I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
What Goes Up
Hi Reader,
As of the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report, we've met the unofficial criteria for a recession.
This single datapoint of two consecutive quarters of economic decline is all it takes. But, as you can imagine, the economy is complicated, especially in pandemic recovery mode.
No doubt our road to recovery is going to be long and somewhat bumpy.
So, let's talk about what it means to manage your business when money is tight, inflation is a real thing, and both consumers and businesses are thinking twice about each purchase.
Firstly, do what all the financial folks out there recommend:
- Cut out excess spending and expenses. It's a great time to do an audit of your tools, subscriptions, tech platforms and other "automatic" costs and consolidate or cut ties with the ones that aren't serving you.
- Save as much as you're able to cover the potential downturn in business that may be coming your way.
- Apply for a line of credit so you have access to capital should you require it.
Next, create a strategy to drive customer loyalty. Here's how to do that:
- Make the case — Determine how your work or products actually help your clients in critical ways that impact their businesses or lives, their bottom lines, health and wellbeing, etc. What might the impact be to them without the services or products you provide?
- Craft a win-win offer — What can you offer your clients that helps them navigate and meet dwindling budgets while also ensuring your own survival? This could be a discount, a pared down package, a cost-saving alternative, or an entirely new offer designed for the specific challenges or needs that are to come or already upon us.
- Have the conversation — If you're a service provider, then you definitely want to schedule time on your clients' calendars for a check-in and strategy session so you can demonstrate what an essential partner you are to them. If you sell products, then consider how you're making the case in the content you're sharing.
You may also want to do some market research to better understand what a win-win offer looks like to your customer base.
A few additional tips:
- Win-win doesn't look the same for every customer or client, so you may need more than one offer.
- Be preemptive. It's much harder to reverse a client's decision to cut you from their budget than to convince them why they really shouldn't even consider it in the first place.
- Don't wing it. It's fine to co-create a solution that works for you both, but have a starting point, something for your clients or customers to respond to and build from.
- Know your limitations. If you go out of business or have to spend a lot of your time in survival mode, you're not being of service to anyone. Make sure you craft solutions that meet your own business needs while supporting the needs and limitations of your clients and customers through these challenging times.
As I work to support this community during these strange times, I'd appreciate your help.
Would you take two minutes to complete this one question poll I've posted to LinkedIn?
(Honestly, it will probably take you less than two minutes.)
Until next week, keep reaching for the sky while laying a strong foundation beneath your feet.
PS - Last week, I advised you to think more strategically about What You Say. Check it out if you missed it.
PPS - Need help crafting your strategy to thrive through these challenging times? Please reach out to me.
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Easily Said & Done
I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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