One of the topics is ‘Business Planning’ — you could just as easily refer to it as ‘Strategy’ — and this includes your reasoning for making decisions and clearly defining the path forward.
The Amway Shop
When we noticed this retail shop in Chatswood, it became apparent that this multi-billion dollar company had made modifications to its Business Plan and Strategy.
If you are in early middle age, you might remember being approached by someone with a business proposition for you. An opportunity that could help you achieve your goals using your unique personality and intelligence — yes, Multiple Level Marketing (often referred to as MLM).
Many people thought this type of business was a scam and they called it a “Pyramid” scheme that only makes money by getting more and more people to join. There is a very big difference between MLM and a Pyramid Scheme and Amway wouldn’t be the size they are if they didn’t have a sound model and great products, but that’s not the topic of this article. Right now, we’re talking about strategy and changing strategy.
However, why we’re mentioning Amway here is because we understand that this is the first retail shop for Amway in Australia. We haven’t delved into the reasons, but what we do know is this business was based on people working together using Word of Mouth, networking, meetings and events to get their message across, sign members up and sell and distribute products — just like Dell (who use to only sell direct and via the Internet).
Now Amway are providing YOU with evidence that it is OK to make a change to your strategy. It’s OK to set a goal and have it not quite work out.
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The moral of the story? It’s OK to follow one path for a while and then change tack based on the intelligence and reporting you get back from your original journey. Remember this when thinking of starting up your own small business or managing someone else’s business.