The year is halfway over, and this year has been a unique one! There have been many changes in the world around us, and many developments that have affected businesses all over the planet.
Because of these significant changes, it may be tempting to write off the first half of 2020 and carry on with the year as if the time between January and June did not happen.
We believe doing so would be a mistake.
While it may be difficult to look back, there are lessons to be learned from 2020 that you need to consider. However, it can feel incredibly chaotic to simply do a standard 6-month review of your company. Your metrics may have completely shifted, the way you do business has likely changed, and your company structure may have altered. There is no apples-to-apples comparison between this year and any previous year you have had.
With this in mind, we are providing a “how-to” article to help guide you as you look back at the year so far - and plan for the year ahead.
How to Review 2020
We are halfway through the year. Typically right now, you would be doing a quarterly or semi-annual review. During an average year, you likely would not be considering how to review the past six months; you would just get on with it.
However, 2020 has been a significant year both in history and for businesses. The economy has changed substantially and we have mainly moved our business interactions online.
With all of this in mind, we wanted to share how we view unique years, and how we advise our clients to move forward and grow even as the economy slows.
Give your statistics context
At Business Success Consulting Group, we work off of hard data, and we advise our clients to do the same. The facts we use are metrics and statistics, numbers that monitor production, sales, income, and more. These metrics can be used for many judgments such as showing whether a marketing campaign worked or to indicate if a reorganization is making a company more efficient.
However, with so many businesses restructuring and changing to survive through the pandemic, these numbers may seem quite useless.
That is not so. All that is needed is for you to review the statistics and give them context.
For example, label the point on your graph at which lockdown occurred. Then take note of the changes you implemented. Did you create work-from-home systems? Did you update workflow to comply with regulations? Did production have to pivot to be completely remote?
While all of these factors may have been a challenge, it is important to give your statistics context so that every change makes sense. In this way, you can discover if one thing you did was more effective than another. You may actually find that you made a business adjustment that you want to continue to keep in place - even when other businesses return to “business-as-usual.”
This leads to the next point:
Examine what worked and what didn’t
You likely made changes to your business in reaction to lockdown measures or pandemic regulations. What modifications benefitted your business, and what did not?
Once you have this defined, it would also be useful to understand if any of the modifications that did not work well can be made to work more efficiently - or if they should be completely scrapped.
Create goals you can control
A biannual business review is a time to both reflect on the months that have passed and to look at the future. This can be difficult to do when things seem uncertain. That is why it is important to think about what you can control.
What business goals can you set for which you can plan? Perhaps you can implement more organizational structures, or launch a new product. Maybe the rest of 2020 should be spent reinforcing the lessons learned from the first half of the year.
There are many ways you can plan for success during the second half of 2020.
Reinforce organizational processes and procedures
If you have changed the way you deliver your products or services, then you must update your processes and procedures to reflect the changes made. However, it is vital that you first review what alterations have been successful, which need work, and what parts of your company can return to normal.
Finally, even if you have not made a change to your business, it is still important to take time each year to review your processes and procedures. Consider what changes need to be made, what can remain the same, and what improvements should be in place.
Collaborate with other business owners
You likely have fellow business owners and mentors with whom you can discuss issues. Now is a great time to get into collaboration with these businesses. Talk to your peers about networking, creating a better work environment, and supporting one another during this time.
We have seen small collaborations already. For example, various businesses on one block used the same scheduling software to welcome new customers, making it simple to shop even during the lockdown.
You may be able to organize more extensive collaborations, from an online convention to an online “take your child to work day” where the lectures and entertainment are shared between companies. Your fellow business owners may work with you to form a team of donors or volunteers for a worthy charity, boosting public relations for all involved.
There are many ways you and your fellow business owners can benefit from a collaboration. Get in touch with your peers and see what you come up with!
Finally, we hope you will collaborate with us here at Business Success Consulting Group. We are here to help your company grow during every economic situation.
Contact us today and let’s get started with a no-cost initial consultation.
