I know it’s easy to look at all the business owners who have been successful during these COVID times, and think they must have had a secret formula all along, just waiting to be unleashed.
As a life and business coach, I have had the privilege of hearing and seeing what happens behind the curtains of their lives. Here are some of the measures (not in the least bit exhaustive, and not in this particular order) that amazing women business owners (whom I know) took to help keep their businesses afloat and thrive.
What steps did the leaders make that made a difference?
Technology. They made use of technology that was suitable for their businesses. There was a sudden increase in the number of apps, software, hardware, etc that all promised to help business owners stay afloat. However, these leaders chose what would best serve their businesses. Best did not necessarily mean expensive.
Finances. They dived into the financial status of their businesses, not merely glossing over figures, but going a step ahead to ask hard, uncomfortable questions to know the exact financial situation, and make the necessary adjustments, F-A-S-T. Cash flow is the life line of businesses.
Employees. These leaders started off with general meetings with employees, followed by the one-one meetings with the individual employees to help create a trusting working environment. It was definitely not an easy task, emotions were also extremely high, but in the end there was a mutual understanding, for everybody’s benefit. The mission was to retain all their employees.
Coaching & Learning. These leaders did not hesitate to learn what they could to help keep their businesses afloat, and at the same time empower their employees. IT was a very steep learning curve for them, but they stuck with it, which was a great benefit .
Suppliers & Customers. These leaders considered that their own suppliers and customers and other stakeholders in the value chain were in the same predicament. They opened up their lines of communication even more, and re-negotiated the important deliverables. This created an opportunity for even more businesses to keep their doors open, as well as improved their professional relationships.
YOUR business can thrive if as a leader you
Know what your business is about, and how it operates
Know your true financial position
Know your team, and how you can work better together
Know your skills, and what you can improve on
Know the value of your suppliers and customers.
In the end, it does boil down to how you TREAT and VALUE people around you as a business leader.
If you KNOW that you need to improve your leadership insights because of the impact it will have IN your business, through coaching, click on ''Meet your coach'' for more information.
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Your Personal Development & Leadership Coach,
Samantha.