Toughness in Tough Times: Perspectives from an Entrepreneur Scaling His Business in the "Roaring" 20s

As a business leader, I’m used to change. But the change we’ve experienced in 2020 is an entirely new specimen. It’s been arguably the toughest year in recent history. Instead of dealing with one major hurdle at a time, it’s all coming at us at once. And fast. A global pandemic, environmental duress, civil unrest, an economic downturn, stress on mental health — the list goes on. Everyone is exhausted, but there is still so much pressure to succeed and make it through this unusual year, especially for business leaders.

The words entrepreneur, CEO, and business leader have taken on new definitions. We have needed to find unique ways to make a broader impact. We’ve had to fully embrace the reality that our businesses have responsibilities far beyond the products and services that we provide. Recently, I’ve been thinking about how to best reflect on all of 2020’s challenges and accomplishments. Three major pillars have shaped my 2020 so far: adapting products to satisfy changing needs, addressing the future of work, and resetting company culture.

Here are my “halftime” thoughts:

Adapting Products to Satisfy Changing Needs

It’s no secret that the pandemic changed everything - even the way we think about and use technology. It taught us to be even quicker and more nimble in order to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape. We rolled up our sleeves and decided what needed to be done in order to keep hitting goals and serving our customers during a dark time

1. At Holler, we took a step back to remind ourselves of how our core beliefs could help propel us forward in a challenging time. Own it, do it. Challenge Conventions. Put People First. These three beliefs have guided our behaviors through this difficult and unpredictable year.
2. We revisited our product roadmap to pivot our 2020 goals. Projects that were 5 years down the road are now on the board to complete this year. Adapting and reorganizing has allowed us to remain relevant in a new world where digital communication is more important than ever before.
3. Beyond the consumer, broader stakeholder needs have changed. We’re constantly weighing how to positively address the needs of everyone in the ecosystem — from the supply chain to the end user. 

Addressing the Future of Work

We need to accept that the way we work was immediately changed by the pandemic. The institution of the office is valuable, but 2020 has forced us to rethink what is necessary in order to continue operating.

1. We went fully remote in early March, but it didn’t stop our team from being completely operational. In fact, we’ve managed to achieve a 370% growth in business in the first half of the year. With people socially distanced and hungry for human contact, they turned more heavily to digital interaction. At Holler, we saw a 30% increase in consumer message volume at the peak of the pandemic, and an increase in business as a result.
2. To stay productive — face time matters. Once again, our team pivoted in the wake of 2020. We now host virtual mixers, team building events, educational sessions, group fitness classes, and weekly All Hands meetings. We’ve quickly figured out how to enable cross-team collaboration to make sure we don’t lose vital employee interaction, and we’re still thinking about new ways to keep our team engaged for the months to come. 
3. Once offices are safe to inhabit again, we will return to them. And I’m sure of that. But, there’s no denying the environment will be different. Maybe there will be a staggered office schedule. Maybe we’ll be more fluid with work from home requirements. Maybe we’ll reimagine how we utilize office space. We’re already thinking about how our team will return to work safely and more effectively than before.

Resetting Company Culture

Amidst the pandemic came racial unrest, which sent shockwaves throughout our country. Our company felt it, too. We immediately started to think about how we could be part of a bigger societal change. This is something I’ve talked about a lot recently here and still remains an important topic today.

1. What was once “acceptable” company culture can no longer be tolerated. As we readjust to a different world, we’re internally addressing racial unrest and how to weave diversity, inclusion, and belonging into our DNA. From company-wide town halls to new culturally diverse holidays, we’re continuing to do the work to be better.
2. I’ve heard from many fellow business leaders that they are afraid to make moves, especially when it comes to corporate diversity. They don’t want to get it wrong or appear tone deaf. But, now is the time to try. Get started. Do what feels right for you and your brand. Innovate and inspire change within your organization.
3. At the same time, we need to show more empathy for these good intentions, cancel cancel-culture, and keep the conversation about corporate change honest & open. For many of us, this is something we’ve never done before, and the team at Holler is still navigating through it all, too. We don’t have it all figured out yet, but being willing to learn along the way is the only way we’re ever going to see real results. 
4. Within my own team, there has been an undeniable power coming from collective brainstorms about how to be better. Every single member of the team needs to have a voice in conversations about Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Opening the door to these conversations has helped me sift through the madness and focus on what matters for our team moving forward. And I’m still learning from them every day. 

We have seen all of this unpredictable change just 8 months into 2020. The second part will likely bring more hurdles that we’ll have to quickly overcome. The reality is, work (and society) will never look like it did in 2019 or any other year prior. And maybe it shouldn’t. I’m dedicated to listening, learning, and continuing to evolve more at the back end of this year. Doing so is the only way we’ll be able to press on and become stronger than we were before.