In ‘Seinfeld’, George Costanza concludes that if all his instincts are wrong then doing the opposite must be right.

His epiphany saved my business.

The crux of George’s theory is essentially: change and adapt. If things aren’t going to plan in your business, then you need to change the way you operate and adapt to your environment.

Here are a few situations I’ve encountered in my business where channelling advice from George Costanza helped me out.

Scenario 1:

Issue: My business relies on being visible on search engines, yet I noticed my rankings were dropping and I was losing sales. I considered spending money on internet marketing, but it was too expensive.

George’s advice: Diversify your marketing money and approach. Everyone is jumping online, so now is the time for you to jump off. Mail-out campaigns are cheap; business networking is even cheaper. A return to marketing basics 101 is what you need and what your customers will like.

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Scenario 2:

Issue: I was losing passion for my business after doing the same thing for years.

George’s advice: It’s time to change, baby! One of the most appealing things about running your own show is that you have flexibility. From swapping your workday tasks around to transforming your role or creating a brand-new product or service offering – changes both large and small will refresh your outlook and boost your work motivation.

Fortune favours the bold

This was another George-inspired discovery that helped get my business back on track.

Some people are naturally lucky. They meet their perfect customer or investor by chance and everything falls into place. I can assure you that this is only 1 per cent of the population. The rest of us create our own luck. You cannot increase your chances of meeting that perfect customer without first putting in the effort and actually going out to meet new people.

Be bold and put yourself and your business out there. Yes, you risk losing time and money and you may even risk ‘failure’, but, as George (and I) realised, your chances of coming up lucky increase dramatically if you do.

Could getting in the ‘George Costanza’ frame of mind help save your business? Share the challenges you’re facing and let’s channel his advice.