I am getting asked the same questions from all of my clients at the moment.
- How do I stabilize my strategy in the current market?
- How do I continue to see growth in my business in the next 6, 12, and 18 months?
- Should I put the business on hold and go back into employment?
So the main fact of the matter is that no one knows exactly what is going to happen in the current climate, so we can all take out best guess at what that means for businesses. However, from the data that is being tracked, a few things are certain:
- 95% of the UK population is on between 80-100% of their salary with about 60-80% more time to spend it.
- Everyone is changing the way they consume everything, from online shopping, online learning, online networking, online fitness….. and so it continues.
Stabilize
So the key idea we need to think about when looking at our businesses is what will change in how our customers what to work with us in the future. Do we need to digitize elements or all of our business? Are we a supplier to someone that will need to digitize – meaning we need to understand the process even if we are not doing this in our own business?
Growth
When thinking about long term growth for the next 6, 12, 18 months. You need to consider the change in how you show up and add value to your customers. The businesses that will struggle are the owners that did most of their business face to face as this element is on hold at the moment. So you need to consider where you will find out customers – think about:
- On what platform – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube
- What groups or bodies will they be part of?
- How can you add immense value and show up as a leader in your field – like article writing, being a podcast guest, giving away small amounts of high-value free content
The landscape is changing, companies are thinking more about changing the dynamic of working, people traveling less, working different patterns, some roles become redundant completely, some changing dramatically to incorporate new ways of working.
Should I go back into employment?
Now, this is an extremely personal call for any business owner. And I would never say do or don’t but I would urge you to consider a few points:
- Redundancies will be happening in a number of fields, be careful you aren’t trying to re-entry the workforce in a flooded market.
- Are you passionate about what you do and being your own boss, or is the situation become more stressful. Remember hard work is a passion when we love what we do, and stress when we don’t.
- Can you shift your current business to better line up with your values instead of walking away? There are 2 options – a completely new strategic plan to change course. or what we call a “lifeboat” offer – something that is easy to create, fills a real pain point for your customers at this moment, and you can sell for a low price to a large audience. This can also help to increase your audience following. And might be enough to save your business and take away some of the stress.
Personally one of my biggest drivers right now to stay in business is that I feel the economy really needs small business owners right now. The ones that are not getting any help through the system, but are creating opportunities, growing their businesses, paying their taxes, maybe even hiring people in the future. We will be the people that stabilize not only our business but the wider community. And I feel that is an important reason to fight during this time. But again that is just my thoughts.