Tips to keep moving forward when faced with uncertainty
I am an optimist and believe that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind too. I’m also a realist and know that I am not capable of accomplishing everything that comes into my head. As an optimist, I know I can grow my business, help many business owners, and earn money to take vacations to places on my bucket list. As a realist, I know I will not become an astronaut and travel to the moon.
As we read, listen and watch the news, it can be challenging to remain an optimist. It is easy for business owners to throw optimism and even realism out the window when every article, podcast, and news-feed is filled with discussion about the current recession and slow down. We read about daily layoffs at big tech companies as well as record employment levels, growing inflation and rising interest rates to keep things from going too far into a recession. Economists do not fully understand what is happening and consumers are still spending. Headlines about uncertainty and the impossible task of planning in these conditions dominate business articles.
There is much to be concerned about, but it does not mean that nothing will be achieved in the coming year, and we should abandon all aspirations of forward progress. Truth is we never know what is going to happen. We all had great plans, ambitions and goals in January 2020 and the pandemic proved to us that all the planning in the world does not prevent a sudden shift into uncertainty.
With the year ahead of us, filled with uncertainty, it is important to continue moving forward. Goals can be achieved. Progress can be attained. Success will be realized. It may require shifting your perspective and a dose of realism, but it can happen. These four tips will help you maintain forward progress.
Be realistic about your goals for the year. This is not the year to set aggressive growth objectives. If your clients are contracting how much of your services they need, set your goals at sustaining levels versus growth. There is no hard and fast rule that you must achieve 30% growth each year. Be realistic with what you can achieve and use that as your goal for the year. If you exceed your goal, great. But do not set yourself up for failure by pushing for significant growth when the opportunities are not available.
Determine who needs your services most. Evaluate your services in the context of clients tightening belts and being more cautious about how they spend their money. Who will benefit most from what you have to offer during this period of uncertainty? Perhaps there is a new target for your product or services based on where people are willing and needing to spend. If your IT services have been focused on larger entities with constant needs, now may be the time to offer a small business service knowing that IT needs do not disappear during a downturn. As things slow, you can pursue other avenues that you may not have been able to service previously.
Identify what makes you unique in a downturn. Every service has value even in down times. If you are a mortgage broker, you are not likely to complete as many mortgages when interest rates are high, but homes are still being bought and need mortgages. Determine why you are the best company, during this recession, for your product or service. How can you help your clients best during a downturn? Knowing what makes you valuable when things are tight will help you market and sell to those that still need what you offer.
Don’t put your head in the sand. It is easy to assume that if you keep your head down and deliver to your clients everything will turn out okay. This is where realism is critical. You need to pull your head out of the sand, deliver to your clients and spend time looking around, seeing what is happening in the marketplace, and generating ideas for how your business can make an impact.
There is so much about the economy that we do not know and so much that could change over the coming months. We do know that businesses are still hiring. People are still spending. Businesses and people still need products and services, including the type you offer. Using these tips will help you maintain forward progress and ultimately be positioned to achieve great growth as things shift back into growth mode.