Rebuilding Your Business After Lockdown (Part 2: Drilling Deeper)

Why now’s a great time to set some new habits in place

Since the start of 2020, the whole fibre of our daily lives has changed.  Mask-wearing, hand sanitising and social distancing weren’t even part of our routine before.  Now they’re things we take for granted and accept as ways of protecting ourselves and others.  We’ve adopted new habits and adapted in the last year and a bit in ways that were completely alien to us before, which is why now is a great time to take advantage of your open mind and set new habits in place in your business.

The importance of mindset in business

Running a business is challenging and can be lonely and tough at times.  For many business owners, the last 15 months or so have pushed them to their limits – emotionally and financially.  Creative thinking has been called for; innovative solutions have been pulled out of hats and the nimblest have led the race.  Right now, it would be all too easy to bury our heads in the sand, return to the workplace and either fear the worst or go back to exactly what we did before.

Mindset is an incredibly powerful tool, and in business can be the difference between thriving and just surviving.  That’s why it’s so important to get into the right mindset to make sure that your business is one that survives AND thrives – whatever lies ahead of us.

Make growth a habit not a chore

Running a small to medium-sized business is hectic.  There’s no getting away from that.  In many instances, when you run a small business, you’re responsible for everything from A to Z.  That can mean you find yourself working long hours and feeling frustrated all too often.  Setting aside time to grow your business can seem impossible.  But after lockdown, it’s essential that you set aside non-negotiable time to work ON your business, rather than just IN it. 

One of the best ways to achieve anything is to break the challenge down into bite-sized chunks and that’s what we hope to have helped you do in our previous article and again in this one.  A great way to plan for growing your business is to think of it as a marathon, not a sprint.

Focus on you

To be able to grow your business successfully in the time you have available, you need to be clear on 3 key areas that relate to you, and you alone.

• What does growth mean to you?

  Business growth means different things to different business owners – that’s why it’s important to take the time to be clear about WHAT growth means to you.  For some it might be making bigger profits, for others, it might be making the same amount of profit but working fewer hours in the business.  Financial reward, freedom, whatever you want more of in your life starts with a sound growth plan.  At the end of the day, if you don’t know WHAT you’re aiming for, you will be unable to measure your progress along the way or indeed to know when you get there.

• Why do you want it?

  Have you ever struggled to get something you thought you really wanted?  Maybe you started out with great plans for how you were going to achieve something – only to give in after a short period of time.  Losing weight and getting fit are two common areas where people start with all guns blazing only to fall at the first hurdle.  Business growth is similar.  That’s why you need to know exactly WHY you want it.  You may want more money or security to make the future better for your children.  You may want more time to spend with your family.  Maybe you want to create a business you can run from anywhere in the world.  Either way, you need to be clear on WHY you want business growth. 

• When are you going to focus on it?

  Business growth doesn’t happen on its own.  You need a vision, a plan, and a process.  To achieve this, you need time.  That’s why you need to decide WHEN you’re going to work on your business growth. 

  A great way to start is by setting aside just a few minutes each day or, even 3 times a week when you will take the time, without distraction to focus on the growth of your business.  This time needs to be non-negotiable, and you need to make it happen.  A good way of making sure it happens and turn it into a habit is to tag this time on to something else that you do habitually eg.  you could decide to post on social media while drinking your mid-morning coffee each day.

Focus on your clients/customers

The other important part of the puzzle is your clients/customers. Again, here are 3 things you can do to feel more in control.

Be clear on who you need to attract to help your business grow

In our previous article, which you can find here [link], you will see that we dedicated a large chunk of the article to identify WHO your best clients/customers are.  It may be that there are certain clients/customers you already have that you could sell more to or sell to in a different way eg. by embracing technology.  It may also be that you need to find a way of attracting completely new clients/customers.  Either way, to achieve the goals you need to know exactly WHO your best clients/customers are.  Try to go deeper than their gender, age, income bracket, etc.  Try to really get inside their heads to understand the problem they have that you can solve.

Identify how can you help them move from where they are to where they want to be

When you set up your business, you did so to make money by moving people from where they are to where they want to be.  This applies to pretty much every product and every service you can think of.  Even something as simple as buying a pair of shoes.  The customer is buying them in the hope that they will gain something from those shoes that they don’t get from their others – eg.  a cool look, more comfort, etc.  So, prior to setting off on your post lockdown growth journey, take the time to get crystal clear on HOW your business moves your client/customer from having a problem to finding their solution. 

Decide where you need to hang out so they notice you

There’s no point doing all of this unless you can get your best clients/customers to notice you, listen to you, and get closer to considering buying from you.  That’s why you need to figure out WHERE they hang out, so you can hang out there too. 

It’s safe to say that most clients hang out online these days, but you need to be clear on how they hang out and where they are likely to be susceptible to listen to you.  This depends on a whole host of factors.  Deciding whether LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram, for example, are where you should depend entirely on the habits of your best clients/customers. 

Once you’ve decided where you need to be, it’s time to set out your strategy and stick to it.  And remember 3 short posts a week, consistently and reliably over the long term is much better than 3 posts a day over a month and then giving up.

No one is saying that growing your business is easy – lockdown or no lockdown.  No one is saying that you need to do all these things today.  But if you can pick up just a few ideas from this, and our previous article [link], they will help you re-build your business post lockdown. 

And don’t forget, that at Payplus, we’re here for you.  Even taking a decision to do something as simple as outsourcing your payroll could give you the time to focus on growth and put a plan in place that moves you closer to where you want to be. 

Why not get in touch so we can share a virtual coffee and see how we can help re-build your business post-lockdown?