Do you know the hot trends for your business?

What are the trends for your business? Can you grow by increasing customers & sales or do you need to take over another company? Are your current products or services part of a growth area or do you need to diversify? Do you know what the hot trends are? Trend watching has emerged in big business as a management discipline but it can also be a great guide for the entrepreneur. If your traditional business is not part of a growth trend, you may face a decision about the direction your company should take. It can be a tough decision, especially if you are running a family concern and traditions feature strongly in your business culture. However, successful business owners always have an eye on the trends. Alan Sugar started Amstrad in 1968 trading in electrical goods and then moved into manufacturing. His spectacular growth came in the 1980's when he spotted the mass market trend for home computers. Long before that, in the 1930's, Ferdinand Porsche had an idea for a mass-produced car that drivers of modest means could afford, but the Directors of Daimler-Benz thought it too radical & turned it down. Ferdinand went into business for himself and started work on what would become the Volkswagen Beetle, while continuing development of the luxury sports cars that still bear his name. It's probably no coincidence that two of the top trends for the future are in the motor industry, specifically the teenage market for customizing & accessory kits and in Internet Marketing where there is a huge opportunity for disaster recovery products. Two other top trends are in the areas of health & wellbeing and in developing green energy sources. If you have ideas for expansion or a change of direction, call us and we'll help you to reach an objective view and, just as importantly, we'll ensure that you are free to maintain your existing business at it's full potential while changes are taking place. www.mercantile-group.com