I was waiting for the right time to write this article and I believe that time has now come. To a degree this pandemic has affected pretty much everyone mentally and with a second lockdown, we all have a bit of lockdown fatigue and it may well hit us harder this time than last time, so we need to make sure our minds and bodies are as fit as they can be.
Tough times don’t last, tough people do. We have all heard this quote before and I believe it is now time to put your big boy/girl pants on and fight with everything you have. Set a goal for the next 4 weeks to read a chapter from a personal development book every day, make sure you drink plenty of water every day, put the right stuff in your body, and have a one to one with someone positive every day. We need to dilute all the negatives out there with as much positive stuff as we can. We need to adjust and stop whining about it, stop complaining and get on with it.
For those of you who run your own businesses, yes I know its tough. I have been through 3 recessions and this. If it wont kill you, it will make you stronger. It will make you more resilient, but you need to learn that you cannot keep running your business as you have done before. Times are changing, we all need to adapt, we need to look at different ways to run our businesses and we need to build better businesses, more able to handle something like this in the future – guaranteed there will always be something that will come along and stop you in your tracks in a few years time and it will keep happening. Make sure you are doubly prepared next time. One tip – get professional help and stop trying to be all things to all people. If you don’t go networking, start NOW! You will be surprised at how much help there is out there for the business owner.
Look at collaborative working. Who do you know who runs a similar business to you? Look at ways of working with them and stop looking at them as a competitor. You will find ways you can work together and be of benefit to each other. Look at your client base, how strong is it? Are there clients who used to spend money with you and who are now not spending? You need to review your client base. Look at your suppliers, talk to other suppliers. Can you trim costs? I bet we can all trim costs. Are you driving a more expensive car that you need? Who are you trying to impress? We all need to be looking at our business as if it were part of the family and make sure we look after it and if we do, it will look after us. Abuse your business and well…..you know what will happen, and it will have happened to thousands of businesses over the last few months and more will follow. Do not be one of them. Refuse to change and adapt at your peril.
I never apologise for being blunt as so many of us need to hear and read this. So everyone, get those big pants on, stop whining and adjust. Get out there and make it happen. If you need help and support, drop me a message on Linked in. Happy to help anyone who is serious about wanting to build a better business. I won’t just tell you stuff you want to hear, I will tell you stuff you don’t want to hear.
This article was first published on LinkedIn by Richard Knight on 08/11/2020