How to Pivot When Challenges Present Themselves

The only constant in life is change. This is also true for business. As a business owner, you will likely have to learn how to pivot when challenges present themselves.

If the word “pivot” sounds familiar, it’s because it’s used quite a bit in entrepreneurial spaces. It’s the act of knowing when to change things on a dime when need be. However, there is a misconception in terms of knowing when and how to pivot. Here are some tips.

Pivoting doesn’t always mean scrap everything.

When entrepreneurs think about how to pivot, they often times see it as needing to scrap everything and start over. This is only sometimes the case.

Will entrepreneurs need to let projects go at some point? Yes. Will they need to scrap stuff that isn’t working? Of course. But sometimes pivoting is as simple as making an adjustment or two to a current product or service.

Here’s how to tell the difference between needing to make minor changes versus scrapping a project all together. In my business, I’m scrapping my membership site. This was because it was too much work to maintain and I wasn’t seeing enough return on my investment. Quite frankly, I’m making better money in other ways.

When it comes to making minor changes, I recently had to figure out how to pivot when I lost a team member. This did not require me to start over, but rather come up with a quick solution in the form of finding an intern.

Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.

It’s really easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re presented with a challenge and are trying to figure out how to pivot. I know because I’ve been there – several times. Even still to this day I can let my emotions get the best of me when I’m overwhelmed.

For times when the pressure is on to pivot, I find that meditation works best in helping me focus. Also, realizing that if I knew how to pivot in the past then I can certainly do it again.

Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you keep your calm as you figure out how to pivot in the face of a challenge. As a business owner, you are a leader. And what do leaders do? They figure stuff out.

Remember that challenges are temporary.

I am currently getting a crash course in how to pivot. In six weeks, I’ve been presented with one challenge after another. To be honest, it seems like I’m just having a bad go of things lately.

Fortunately, these times are temporary. By remembering that, you can trust yourself more when pivoting. I like to see it as steering the ship toward calmer waters. It will be rough for a bit, but once you’re out of the rough path you’ll be fine.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to pivot and when is part of the entrepreneurial journey. With time, you will trust yourself to come up with quick solutions when challenges come up. These tips are a good place to start.