It’s so easy to become mentally unravelled when the economy takes a turn for the worse no matter your position in the company. We worry about our financial situation, customers, home, staff, and suppliers, how can we keep the plates spinning?  One thing is for sure if you do not remain focused and calm those plates will fall. In recent years the support available for mental wellness has grown, from online courses to meditation, mindfulness apps to health and nutrition experts.

Imagine yourself on the motorway in a traffic queue, from the driver’s angle you can’t see too far ahead. You get out of the car and you can see there is a long, long queue but you still have no idea what’s going on.  You listen the news which tells you a bit more, maybe even watch the news on your phone. However, if you were presented with the chance to get into a helicopter and get above it all you can then really appreciate the bigger picture, the accident causing the havoc, possible exits off and better time appreciation. That’s where you need to be – in that helicopter seeing the road ahead, planning your next move.

Regardless of where your business is at your hard-won-over customers remain King (and Queen), so keep your eyes on the prize. Your regular customers want what you sell or provide but probably know your competitors better than you do. Listen to what they are telling you, by their shopping habits, social media, customer surveys, feedback opportunities or simply a cheery word or two at the till. People buy from people, if the relationship is not tended to from the top down, don’t expect your staff to care either.

Think about creating focus groups to really hone in on your customer’s expectations and desires, concerns and future needs. What price points will they wobble at, are your customers more concerned about the price of the environmental aspect? If price, can you match prices from competitors and encourage dialogue to at least allow you to quote?  Read your sector’s publications, what are the trends, these may create new opportunities later.  Where are your customers going to read all about your type of product/service? Can you become an influencer in your field? Do not rest on your laurels, there is always someone out there ready to take your valued prize from you with a far better offer. Seek out business support constantly.

Make sure your personal finances are separated from your business finances no matter what type of business you run and live within your means. Set yourself weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual targets for spend and income. Having something like a target board also encourages you and even staff to join in – do reward them for their hard work when you do achieve the targets though! Check your cash flow against your outgoings, can you get better offers from your suppliers including utility companies, loans and card processors? Where is your next customer coming from, what do they look like, where will they get to know about you?

Tackle the debt in your business, allow for inflation in your budget and don’t take any more debt on, call in your debtors. No one can plan in times of crisis but you can save for the rainy day whilst you have a decent income coming in. If you are not savvy with bookkeeping, get savvy, there is absolutely no excuse for a business owner not to have control over their own business finances. If you do need help to guide you go and get it, you will not regret it. Even billionaires have advisors!  There are sufficient books and YouTube videos out there on this subject, events and mentors aplenty offering advice. Can you sell online any extra products? If your business did fail, what is plan B and how much have you set aside?

Networking with your peers can not only lead to partnerships and profits you’d never even imagined, they say a problem shared is a problem halved. Networking also provides reassurance that you are not in this situation alone. Many business owners will be feeling as concerned and nervous.

Together air your concerns about footfall in town centres to your local Council, and create events to increase footfall in your shop, which has a positive knock-on effect for your neighbour, your street and your town. Share your experience and expertise, why not join Wyred Up, Wyre’s local business networking group?

Many businesses found out during the pandemic, remaining agile was vital for survivability whether this was a restaurant closing for table service and opening for takeout, a shop owner rapidly learning how to sell online, to cash is king, cards are smarter when it came to handling payments and customer concerns.  Technology did not stop because of the pandemic nor will it through any recession, so keeping an eye on your sector’s news and publications might be an idea.

If you are reluctant to become tech-savvy, think of this, your competition is not. Remaining open-minded to receiving ideas and learning new things is key to an enjoyable life and success in business.  Listening to staff and customers is vital, they may have ideas you’ve not contemplated and might serve you well. Weigh up the pro’s and con’s as well as the financial risks of any new idea before you act on them, treat them as a project and don’t be afraid to call time or change direction if a project’s progress is not proving beneficial to the business.  Don’t pop all your eggs into one basket when it comes to your business, if you can, reduce the focus on one area to a range of diversified income sources, but not so many as to detract from your core strategy.