“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Let’s be honest if you’re in business or looking to start a business 2020 has been a tough year, perhaps one of the toughest years I can recall since the early 1980s. The thing is, I think that 2021 and beyond are unlikely to be significantly easier. Oh, there will be some recovery from the pandemic but it’s very unlikely that things will just go back to the way they were before pre-covid-19.
There are a number of factors that are converging to make the environment for small businesses difficult. The systemic changes that have been creeping into the business environment for the last decade, such as the move to online shopping and increasing competition have been rapidly accelerated by the pandemic.
The way to look at Covid-19 is not as an agent of change but as an accelerant. It’s like pouring petrol on a smouldering pile, suddenly it bursts into life.
So if the environment is going to be difficult and rapidly changing what can you do?
Well, the first thing to do is to realise that 2021 is not just a ‘re-start’ it’s a ‘re-think’ and ‘reset’. The old way of doing things will prove to be ineffective. For example, simply relying on “Word of mouth” or passing trade won’t be enough for the vast majority of small businesses.
Re-think.
When was the last time you sat down and really examined your business from top to bottom? Have you ever really done a complete ‘drains up’ look at your business? Here are the four areas that I think everyone business owner should be examining:-
The foundations of your business.
- Why are you in business in the first place?
What are you looking to achieve?
How well does my business run?
What’s working well in my business?
What’s not working well?
Your Sales Machine.
- Are you generating enough leads?
Are you converting enough leads and if not why not?
Why do people buy from us?
Why do people not buy?
Your Profits Machine.
- Are you running a profitable business?
Could you be more profitable?
Are your prices right (for you and your customer)?
How does your profitability compare with your competitors?
Are you building a High-Value Self Managing Business?
- What would happen if you took a month off?
Are you working too much in your business?
When are you working on your business?
Could you sell your business without having to continue working in it?
Reset.
Having spent time re-thinking your business, the next action to take is to reset. Start with the questions you’ve asked above and got unsatisfactory answers. What would you do if you were to start all over again, what would you do differently. Carrying on in the same old way which wasn’t getting you the results you’re looking for, is not the path that successful business owners take.
Business planning is a crucial part of resetting your business. When was the last time you planned for your business success? Spend some time setting goals for your business, take a look at my last blog (Click here) for a guide on how to set timescales for your business goals.
So for example, if you’re a traditional retail shop who for years has relied upon passing trade and a few generic Ads placed in the local paper, the havoc that covid-19 has wreaked on the high street will not have passed you by. You may have decided it’s time to start a ‘click and collect’ service (many have) which is probably a good idea. Now that you can no longer rely on your old ways of generating business it’s going to be necessary to get your marketing messages in front of potential customers in new ways. This might mean developing a social media strategy or using pay per click on Google or Bing. It might even be using good old fashioned direct mail. The more ways of generating leads you have the more successful you’ll be.
Re-start.
Having established a new baseline through your ‘reset’ process the next step is to ‘re-start’. This is where the ‘rubber hits the road’. Lots of business owners are really good at doing the ‘re-think and reset’ steps but really poor when it comes to ‘re-starting’. This is because quite often it means developing new habits and ways of working which in the beginning seem strange and awkward. It’s easy to fall back into the old ways of working. Here are five ways to make the new ways stick:-
1. Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.
2. Make it Daily – Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. If you want to start exercising, go to the gym every day for your first thirty days. Going a couple of times a week will make it harder to form the habit. Activities you do once every few days are trickier to lock in as habits. It’s the same with marketing, throwing the odd message out every now and again will not work you have to be consistent and regular.
3. Start Simple – Don’t try to completely change your business in one day. It is easy to get over-motivated and take on too much. This leads to ‘overwhelm’ and you’ll give in. Start simple and get some quick wins, this will motivate you to make other improvements.
4. Remind Yourself – Around two weeks into your commitment it can be easy to forget. Place reminders to execute your habit each day or you might miss a few days. If you miss time it defeats the purpose of setting a habit, to begin with.
5. Stay Consistent – The more consistent your habit the easier it will be to stick. Some changes will take time for you to notice the impact they’re having. If you’re consistent it will help. Chopping and changing is a really poor strategy here.
Want some help?
If you want some help with all of this. Why not take advantage of a “Business Strategy Review”. We’ll spend 45 -60 minutes together looking at your business and at the end of this you’ll receive an 18 page report highlighting where you need to ‘Re-think, reset and restart’ your business. Normally this would cost £199 but for the next few weeks I’m offering this for FREE. So don’t hang around click the button below here and book yours today.
Twelve intensive half-day meetings.
