My oh my, things keep changing quickly.
As I write this, tariffs may or may not be imposed on the United States's largest trading partners, which would have serious ramifications on the economy.
Federal grants and government funding may be pulled back (or may not).
The speed of change on social media is dizzying. Do you stay or do you go?
And yet… we must continue to persist in our business. Because, the rent or the mortgage must be paid, groceries must be bought, all while life keeps on lifing.
So in the midst of a world in flux… what should you be focused on as a business owner?
This is probably not the time for a surgically engineered 12-month plan. There’s too much uncertainty for that. So in the Hermit year we’re in (according to the Tarot), what we can do is align on what’s in front of us now. Work on what’s required in the present that will compound for the future, and take our businesses one step at a time.
Where should you focus now? Let’s press this through the Deeper Foundations framework.
Design the Business: Has your vision changed?
Every year, I encourage business owners to establish their vision and their arc of the year. This isn’t just financial goal setting, and it’s not pie in the sky aspirational revenue numbers.
This is truly establishing what you want from your business, and if that has changed.
What is the business you want to run, who are you serving, how are you delivering that work, what’s the impact you want to have, and what’s enough as it relates to the role that the business plays in your life.
I encourage you to evaluate that at minimum every year, but also at major discontinuity points.
A new election, and a change in the economy.
A change in your family situation or your health.
A change in your location.
All of this impacts your business vision and business design, and might change where you’re headed from a navigational perspective.
For instance, if you work with the government on DEI-related programs, this past week might have dramatically changed with whom and how you work.
In my business, the vision hasn’t shifted much since November - I’ve been steadily working towards having a more robust portfolio of courses and workshops that are shorter in duration and skill-focused to meet this level of uncertainty. And now that the first draft of the book is done (THE DRAFT IS DONE Y’ALL), I can turn my attention to that.
Has the vision for your business changed?
Build the Business: What’s the most pressing bottleneck or foundational system to be built?
So once you’ve adjusted your vision, you might find that the most immediate foundation to address has changed, or it has stayed the same.
You might feel called to diversify your marketing from the Meta platforms with a newsletter (and if you want to do that, check out Miana Melendez's upcoming workshop on the topic).
You may need to shift your client base, change your offer or pricing structure like I’m doing.
Perhaps you’re feeling the pressure of AI (see: DeepSeek continuing to change the game on AI capabilities) and want to build a more proactive sales process and not just rely on broadcast-style or discovery marketing.
I find that unless the vision shifts dramatically, normally the most pressing systems of our business to address stay as previously identified. At least, until you address the current bottleneck or focus area, and then see what's the next focus area.
In my business as an example, I couldn’t focus on anything else until the first draft of the book happened. And now, the next logical step is completing a website and brand refresh, because that’s still a limiting factor in my business growth. Then, and only then once that project is underway, should I plan what’s next. I have no idea what will happen this April, let alone what will happen in December, so I'm not planning for that.
What’s the most pressing root system you need to address in your business right now? (And if you want a way to understand yours, you can take the Deeper Systems Assessment).
Run the Business: How should you spend your time and attention on what matters most in your business?
When the world is in flux, the most common place you'll feel a squeeze in your business is in the Run the Business systems. With everything pressing on your attention, exactly what should you do every day? What matters most?
So in this, I encourage you to be honest and realistic about your capacity.
Has your time capacity changed, especially if recent shifts mean that you need to attend to more urgent matters in your personal life?
Has your attentional or energetic capacity changed in trying to stay current to what’s happening and advocating for change?
And if that capacity is shrinking, then it’s time to get very discerning about what gets done in the business.
Truly slowing the number of business-building projects you’re trying to take on simultaneously so you can focus, and build root by root.
Being very intentional with what you’re running in the business, focusing on high return on investment actions that are multi-purpose. (If you’re in the Membership, watch this month’s dialogue on resilient marketing).
Streamlining what takes your time and attention.
Tracking your metrics and numbers, and being even more deliberate about only doing activities and showing up in places that create impact. Fewer, better activities.
How has your capacity changed, and what does that mean about your time allocation in your business?
When the world is uncertain, embrace agility.
Shorter project cycles.
More feedback.
Less long-term planning with its inevitable sunk costs and more short-term “what’s in front of me to do right now?”
And consistently, frequently, triangulating towards your business lighthouse.