We are fast approaching the one-year mark since our lives were forever changed by a microscopic bug. Many businesses have succumbed, plenty are still hanging on, and a select few are even thriving.
While the Wal-Marts and Amazons of the world were primed to do well during the pandemic due to their massive war chests and ability to tweak operations rapidly, some small businesses have also done well. I would wager that all these businesses, big and small, have adopted a “Grow-Vid” point of view which contributes to their success
That mindset is one of action, “No matter what’s happening outside, we can seek to understand and quickly take action to survive and thrive.
For some, this means rethinking the business completely to provide something new, or to new people.
For others, it means taking advantage of the lockdown to explore innovative ways to continue working. Many of these are significantly more efficient, effective, enjoyable and affordable than legacy processes – and likely to become permanent.
And a few more are pursuing an M&A (mergers and acquisitions) strategy or otherwise partnering with other companies
You get what I’m trying to say:
GET CREATIVE, GET HUSTLING, AND TO HELL WITH THE ECONOMIC DOOM AND GLOOM SHOVED DOWN OUR THROATS BY THE MEDIA.
Even if you have lost a business, what good is that going to do you? Nothing.
The people reading this are some of the brightest businesspeople around. Not the type to just roll over and give up. So, here are a few things you can do right away to go from Covid-minded to Grow-vid-minded.
1. Audit the current scene. The Harvard Business Journal says the #1 skill of successful leaders is the ability to survey and accept reality. Now’s a good time to take stock of the entire operation and do some spring cleaning on outdated plans, processes, platforms and employee roles. Encourage everyone in the company to embark on this.
2. Focus on the best clients. Segment clients to focus on the most profitable and use whatever technology you can to reach them (aka Zoom).
3. Refine. Now work on improving what’s left and making it even more productive. You might have to reorganize a few teams or revamp your lead gen process. Consolidate duplicate functions identified in Step 1. Survey and switch up your messaging based on needs and wants and hot buttons.
4. Invest. Now hire the right people to fill in any gaps, invest in new tech (A/B testing, app development, whatever), pay a freelancer to blog and post socially, refresh customer-facing areas. Although times can be lean, you can always find a way to shift dollars.
My perspective is that, of course, it often helps to bring in a third party with a fresh set of eyeballs to help with all of this from beginning to end. Volohaus has benchmarks and best practices from 10 years and 300+ cases. We ran 48 projects in 2020 – and it was an exciting journey that ended well. Volo has a patented, proven process and it’s allowed our clients to grow during this pandemic whereas others have struggled.
For example, one of our clients in the construction industry increased their booked 2021 projects by 300%. Another consulting firm has more than doubled revenue. And they weren’t all that sure what the heck they were going to do once all the lockdowns started. But they trusted our process. And one of our clients – who had a worthless company in 2017, is now entertaining 9 figure offers THIS YEAR.
Anyway, I would love to find out what are you working on and what you may need. Even if you don’t hire us, if I can offer some kind of connection, benchmark, best practice or battle tested advice – it would be my pleasure. The Volo team truly has a passion for helping companies grow and ALL stakeholders benefit from success. AMERICA WINS !
No huge sales pitch from me, just a chat. Message me here or reach out via 760.815.4464 or shaun@volohaus.com
Leave a Reply