If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember when a trip to Blockbuster was the highlight of the weekend.
Friday evening… Scanning the shelves, debating what to watch. Then the small thrill of finding the film you wanted still in stock.
The newest releases were often gone – which somehow made it better when you found one.
It felt like an occasion.
Back then, Blockbuster felt unstoppable.
But while it focused on its stores, the world outside was changing.
Technology improved, internet speeds increased. And a small company called Netflix was quietly building something different – built around convenience. Starting in 1997, it offered a mail-order DVD service.
In 2000, Netflix even tried to sell itself to Blockbuster for $50 million.
Blockbuster wasn’t interested.
Their CEO dismissed it as a niche idea. The “dot-com hysteria” was, in his view, overblown. Netflix’s founders were reportedly laughed out of the room.
At the time, that decision probably felt entirely rational.
But by then, the environment had already shifted.
Customers were starting to value convenience over experience. Driving to a store, hoping a film was in stock, began to feel… outdated.
Netflix was built for where things were going.
And almost before anyone realised it, everything flipped.
Today, Netflix is worth hundreds of billions.
Blockbuster is gone.
And the reason is simple: they focused on the business they had – not the world changing around them.
There’s a lesson here for your business too.
Most business owners are deeply focused on what’s happening internally.
You’re probably dealing with staffing issues. Focused on new products or services. Thinking about efficiencies.
It’s all important.
But what’s happening outside your business?
What’s changing – right now – that could derail those plans?
Fuel prices are one example, as I’ve mentioned over the past few weeks. For many businesses, rising fuel costs will start to squeeze margins. Even if you’re not directly affected, your suppliers may be – and those costs rarely stop there.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Think about new technology…
Shifting exchange or interest rates…
Changes in regulation.
Each of these can have a material impact. If you’re not paying attention, you’re exposed.
And just as importantly, you may miss opportunities – because these same forces can work in your favour too.
That’s why you need a structured way of monitoring external risks, and planning for them.
Here are a few practical steps:
- Map your risks.
Identify the external factors that could disrupt your business – from supply chain issues to tariffs, changing demand, even weather. - Plan your response.
Think through how you’d reduce the impact. Where do you have flexibility? What levers could you pull? - Make it part of your planning.
Set aside time to step back and consider how wider changes might affect you in the months ahead.
This is why larger companies maintain a risk register – and it’s something more businesses should be doing.
If you’re not sure where to start, we can help.
At Insight Associates, we work with clients on this kind of forward planning because it’s a core part of good financial management.
If you can see what’s coming – even imperfectly – you can make better decisions now. You prepare for risks, take advantage of opportunities, and allocate resources more effectively.
And that puts you in a far stronger position – not just to weather uncertainty, but to grow through it.
You can’t predict everything. But simply thinking through the biggest risks puts you ahead of most.
If that’s something you’d like help with, just email garry@insightassociates.co.uk or call us on 01279 647 447 to arrange a no-obligation consultation with myself or one of our specialists.
Warmly,
Garry
You might also like: https://insightassociates.co.uk/blogs/is-that-lucrative-client-really-worth-the-risk
