21 THINGS You can do now in hunker-down to bolster & Boost your Business

1. Revisit your Vision

This is an opportunity to get closer to the true purpose of your business. Doing this will light the way for any changes you need to make in your business. You may also want to explore refreshing or refining your vision and the communication of it.

 

2. Simplify

Less is more. What are the core activities that deliver your value? Do these first. Drop any distractions that don’t fit with you and your vision.

 

3. Find out what’s really happening

Business owners often focus so much on what they want to happen to build their business, they ignore what actually is happening in their business.

Ask your team. Survey them or chat with them and reward candidness.

 

4. Communicate with your customers and market

Now’s the time to keep connected, keep serving, listen and show you’re listening. Studies show that businesses who keep marketing in a downturn recover quicker, limit damage more effectively and find more opportunities to grow.

 

5.  Build the A-Team Bus of Your Business

If your business is a bus, where is it heading?

What seats do you need filling on the bus? Thinking, with a clean sheet mindset, what are the actual roles needed to make your business work and achieve your goals?

Who do you need on the bus? who can fulfil these roles or parts of these roles?

Do people / outsourced services need to be moved to different seats?

Who are your A- players? People who step up and are motivated to do great work.

Is people development needed?

Difficult decisions might need to be made.

 

6. The 3+1 Focus

Explore doing 3 hours of focused work each day, free from distractions, to achieve something meaningul that builds your business. Then add an hour or so to do any maintenance and marketing such as emails, social media, calls etc.

 

7. Review your website

Is it still reflecting what you want it to? Does every page pop with your brand voice and values? Are there call to actions? Are web pages optimised? Is there any outdated information? Are your testimonials displayed? What’s missing?

 

8. Review your maketing strategy

Does it resonate with the times? What needs tweaking or overhauling?

 

9. Remember the Four Tops

…and reach out to your support network.

 

10. Refine your processes

From marketing, sales, onboarding, fulfilment, retention, administration and more… what have you got in place? What needs re-engineering? What do you need to add?

 

11. Let it Be You

You and our business are unique. This is your greatest strength. With everthing you do, say and write.. let you and your brand uniqueness come through.

I like this Sondheim lyric:
Just keep moving on
Anything you do
Let it come from you
Then it will be new
Give us more to see

12. Start the day with intention

It’s the part of the day most of us have most control over. Exercise, plan, meditate and get cracking with highest value activity you can do that day.

Hack: a hot and cold shower in the morning gets the brain and body going in just a few minutes.

13. Put yourself in your client’s shoes

When was the last time you really gave this proper, deep thought. What’s changed? Who’s behind the avatar? What is the front of mind problem that keeps your customers awake at night? Start there.

 

14. Optimise your space

Environment has a massive impact on behaviour, mindest, thinking power and productivity. A desk is your platform for work to get done not a storage surface.

Declutter, discard and if you really need to keep something, organise it.

Tip: a plant in your office space increases creative thinking by around 20%

 

15. Add flexibility

This current crisis has been a curve ball like no other. Whatever planning and project management system you use, build in flexibility.

 

16. Rocketize your team

Rockets are the active priorities of your business, your team and you that moves your business forward with the momentum to achieve your short, medium and long term goals. Have you identified your rockets? Discussed with your team members? Are you monitoring progress?

 

17. Develop your leadership

Leadership is key anytime and especially now. Be honest with yourself – where could you improve your leadership. No one is a perfect leader, it’s an ongoing learning gig, so cut yourself some slack and be open to personal development.

 

18. Audit your brand

Many founders launch their brand in a hurry and forget to audit it as they develop their business, quite often into something different than they first planned. Is your brand still in line with your vision and market?

 

19. Explore your options

What are your next best moves? Do you need to adapt? How? By how much? Do you need to explore new markets? Change your delivery model? Keep cash in reserve? Forge new relationships?

20. Ask for Testimonials

A great strategy to remind current and previous clients what you can do for them and one of the best forms of marketing. Go back through your client list over the years and reconnect. Make it easy for them to provide a testimonial.

 

21. Rest and rejunivate

You can’t pour from an empty cup. Give yourself what you need and you can give your business what it needs.

 

Now’s a great time to work out what you’ll start, stop, continue, do more of and do less of on a personal level and a business level.