You can find the silver lining in every seemingly bad situation and put your business in the best possible position.
It’s a tough time for most of us. We are navigating uncharted waters both personally and professionally. Yes, it’s challenging, particularly as the global economy plunges, but surviving and growing as a business can be done.
Here are four tips on how to get that done;
See this as a time to be aggressively imperfect:
For the first time in a long time, many people are turning to social media to spread positivity and kindness. We’re connecting with each other on a human-to-human level, and many of the procedural and business etiquette rules we normally follow have gone out the window. This can be used to your advantage.
You know the saying “Done is better than perfect”? There’s no better time than now to take that to heart. Ask yourself: What need do I need to fulfill? Then, find ways to meet that need. Right now, that might be something that’s different than what you normally do.
Use the constraints to bring clarity:
I like to say that until your boat is sinking, it’s hard to know what to throw overboard. Right now, you have more clarity than ever about how you want to spend your time and money. Pay attention to what you realize you can toss aside in your business and use those constraints to your advantage.
This is an ideal time to follow the “Pareto principle”, also known as the “80/20 rule.” Under this principle, 80 percent of your outcomes can be attributed to 20 percent of your input. For example, say that 20 percent of your clients bring in 80 percent of your sales. Using this theory, it’s better to spend time on those few vital tasks (the 20 percent) rather than the many trivial ones in order to maximize our output. Ask yourself: What are the vital components of my business? Which client can I not stand to lose? Which product or service brings in the most revenue? From there, your path should be clearer.
Embrace the novelty as exercise for your brain:
For most of us, our days have an entirely new look. Instead of being resistant to this novelty, try to lean into it. Research shows that changing up your routine encourages your brain to make new connections and neural pathways, this concept is known as neuroplasticity. It sounds silly, but something as little as switching up the route you drive to work or anywhere you frequent, can increase brain efficiency in problem-solving or discovering creative solutions.
Rather than stress yourself out over the change, embrace it and recognize it as something that could bring out the good if harnessed properly. Your brain needs to stay active, too. Like everything in life, it’s all about shifting your mindset to focus on the positive. We will get past this.
Go meet your customers where they are:
This is a time when you need to do some adjustments on your routine. It’s not the time to be rigid. Flexibility can be the game changer.
Do you offer an essential or much-needed service? Can you temporarily cut the costs or offer it for free? Can you take your offering and adjust it to help even more people? During a time of turmoil, you want your customers to remember you being there as a continual source of support for them. The worst thing you can do is turn the lights off completely and then come knocking when things have returned to normal. Most customers patronize based on emotions.
Show up for people when they are struggling.
Like everything in life, change happens. Now is the time to shift our mindsets to focus on the positive, despite the negative news in the world right now.
We hope you can implement these shifts to focus on the silver linings and strengthen your business. Remember this; You don’t have to go down.
How were you able to turn a negative situation in your business around? Please share with us in the comment section.