There was a time in early COVID-19 days where the news went from bad to worse, and all we could do was a scramble to maintain a hold with a huge question mark hanging over our future. Now, it would appear that the dust is starting to settle, not that it’s settling on an outcome we want necessarily, but stability has certainly returned as we establish a ‘new normal’. As a professional with no handbook or COVID 19 business support on how to survive post-pandemic, let’s look forward together and discuss how to get your business back off the ground.

 

Don’t turn on the parts that were working, but be prepared to let go of others

 

Compromise and perspective have been key values to adopt throughout COVID-19, with all of us trying to succeed however we can in these circumstances. Now you have an opportunity to assess what was done before and during this time, and decide what you will continue to take forward and what no longer adds value to your business. You might have enjoyed a partnership with another business, but now this seems like an inadequate fit or that you can no longer justify this expense of effort. Conversely, you might have found that setting up an eCommerce presence during the pandemic actually allows you to offer more products and services and is something you want to continue to champion after we rid this pandemic from our lives. Be reflective and don’t think you need to return to all activities because ‘it’s what we have always done’. This is a new world now.

 

Be inspired by others

 

Hustle culture can be incredibly intimidating sometimes, especially when we can’t conceivably get excited and ambitious under all conditions. Most of us rightfully need to take a beat, so you should feel no shame at all in grieving what has happened and reconciling losses before you launch into the next phase of your business. This might be a good time to take a look around and see how others are relaunching their businesses and see if that inspires you to pick up your proverbial tools again. Businesses are getting creative during COVID-19, and you might be able to design a blueprint from your business using the innovations of a few enterprises who have successfully pivoted. Remember, we don’t all have the same resources at our disposal so cut yourself some slack and start storyboarding what the future might look like for you and your business.


 

Communicate with your customers/clients and gauge their new outlook

 

Just as your outlook has changed, so have your customers and clients outlooks. This is why you should not stop communicating with them, in fact, you should be asking more poignant questions from them and provide content that is going to be of value to them and their post-pandemic circumstances. Not enough businesses take advantage of their captivated audience and ask what they think, so start fresh with some clarity about what they now want and how they feel about the industry you operate in. They might have greater respect for you now that they have seen how your industry approached this time, or they might be feeling some trepidation in coming back to you. Whatever the case – you need to extract this feedback and use it to relaunch and perhaps even improve upon your previous performance.

 

There is no rulebook on how to pick up your business after a pandemic, and those who might have this wisdom are going to be too old to provide advice that would translate to 2020. Don’t give yourself an aggressive timeline nor unrealistic goals – you might just need to float for a while before you begin to regroup, all of which is fine.

Image Source: BigStock.com (licensed)

 

 

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