A TIME FOR HOPE
With restrictions on mobility and businesses being lifted there is a sense of hope, a new beginning. I want to add that it is also a time for caution and planning.
Think about the answers to the following:
- What are you going to do differently?
- Why are you doing something different?
- How has your business changed in the areas of marketing and customer service?
- How have your customers’ needs changed?
In a zoom round table discussion that focused on answering the first question, “what are you going to do differently?” The answers surprised the participants. After almost an hour of intense discussion, the consensuses were that there was going to be very little change.
For those that were actively working on growing their businesses during the “shut down,” they learned about new time saving tools and marketing procedures which will now be a major part of their “new look.”
A few admitted that they had put their businesses on hold and were waiting for things to get back to normal before engaging their customers. (In my opinion, they used the COVID-19 as an excuse for their inability to grow their businesses.)
Additional thoughts that were shared were:
- Consumers were going to cut down on spending for a while.
- Many people will be apprehensive about business as usual
- Large gatherings will take longer to get back to normal
- Working from home is a concept that will continue to be popular.
- Many small business owners that have been avoiding technology learned that they either have to embrace it or not stay in business.
- Several participants including restaurant owners were debating whether they should reopen or pursue other ventures.
My take-away was that one can adjust and grow if they are willing to commit to work hard and embrace change. I don’t believe that many businesses can go back to how they operated six months ago, and because of that, I see more businesses, both large and small shutting their doors. On the positive side, I believe that in the next year many existing and new businesses will adapt to the new normal and there will be a steady growth in our economy.
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