For many entrepreneurs and businesses this past year will have been the most challenging they have ever faced, and let’s face it, this is not over yet, so we still have many uncertainties ahead of us.
Back in March as lockdown began, I wrote an article in the Snowball newsletter (also found in our news section on the website) about planning and what was termed ‘After Quarantine Life’, i.e., what changes should be made after lockdown to business models, plans, cashflow etc. having had time to reflect and plan and keep agile.
Planning in the article focused on 7 areas which were:
– Financial Planning & Cashflow
– Business Model
– Team/Staff
– Products & Services
– Customers
– Operations
– Technology
We are now 8 months on from then and entrepreneurs are still continuing to need to adapt to things; some within their control but many things outside of their control. However, just because you can’t control them doesn’t mean you cannot plan. Resilience is certainly something entrepreneurs are getting used to!
There is a quote attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower that says ‘In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable’
Given the times we are in, I would say this is a pretty good strategy.
Any business which had produced a plan this time last year for 2020 would certainly not have had a global pandemic in as an assumption, and indeed any plan made back in March may not have included many of the events and requirements that have occurred since.
However, merely the act of planning would have made the business review all aspects and make it much more agile to take the ups and downs and the unknowns to come.
Entrepreneurs and businesses will no doubt need to show yet more resilience in the days, weeks and months ahead, so keep it up!!!