"How to reinvent your business and grow"

This is a question in many of my clients's minds. It is in my mind too.

"So what are you going to about it?" ** Prasna had arrived. "

"I am wondering what to do."

"What is your issue?"

"80% of my work was my Creative Block Busting Workshops. With the pandemic that business is wiped out."

"So?"

"It is like starting all over again."

"Hit refresh and start"

"What do you mean hit refresh and start?"

"Begin from the beginning."

"Meaning?"

"Start as if nothing has changed. What is happening today is the reality. It is the new normal as they say. You can't rewind. You can't get back to the past. It is all about today and tomorrow. Accept it."

"That is tough."

"Nothing is tough. You are finding it tough because you are hanging on to the past. And unwilling to look at the new reality."

"So what do you think I should do?"

"Forget about the past. Workshops in hotels, resorts etc. All the standard stuff, bubbles, playdo, toys, post its, etc."

"But clients would need ideas more than ever before."

"That is the point. Of course they would need ideas more than ever before. But not in a manner you helped them get it."

"What are you hinting at?"

"I am not hinting at anything. I am telling you that clients would need new ideas to cope and survive in this pandemic. But in a manner that is feasible in this new reality. First you must let go of the past. All your workshops in hotels are gone as you said. Find out ways in which people are meeting, discussing things and arriving at decisions. "

"It has shifted online"

"In which case find out what you can do online. What can you do online? How can you start delivering your work online."

"I can deliver talks. I can also facilitate my creative block busting workshops online. In fact I have already done a few."

"How will clients decide to work with you?"

"They will first look at my service to find out if it is Relevant."

"And then... "

"Is my work Relevant to what they need/want."

"And ..."

"Is it timely now? Is it the right time to address the issue? Do we need ideas for the challenge immediately? What are our priorities today and does Sridhar's work help us in tackling urgent issues."

"And..."

"And can we do it ourselves? Or do we really need him. Most importantly does he understand us. Do we understand him. Is it the right FIT? "

"Fit. That is a good expression. So it is Relevance. Timeliness. Fit. What else?"

"Price. Does his price make business sense."

"Relevance. Timeliness. Fit. Value. How can you relook at what you do and what you offer to clients? In a manner that makes business sense for them?"

"Redesign all my offerings for online delivery. I have to reinvent my business."

"You do not have to re-invent your business. You just have to re-invent your mode of delivery."

"Redesign my work to suit online delivery. Is that it?"

"That is the first step. Don't hang on to the past."

"What is the next step?"

"Be willing to experiment, redesign to suit online delivery. Consider how you can deliver a WOW experience online."

"It is back to basics. Back to the drawing board. Isn't it?"

"Ah - finally you got it. From when will you start going online?"

"From now. From today."

"Do you know what it involves?"

"I know some of it. I need to relook some of my process steps. But I know it is possible. And I can be ready in less than a week."

"One more thing."

"What?"

"You need a strong dose of your own medicine. Letting go of the past. Thinking differently. Looking for new ideas. And this time you don't have a choice."

"I agree."

**Prasna Rao is an unusual friend. He appears every time I start writing something. He is almost always watching when I am writing. He asks questions that are razor sharp and often makes me uncomfortable. He is relentless till I answer his questions in simple, clear terms. You might find that he is almost always asking questions that you want to. Therefore he is on your side, while he is putting me in the dock.