Let me start this with some very interesting statistics: " Generation C - connected, communicating, content-centric, computerized, community-oriented, always clicking. Born after 1990, by 2020 , they will make up 40 percent of the population and they will constitute the largest single cohort of consumers worldwide." " This is the first generation that has never knows any reality other than that defined and enabled by the Internet, mobile devices and social networking."

If you plan to be in business for at least another five year, then it's time to pay attention to the coming shift in communications, purchasing, and in general, overall consumer behavior and expectations. Our attitudes have become entrenched over the years thorough everyday routines. This change may be the hardest that the small business firm has every endured.

Most small businesses started as a one person operation where the owner wore all the hats, from janitor, rainmaker, accountant, to receptionist and manager. As I mentioned some months age, a business has to grow or it will die. Growth means hiring people and when two employees are added to the firm, the whole operation must change. First the owner has to determine what his focus will be and then to define the duties and responsibilities of the team.

Visioning for the future, getting ready for the C Generation, requires a new learning curve and the addition of staff that, perhaps better understands what changes need to happen. As the leader of  your business it is your responsibility to lead your team to survive the future. That doesn't mean you do all the work, it means you are smart enough to surround yourself with staff that can carry out your vision.

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The best time to plant an oak tree was twenty-five years ago; however, the next best time is right now. Prepare for the change.

Have a great day!