Just like the human body, a failure to engage in exercises to challenge your muscles or business strategies to grow in strength and flexibility can lead to stiffness and poor performance in a time of crisis.
No matter where we turn we are unable to avoid the Covid-19 discussions. For business owners, it represents varying degrees of distress depending on the business size and nature. One thing that is very clear however, Covid-19 caught many businesses completely unprepared.
Coping with the stress
As a business owner, you are probably wishing you can tune out of the bad news for just a moment and drift back to the way things were just a few short weeks ago. Unfortunately, this may not be the reality for some time to come. So how do you cope? How do you begin to rebuild your business? How do you navigate from ground zero?
Here are a few tips that can help you to salvage your business despite the crisis:
Think positively. No matter how challenging this seemingly simple task, the more time and energy you spend focusing on the problem robs you of the resources you need to find a meaningful solution.
Accept there is always a solution. You must operate with the understanding that there is always a solution. It is not always the solution that you originally envisioned but guaranteed there is a solution to the problem that challenges you. So you need to keep focused and continue to pursue the solution until it is found.
Identify the challenge that customers need to resolve. Just like you are faced with a challenge, your customers are also faced with challenges that your business can resolve. If you want to keep your business relevant and sustainable, your business must solve a meaningful problem for the market in which it operates. So think about what solutions you can provide.
Document your plans. In a time when critical, detailed and comprehensive focus is required, you ought not to depend on your memory. You need a written plan to guide your execution or you may make errors that further cost you in a time of limited resources.
List all your potential risks. To avoid becoming a victim of unplanned circumstances, you must develop a risk register that will outline all the possible challenges your business can face and also the steps that you can take to mitigate these risks.
Think outside the box. Avoid limiting your imagination to just what currently exists. You can open the possibility of innovative solutions by exploring possibilities that do not currently exist and think how you can make them a reality.
Tune out the negativity and focus your energy on finding solutions to complex problems. Succeeding in this endeavor will prove you and your business to be a formidable force that deserves a solid footing in the market place. Prove your worth, get positive results even in negativity and build a legacy that becomes timeless.