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I have been founding, running, and selling businesses since 1996 and I reckon I have seen a crisis or two. Once again following Covid, a war in Europe, logistics and supply problems and the cost-of-living crisis, fear, uncertainty and doubt will be in the minds of many business owners.

Pre 2020 many business owners were in a reasonably happy place, getting some payback on the investment in their business in previous years.

For some the current situation represents the last straw, but it needn’t be. In fact no matter how you are feeling, with the right focus you can feel better. I know because I have been there and back.

Business success is reflected in your energy, last year that energy focused on happy times and payback but now is deflected into survival mode, frustration, and stress.

How you are feeling and how your team are feeling is a true barometer of where your business is right now.

There will be business owners who are thinking about shutting up shop. Maybe even trying to sell the business, despite the implications and stress that will have on the health and wellbeing of both owners and employees. The alternative is to reenergise and get back the feelings of excitement that got you started.

What is vital to remember is that you have in all probability done the heavy lifting to get your business where it is today. In order to judge whether it has the prerequisites to outlast the current crisis you can use these diagnostic exercises below.

Exercise 1

Score yourself on the list below with 1 meaning it’s not there and 5 meaning everything is in place.

  1. A solid product offering
  2. A track record of delighted customers
  3. A supporting culture that drives vision
  4. Competent employees
  5. Well-developed revenue systems that deliver today’s results

If you score anything less than 15 overall there is work to be done; over 15 and you have a solid platform to build on.

If you are scoring 20 + now is the time to focus on growth.

Exercise 2

Answer the following questions as honestly as you can.

  1. Is my business positioned correctly?
  2. How do I leverage my products for growth?
  3. What should my communication plan look like?
  4. Am I connecting with people?
  5. Are all my employees the right employees?
  6. How do I develop new channels to market?
  7. Can I squeeze more out of my current resources or do I need more resources?

If you don’t know the answers or you’re not sure then it may be best to engage with a Shirlaws coach. Helping business owners to fully answer these questions is what we do.

Alternatively if you want to learn how to coach within your organisation our Coaching Skills Masterclass could be right for you.

Investing in some help to see if you have these foundations for recovery and growth is a step in the right direction. Even if you decide to sell, recapturing the energy that got you into business means you will sell for an awful lot more. And you never know, you may rediscover the energy you had when you first began.

Shekhar Varma | Shirlaws Coach

Shekhar Varma | Shirlaws Coach

Shekhar coaches business owners who want to grow their business from lifestyle to scalable, with revenues of between £1M – £5M.

With 30 years’ experience working with, and in, all sizes of business, Shekhar is committed to finding the right strategy for each business and its unique challenges.

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