things can still happen so you’ll need to be reactive as well, and that’s okay. It’s just how business (and life, come to that) works. 

However, if you want to be calmer, happier, less stressed, and generally more successful in your business, being proactive is the better option, with some reactivity thrown in only when it’s entirely necessary. With that in mind, here are some of the things you can do to help you become more proactive in your business so that everything runs a lot more smoothly. 

Set Goals To Work Towards

As we’ve said, there are a few different tactics you can take and techniques you can use to help you become a lot more proactive in your day-to-day business dealings, but a good place to start which can help you move forward with everything else is to set some goals to work towards.

The goals you set must be SMART goals (which means they have to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely), and they need to give you a clear vision of what you want to achieve in your business. When you’ve got goals to work towards, being proactive becomes a lot easier because you’ll be able to make good decisions and stop problems before they even start to form. Most of the time, at least. 

Anticipate Challenges

Most of the time, at least… that’s an important phrase to remember because all kinds of things can happen in business that you’re not expecting, and they can become big problems that you have to react to. However, the more you can anticipate these challenges, the less of an issue they’ll be, and the less reactive you’ll have to be, which helps everyone, including your business. 

Take the time to consider all the potential challenges and obstacles that might come up - that could include market trends, technological advancements and new rules, regulations, your competitors, and much more. When you’re able to keep yourself informed and actively take notice of and monitor industry trends, you can proactively spot any potential threats and come up with useful contingency plans to put into action as soon as you see there’s an issue on the horizon. 

Stay Ahead Of The Curve 

Business is always changing and quickly evolving, and staying ahead of the curve is vital if you want to keep a competitive edge, but it’s also crucial if you want to work more proactively rather than having to be reactive all the time - all that fire-fighting is exhausting, and it takes your attention away from the heart of your business, so it takes longer to grow. 

You’ll want to ensure you stay on top of all the new innovations coming out in your sector, for example, and you’ll need to keep doing market research to make sure you’re still giving your customers what they want. That might mean signing up to podcasts, newsletters, and journals, or perhaps attending conferences and exhibitions. Or you could stay up to date with technology, and ensure you’re using things like overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) software so you can get ahead of the crowd. Whatever you do, keeping your eye on your industry is important, and by continuously learning and adapting to change, you can ensure your business is seen as the best. 

Take Calculated Risks

This can be a tough idea for some business owners to really take to heart, but it is an important one, so it’s worst considering since it can make so much difference in how proactive you’re able to be. 

It’s important to reduce the risks you take in your business as much as possible, but it’s also important to know that taking risks is often absolutely necessary if you want to grow and innovate. The thing to remember is that instead of just leaping into something with your eyes closed, it’s far better to carry out research and weigh up the pros and cons - that’s a calculated risk and it’s far less problematic.

By considering the potential reward compared to the risk you’ll have to take, you can make better decisions and be more proactive. Taking risks without putting in the background research might pay off, but it could also lead to you having to be reactive and fix a lot of problems, and that’s the last thing you want to do.