Entrepreneurs — How to grow in Uncertainty & Panic
This is a first for all of us — the idea that the entire world economy is slowing down to a halt as we ALL fight this virus together. No doubt that this is a time of uncertainty and there’s not a single person who can tell you when life will get back to normal. With that being said — there are opportunities in moments like this. Some of the best comebacks and stories of success stemmed from decisions made during times like these. Here are a few tips to consider.
TIP 1-Take Care of Home Base First
What I mean by home base is your household — your partner-your kids and those who share the same 4 walls as you do on a day by day basis. In order to find focus and opportunity, you have to make sure you are at peace when it comes to those most important. Make sure you have some cash, food, energy, masks and you are taking all the precautions you can to keep your family safe and healthy. Once they are set, check-in with extended family members and neighbors. Reach out as far as you are able to make sure everyone is set up to ride this storm out.
TIP 2-Be Mindful and Hopeful
Nobody is immune to what is happening. From the person who relies on tips not being able to work and earn money to the owner of an apartment complex not being able to collect rent — to the online retailer whos products can’t be manufactured to sell — we’re all impacted. Be mindful of your words and actions during this time. This is a time for true leaders to spread hope, spread help, spread reassurance and spread optimism. Many people will be forced to stay at home and ride this out and they will be turning to news and social media — be the light and the positive drive to help them rise above the panic.
TIP 3 — Time to Learn, Create and Plan
While being forced into reduced work hours, work-from-home situations or having to close down and ride out this storm — this can be an incredible time to reposition yourself and increase your knowledge, reorganize your business and plans and think of new and creative ways to grow your value. When the economy is booming is when most of us are full steam ahead trying our best simply to keep up with the growth. It leaves very little time to sharpen our skills, learn new skills, adjust our process, simplify our businesses and connect with our clients. When the economy slows — it opens up a window to give these things our attention. Take this time to take a birds-eye view of things — what can you do now to tune up your business? What new skills can you learn during this opportunity? What new products or ways of doing business can you create that will provide value to customers? What can you do now to connect with your clients to help them through these difficult times?
TIP 4 — IMPLEMENT NOW AND COME OUT ON TOP
Close your eyes and imagine having your sales and business grow faster than ever 3–6 months from now once things get restored back to normal. Easier said than done — but if you can imagine it you can begin taking steps now to plan for it. What will most people do now? They will slow down — they will reduce ad dollars — they will shrink their businesses. What if you doubled down and focused on growth while others retract? It means that you can move and grow faster because everyone is going in the opposite direction. In other words — you can become the frontrunner in your field if you position yourself now. My recommendations:
- Double down on content creation. Target searches and areas that people look for your product, service or opportunity. Create Create Create and Create more!
- Offer your customers easier ways to do business with you. Offer creative ways to offer your services-offer ways to pay you over time perhaps than all at once-be willing to go above and beyond now (they will thank you and remember that in the future)-be a partner to them rather than treating them simply as a customer or client.
- Focus more on marketing efforts and closing deals. This is totally the opposite of what you are thinking you should do but it’s what will help your customers and your business. While others slow their marketing and finding potential customers — now is the time to get aggressive. Yes be mindful of their financial situation but again, find ways to do business that will provide incredible value to your customers now and into the future.
It’s important to remember this is just a moment in time and eventually, life will restore itself back to normal. Entrepreneurs are built to be problem solvers, leaders, and seekers of opportunities. This is your time to thrive-to lead-to help and to grow. It may not seem like it, but in every hardship lies even greater opportunities. That’s where we should all be focused.
best,
Ryan Stack
ryan@thestackgrp.com
