After a turbulent year for business owners around the globe, it's safe to say that most of us are looking forward to seeing how the easing of restrictions will bring back a sense of life as we knew it before the pandemic. However, Simon Ellson, Business Coach at ActionCOACH, predicts business owners may stumble if they get lost in the euphoria of a potential return to normality. Here are his top five mistakes businesses are likely to make.
1. Not knowing what the business needs to look like when it's finished – this is the chance for a new look at the business and its destination. Starting with the end in mind is a fabulous way to get more from yourself and your business.
2. No plan or map to navigate the business to the destination - when you have your vision of what the finish line looks like, how will you get there? Think about what steps you can put in place to reach each of these smaller milestones. Make sure all of this is written down and not just in your head.
3. Doing everything yourself because you want it done properly, or faster – take the time to share your new destination with your team as doing everything yourself isn't sustainable. If these tasks aren't your area of expertise, then advocate finding someone else. Think about hiring a local virtual assistant if you don't want to commit to full-time staff yet.
4. Never enough time to do everything so you work harder for more hours - wellbeing had been one of the most used words during the pandemic. Business owners will be tempted to work longer hours to get back on track and fulfil post-pandemic obligations for staff and customer safety and wellbeing. Here's the crux of it - if you as the business owner don't look after your own wellbeing, who will look after your business when your burn out?
5. Little or no lead generation so sales are low and revenue and profit poor – you may be worried about spending money on marketing having just gone through a lean time but now is the time to invest in recovery. Times and expectations have changed and your customers and prospective customers may have changed too.
Simon added, "focusing on business development is extremely important as we emerge from pandemic restrictions. Setting aside time to focus on your own development will always have positive effects, not just on you as the business owner but on your team too. Surrounding yourself with like-minded, motivational people is an incredible way to get yourself to the next step and see results. Immersive events such as Limitless are a great way to do this."