Are you getting ready or waiting?

After yesterdays announcement it has made it very clear that we should all be gearing up to reopen.

 Many businesses have just been told on very short notice to go back to work this week.

 Some have never stopped.

 Many will not currently be in a position to reopen for a few months. But I believe that this could change at anytime.

 So what are you doing to get ready?

 We’ve all seen lots of posts on Facebook from people getting fit, getting fat, getting skilled and getting stressed.

 As small business owners it’s imperative that we don’t sit still.

 Lauren Bacall “Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a rapidly changing world”.

 And we really are moving fast at the moment.

 Days’ before lockdown we were kicked out of the schools we were operating from. The schools had received a directive to not let outside contracts on to site, and that was it, we were done.

 Events scheduled for that weekend cancelled.

 We immediately started receiving cancellations from our customers.

 A mixture of reasons. They were panicking about losing their jobs, losing money, losing their own businesses.

 Not wanting to pay for a service that they believed they were not going to receive.

 We pivoted. We moved our entire business online. We started providing a more expansive service.

 We created a multi level online service.

 An App was created, with a video and written library of information.

We moved our daily classes to online zoom classes.

We live streamed all classes to our private Facebook group.

We started giving one on one classes.

We gave away services to compensate for the lack of in person service. In reality we have worked harder this last 2 months than we normally do.

 Zapping our time and energy just to try and stay afloat and be prepared for our return.

 We have not sat still.

 We are now advertising again.

 We are now recruiting new customers. People have got used to the new normal.

 Once upon a time providing our service online would have been unthinkable.

 Now it’s essential.

 We provide a service that is great for mind, body and spirit and with these unprecedented times our service is more valuable than ever.

 We are getting ourselves ready to reopen with a bang.

 We have re-educated ourselves on new skills. We have invested in new technology to take us forward.

 We are nearly ready.

 We have a few months before our classes will be allowed to open again. But we will be ready.

 Will you?

 What can you do to get ready?

Have you stayed in touch with your customers?

Have you kept on top of your social media?

Have you painted your shop?

Have you organised the layout of your space to allow for social distancing?