It’s been said that there are two types of businesses – those that have had tough times & those that are going to have tough times. A worldwide pandemic and forced government shutdown should qualify as the most difficult business challenge most have ever faced. No doubt about it.
Despite overwhelming circumstances, there are still opportunities if we shift our thinking just a bit. We have the powerful ability to change our situation simply by shifting how we think about it. Instead of dwelling on how bad things could get, try asking What can I do now to prepare for a stronger recovery? These are 10 things to do to get through this and actually come out in better shape on the other side.
- Take Action
In a crisis, the single most important thing you can do is take action. Sometimes we can be a little like a deer in the headlights, not quite believing what is going on, frozen on the spot. The problem is that if we don’t leap into action, things will always get worse and they will get worse quickly. If you’ve had to temporarily shut your store due to the virus crisis, take a day, cry it out and then get back to business.
Some ideas include reorganizing the shop, redo store displays, to take time to fine tune your marketing message. The important thing to remember is don’t just stand there. There is work to do.
- Deal with facts not fiction.
In the middle of a tough time it is really easy to start freaking out based on the worst case scenario, as opposed to what actually is. It’s important to get all of the information about what is going on and to only deal with facts, regardless of what is going on in your head. Most of the things we worry about never actually happen, so don’t let your imagination get ahead of the reality of the situation.
For me, that means catching up on the news once a day for 5 minutes, then turn my attention back to my family, business planning & self-care.
- Take this time to cement your relationship with your existing customers.
In a weirdly ironic way, when times are tough, many businesses actually stop servicing their existing and loyal customer. A depressed mood descends on the business and this in turn affects customer service. That’s why businesses in this negative space lose far more customers than they should, which of course only makes matters worse. Now is the time to build bulletproof relationships with each and every customer you are fortunate enough to have. You need to be communicating with your customers, engaging them, finding out what is going on in their world and most importantly of all, becoming very clear on what your customers need from you.
For your customers, that may be reassuring them you’re taking steps to be there when they need you. Share something that will make them laugh. Teach them tips for arranging a gallery wall or how to install art at the right height. Give them a happy distraction from reality and inspire them with a little bit of hope so that when they need framing, they will remember you.
- Use this situation to rethink your business.
Tough times are crossroads in our business and they provide an opportunity to make hard decisions about what is working and what is not. This is the perfect time to stop and really reflect on your business and make the changes that deep down you know you need to make. Lean in, grab a notepad and pen and begin a S.W.O.T. analysis. List all the strengths your business possesses; your expertise, assets, reputation and more. Next acknowledge your weaknesses. This gets a little tougher. List the deficiencies in your business and things that you don’t do well. Follow that with a list of opportunities that may include possibilities of new revenue streams, e-commerce or a new category of customers. Finally, list the threats your business faces. It could be cash flow issues, supply chain, rising costs, etc. This exercise provides you the insights needed to adjust your processes to increase the performance and efficiency of your business.
- Get ready to chase business.
During tough times, business development can also grind to a halt and we all know that this spells disaster. As hard as it may be, when times are tough, you have to ramp up your business development and push through the hard times. Winning a few new projects, or finding some new clients might just prove easier than you think and it will go a long way to making you feel better. To begin, ask yourself: Who do you serve? and what do they need?
Answer those questions and you’ll get closer to identifying new customer markets and the products and services they will need.
- Be careful whom you spend your time with.
Negative people need drama like it’s oxygen. It is more important than ever to avoid the harbingers of doom, those people who are negative all the time, they only ever focus on what they haven’t got as opposed to what they have and so on. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the negativity vortex. Keep away from people who are like this and find the positive, proactive and energetic business owners who are too busy getting on with it to get caught up with misery brigade. You can follow me on Instagram at @glasgow-meg for daily positive messages and video tips to encourage you though this crisis.
- Be prepared to try “NEW”.
When what you are doing isn’t working it makes sense to try something different. Now this sounds logical, yet I have watched so many businesses slowly go bust simply because they kept doing the same thing, right to the end. We have to be prepared to do new things, try ideas outside of our comfort zone and look to other for advice.
- Invest in your business.
This is the very best time to invest in your business. It is time to polish up your social media strategy, upgrade the website, come up with a new corporate image, invest in new technology and really anything else that will make your business look more impressive and run more impressively when business resumes.
- Invest in yourself.
Just as I believe that it is an important time to invest in your business it is more important time to invest in yourself. This means learning new skills through books, seminars, online training, mentoring, coaching, really whatever it takes.
- Learn from the experience.
This can be such a cliche but it is true. Most of us are really good at beating ourselves up for things that go wrong but there really isn’t much to be achieved from this. Far better to take a step back and learn from the experience. What can we do now to make things better? Focus on the positive lessons. Nothing is so bad that some good can’t come out of it.