Business Will Never Be The Same — Act Now
As we continue to brace ourselves with the ever-changing COVID-19 landscape, one thing is undebatable-business will never be the same. As states shut down non-essential businesses and as workers stay at home — businesses are evolving at the speed of weeks and months rather than years. As a result, what nobody is paying attention to, is how different companies will be when we make it out of this.
Here are 3 major shifts taking place:
- Webinar Workforce > Office Space Workforce
What started as panic as businesses were forced to go remote is now turning into efficiency. As businesses all over the country (and world) were trying to set up zoom sessions-not understand how to unmute themselves-couldn’t find how to turn on their webcam-didn’t realize a webcam was on-didn’t understand they didn’t need to scream into their computers in order to have their team hear them — through all craziness that appeared to be an imminent disaster to a companies functionality — in fact, was the awkwardness of evolving into a more efficient workforce. After a few horrific and embarrassing team zoom sessions, companies and teams began to improve-and in just a few weeks — are now pros. Being forced to work remotely has sparked efficiency and creativity in companies and in their operations. The result, employees are more productive, meeting times are streamlined putting more hours back the workday, costs are reduced, and the future of needing a company building is slowly decaying in the eyes of a fine-tuned digital workforce. - Product Expansion, Diversifying Offering and Digital Commerce
We have seen companies that have had 100 years of success come to a grinding halt in just weeks. Companies that once dominated their field are now wondering if they will be around in the coming weeks. A vulnerability has been exposed to those who operated just in travel, fine dining, fitness etc…As many industry leaders have had their companies freeze during this time — they have started to reinvent themselves and expand how they do business. Gyms that simply ONLY did memberships for their physical gym are now doing personal training subscriptions virtually. Restaurants who ONLY offered fine dining are now offering take-out. A waitress who ONLY worked in a restaurant is now launching a new online business targeting health and wellness. Businesses and people are realizing there’s a tremendous need to have more streams of income, more products to offer and to make sure that business is not just done physically — but virtually as well. - Digital Earning Not Physical Earning
What I mean by this is that the majority of people only make their money by physically trading their time for it. This works well in a normal economy or in the economy of a month ago — but can be challenging in this new landscape. The issue is that you always run out of hours — and if your hours are traded for income — your income will always be limited to your time. Worse off today — if you can’t trade your time for income, your income is gone. I wrote a quote in 2015 that said, “The most dangerous place you can be in a digital age is only earning money by trading your time for it.” Companies and individuals are now seeing the need to earn digitally and break the concept that income has to be tied to time. Digital income flows and can be scalable 24/7 across multiple States and Countries and can operate with or without you.
“The most dangerous place you can be in a digital age is only earning money by trading your time for it.”
Make Your Move Now
Although it’s hard to have vision in times like this, it’s important to remember that we will survive and come out of this situation. Knowing that and understanding the shift that’s taking place- ask yourself — where do I want to end up 3,6,9 months from today? It’s easy to lead and be positive and confident when everything is good — but real leaders and the leaders of tomorrow are born out of moments like these. Reflect back on this moment 6 months from now and be proud that you made changes, you evolved, you improved, you positioned yourself for the shift, you reinvented yourself, you adapted and grew….reflect on this time as one of the most memorable and successful times of your life.
Change. Be Creative. Lead. Have a Vision. Believe. Succeed. Opportunity is almost always camouflaged in uncertainty.
Ryan Stack
ryan@thestackgrp.com
Co-Owner at The Stack Group Digital Marketing Agency
www.thestackgrp.com
Co-Owner at The Stack Life Inspiring Digital Entrenuership
www.thestacklife.com
