Adapting your small business during unprecedented times
Three ideas to help transform your business
By John Tomik, David Bagatelle and Erika Nolting Young
One thing that we are realizing through these trying times is how much we rely on a healthy supply chain and the never-ending demand of consumers; demand that drives how we work and live, how we travel and stay safe, how we learn, and how we entertain.
Disruptions necessitate changes to processes and products, but also to industries as a whole.
Large companies have been greatly impacted, but arguably smaller businesses that do not have substantial cash reserves or safety nets, or a contingency plan for scenarios outside of their normal course of business, have been impacted even more so.
We’ve all heard the scary news about small businesses in peril not making it in these unprecedented times. It is disheartening to everyone to see shutdowns, but especially to the employees and owners who fear for their own well-being. While there are plenty of negative reports, there are many stories of small businesses getting creative and rapidly adapting like never before. This phenomenon is not only inspiring but is absolutely necessary to ensure our economic survival.
At Slalom, we believe that inspiration drives innovation and that innovation will help you realize and shape your future. As a way to keep spirits up for small business owners, and keep employees in a place of inspiration and creativity, we offer three ideas during this challenging time.
First, make connections and join forces with others who you can help and who can help you.
If you cannot keep your physical locations open, partner with a delivery company. If you can go virtual, embrace it as a new norm. We have two great articles on the future of work and a checklist for embracing virtual work that can help. We’ve been talking with companies who are exploring partnerships and relationships purely because they can pool resources and customer lists and complement one another. There was a time when the concept of a cooperative was not seen as highly valuable, but that has changed. Making connections can be one of your best investments, and diversity in thinking creates and expands ideas; ideas and innovation that your business may need to sustain itself right now.
We recently circulated the most depressing article (link intentionally not provided) around our team that talked about how small businesses should not get their hopes up by trying to get creative because the current COVID-19 situation was just going to decimate the world. And while that may be true for many unfortunate businesses, it does not have to be true for yours. Creativity and broad systems thinking are ways to innovate out of a tough situation.
Therefore, our second idea is to take stock in your assets and think differently about them. We have been helping some of the biggest corporations in the world look at their futures with this lens in focus and doing so unlocks incredible thinking and opportunities not previously considered. We have explored how autonomous cars are the new offices, classrooms, and entertainment zones — they might soon be the new triage rooms en route to a hospital. The same techniques can work for small businesses. Unable to service your existing customers in your current business, but happen to have a 3D printer for your company? Get into production of N95 masks like we see here.
We recently spoke to an event-marketing executive whose entire business is collapsing as all of the events they produce were cancelled. At best, staff salaries are being significantly reduced; at worst, 100s of jobs are being temporarily (or permanently) eliminated.
We spoke to this firm about their assets; their people and those peoples’ ability to quickly put together functioning events. And they are now looking to pursue a quarantine zone task force offering where they will look to work with companies to convert their empty hotel rooms or cruise ship cabins into quarantine zones or hospitals.
Which brings us to our final idea — something that not only applies in a pandemic, but is important to keep in mind throughout the life of your business. Stay relevant and anchor on a meaningful purpose for today.
We speak with many founders and CEOs and this seems to be one of the most important things to track toward in these uncertain times. The business plan you may have written yesterday may no longer be relevant today. The products that you have sunk immeasurable passion into building may not be possible in all environments and it may be necessary to pivot hard into something new. At Slalom, we help hundreds of executives every year look at signals and trends to help them understand the human of the future. That same approach can be applied to any situation of the day. We recently spoke to a CEO founder who had to rethink their entire model when their fam-tech childcare business was thrust into being a virtual experience because working from home was mandated and physical distance is the current norm. But, their purpose remained the same and they are now creating experiences to serve a community desperate for solutions.
The ability to stay relevant and pivot to something new — not in your plan — will open up incredible opportunities for you, if you’re open to them.
If there is one thing that is an absolute, it’s that small businesses are paramount to a healthy community and dynamic economy.
Small business owners have an immense amount of courage for taking that path. We are inspired by you and we know that it’s your entrepreneurial drive that will build the communities, services, and workforces of the future; we would love to help you get there.
We plan to sponsor a small business round table soon and would love for you to join us. To get involved, contact Slalom Strategy (strategy@slalom.com)
