To survive, you must follow the bubbles
If you are an entrepreneur or a small business, one thing is for sure, we are all experiencing some kind of disruption to our business as a result of Covid-19. For a very small handful of companies, this unprecedented change is good for their business, while significantly more have not been so lucky.
Unfortunately, we are seeing more companies experiencing the negative effects and emotions of the virus outbreak, turning the lives of the company and its employees upside down. Now we all need to learn to navigate our lives and businesses during this time of life that has changed.
In helicopter training, students must participate in underwater survival training; a simulation of being submerged in water where they must find their way out of the aircraft. As the air bubbles rise to the surface, individuals are instructed to follow the bubbles to escape and make their way to the surface in search of air to survive.
For many companies, they are turned upside down by the pandemic and struggling to get on the right side and survive.
Thus, so many entrepreneurs, myself, have experienced a great deal of emotions and thoughts about operating my business during these challenging times. I have had days when I am totally optimistic about the free time available to undertake new projects or learn something new. There are also times when I feel stuck, sad, anxious, lost and wonder what tomorrow will be like and what it will be like. I get over this.
Then I remembered a saying that my grandfather would tell my mother. I would tell you not to worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes, because tomorrow becomes today.
Remembering that saying gave me a new perspective and the energy I needed to take a deep breath, follow the bubbles, and then kick like hell to get to the surface.
Now, with fresh air in my lungs and a clear mind, I would like to share with you some things that I am doing to keep my mind in the game of ‘this too will pass and I want to be ready when it happens’. it does. ‘
Review your current strategies and change course when necessary
Last year in the fourth quarter, I implemented a new prospecting strategy using LinkedIn that was gaining traction. Through the process, we discreetly request a non-commercial connection and subsequent follow-up. We saw some positive results. That process has now been suspended.
I think this time people are not looking for contacts for commercial purposes. New business connections are simply not on your radar right now. They seek the human connection that we can provide. Therefore, we are using the LinkedIn platform to offer hope and inspiration to others so that they too can ‘get a breath of fresh air’.
Everything I do around marketing and business operations needs to be reviewed and consulted to determine its relevance in this upside-down world. If it doesn’t feel appropriate or doesn’t add value to the business or our customers, it needs to be restructured to make it feel right.
Avoid analysis paralysis
Within my conference, training and consulting industry, which involved working with large and small groups of people, it was inevitable that business would slow down.
Even with that knowledge, he would still go to the office to work and think about what he had to do differently and then move on. As the weeks passed, I watched the rest of the world begin to experience its first cases of the virus. The numbers multiplied so rapidly that my attention shifted from my daily work activities to one of what the hell is going on?
I consumed myself thinking about what I should or should not do. Can I afford to keep this person or that program or that app? Should I go out or should I stay inside? Will there be enough groceries on the shelves? Will my family be safe in another country? If I sneeze or cough once or twice, am I sick? How long will my money last?
I looked up and realized that I had spent an entire week obsessed to the point where I could do absolutely nothing. Nothing, nothing, zero.
When I realized what happened, I stopped and turned off everything around me. I sat quietly and wondered, what would I be doing differently if all this disruption wasn’t happening? How have I operated my business during quiet vacation seasons or other great quiet times in my business?
The answer was that I still got up, went to the office, and worked on projects that I never seemed to have time for.
Allowing myself to stay in the place of reflection, I was able to carefully analyze what is happening and ask myself some key questions such as:
How can I continue to serve my business community?
What should I do differently and what will stay the same?
What is the best way to spend my time?
How can I protect myself and my family during this time?
How can I support my local community?
What are some ways that I can stay positive and focused on my work?
By identifying what is important to me, it has given me a sense of direction. I can follow the bubbles, get some air, and get to work.
Take stock of what you do and what you don’t need
No matter the size of the business, cash flow is essential to the survival of the business. The first is the first. Evaluate what you have in the bank at the moment, not what you are expected to enter, as there may be delays in payments.
Determine how long your funds will take you. Identify what you do and don’t need to keep your business running.
Do your best to keep your staff or virtual assistants employed. Remember that they also need to feed their families and keep a roof over their heads.
To be honest, my immediate reaction was to do the opposite as a means of preserving cash flow. But when I thought about the impact on their lives after stepping into their shoes, I immediately changed my mind about it.
Now here’s an interesting side note on that decision. Suddenly I felt full of energy. It instilled in me a sense of purpose. It meant I needed to refocus, create an action plan on what to work on right away that would benefit my business community. I feel empowered because now I know what I want to do to help others in the days, weeks and months to come.
Create a plan for your immediate and remote family
It was in late January that COVID-19 hit the shores of Singapore, and within two weeks, it had escalated to the point where the country raised the DORSCON level to orange. It was that night that my husband and I knew it was time for us to get serious about how the virus would affect our businesses, our finances, and possibly the future supply of food to our small country.
Over the next few days, we evaluated our finances, made an inventory of our medicines and food supplies in the pantry. We create our family action plan. Being an army brat, I remember my father telling us that they needed “cash” in case of emergencies. His recommendation was to take $ 100 and turn it into one hundred $ 1 bills so that you would have small bills to use in case the retailers only accept cash but have no change for large bills.
We also created a family chat group so that we could stay in touch at any time.
Once the action plan was in place, I again felt like I could catch my breath and then go about the day to the best of my ability. To go back to work, to live again.
Take a break from the news
I’m sure you’ve heard this before. This is the time to be informed, so you should take advantage of what is happening in your immediate community and around the world.
What I suggest is that you spend no more than 10-15 minutes in the morning and at night listening to or reading the news. It’s very easy to get sucked back into the water, where you feel like you can’t catch your breath and a state of uncertainty starts all over again. When this happens, just follow the bubbles.
It used to be that technology was rapidly changing our world. Today it is an invisible virus that is changing our world on a daily basis. Still, if we follow the bubbles, we can find our way to the surface, get some air into our lungs, and clear our minds, we can start the day over and on the right side.