What I’ve learned from Small Business Owners during COVID

For those of us in the typical IT jobs, the pandemic has been mildly challenging having to do full day web calls and not seeing our clients and colleagues in person. However, compared to the challenges faced by small business owners, those challenges are minor.

Energy & Motivation - I have been so amazed watching how the small business owners I know have had to pivot. The pressure to redesign how their business works is beyond comprehension. They have to worry about their staff staying safe. They have to stay upbeat and positive as chief motivation officers while secretly worrying about dwindling sales.

Pivot Fast - It’s astounding to see them roll out new on-line storefronts with next to no IT help. They are doing their own troubleshooting while have no time to do much testing or they risk losing a week’s worth of sales. They have to keep up with other businesses around them or they risky losing sales to someone with a slicker checkout. I’m used to our clients having weeks/months to design and test new systems. 

Trust your Instinct - They have to try and predict demand when there is no comparison to last year. How do you gamble on how much stock to carry? I talked to one owner who had to decide in March how much holiday merchandise to buy, not knowing if their shop would even be open.

I try and ask how things are going when I see them. Most pause and then admit they are hugely burnt out. There is no rest with no end in sight on the dawn of a long winter. They are worried about their family and their staff’s families and their fellow business owners. It’s amazing how supportive they are of one another as a community.

To each business owner that has pivoted to embrace selling new items or new ways of selling, I salute them. Their families depend on people continuing to spend.

So here’s hoping that in January-March people keep ordering. My son is thrilled because we try and support the many amazing restaurants and businesses in our neighbourhood.  If you can afford to, maybe buy some extra gift cards and use them later in the year as presents for folks you usually buy things for. Definitely try and amplify them on social media – give them a shoutout! And for heavens sake, when you go pick something up from their business – give a hearty thank you and ask how they are doing.