What It Actually Takes To Succeed During A Crisis

A friend once gave me some valuable advice about relationships: it’s not necessarily a good relationship when things are good. Anyone can fall in love when the sun is shining, and your only responsibility in life is to feed yourself and your fish. But what happens when life gets real, and things get hard?

The relationship that is going to last in the long run is the one that works when times are stressful, and life is challenging.

I thought that was brilliant advice then, and it’s even more brilliant now as I think about how the same is true for our business. 

This pandemic is a fork in the road for ALL business owners, a test to see what kind of relationship you have with your business— or, to put it another way, the kind of relationship you have with being a business owner.

When things are going okay, it’s easy to work for yourself and be your own boss. 

But when the world is saying some scary things (e.g., the impending sense of a complete economic collapse), and you start imagining what might be in store, THAT is when you find out what kind of business owner you really are.

What Does It Take To Make A Business Work During A Crisis?

There are a lot of different paths that business owners can take when the economy goes south.

Many are secretly relieved: they’ve been looking for an excuse to shrivel up their businesses, and this is the mother of all excuses. Maybe things weren’t working out before the pandemic set in, but now they can blame something other than themselves. It’s a great cover story— I mean really, who could have seen this coming? 

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but if you’re honest with yourself about why you’re really closing up shop, you can go in a new direction with more clarity about what you do and don’t want in life so you can be happier in your next endeavor.

But for business owners who aren’t willing to accept pandemic conditions as the new reality and are determined to bounce back harder and faster than ever, it takes strength, focus, and a higher level of commitment than you’ve ever had before. 

Think of it as being in a committed relationship with your business. Together, you’ve nurtured each other to grow and build on your successes. You need to be the kind of person who stands by your business and reassures it that you are not going to let it go down. You need to be the kind of business owner who keeps your commitments to yourself, your business, and other business owners around you. 

Stick To Your Pre-Crisis Values As Much As Possible

It might be tempting to delay, ignore, or even cancel things in a way you would never have considered in the past. 

In some cases that might be the smartest decision. I spoke to one business owner who let an employee go to keep the business cash-flow positive. But, she confided, the employee was not very productive and probably should have been let go months ago.

Another friend who runs a much larger business had to let go of 20% of their staff (over a hundred people) but confided that those left were the superstars and that this is probably going to lead to a more profitable business in the long run. 

This situation might be the prompt you need to be more thoughtful in your investments, ultimately leading to a leaner, more efficient business in the long run. 

In other cases, you might start dropping the ball on things that will help you and your business get through this and succeed. Failing to show up for clients because you are dealing with your own challenges. Failing to support (or pay) contractors or staff that are showing up for you, and working their behinds off to help you succeed. 

“The excuse is better than ever,” you’ll say to yourself, “and everybody is aware of it. They’ll understand.”

Unless you physically can’t, don’t do it! Do everything you can to keep promises and obligations to those that are showing up for you because your commitment to them will come back to you ten-fold with loyalty and appreciation.

This is why our current pandemic situation is a fork in the road. A lot of people are going to take the opportunity to contract because it’s an easy way out, no questions asked. 

But not everyone will. 

Some business owners are going to use this opportunity to expand. They’re going to step up and prove to themselves and their business that they are in it to win.

This is what it’s like to be in a relationship for better or for worse. You’re not just in love with being a business owner when times are good. If you’re an entrepreneur at your core, you’ll be able to approach the here and now as a leader. 

This Is Your Chance To Step Up

There will be winners and losers at the end of all of this. Some people will cower because they have a legitimate excuse as to why things didn’t work out. But those people don’t know what you and I know, which is that tumultuous times can be incredibly valuable. They force us to eliminate waste and refocus on our best opportunities.

Use this time to invest in building a leaner, more profitable service business. Step up as the leader, show your business who’s boss, and finally make your business work for you. 

What story are you going to tell in the years to come? Wouldn’t you love this to be the inflection point that made you wake up, take your business by the reins, and thrive?

We can’t control what is happening out there, but we can control what actions we take. And the actions we take today determine the results we will see tomorrow and for years to come. 

For guidance along the journey, check out my latest masterclass, 4 Steps to Thrive in the New Economy.

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