Council Post: The Silver Lining Of The Unknown In Business

Misty has owned a brick-and-mortar dance studio for 23 years and now leads More Than Just Great Dancing!®, an association of 260 studios.

This season of doing business has had more unknowns than probably any other year we’ll experience in our lifetime as entrepreneurs. And the unpredictability continues: The virus that brought much of the economy to a halt in March continues to cause wrinkles for small businesses worldwide, leaving us wondering what’s next with no guidebook — just our own resourcefulness and resolve.

Fortunately, small business owners are known for these qualities and more. We’re known to be scrappy, to have the ability to build something out of nothing and to create remarkable solutions. If anyone can come out of this pandemic stronger, more innovative and with confidence, it’s the entrepreneur.

There’s never been a time in my 23-year business career when the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining” has been so true. The phrase, which is thought to have come from a descriptive image in John Milton’s 1634 epic poem “Comus,” implies that there is good — comfort, even — to be found in any dark situation. In reference to the glow behind a black cloud, Milton wrote, “Did a sable cloud turn forth her silver lining on the night?” It seems he was referring to the moonlight, and whether intentional or not, he perfectly illustrated the duality of how one could see light in the dark.

Yes, there are monumental challenges ahead with not knowing how many months of recovery it will take to resume business as usual, or if business will ever look the same again. When it comes to coping with a pandemic, we are developing new systems as we go, relying on instinct and good judgment. As business owners, we can no longer expect to have a typical path forward, and perhaps that’s a good thing. Perhaps it is the silver lining we need.

Here’s what I mean: You now have the freedom to completely reimagine your business. Everything in your business model can be reexamined to improve your product, relationships, finances, services, communications and more. You have the freedom to pave a new path or clean up your current one; you have the opportunity to adapt and do things differently. It was unexpected to land here, certainly. Yet whatever dark clouds have gathered, the silver lining glows around them.

Here’s how you can continue looking at the unknown through this light:

● Get creative in a limitless way, solving problems with solutions you may never have thought of — or acted on — before the pandemic.

● Become proactive with multiple plans for growth and recovery. Choose the best one, and put the others on the shelf for future use.

● Take control of what’s within your reach, making it easier to adapt to what’s not in your control.

● Raise up leadership inside your business and mentor the next generation of managers and directors, lifting their morale and tapping into their talent.

● Extend grace where grace is most needed, preserving relationships that are key to your business, whether they’re with employees, clients or vendors.

● Choose to see strength in yourself, as the visionary of your business and a beacon of hope in your community.

What’s most profound about this way of thinking is the unburdening of expectations. Not having so much pressure on you to operate in a specific way means you’re more open to new ideas, and your imagination has more room to grow. Who knew that such a tough year could also have so many possibilities?

You can take stock of the lessons you’ve learned, appreciate what you’ve done so far to rise above the difficulties and feel energized by the clean slate of the future. Get ready to tee up for the opportunities you have to change what’s not working and amplify what is. Indulge your curiosity about what could be, instead of feeling deterred.

Remember that you have the power to make your business what you want and to underscore your mission in this new era. You have the power to flip the notion that the unknown is to be feared and instead use it to your advantage. Perhaps we won’t even understand the full benefits of this mindset until years from now when we look back at this time in history with awe — when, in hindsight, we can admire the ways in which we persevered and came through to the other side wiser, more confident and more innovative.

Ask yourself today, “What am I waiting for?” Grab onto the silver lining, and feel the freedom that comes with it.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?