Small businesses that can see disruptions as a path towards reinvention are well equipped to figure out how to move forward, despite the challenges.<\/p>\n
As business trading evolves, we are all looking for signs of optimism, evidence of progress, and sparks of innovation in the business landscape. And there is cause for hope: following the first national lockdown, while two in five small businesses were forecasting a loss of revenue, almost one in 20 had prospered, according to a Xero survey of more than 1,000 small businesses in early June.<\/p>\n
In the face of global uncertainty, unpredictable customer demand is to be expected. With the concept of \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d out the window, small businesses have been forced to shape-shift under new waves of lockdowns and tightening restrictions across the country. From moving bricks-and-mortar stores online to the digitisation of payment processes, they\u2019re rethinking the way they do things \u2013 often unlocking new ideas and systems that will endure long after this crisis ends.<\/p>\n
Even if not originally part of the plan, these adaptations can help businesses work towards finding a new balance between maintaining productivity and remaining profitable.<\/p>\n
Finding new ways to innovate and reach new heights \u2013 rather than just get by \u2013 is a challenge you shouldn\u2019t have to rise to on your own. Here are some considerations to keep in mind as you plan and rebuild for operating in a new world.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the secret to business resilience?<\/h2>\n
Almost two in three (60.3%) of those surveyed by Xero believe resilience is the most important characteristic for a small business to remain successful when Covid-19 has passed. But what does staying flexible and enduring tough challenges look like in real life?<\/p>\n
Business planning \u2013 or updating existing documents related to operational matters in line with the challenges of navigating a pandemic \u2013 allows owners and founders to change existing approaches and try new things. This could mean:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Testing new products and services in an agile way before scaling up to meet customer demand<\/p>\n
\u25cf Planning for inevitable changes rather than resisting (or reacting to) unforeseen obstacles<\/p>\n
\u25cf Reviewing and revising plans alongside trusted advisors such as an accountant or bookkeeper<\/p>\n
\u25cf Letting go of nostalgia for the way things were before, to make the most of the current moment<\/p>\n
\u25cf Seeing change as a long-term adaptation or skill set rather than temporary or a stopgap<\/p>\n
\u25cf Embracing technology, data, and research to learn as much as possible and make well-considered decisions<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-06-at-12.26.19.png\")
<\/p>\n
You might even find courage in rewriting the rule book during a challenging time. It\u2019s a chance to remind yourself why you started your business, and map out new possibilities for growth and creating opportunities. According to Xero\u2019s research, being customer-centric (43.2%), having a long-term vision (47.8%), and agility (43.7%) were the other traits that business owners believed were essential to remaining viable and rebuilding strong foundations for success.<\/p>\n
How to tell the difference between thriving and adapting as a business<\/h2>\n
The impacts of Covid-19 have been unrelenting, and have thrown usual day-to-day processes into a whirlwind for many small business owners. So what\u2019s the difference between thriving and adapting to changing conditions?<\/p>\n
Small businesses that are willing to think like agile startups are more likely to succeed in the long run. Don\u2019t be afraid to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills, and work with your team to test out different business models and pricing structures.<\/p>\n
Reach out to your network to help make things happen. When customers become your advocates, your local community can have a much bigger impact than when you simply rely on yourself or your team to spread the word. Most importantly, absorb and learn from failure so you can make better decisions tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Thrivers are more willing to self-invent and express long-term positive sentiment despite visibly negative impact on growth and revenue.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-06-at-12.27.01.png\")
<\/p>\n
According to Xero\u2019s survey research, thrivers are also more likely to:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Employ between 5 and 19 employees, and have a turnover of more than $1 million<\/p>\n
\u25cf Belong to Gens Y and Z and be more open to digital or agile ways of working<\/p>\n
\u25cf Be less than a decade old as a business, and in the development, startup or expansion phase<\/p>\n
\u25cf Represent industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and wholesale trade<\/p>\n
Adapters are hoping to rebound soon, see change as a necessary force, and are still learning to build their resilience.<\/p>\n
According to Xero\u2019s research, adapters also more likely to:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Be investing in tech in the next six months<\/p>\n
\u25cf Be less than five years into the growth stage of the business<\/p>\n
\u25cf Represent industries such as finance and insurance<\/p>\n
The upside of investing in tech to make change possible<\/h2>\n
Businesses with a future focus saw the shift toward moving online, allowing employees to work remotely, digitising payment processes, and operating an online store as a natural way forward, according to\u00a0Xero\u2019s Rebuilding Australia report<\/a>\u00a0(which is informed by the wider survey research shared within this article, as well as ABS data and anonymised and aggregated customer data from\u00a0Xero Small Business Insights<\/a>). This year\u2019s global events have only fast-forwarded that process.<\/p>\n As you make some vital investment decisions in the next couple of months, here are some tips and considerations for where to put your money and efforts:<\/p>\n 1. Do put the customer first<\/strong><\/p>\n As you streamline your processes and introduce new equipment and software into your workplace, don\u2019t forget to think about how these changes will affect your customers and their purchase decisions. Remember to communicate any big changes to customers as early as possible, and seek regular feedback on how tech implementations improve the overall customer experience to stay on the right track.<\/p>\n 2. Do use cloud software to make working remotely a reality<\/strong><\/p>\n Businesses that thrive are more likely to use cloud accounting. Xero found that 71.9% of businesses that thrived during Covid-19 used cloud accounting. In contrast, only\u00a0<\/strong>42.7% of businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic used cloud accounting. Switching to the cloud offers flexible access, better collaboration, and improved business efficiency and scalability.<\/p>\n 3. Do invest in your people<\/strong><\/p>\n The faces behind your product or service can make all the difference. To keep your staff happy, engaged and motivated, invest in software that helps them be more efficient and innovative at work. Businesses that thrived during the early days of Covid said they wanted to invest not only in sales and marketing (46.2%), but also personnel and project management (30.2%).<\/p>\n Less than one in five businesses see their response to Covid-19 as short-term. All of which points to the fact that pivoting, in the current environment, should not be misunderstood as simply reacting to change. According to Xero, many small business owners struggled to make key business decisions, and instead relied on their gut instinct (50.7%) or assumed things would largely return to normal once Covid-19 had passed (26.1%). However, businesses that managed to thrive and adapt were much less likely to make that assumption. Instead, they invested in research, digital tools, agile consumer testing and business advisers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still unclear what a post-lockdown world will look like in the long term. Still, those who embrace positivity and opportunity will be able to find new customer markets, change the way they do business in a big way, prioritise personal and professional growth, and rebuild for a better customer experience.<\/p>\n As you adjust to your surroundings, it\u2019s OK to recognise that progress may not be smooth or perfect. It\u2019s entirely reasonable for there to be phases of rapid recovery and plateaux \u2013 especially as restrictions tighten and ease across the country.<\/p>\n If change is the only constant, then embracing it and learning how to adapt in response can lead to great things for Australian small businesses navigating the way forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Business growth is still possible in the face of uncertainty. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":28665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53],"tags":[99,1385,1941,2430,4369,893,4370],"class_list":["post-28660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-opinion","tag-ceo","tag-ceo-northam","tag-confidence","tag-disruption","tag-ingenuity","tag-resilience","tag-the-guardian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28660"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28666,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660\/revisions\/28666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/servidor-mxigen1.com\/ceona-antiguo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What does it really mean to \u2018pivot\u2019 your business?<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ceo-na.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-06-at-12.27.55.png\")
<\/p>\n