6 Ways to Keep Your Business on Track Throughout COVID-19

The outfall of COVID-19 is hitting us all, and with the announcement of bars, restaurants, clubs and gyms being ordered to close last weekend it’s a turbulent and fearful time for many businesses.

It was with a heavy heart that we also closed the doors to The AllBright last week and I know that even as I write this, similarly difficult decisions are being made by business owners and leaders on a global scale. In order to support our community through this turbulent time, AllBright has launched the Digital Sisterhood which offers a packed calendar of digital events along with new Academy content and more, all hosted on our online community; AllBright Connect. We all need the support of the sisterhood right now so I encourage you to sign up. 

To kick the Digital Sisterhood off I ran our first digital fireside on Friday afternoon with 200 global attendees. Having launched and sold three successful start-ups and weathered two recessions as an entrepreneur, I wanted to offer some advice to female founders who are facing new and nerve wracking challenges in their businesses.  

Read on below to check out my key tips and please do comment with anything else you’d like me to discuss or advise on over the coming weeks. Myself & the team are here to support you all the way. 

Money, Money, Money. 

First of all it’s important to know your cash flow and your updated run rate. The situation is changing on an almost daily basis at the moment, your finances should be your first priority every single day. Check government websites regularly as new, emergency measures are issued as you may be able to apply for grants and support.

Now Is The Time To Be A Super Saver

Ask yourself: where can you trim costs from your business operations? If you have offices or commercial premises speak to your landlord, consider your suppliers and what you may or may not need over the coming months. It feels tough, but cut the costs you can - this could make the difference as to whether your business survives or not.

It’s Time to Pivot!

Some of the best business ideas emerged from challenging situations – if you try to see this situation as an opportunity, what could you achieve? Big changes like these could mean new ways to support and empower your community. Ask yourself, how can you adapt to continue serving your customers? There are lots of ways to approach this but perhaps the most useful question to ask yourself is, where could your physical offering become digital?

Crucially, remember that authenticity is key. It only takes a moment to undermine a brand you have spent years building, so consider your customers and their needs but also remember your values and what your business stands for when looking to adapt.

As you pivot your business don’t shy away from the big decisions, ignoring them won’t make them go away instead they could just cost you time and money. As a founder you are responsible for the big decisions which right now, are often the tough decisions.

The Importance of Team

Keep your team close. Check in with them regularly. Keep them updated. If you’re using this time to take your business on a journey of discovery, you need to take your team with you.

Find new ways of working and put structure in place. From Trello, to Slack, Zoom to Teamup, there are so many – often free – tools out there for you to explore. Find the ones that work for you and your team as there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

At AllBright, we are doing team updates on Microsoft Teams on a daily basis. Every day we continue to set priorities, support one another and crucially, continue to celebrate the successes – no matter how small they may seem at the moment. We even tried a virtual happy hour and it went down very well.

The Power of Your Mindset

Remember, the whole world is affected by what is going on right now. Not just your business. We are all now living our lives in a fundamentally different way and we all have the same fears about friends and families. 

As an entrepreneur - business is in your blood, but you have to take time out to look after yourself. This will put you in the right frame of mind and ultimately, make you more productive. Remember to take breaks and have a breather. Whatever you need to do to stay sane during this time.

Every morning we are hosting a Digital Daily Meditation  - so join our digital community AllBright Connect to sign up and start your day right.

One Last Thought…

Remember - you first need to survive this, then you can thrive. This is an unexpected pause, but it has given you the gift of time. Don’t forget your sisterhood, AllBright is here to support our community with daily digital events, new Academy content and more talks and a busy programme of over 30 digital events every week.

Take this time to revisit your business plans, your sales and growth plans, to grow your support network and generally, think about the bigger picture.

Finally remember this, the sisterhood can get you through this.

Debbie

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Additional Resources from AllBright:

• If you need more – check out The AllBright Academy For Entrepreneurs course (sign up here: https://www.allbrightcollective.com/lp-academy-global/).
• You can also check out Debbie and Anna’s book – Believe, Build, Become which includes a business toolkit.
• Please join our Take a Moment for the Sisterhood group that has recently launched on AllBright Connect. Everyone has something to share so we encourage you to search for the group and embrace the power of sisterhood. Search Take a Moment for the Sisterhood in AllBright Connect to get involved