Look To The Future Now To Avoid A Second Round Of Pain: Avoid a big mistake few are talking about

I am watching a very sad trend right now.

Many business owners are setting themselves up for a second round of pain.

There is no doubt that almost every business is in pain from the likes of Covid-19 and the widespread economic changes from it. 

And what could make that pain worse? Having to go through it all again.

And sadly many, many businesses are getting into a position where they will have the pain of Covid-19 and a second round of pain yet again.

To hopefully help you and those you love let’s jump into why I think there might be a second round of pain - and what you can do to avoid it.

The Second Round Of Pain

What is this second round of pain that I expect for most business owners?

Well, specifically, I see many business owners preparing to take their business back to where it was pre-Covid-19.

Are you running a restaurant? It’s probably not going to look the same for a long time - particularly if you depend on volume.

Are you a speaker or do you run a conference? Don’t bet on everything going back to the way it was any time soon!

The point is you need to look to the future. You can’t just go back to the way things were.

Avoiding It

Going back to the way things were is a recipe for disaster. So if you want to avoid the pain you have to do something different.

What does that mean?

It means strategic thinking and strategic planning.

You can’t simply snap back to where things were. You need to snap forward to where things will be.

As hard as it is to focus on now you need to be looking to the future of your business.

Start thinking about what the market will look like in the future - not what it used to look like in the past.

How To Plan

One of the biggest issues we hear now is that companies want to go back to the way things were.

But that’s not good planning. Sure, it’s easy. But it’s not accurate and meaningful.

So how do you do it?

You plan for the future by looking to the future. Even if that future is uncertain.

Take a look at where things are now. Ready about trends and what the future will be. Look at likely possibilities of how the future will look.

Once you have likely possibilities of the future - and how it will intersect with your business plan for that.

Some things will be common no matter what future you envision. And some will be different. But you’ll know what to monitor and look for.

An example might help.

Let’s assume you are running a restaurant. A few futures are possible: (1) everything goes back to like it was, (2) people stay away from restaurants, or (3) somewhere in the middle.

How would your space look and your marketing efforts look for (1)? How about for (2) and (3)?

Serving good, tasty and safe food would be a common factor for future world (1), (2) and (3). But your marketing and use of delivery service would be different between (1), (2) and (3). What would you need to change?

Write those down.

What indicators would tell you we were headed down path (1)? How about (2) and (3)? Those are the things you can start monitoring now. And you’ll have early indications to adjust as you see the future unfolds.

What To Do Now

The future is yours.

Avoid the temptation to just plan for the past. You’ll likely have to reset your business twice - once to get back to where you were and once more to get to where you want to be.

The truth is you should be setting your business up for the future.

Take the time to plan for the future and build on that. Don’t be afraid of it.

And if you need some help with that, subscribe to my Future Done Right(?) YouTube Channel where we constantly talk about the future of business and jump into my Facebook Group with other business owners and leaders.

NOTE: Legal issues are discussed generally. This is not legal advice. Consult your own attorney before taking action on anything in this video.

This Article is from The Our Shawn McBride - The Planning Done Right Guy(TM).

LET’S DO MORE: If you are a business owner or business leader you are my people! Let me give you FREE tips, advice and opportunities to make your business and career better: join my mailing list, follow me on LinkedIn and jump into my Facebook Group.

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If you ever see me in person you’ll quickly notice his unusual suits which he uses to open the conversation of how businesses should Do Business Differently?.

The Our Shawn is based in DeLand, Florida (between Orlando, Florida and Daytona Beach, Florida) and Dallas, Texas where he keeps offices. You can also find Shawn on webinars or traveling nationally or internationally for speaking engagements.

Check me out at: www.planningdoneright.com

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Do you really want to make plans that work?

If you really want to get deep into making great business plans, make sure you get my FREE guide “Planning In Light of A Changing Future” by clicking here.

Resources:

Future Done Right? YouTube Channel - Check out this YouTube Channel for interviews and discussions about the future of business.

FREE preview copy of Business Blunders! - This is my first book and it looks at common business mistakes that I’ve seen in my years of working with business owners. This will allow you to avoid those issues in your business!

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