In times of turmoil, businesses should strive to thrive

For a number of months now, business owners have been fighting a battle to survive circumstances brought on by COVID-19. Today, these owners are beginning the process of recovering from the world’s fast and furious pandemic.

While many business owners and people have faced stress, rock blocks and constant challenges, it is important to remember one unwavering truth: The lessons taught from this unparalleled time can be invaluable to a business owner’s future success. Why? Because when you survive challenging times, growth happens, whether it is wanted or not. From past economic downturns, adaptation to shifting scenarios has proven that businesses can and does thrive in the wake of loss.

Although stressful, surviving the pandemic and coming out on the other side, can bring the following elements: togetherness as well as growth to your business, personal life and bottom line.

However, these elements do not come magically. Below are some ways your business can pivot in uncertain times, re-emerge better than ever on the other side, and thrive for decades to come.

Pivot to a new business order

Implementation of a new order, a new way to view shifting circumstances includes staying current on news and new business requirements and on developing an understanding of how to incorporate the unexpected and sometimes odd-feeling facts.

Former, hard-wire facts of the old business often get thrown out when adaptation and implementation are the new order. Policies and procedures often must be changed. The team that knew all the old ways must be taught and trained on the new.

Business owners should expect opposition, some of it fierce. Make that opposition less combative with patience and with communicating and posting the new policy appropriately and ubiquitously.

It is also important to educate customers, as well as staff. Make it the business’s responsibility to take care of the health of everyone: the owner, staff and customers. To maintain order, create consequences for those who choose not to comply. What will happen is that staff will want to support the business and customers will redefine and recreate their own loyalty to the organization.

In working through uncertain times, remember it might be necessary to change your services and products to better meet customer needs. One caterer who lost tens of thousands of dollars reworked her business model to one that cooks whole family meals – every single day – and delivers each one within a 100-mile-area. She is now reconsidering her entire business model and wondering if catering events is the company’s future plan.

Another hairdresser has crafted remarkable “kits” for all clients that afford her loyal base the option of not engaging in human-to-human interaction, even though salons are now open.

As businesses re-open, strive to thrive

As offices begin to reopen, it will be necessary to cut office staff down to allow for distancing, shift work hours to incorporate two shifts a day and meet via video instead of meeting face-to-face. These changes may remain well into 2021.

The thing is all of this is doable. Businesses and workspaces do not need to look exactly like 2019 and early 2020 to work. Most industries, including manufacturing, IT and agriculture, have a history of change. The 2020 pandemic suggests more change, perhaps for the better.

Today, business analysts are predicting that work travel will be remarkably diminished, with the idea that this change is a welcome economic, environmental and psychological improvement. In addition, working from home has proven to be, in the last two months, entirely doable and welcome by both staff and management.

Electricians, HVAC, construction companies and builders, are making customers happy by protecting them with new-found safety procedures. Kindness and understanding have slipped into the day-to-day working demeanor, and no one is complaining about these changes.

Continue to forge forward, pivot and consider building a plan for your business’ next 90 days. Doing so will improve a business that can and will, undoubtedly, thrive for decades to come.