This is why we will survive this crisis! Heart-to-Heart
This is my first entry for a blog series, and as my grandpa used to day, I’m coming at your from the heart. This crisis has shook my world. I have only been able to recall one other recession in my adult life, and in all honesty I was insulated. At the time of the last crisis, I was fortunate to work for a private equity firm whose investments were not as affected as the rest of the world. While I saw the tragic stories in the news, I did not directly have to preform the same level of crisis management as I am working through now.
This week, for the first time, there was a part of me that wanted to just give up but I kept hearing one mantra in my head, f**k no, I’m not giving up that easy. I will do what I always do, learn, study, analyze, problem solve, and do whatever it takes figure it out.
This crisis has already taught me not to rest on laurels when business is going well. Almost anyone can be successful when times are good but this crisis has exposed my most vulnerable areas. Just as Warren Buffett said “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Well lowkey, I may not be naked but I’m definitely in a string bikini. I built this business on referrals and had zero marketing plan. While this was my 2020 project to focus on this core area of my business, I was’t there yet. I generally spend most of my time working behind the scenes to develop and learn new ways to help our current clients. This unbalanced focus on passion / pleasure work gave me instant gratification, but it harbored neglect in other areas that should have been focused on growth efforts.
After deliberation and quite a few thought exercises I know what I need to do. I will focus on the three areas listed below and I will do what it take to figure this out.
1. Hone in on what drives us and our passions.
2. Laser focus on marketing to drive sales.
3. Do an entire checkup on company health to see if any other areas are not as strong as they should be.
This mind shift and list of clarity/ action items has me focused and energized. I thank all of you who have trusted me and support me through this time. It is wonderful to have a community such as this and could not be more grateful. I am also so grateful for my health. I pray everyday that the people who are sick are able to have the support they need from community and loved ones.