Missed Opportunities

You feel your business is doing pretty well. You’ve added to your personal savings every month.  You’re more focused on tax strategies than making payroll. But how do you know if you’re leaving opportunities on the table?

One of the easiest indicators to spot is stagnation. Businesses are like living organisms.  They either grow or they shrink. Flat or declining revenue is a warning sign. Stagnation limits opportunities for your top employees and makes it easier for competitors to lure them away and lure away your customers

How does your growth rate compare to your industry or market? If others are growing and you’re not, you’re falling behind.

What are your customers saying? Your salespeople are often the first to hear feedback from the field. If you’re hearing things like, “Everyone complains about our new auto attendant,” the right response isn’t “Everyone is doing it—they’ll get used to it.” Instead, track call volumes and see if it’s driving customers away. 

Are you paying attention to buying trends from your top 20% of customers? The Pareto principle holds true in most businesses.  Your top 20% often accounts for the majority of your revenue (often 80% or more). Are these customers spending less?  Has anyone asked why?

Are you taking advantage of the latest technology tools?  How are you using AI?  AI tools are a gateway to broader AI solutions. Try asking them about emerging innovations in your industry. How are companies streamlining office work? What AI tools exist for logistics, material handling, workflows, or scheduling?

Are you making the most of trade shows and conferences? Are you there to look for new ideas, or just to catch up with old friends? Are you attending your customers’ industry events—not to sell, but to see what new products and systems they’re adopting? Understanding their innovations helps you stay relevant as a supplier or partner.

What does your innovation pipeline look like? Are you consistently working on improving your products, customer experience, and internal operations?

How challenging is it to hire new talent? Are people leaving for better opportunities? Are you seeing fewer responses to job postings? Are new hire salary demands creating tension with your existing pay structure? Finding good people is hard—but it’s even harder if you aren’t competitive in the talent marketplace.

You may not have immediate answers to all these questions—but asking yourself is the first step. They’ll help you identify gaps, spark new ideas, and strengthen your business for the future.

You can’t solve everything alone. The right advisory team helps you ask the right questions, find the right answers, and act on them. Fresh perspective and outside expertise often reveal opportunities you didn’t know you were missing.