The "silver linings playbook" phrase is used to tell someone that there is a brighter side to the problem they are facing. The phrase comes from the fact that, every dark rain cloud has a silver edge, or lining. The silver lining describes a good side of something that is apparently bad.
Could there be a silver lining to COVID-19? I believe there is.
I am not being insensitive to business owners that are struggling right now to cover their costs. I get it. It is tough right now.
I am sorry. But now is the time to take a breath and plan.
We all set goals in our personal lives: how much weight we want to lose, how much money we want to save, where we want our lives to be in five or 10 years.
But, when it comes to business, it turns out that we’re not nearly as goal-focused. Even though, as entrepreneurs, we’ve taken on big risks to start new businesses, the surprising truth is that we’re really not very good at goal setting at all.
What’s more surprising is how much of an impact setting goals and tracking your progress can have on your business. A study by Censuswide and Geckoboard looked at over 250 small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and the data exposed the secret to business success: setting growth targets and tracking your progress dramatically increases your chances of actually reaching your goals.
It turns out that one in 10 small businesses have no growth targets at all. And only one out of 10 small businesses that do have growth targets track those goals in real-time. These businesses that don’t set or track their goals tend to stay small: 77 percent of them report less than $100k in annual revenue.
In contrast, the businesses that do set goals and track progress are much more successful. Businesses that set and track their goals hit some of their goals 96 percent of the time and 41 percent hit all of their goals—that’s nearly twice as good as businesses that don’t regularly track their progress.
Just the simple act of setting a goal and then tracking your progress can have a remarkable impact on your business. Not only are you more likely to achieve your goals, but other research shows that you will actually grow faster—up to 30 percent faster—than a business that doesn’t set goals.
But what about now ... during a pandemic and a national shut-down?
You may want to consider a goal to create a "division" or portion of your business that can function during a pandemic-like event. Hopefully we will never see another event like COVID-19 again, but the truth is ... we likely will. Therefore consider adding a goal to work on to create and deliver a product / service that can be delivered virtually. Is there an on-line course you could create? Or a mobile version of what you do? The possibilities are endless - we just get stuck in our old way of doing things. COVID's gift is the opportunity to find a new way to do business or a new business altogether.
I offer free 30-minute strategy sessions if you want to brainstorm with someone. It might be profitable to do that with someone with my skillset.
Then you can get on to creating a goal and plan.
Here is the link to my online calendar - book your 30 minute strategy session now.
Stay well.
https://my.timetrade.com/book/RDTCS