TAKE THIS TIME TO BUILD A BETTER BUSINESS & BRAND Pandemic Slowdown
• What do I need to make this happen? If you already have a plan in place, revisit it and assess how you are doing, this is a great time to tweak your strategy for the first half of 2021 and start the second half of the year off strong and maybe even set some long-term goals for 2022 as it will be here before you know it. Plan out your year 2020 and 2021 have been two unprecedent back to back years, so make a list of goals you had for 2020 and for 2021 and the ones that you want to accomplish in the coming months or set targets for the end of the year. Setting a target or goal is great, but you also need to timeline along with your plan what will outline what and when it needs to be done to accomplish your goals. Define your Customer Attraction Statement Who really benefits from what you are offering? What problem are you solving for people? Take this time to make sure you are truly clear on these things as it will help with meeting your adjusted goals when things start to take off again. Research and Product Development When business is slow because of the pandemic or any other non-business relation reason, this is the time to develop that product or service that you’ve been thinking about. Since there are fewer distractions, you will have more time to focus on this new product or service and work out the details on how to make it happen. This time will also allow you to look at the industry and see what changes or trends are happening and work towards getting your company ready to meet those challenges.
by Lee Ann Atwater
Check in on your finances You always have to look at your bottom line and when things start to slow down, especially with the uncertainty of how long Covid-19 will be around, makes for a good time to see just where you stand and actions that you can take to improve your financial position for the business. To do this, ask yourself these questions: • How are you doing sales-wise? • What about expenses? How do these numbers compare to last year? • What can you do to improve these numbers? Professional and Personal Development Being an entrepreneur means that you are always learning ways to grow the business of yourself personally so read a book, take an online class or attend an online seminar. This is also a good time to read some blogs to improve your skills in a specific area of your business that might be lacking. We would recommend that you are always doing this even in your busy times. Plan and Take a Staycation In these times there is not too much travel- ling going on as we social distance and self- isolate but when business is slow for you, it is a great time to take a vacation! It will give you a much-needed break from working hard on your business plus it will give you the opportunity to recharge your batteries and you will come back to work with a fresh perspective!
R egardless of the product or service that you sell, there are going to be ups and downs in your business cycles for any small or medium sized business. Especially during these uncertain times as, we try to get the Covif-19 Pandemic under control. Yes, we would all rather be servicing customers and making huge sales but restrictions on businesses may not allow us to do so. That does not mean that you shut the doors and forget about business it is actually the opposite, these are the times to take advantage of the slow periods to keep your brand going. Some of the businesses that we speak with feel like business is standing still and once restric- tions lighten up that business will continue to be slow as we go into the summer months as their clients, partners, and employees are out of the office on vacation. The interesting thing is that most successful entrepreneurs and business owners use these times to focus on actions that will grow their businesses and brands. These are some things that you can do when
business is slow to grow your business and get ready for restrictions to lift and phones to start ringing with customers looking for your products or services.
Make a plan to grow your business To do this, ask yourself these questions: • What do you want to achieve for the rest of 2021? • What actions do you need to take to get there?
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JUNE 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JUNE 2021
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