Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel

I want to know, when you read the title, did you think “yes, I can see it!” or is it still all too dark at the moment?

For many businesses, you’re opening your doors once again following the end of the latest lockdown and navigating the way you run that business, engage with your customers, and inspire your team moving forward. This is no mean feat so if you haven’t got it all together just yet, know you’re not the only one.

Whether you’re a business owner or not, time spent in lockdown (the longest in the world if you’re a Melbournian like me) gave us ample opportunities to reflect, question and redesign how we’d live our lives when we reached the other side. We challenged our previous ways of life and longed for parts of it back as soon as possible.

By the time you’re reading this, restrictions have eased again, and more changes have been and can be made to the way you do business. With this in mind, I wanted to take a moment to ask you some questions about your life in business post-lockdown and encourage you to equip yourself with the tools you need to recover and thrive.

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How are you going to manage your business post lockdown?

Did the lockdowns give you the chance to reflect on how you’re managing your business? You may have identified parts of your business you want to remove, change, or even introduce to make your business even better than it was before.

Alternatively, you could be wanting to get back into it the same way as before and that’s totally okay!

I encourage you to monitor the performance of your business post-lockdown to ensure that the previous way of steering your ship is still getting you to that same destination.

Who is your ideal client?

For a multitude of reasons, your dream customer may have significantly shifted as you move forward in a post-lockdown world. Reasons for a shift in the ideal client could stem from a need to increase your bottom line, a change in your offerings, or cater to a more niche (or diverse) audience.

If you haven’t created an avatar of your ideal client before, or you think yours may need a refresh, this is a great time to engage in this exercise. Think of the kind of client that you absolutely love having in your business; the one you want to clone ten times over!

What is their name?

How old are they?

Where do they reside and how much money do they make?

What problem are you solving for them and how?

What does their family life look like?

These are personal questions about the life of your dream client that shape the way you market your business.

The best part? You can have more than one!

Repeat this exercise if you have an array of offerings that suit different kinds of consumers.

Every piece of communication you share about your business should be speaking to one or more of these avatars to ensure you’re maximising your marketing investment.

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What’s your relationship with the online world?

It goes without saying that the online world has become an interesting place to navigate over the past 2 years with so many people with an array of opinions spending more time than ever on their devices… at the same time. I’m sure you get my drift, the online world, particularly social media, hasn’t been all that nice at times.

Has your experience online changed the way you engage with your devices post-lockdown?

With the resurgence of the social life and reopening of many beloved industries, we naturally are gravitating away from our phones and back into real-life conversation but let’s face it, at the end of the day, we still need the online world, especially for our businesses, but it needs to feel like a safe space for us.

?If you scroll back a few blogs ago, I talked about the idea of the ‘global hum’ that was leaving us feeling fatigued and strategies to implement to win back your peace. I encourage you to go back and re-read this blog as there are many tools you can harness if you are feeling overwhelmed by online noise or the transition back into ‘normal’ life, particularly my mentions of self-care and creating manageable routines.

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Do you have tools to safeguard your business?

For a multitude of industries, there is an abundance of changes to the way we run our businesses on a day-to-day basis which impact our team and operations. For the most part, the handball has been all passed over to the business owner to work it out so it’s integral that you prioritise having tools in place to safeguard your business and ultimately, your family livelihood.

If you don’t have one already, now is the time to get yourself a business lawyer who can field your questions and provide you with the advice and tools you require to run a business effectively and in line with the ever-changing landscape of your industry.

The time to get a business lawyer should be when we set up a business, when we put together workplace agreements, when we need to make changes to those workplace agreements and when we’re needing to enforce anything that involves acts and fair work legislation.

Speaking with many of my friends that are lawyers, it looks like they may be very busy for the foreseeable future!

If you take one golden insight away from today’s blog, it is that now is the time to pursue legal advice, particularly if you’re feeling unsure of where you stand as an employer or employee.

Leave no rock unturned to safeguard yourself, your business, your team, and your family livelihood.

Just like taking out life insurance, you may never need to use!

But it's better to have it than not.

The best place to find a business lawyer is generally through your accountant who will have recommendations for you. Otherwise, I invite you to be in touch and I can introduce you as a starting point.

It goes without saying that life as a business owner in these final months of 2021 and beyond open the door to a whole new way of life.

Together, let’s ensure you’ve set up all the essential foundations you need to thrive and remain connected and aligned with your business goals.

?www.solutioncreator.com.au

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