However, last year sales increased by only 35 percent, Sharp said. The Legacy International partners are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling cigar bands. But they know that they have to plan for when the cigar industry's fanfare dies down. A good entrepreneur looks ahead of the trend and predicts when it will be over, said Stewart. Entrepreneurs must try to determine how long a trend is going to last and decide what they will do when it's over, she said.
Planning is key.
A business has strategies to deal with issues. However, Stewart believes looking ahead of a trend can be a challenge for a small business. They forget what it was like when there was no trend. Goddard and his partners did plan ahead, though. The entrepreneurs are running both companies simultaneously, employing about eight designers, sales representatives and computer technicians.