What a year it’s been for business! Unfortunately for many companies, it hasn’t been their best year because the Covid-19 pandemic has forced closures and shutdowns. However, with most Australian states starting to come out the other side, it’s time to focus on how to successfully restart your business.
Every business is different, and unfortunately, we can’t give you a one-size-fits-all guide. But these tips will certainly make it easier to bounce back stronger than ever.
Start the conversationPlanning for restarting your business is crucial
There’s nothing really new about needing to plan well in business. But now, it may be even more important than ever. Whatever the ‘new normal’ is for your business, it’s probably like nothing you’ve experienced before. So, in many ways, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. If you haven’t already, it’s time to get key stakeholders together and start mapping a way forward.
Are you dealing with a change in direction?
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw many businesses make adjustments to the way they work. For example, consider all those restaurants that moved to a delivery-only model. Depending on how your adjustments have worked, are you considering incorporating Covid-style operations when restarting your business?
If you are considering a change in direction for your business, there’s no better time to start switching things up.
Rome wasn’t re-built in a day!
While planning your next steps, it’s important to be realistic about your prospects. Some businesses may be lucky enough to get straight back to the profits they saw before. Some may even have a huge spike, especially if people have missed their services. But the reality is, after a long shutdown, it takes a while to get going again. Don’t get disheartened if customers aren’t flying through the door on day one, because your new normal may look a lot different to what you knew.
Will you keep those remote work specialists?
Have your staff become accustomed to working in their PJs all day? More importantly, has productivity been affected by their absence from the office? A lot of people have become remote work specialists in recent months, and they might be getting quite used to it. Now is the time to assess how well these flexible work conditions have worked for you, and whether you’d like it to continue.
A time to consider business process improvement
When business has slowed down, or even closed down completely, the silver lining is you’ve got a chance to make improvements. If you’ve lost staff along the way, a restart can be even more difficult. However, it might be the perfect time to speak to a business process optimisation specialist and see if you can find more efficiencies. When things are quiet, it’s the best time to try out some improvements.
Restarting your business with positivity
There’s no right or wrong way to do a restart. Furthermore, restarts may look very differently from industry to industry. But remember, it all starts with good planning. If you can start plotting out a way forward, there’s a great opportunity to come back bigger and better than ever.
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