Will You Be Found Out...?

You are about to be outed.

I thought I should let you know, before it, y'know, happens. Forewarned is forearmed and all that...

The cold light of extremely tough times is about to shine on all businesses in every sector, at every level and we will all be seen for who we actually are.

What kind of business person are you?

Your actions will always express what you’re committed to

We all like to apply a thick layer of polish to ourselves when we are in public. We can pretend (like at the beginning of a new job or relationship) to be someone else-ish, hide our crazy, pretend we think Ryan Gosling is better at acting than a second-hand dressing table...

...but eventually, when we have actual important things to do, our attention will wander, the mask will slip and we will be SEEN, for who and what we are...like really.

For instance...

Yes, of course you will keep to your new eating plan.

Yes, of course you will manage to stick to going to the gym every day

Yes, OF COURSE, you will spend less time doom scrolling on social media and get round to those difficult things you have been putting off for ages because you are not sure how they will turn out, but would be massively valuable to your business*

But will you? really?

Maybe we set off with the best of intentions and even manage a glorious shining month where we are masters of our own domain and stick to our plan...

...but then life gets in the way.?

?"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"

Mike Tyson, former unified World Heavyweight boxing champion.

AND... life is about to get in the way...big time!!

We feel the overwhelming pressure of conflicting priorities and what do we do when we feel out of our depth?

We start to do what we know in the way that we feel most comfortable.?And being in this particular?'zone' is not the one we had in mind when we started our shiny new plan...but then, we call it the comfort zone for a reason.

What we say and what we do are two VERY different things.

And the only one of those we can truly trust is what has already happened, everything else is merely wishes, best intentions and fairy dust...you know ...magical thinking.

If you want to know what you really think is important.?Look at what you do.

Spend an hour opening and answering every email you receive in the morning - that is what you value

Spend hours per day doom scrolling Linkedin - that is what you value

Spend all your 'sales' time at networking events with zero results - that is what you value

So...Autumn 2022?

Who will you show yourself to be?

Economic conditions and market pressure is going to escalate massively over the next 6 to 12 months and we will be forced to take a long hard look at ourselves.

For instance, we have known about the oncoming recession/disruption/gouging by the fuel companies for nearly two months now...

Have you?

• Taken action to align your business model already?
• Re-organised your finances?
• Spoken to all of your best customers and suppliers to see how you can collaborate and protect each other?
• Watched the news, with a sense of impending dread and growing horror, complained to everyone you know ...but kinda haven't got round to preparing yet?

I have some bad news, nobody is coming to save you.

You are going to have to save yourself.

You are going to have to walk a tightrope, blindfold, while juggling conflicting priorities in terms of customers, suppliers, finance, your team...and each one will remember how you treated them when things got tough.

The energy companies are currently complaining how hard it is for them while quintupling prices and posting the highest profits in history.

They are showing they value profits...over preventing people from becoming destitute and children starving inside freezing houses. - they have shown who they really are.

Do you still trust any energy company?

What you value in your business is going to become massively apparent:

• If you have already made changes? - action is what you value
• Cut costs? - money is what you value
• Hunker down with your community? - customers are what you value
• Found ways of providing impact at lower price points for your customers? - delivering value is what you value

There is no right...or wrong answer to this. But, what do you want to be known for?

"Our Brand is what others say about us when we are out of the room"

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon

and future Bond villain

...but if you want long-term results...you have to do long-term things.?And the first long-term thing you need to do is make sure you are making sure you are making the main thing the main thing for your business.

Be the leader you want to see.

The Takeaway

1. ACT! NOW! The more time you have to plan, prepare and collaborate, the better your strategy will be, as you have more time to iterate it - BEFORE BUSINESS SLOWS DOWN
2. Lean on Your community. Open communication as soon as you can about ways to work together, new deal structures and offers. In times of crisis real relationships get stronger
3. Find your most profitable activities and double down on them. There is no point in keeping anything other than your most profitable activities going.

(Caveat - obviously don't ignore the financial structure of your business)

Thank you for reading...what is your best advice for surviving the coming recession...drop me an answer in the comments.

PS, MMU Business School are putting on a practical workshop event to show small businesses practical steps to "Ride Out The Recession". (8th September 0930 - 1230)

It's fully funded and you can get tickets at the link below - It is a hybrid event with zoom tickets available. If you have any problems sorting tickets - inbox me

https://bit.ly/rideoutrecession