Bike Fenders and Business Changes

I never saw the point of bike fenders until I moved to Vancouver.

But after suffering a strip of mud up my back every time I rode my bike, I started to understand.

But even then, I resisted buying a pair. 

Instead, I decided that a piece of cardboard (woven through the rat trap on the back of my bike) would work just as well. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t. And I continued to get wet and muddy every time I rode. 

Finally, I broke down and had a pair of fenders installed. 

And wow, what a revelation!

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to get them?

And this got me thinking about why we resist making changes of all sorts. 

What’s Stopping You from Making Changes in Your Business?

While you might not have any resistance to bike fenders, you might resist making changes or starting something new in your business. 

And you’ll have good reasons for it. 

Maybe it’s too expensive. Or it’s too much of a hassle. Or it looks too complicated. 

Or maybe you just feel overwhelmed every time you think about it. 

But you also have to consider: what are you losing by not making those changes? What are the risks the status quo? What are the opportunity costs?

No one is going to tap you on the shoulder and tell you that you really need to start an email newsletter, for example. You could continue indefinitely without one and no one’s likely to complain. 

It’s only after you put one in place (and send it out month after month, year after year) that you see the payback. 

Prospective customers who weren’t ready to buy when you first engaged with them are now ready to commit. And they turn to you because you’ve kept built up trust and shown your expertise in those intervening months and years. 

So when you’re debating whether to make changes in your business — such as defining your marketing strategy, creating some case studies, updating your website copy or starting an email marketing campaign — consider what you might be risking (and missing out on) if you do nothing. 

Because one day you might give in and decide to make those changes. 

And you’ll wonder why you waited so long.