How to RETHINK Your Business in Recession or Down Economy

Most small businesses are not prepared ‘resource wise’ to weather the storm much less thrive in times like these. Who could have been prepared for a global shut down like COVID-19; it’s unprecedented? Although you may not have hindsight yet, there are things you COULD do differently, there are things you SHOULD do differently, and there are new paths for you to take in order to create opportunity and survive this crash. The first step is educating yourself on all of your options and make a plan.

I’ve personally been through several major crashes in my 30+ years as a business owner. The first was early 2000’s and 911. The second was the 2008 financial crisis – “The Great Recession”. Both were unexpected, shocking and just after a boom in the market. Although I struggled like many companies, I did find ways to reinvent my offerings, services and even products – not to mention all the decisions I wish I would have done had I known. In response to this crisis, we did some research and I’m going to share what other CEOs have done in past recessions and depressions to create opportunity and adapt to a new economies that I think you’ll find enlightening.

Read this brief list of TEN ways to RETHINK, REINVENT and REBUILD your business during a recession or downturn: (Read MORE HERE in our in-depth LinkedIn article)

RETHINK BUSINESS MODEL – innovation should always be a focus for small businesses. Many companies adapt and evolve naturally and in down economies, innovation and new ideas can even spike. New brands and models are born from ingenuity and necessity during recessions. It is important to plan to adapt to new customer segments and needs even when your business is thriving.
RETHINK FINANCES – in economic fallouts, it is important to focus on efficiency throughout your company. Examine your finances, your spending and your cash flow. Make sure you look at opportunities to cut, expand or get funding to support the change your business is going through. And don’t forget to make sure to tap into resources that spur from economic crashes offered by organizations, non-profits and the government.
RETHINK STAFFING – staffing can be reallocated, trained or streamlined. You can take advantage of part-time, remote and other cross-train opportunities. Restructure key staff so that you maintain high performance workers.
RETHINK TRAINING – many companies haven’t adopted or adapted to online training and systematic employee performance systems. These platforms are extremely affordable but take time to implement. Look for fast, efficient systems already developed to get started. READ MORE.
RETHINK SYSTEMS AND PROCESS – there is never a better time to systematize and process than at a time when you have more time and people that can support the development. In a crash or downtime, like we are experiencing now, you can easily get your part-time staff or key workers to design these initiatives to be rolled out when business returns as usual.
RETHINK PRODUCTS AND SERVICES – why not think of new offerings, better products, more robust services. You may not have had time to rethink this before, now you do. How can you make what you do better and more effective?
RETHINK BRAND – your branding and image should evolve. You may have been too busy to focus on it in the past, but now you can take a step back and ask yourself if your brand represents your vision. If not, now may be a good time to change.
RETHINK MARKETING, SALES AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – these initiatives are very laborious to implement and execute. They also require a lot of time and thought to design or recreate. During downturns, examining your strategies is a good time to make sure your approach is comprehensive. Do each align together?
RETHINK PLANNING – if you don’t take time to think about your business and retreat, you are missing a huge opportunity. We can’t see the forest for the trees when we are in our business. We are too close to see the opportunities before us.
RETHINK MINDSET – no doubt during times that are tough, our mindset can create more havoc than we can handle. Having an opportunistic mindset when there seems to be no way is a common characteristic to those CEOs who come out of recessions on top.