Warning, Rant Ahead: Don't Listen if you are easily offended! We Need To Stop Doing This!

Ok, so I am possibly a little punchy from being locked up for so long so I need to warn you now, I am about to rant about something and it may offend some of you, if you offend easily now is your chance to bail!

Ok, for those of you still listening, it may only be me, here’s the thing...

I’m reading so many comments and posts about joinery business owners complaining the government has not done enough, or the loans offered are not a good enough offer, or that if their business fails during this crisis it will be the governments fault. There is so much help available right now that there is one thing that is “unprecedented”, the sheer amount of “rescue packages” and people offering their services to help

Lets be real honest, if your business is at a point right now where this crisis will be the final blow, the last straw, etc, there was a long lead up to this. The crisis did not create the position you are in now, It has just highlighted it and yes, made it worse faster, but it did not create it.

It has also highlighted the gaps, or missing pieces of the foundations in your business. Things like good financial reporting and controls, and great marketing strategy. So many people in this industry believe word of mouth is all they need, the problem is, if for any reason (i.e. covid) people stop talking about you, your leads dry up. But it was not covid that created that, it was a lack or a marketing system.

I know some people are hurting right now and some businesses may even be shut down because of this crisis. But this crisis, although larger than most crises, is still one of many a business owner will face in the time they are in business. The worst thing we can do is slip into a victim mentality because if you are in this mode, you are not finding a way to solve the problem.

Also, the worst thing we can do is believe there is nothing you can do about it. We are working with so many joinery businesses in various positions in business, from serious struggle town (but committed to getting fixing this), to many business owners and teams we’ve been working with for a few years now. The reality is this group is stabilizing their business and getting set-up for the wave of economic upswing we are about to encounter. They also know they need to recalibrate their business and thinking to this new reality, and pivot what and how they do things to align with a new emerging client that has new wants and needs. Same people, same clients, just new wants and needs, and if you do not adapt and change to meet these new wants and needs, you will lose them to other businesses that are doing a great job of recalibrating and pivoting to suit.

These are not scare tactics I am talking about, just the reality of the life we are in right now. Normally we have weeks to months to make changes like this, in this case it was overnight. But it has happened, and we are living in it, and no government or other external organization is going to fix the issues your business is facing, and they did not create it. They may help you, they may not, but this should not stop you from rolling up your sleeves and taking this opportunity to learn how to get to that ever illusive “next level”. The road to that goal starts with you learning how to navigate it, it’s a new route, and has some new tricks, but if others are doing it, there is no reason you cannot do the same.

In this episode

• Why we need to take charge of our business

• Stay out of victim mentality
• How to get the help we need