A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

10 years ago, as my business was growing, I came to realize that I needed to move out of my home office.

Though I had worked with a Virtual Assistant for a number of years there was paper piling up all around my desk. There were more administrative tasks that I wanted to pass off that involved physical things that would be easier for an in-office assistant to pick up.

I also needed more of a “place” to meet with my team. We were having regular conference calls, but I knew we’d be able to collaborate better if we were in the same space even part of the time.

I had some clients who wanted to meet me outside the office, but we needed more privacy than you could find in a coffee shop.

So I rented a big office with room for all of us, plus a conference room, and it was great. There was a lot of camaraderie in the office. Clients could come to meet with us there. I got a lot more work done through my assistant. It was perfect.

Fast forward a decade and I just moved my business back into my home office.

Times have changed and paper is (mostly) a thing of the past. Video Conferencing has become ubiquitous so I was the only one coming to the office! Clients were even meeting us via video! Even though my business is bigger than ever that big office was more of a drain than it was an asset. So I let it go.

Here’s the thing…

Decisions that we make at one stage of our business growth may not be the right decision in another stage. I started out getting most of my clients through face-to-face networking — now almost none of my business comes in that way. I started out working with a VA, then had an in-office assistant, now I’m back to a VA.

What are you doing today, that was very helpful to you at one point in your business growth, that is now holding you back? What was the key to your success at an earlier stage of your business life that’s a burden now?

Really, stop, and think. Is your way of doing your work, or finding your clients, or talking about your business a by-product of success at a different point in your business evolution? What will it take for you to change it?