How a Pro and Con List Will Boost Your Business Sometimes it's tough to keep on top of all the 'what if's' when it comes to your business. A pro and con list can help with that.

By Paula Rizzo

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

At the core entrepreneurs are dreamers, whether it's big picture stuff or smaller day-to-day improvements.

  • What if we opened another office in an international city?
  • What if we hired a few more employees full time?
  • What if we told the staff to stop sending emails on Fridays and actually talk to their clients on the phone? (gasp!)

Sometimes it's tough to keep on top of all the "what if's" when it comes to your business. These great ideas to boost your company to the next level often get stifled. That's because we keep ideas on the back burner, completely forget about them or become frozen with insecurities and stop ourselves before we even give them a try.

But there's a solution. Enter the pro and con list.

Yes, it can be as simple as folding a piece of paper in half and writing "pro" on one side and "con" on the other. This list is a great catch all for all those crazy ideas that you have that might be amazing but sometimes you don't give them enough credit.

Here's how to use this list to give your company a push:

Be prepared.

Next time you get an idea that frightens you, stops you in your tracks or excites you -- consider writing out a pro and con list for it.

Related: The 3 Lists Every Entrepreneur Must Make

Anything goes

Write out every possible good outcome and put it in the pro column. This should include every big and small detail. So if one of the good things about a potential business partner is that she is funny -- you can write that down. No detail is too trivial at this point.

Do the same with the con column and make sure to try and be as realistic as possible. Pretend you're a journalist -- just stating the facts at this point. Don't make any judgments. Sometimes this is hard to do but try your hardest to be objective.

Related: 3 Destructive Distractions That Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid

Take a break

Put your list away and sleep on it. This can be for a night or for a few months depending on the urgency.

Weigh your options

Now it's time to evaluate your list. Just because you have five items in the pro column and only three on the cons side doesn't mean that the pros win. Think about each option with a critical eye and picture what your business would be like if you had to deal with each one. Do some research, ask some questions, get someone else's input. What might seem like a big deal to someone else might not make a difference to you and visa versa. So be realistic and true to yourself as you evaluate your list.

You should keep these lists in the same place at all times so you know where to find them. So this could be in a notebook or in a folder on your computer. Working out ideas on paper first is a great way to either bring them to fruition or let them go for good.

Make it a point to go back every once and a while to check out your pro and con lists. You never know what brilliant idea is in there that might just be the nudge you need.

Related: The Must-Use Checklist for Getting Stuff Done Before the Holidays

Wavy Line
Paula Rizzo

Producer and Founder of ListProducer.com

Paula Rizzo is an Emmy Award-winning television producer and founder of the productivity site ListProducer.com. She's excited about her upcoming book, Listful Thinking: Using Lists to be More Productive, Highly Successful and Less Stressed. 

Editor's Pick

A Leader's Most Powerful Tool Is Executive Capital. Here's What It Is — and How to Earn It.
Lock
One Man's Casual Side Hustle Became an International Phenomenon — And It's on Track to See $15 Million in Revenue This Year
Lock
3 Reasons to Keep Posting on LinkedIn, Even If Nobody Is Engaging With You
Why a Strong Chief Financial Officer Is Crucial for Your Franchise — and What to Look for When Hiring One

Related Topics

Business News

7 of the 10 Most Expensive Cities to Live in the U.S. Are in One State

A new report by U.S. News found that San Diego is the most expensive city to live in for 2023-2024, followed by Los Angeles. New York City didn't even rank in the top 10.

Business News

More Americans Are Retiring Abroad, Without a Massive Nest Egg — Here's How They Made the Leap

About 450,000 people received their social security benefits outside the U.S. at the end of 2021, up from 307,000 in 2008, according to the Social Security Administration.

Business News

Lululemon Employees Say They Were Fired for Trying to Stop Shoplifters

Two Georgia women say Lululemon fired them without severance for trying to get thieves out of the store.

Business News

Woman Ties the Knot at White Castle Almost 30 Years After the Chain Gave Her Free Food as a Homeless Teen

Jamie West was just 12 years old when she ran away from the foster care system.

Business News

New York Lawyer Uses ChatGPT to Create Legal Brief, Cites 6 'Bogus' Cases: 'The Court Is Presented With an Unprecedented Circumstance'

The lawyer, who has 30 years of experience, said it was the first time he used the tool for "research" and was "unaware of the possibility that its content could be false."