The Excuse Playbook: Small Business Edition
“How to Stop Sabotaging Your Own Success”
The “Too Busy” Collection
“We’re too busy to get organized.”
Translation:
We’re too busy being disorganized to stop being disorganized.
“No time to set up systems.”
Reality Check:
You never have time to do it right, but have time to do it over.
“I’ll get to it when things slow down.”
Newsflash:
Things don’t slow down. They speed up when you’re unprepared.
“We’re in firefighting mode.”
Fun Fact:
Organized businesses prevent most fires. You’re an arsonist with a hose.
The “Too Small” Denial Club
“We’re too small for real systems.”
Counter-point:
You’re also too small to waste time on chaos, on lost and misplaced stuff.
“That’s for big companies.”
Plot Twist:
Big companies were little guys that got big by doing small things right.
“We don’t need fancy processes.”
Breaking News:
Writing things down isn’t fancy. It’s smart, reliable, repeatable.
“It’s just me and Bob.”
Exactly.
Bob deserves better than a passing comment or misplaced sticky note.
The “Technology Fears” Support Group
“Too complicated for us.”
Reality:
the world is headed in one direction. Are you going with or against traffic?
“I don’t trust computers with my business.”
Meanwhile:
Trusts own memory, notes on napkins, and “I’ll remember that.”
“What if it breaks?”
Can be said of anything.
Cars, trucks, tools, smartphones, computers… all can break.
“We’re old school.”
Old School:
Ledgers, filing systems, written procedures. You’re thinking of “No School.”
“I’m not tech-savvy.”
You operate a smartphone and Netflix.
You’re tech-savvy enough.
The “Learning Resistance” Academy
“No time to learn new things.”
Correction:
You don’t have time NOT to learn. Your competition just did.
“I’m too set in my ways.”
Your ways aren’t working.
That’s why you’re here.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Good thing you’re not a dog.
You’re a business owner with bills to pay and customers to satisfy.
“It’s too late to change now.”
It’s never too late.
But next year will be later than today.
The “Money Matters” Excuse Vault
“Can’t afford proper systems.”
Can’t afford NOT to.
Calculate what chaos costs you monthly.
“I’ll invest when business picks up.”
Business picks up BECAUSE you invest in doing things right.
“Return on investment isn’t clear.”
ROI of not losing customers, invoicing on time, and sleeping at night:
Priceless.
“Free is good enough.”
Free chaos is still chaos.
Sometimes you get what you pay for.
The “Control Freak” Chronicles
“Nobody does it as well as I do.”
Probably true. That’s the problem.
Teach them.
“Easier to do it myself.”
Today, yes. For the next 10 years?
Math says no.
“I need to be involved in everything.”
Your business needs to run WITHOUT you involved in everything.
“What if they mess it up?”
They will. That’s called training.
You messed it up once too.
The “Perfectionist’s Paradox” Collection
“I’ll set it up properly when I have time.”
Perfect is the enemy of good.
Good beats perfect every day.
“Need to research all the options first.”
Analysis paralysis isn’t research.
It’s procrastination with a college degree.
“Want to get it right the first time.”
Version 1.0 beats Version 0.0.
Commit to continuous improvement as you go.
The “Team Troubles” Excuse Department
“My team won’t embrace the new systems.”
Your team wants to succeed too. They’re following YOUR lead.
Don’t sell them short.
“Too hard to get everyone on board.”
Harder to explain why you lost that big client due to dropped balls.
“We tried that before and it didn’t work.”
Possibly so.
You tried it once, half-heartedly, for two weeks. That’s not trying.
“People resist change.”
People resist poorly implemented change.
Big difference.
The “Customer Service” Deflection Squad
“Our customers understand we’re small.”
Understanding small size and accepting poor service are different things.
“They know how to reach us.”
But do they know when you’ll respond?
Or if you’ll remember to respond?
“Personal service is our advantage.”
‘Personal’ doesn’t mean unprofessional.
It means you care enough to do it right.
“We don’t need to be corporate.”
Professional isn’t corporate.
Your customers deserve ‘professional’.
The “Industry Exception” Hall of Fame
“Our industry is different.”
Every industry thinks it’s special.
Systems work everywhere.
“Customers expect us to be available 24/7.”
Systems help you be available better, not more.
There’s a difference.
“Everything is rush jobs and emergencies.”
Funny how organized businesses have fewer emergencies.
“Our work can’t be systematized.”
Your work can be systematized.
You just haven’t figured out how yet.
The “Timing Troubles” Time Capsule
“Wrong time of year.”
There’s never a RIGHT time.
There’s just now and later. Later costs more.
“After busy season.”
Busy season is exactly when you need systems most.
“When the new guy starts.”
The new guy needs systems on day one, not day ninety.
“Next quarter.”
This quarter’s problems don’t wait for next quarter’s solutions.
The “Ego & Pride” Preservation Society
“We’ve always done fine without it.”
“Fine” isn’t winning.
Your competitors aren’t settling for “fine.”
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
It IS broke.
You’re just used to the noise it makes.
“We’re successful already.”
You could be MORE successful.
That’s the whole point.
“Don’t want to admit we need help.”
Smart business owners get help BEFORE they need it desperately.
The Bottom Line Excuse-Buster:
“We’ll start Monday.”
No. You’ll start now. Monday is for people who like making excuses.
Every excuse is just fear wearing a business suit. Your competition is busy fixing what you’re busy explaining.
Remember: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. The worst time is while making excuses about soil conditions.