Blog Articles

How to make your business survive through the coronavirus ?

 

For the last couple of weeks, I have hesitated to write this blog, due to certain negativity received on social media...

 

Having taken the time to consider this, I realise that right now most are just panicking, blaming and lashing out at anyone they can and whilst that is to some extent human nature, it really is not the best use of our time and energy. 

 

As a small business owner myself, with more than two decades of running my own businesses of various types, I have survived and even flourished following a couple of recessions and some challenging times in the past, although I will admit, nothing quite like the times we are facing right now.

 

The first thing that we must do is reflect back over our decisions and actions that have got us to this point, don’t beat ourselves up but take as many learnings from our past as we can, and use these learnings to move forward.

 

I’d like to share some ideas and tips with you that I believe will help you to move forward and out of this current crisis. I can’t cover ideas for everyone or every situation in this blog but my aim is to cover most small business’s, especially the self-employed.

 

Your MINDSET holds the key to your future. 

 

It’s all too easy to blame others and not take responsibility yourself.  It’s not the government’s fault, the economy’s fault, your partner’s fault, the product or service you provide or the situation we all now find ourselves in.

 

It is YOUR fault, because of you were the master creator of your business and the decisions you have made, rightly or wrongly, in the past have brought you to this point.

 

I realise that this is a hard one to swallow, but before you can move forward you have to embrace the harsh reality and that it is, your fault!

Let’s look at an example that I have witnessed many times, over the last two weeks.

Self-employed Hairdresser/beautician, Tradesman, Fitness Trainer etc… it’s not my fault, the Government has shut my business down and I can’t get any benefits right now and I can’t afford to feed my family etc….

 

I know this is a little hard, but truthfully answer the following:

• Did you have any plan in place, that if you were to fall ill, have an accident etc that disabled you from working / earning money, that this could cause you a financial problem?
• Did you plan your business, earning potential, putting money aside to cover your monthly outgoings for a period of time?
• Do you know precisely what you personally (or your family) need to live on each month?
• Do you know each month the minimum income your business needs to survive?
• Do you have a personal budget in place, that you stick to each month and then put aside the extra to build an emergency fund?
• Did you start your business with experience or education / obtaining help on how to plan and build a business?

 

If you have answered No to any of these, then you have to take responsibility for your past decisions and it’s now time to stand up and make some different decisions, so that you can start to make changes ahead.

 

HOW do you move forward

Once you can open your mind and start to take responsibility it is much easier to move forward, ask yourself:-

WHAT can I do NOW to survive – Look at all the options available from Government, Deferred Mortgage payments, etc.. (If you rent you may be entitled to help with your rent payments through Universal Credit)

 

TAKE action NOW and get payment plans in place. Do not just cancel payments or not pay without first speaking to the suppliers involved, right now, most businesses are finding challenges themselves, but most I believe, will happily work with you, through these times.

 

Cut back/cut out non-essentials, do you really need or make the best use of that subscription, that shopping / food treat etc?  A positive here is that there will be areas such as fuel, meals and drinks out that you will be saving on.

 

Put a plan in action together for HOW you move forward with what you do, is there the option of doing your work on-line, or a different service or product you can offer?  Really start opening your mind to anything, you’ll be amazed at just how creative you can get.

 

Brainstorm positively with other similar business owners, there may be options to collaborate now or in the future.

 

Charles Darwin once said; “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This is also true in Business.

 

If your business is completely halted and there really is no other option of work.

WHAT can you learn about, that will help you in the future?

Maybe now is the time to re-evaluate what exactly you want to do. You may even decide to go down a completely different path.

 

A saying that resonates and I use often is “small businesses are the speed boats in a sea of oil tankers.”  Being small business owners, we always have the ability to quickly pivot and change direction.

There’s a ton of people providing training and advice right now that is low cost or even FREE.  There are also books you can read (I mean the business development, self-development ones) FREE Podcasts and Videos available.  You now have the time to learn to better yourself or you can waste that time, the choice is yours, the decision is yours!

 

Keep in contact with other businesspeople – Keep Networking! You never know what someone might be needing or if there is possible collaboration now or in the future.

 

Never assume you know what another person or business are going through, there will be businesses out there that have got their ‘ducks in a row’ and still have a lot of work.  Take action, pick up the phone and have conversations for example, I was speaking to a tradesman at the start of this, he was moaning he couldn’t work.  Then I asked him, if he would be interested in doing some painting in a rental house that is now empty and requiring a refurbishment. Painting & decorating isn’t his usual trade, but in this situation, he was more than willing to do it and no doubt the garden tidy up too.

 

Weather the storm however you can, whilst getting your brand better known and get stronger with your marketing so that you are in the forefront of peoples’ mind as soon as we start heading out of this.

Whilst I’d love to help everyone, the reality is I can only help you if you want to help yourself. So, if you have an open mind and are prepared to take action to help yourself and your business going forward, then I’d love to chat with you and see how I can help you.

 

Let’s meet up for a Virtual coffee.