No amount of pacing and hand-wringing will change the current economy or the pace of inflation. Smart business owners focus on what they can control rather than worrying about what they can’t. Although it might be tempting to keep lamenting about what’s not working, business owners whose doors will stay open will be focusing instead on ways to win.

Here are five ways you can take control of key areas in your business without spending any additional money on staffing, marketing, or advertising.

1. Take control of pricing and stop discounting

Everywhere you turn, prices are going up. The cost of supplies rises almost daily. When small businesses are talking about raising prices, it invokes the type of fear you felt as a child when you thought there were monsters under the bed.

If a business hasn’t raised its prices in two or more years, it’s past time. More important, there should never be an apology with a price increase. No grocery store on the planet puts a little note next to the butter saying, “Sorry about that extra 50 cents; we had no choice.” You noticed it, and you put it in the basket anyway.

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