2020 has changed us forever.
The pandemic has marked a critical shift in global history, and the next few years will be spent trying to build a new version of normal.
Still, not all hope is lost. While the economy isn’t in its best shape today, we’ve also seen a rise in new business opportunities, with digital marketing and e-commerce efforts leading the way.
As we continue to brave these strange times, business leaders mostly fall into one of three categories:
- Thriving but not relying solely on their wins
- Doing a great job at keeping afloat but afraid to make bold choices
- Disillusioned, tired, and uninspired
Whichever category you identify with, you’re likely approaching this year with caution. Don’t be disheartened. Whether you’re optimistic and ready to start a fire or financially hurt and more worried than ever, know that there’s a lot of time and space to rewrite how your business is going to look like for the rest of the year.
Here are four things you can gear up for to own the remainder of 2021
1. Embrace change with open arms
Change is never comfortable, especially if the systems and routines you’ve worked hard to put in place conveniently generate you profit. Nonetheless, change is constant for a lot of business owners, and the virus has only hastened the pace.
If anything, one doesn’t even need to be an expert to understand that our previous ways of running businesses and acquiring clients don’t work anymore.
Not only do consumers demand more heart and intention these days, but people are more critical of value too. From influencer marketing to online startup consultations, people demand more from the brands and key figures they support.
That said, leaders have to be headstrong in treating the causes of these changes. For instance, one terrific way to ensure you’re on top of everything is by implementing a quarterly evaluation of how things are working out for your brand during these times.
Ask yourself the difficult questions:
- What external factors are huge enough to change all of how you’re running your business at present?
- What are the most feasible solutions to these problems?
- How do you ensure income streams are consistent in the face of the evolving business landscape?
- How relevant will your business be in the next 6 months, 1 year, or even 5 years?
2. Your market’s needs come first
While the rules of supply and demand are very much still the same, everything else that comprises how products and services are extended has changed. With production and distribution going through a whole lot these days, product-driven businesses are trying extra hard to remain operational and efficient.
Furthermore, evolving customer needs and social distancing have left numerous industries reeling from economic suffering. On the other hand, dozens of service-based businesses are discovering that their offerings are no longer in heavy demand.
Why is that?
Because the customers’ needs are changing and their problems are consistently evolving by the day.
Keep asking how you can better serve your audience and find out what matters most to your demographic. The more in the know you are, the easier it will be to adjust what you need to.
Run surveys, schedule calls, read social media comments, do everything in your power to be as empathetic as possible. Businesses that don’t have it in them to feel are bound to fail.
3. Work smart, not hard
Over are the days when only the hardworking people get the reward. Although in no way are we insinuating that diligence doesn’t pay off, what we’re establishing here is how tremendously different employment and entrepreneurship are now.
Since more people are now comfortably commodifying intellectual capital, the capacity to rake in good money is less about our ability to put in extra work, but more about how we can optimize our resources to make them work for us.
Quite arguably, success isn’t (only) reliant on hard work anymore, but the principles and practices you adhere to.
For example, why have your team perform time-intensive tasks when you can count on enterprise programs to streamline the work?
Nowadays, success is about leveraging human collaboration and technology; this is what working smart looks like today.
4. Profit is intentional
One of the most overused internet quotes that floats around the web every so often is this: chase your dreams and money will follow. There are multiple variations to this statement, but you get the point.
After everything’s been said and done, passion doesn’t pay the bills; intentional profit does.
By adopting a mindset dependent on measurable metrics, you easily shift your focus on how else you can make the most of your products and services. By doing this, you put a premium on initiatives that drive income.
On that note, it’s imperative that business leaders are able to marry the idea of profit and purpose. Of course, the last thing you’d want to come off to your customers is just wanting to bag their coins.
As such, efforts to better produce good products and services should be constant. Success is no longer a product of hard work but the careful execution of a feasible vision.
What’s next?
There are so many things that can be said and done in the business space. At the end of the day, what matters is that entrepreneurs are taking multiple strides forward in future-proofing their brands.
The future is all online.
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