Rev it up!!
How to get your business back on track post shutdown
This is your business. There is only room for one in the driver’s seat. While it can feel lonely, you are definitely not alone. Now is the time to take stock - assess your dashboard, your crew, and the course to ensure that you are ready.
Your Dashboard
What are you looking at to gage success and track progress? Let’s evaluate the following:
Strategy
Technology
Marketing
Strategy
Develop or reevaluate your plan, budget, and trajectory.
What does success look like?
Since you have had time to ponder, what are you looking to gain out of your business? What is all this for?
Are you tracking it?
Is your accounting and project management software set up to track progress? Get that ironed out and keep tabs on that monthly, quarterly, annually. Track your goals by identifying your specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that will tell you if you are swimming, treading water, or going down.
Technology
What’s working?
What systems have you implemented and are those worth the cost/effort?
What process could be improved?
With the increase in virtual solutions, is there something out there that could improve your processes?
Marketing
Has your target market evolved?
Do you need to pivot after the COVID-19 shakeup? Anything that rises to the surface or bottoms out, adjust accordingly.
Has the location of your market changed?
With the increase in virtual solutions, evaluate your regional market. Is it still profitable or do you need to adjust?
What is working?
What marketing efforts have been effective? What isn’t? What could you be doing instead?
Your Crew
Your crew includes not only your employees but everyone you work with. Evaluate the following:
Team
Location
Customers
Supply Chain
Team
With time to reflect on your business’ key producers, it’s important to evaluate your personnel and make adjustments.
Who do you want back?
Not everyone will get an invitation back. Review employees production, commitment, and synergy.
Who would you like to bring on?
With so many highly qualified candidates currently unemployed or are looking for new opportunities, don’t be afraid to go after someone who could benefit your team.
What areas could you outsource or contract out?
Do you need full time admin, finance, or HR? There are major benefits to contracting non-revenue producing elements of your company. A fractional CFO and contract bookkeeping could save your company hundreds of thousands.
Location
Are you where you should be? Are you in your ideal location for success?
Is the base of your operations where it should be?
There will be an influx of commercial property available. Tax benefits, square footage, layout, location, should all be on the table for discussion.
Do you need office space?’
Since you’ve been virtual for weeks, how’s that going? Can you reduce spending by cutting down on office space expenditures?
Customers
It’s a relationship, how’s it working? Time to decide who’s worth your time and resources
Are they still around?
Check up on them.
Do you still want their business?
Too high maintenance? Would your efforts produce more elsewhere? Are they draining you or your staff?
How can you build the relationship?
They’ve passed the test, you appreciate their business, well how can you build the relationship?
Supply Chain
It’s a dance so are they a good partner? Time to negotiate.
Are they still around?
Check up on them.
Do you want their product/service?
Check out the competition. How’s their customer service, prices, pace of play, market growth?
How can you build the relationship?
Schedule a meeting, review their operations, renegotiate contracts.
Your Course
There is no “one size fits all” back to market plan, use this as a jumping off point for your business:
In the first two weeks bring back your top 20%.
Team - that might look like the exec team, directors, and top performers.
Customers– contact them, find out what their needs are and map that out. Only 20%, you are just getting your feet under you and you don’t have the rest of your company to back you up. The rest will come.
Supply Chain – contact them, find out if there will be any delays, adjustments in price, or delivery.
Michelle Löpez
Founder + Advisor
Strategy – set aside a minimum of 20% of your team’s time to dive into strategy, timelines, and expectations. Email your employees and key contractors and let them know your plan.
To make it to the race, it’s important to conserve cash and plan your emergence. Here at Breakaway we can help decrease your costs, build out infrastructure to track progress, and with attention on success.