First, let’s get the bad news out of the way. According to Fortune, almost 100,000 businesses that temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic are now permanently closed and get your Business Back.
The good news? Yours is not one of them. It was not always easy, but you are still up and running. While you are grateful that you still have a business to run, you also know that it’s time to get out of survival mode and back to getting your company on track for a successful 2021 and beyond.
Here are a few tips to help you achieve this very reasonable goal.
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Tweak Your Remote Working Plan and Expectations and get Business Back
One of the biggest challenges was immediately transferring your team from in-office to remote work. For months you and your employees felt like you were flying by the seats of your pants, basically doing what you could to get work done in less-than-ideal scenarios. While things have smoothed out a bit, you also know you need to make some changes to your remote work plan to help your company not merely survive, but thrive.
As Entrepreneurs’ Organization suggests, identify official protocols and processes that will ensure that everyone can be successful while working from home. For instance, check in with each employee by phone and ask if they truly have everything they need to complete their work in a satisfying way. You may learn that an employee has had to share a laptop with her high school student who is attending school online; if this is the case, arrange to have anything she needs from the office safely delivered to her home.
You may also have to adjust your expectations for scheduling and announce that people can set their own hours around their other responsibilities — as long as their work is completed.
Invest in Software to Help Keep Everything Streamlined
Another way to help get better control of your business in 2021 is through an innovative customer relationship management software program that will allow you to streamline your company’s processes and operations. Having all of this information literally at your fingertips, in a mobile-friendly format, will allow you to more easily pinpoint where gaps are taking place in sales processes and customer satisfaction issues.
By being able to easily identify these challenges, you can then work to overcome any resulting drops in revenue.
Assess Your Finances and Trim Where You Can
Since March, you have probably been keenly aware of your company’s finances. As Club Solutions Magazine notes, now is the time to switch your focus to boosting your revenue, not merely staying open. If you changed the type of products and services you offer, assess which ones have been the most profitable and drop those that are not selling. Bring back popular products if at all possible, and make plenty of announcements on social media letting your customer know that X, Y and Z are now back in stock.
Look to trim figurative fat wherever possible; if you rent business space in a pricey area and most everyone is working from home, consult with your real estate broker about downsizing and/or relocating to a less-expensive place. If you had invested in any new equipment in early 2020 that has been sitting idle, see about trading it in or selling it and put that money back into your company’s budget.
Here’s to a Better 2021, 2022 and 2023 on Business Back
This year has been really hard, but your company has survived and that is something to celebrate. By getting out of the survival instinct mode and re-taking control of your business plan, scheduling, software and finances, 2021 should be a more profitable and successful year for you and your hard-working team.
