We’re all in this together

Hey guys, The last few months have been a great time to be a business owner. But then, just like riding a roller coaster, you hit that spot you didn’t see coming and you weren’t expecting.

And all of a sudden, you want off this ride. But that’s not an option yet. Just like the roller coaster ride, you have to wait till you reach the end of the ride to get off.I’m not trying to make light of all that’s taking place around us. The virus is serious. People are sick and dying. The news media is telling us everything (and more) that we need to know and do. I’ll leave it to them to keep you informed how bad things are.And you know all those things that companies are telling you in their emails about all the stuff they are doing to protect you and their employees? We’re doing that also. And I’m sure you are too.But we still have a business to run. We have mouths at home to feed. We have employees, clients and customers to take care of.

And as a business owner, we can respond one of two ways.

We can go on the defensive. We can hunker down, send everyone home, watch our spending, don’t advertise and promote and hope we’ll still be in business when this is all over.Or we can go on the offensive. We can look for opportunities to do business in new ways. We rally our team. We help and encourage one another. We support each other and the local businesses around us.One of these ways puts you in control while the other forces you to be a passive observer. In the end, neither may work. But one allows you to lay your head down at night knowing you did everything possible. The other leaves you whining and asking for someone else to fix your problem.

Look, I know it won’t be easy. There’s three of us in our office. Over the last 8 months we’ve had an SUV drive through our building and destroy thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The driver had no license or insurance and it took 6 months to complete repairs. We had to clean, move equipment, rebuild, endure no A/C in the summer and the cold when winter set in and we had to learn to do business differently.

Mid way through this, we changed our business model and moved to a new location. We had to remodel the space, move in, and adjust to new equipment and layout.

But we did it. And we will survive this latest challenge. And you can too.

Starting Monday, March 23, we’re going to start sending some quick and easy marketing tips to our friends, clients and business owners. None of them will be difficult and most will be little or no cost to implement. They will be ways for you to keep your business name out in front of your clients and prospects.

I’d love to hear how you’re adapting to the new normal. Let me give a couple of recent changes we’ve heard and seen from a couple of our clients:

Smiling Toad Brewery – these guys had moved to a new location and had reopened less than 2 weeks ago after a 9-month closing for remodeling. Then earlier this week, word came down that they would need to close for 30 days. Biff and the guys have been brewing and had beer ready to go. So now, they will be selling crowlers to go. Plus, they’ve arranged to have a food truck each night so you can pick up dinner.

Heart of the Springs Church – How do you hold church when you can’t? You put it online. They’ve had their services online for a while but mainly used by those that couldn’t get out. But now they’re adapting it knowing no one can come and letting the entire church know the options for being a part of the online service. On Sunday morning the worship team will lead in song and the pastor will preach to an empty sanctuary while providing an opportunity for all to be a part of the online service. 

How are you adapting to the new normal? We’d love to hear and we’ll share it with others with your permission. How can we help you? Need to do some brainstorming? Need help with some ideas? Give us a call, we’d love to chat. And if you need to get out, come on by. The Keurig is always on. I promise we’ll clean and sanitize the place before and after each visitor.

 We’re all in this together,
Randy

PS: Watch out for phishing emails during these times. There’s a lot of bad people trying to take advantage of this situation.PSS: And if you’re just not up for this, we can send you cute cat videos to take your mind off things.