I read this title in a blog post, in an unrelated industry, and it pretty much stopped me in my tracks. Nothing could be truer for virtually any business today. “The tide is officially out. Let’s build better boats.”

COVID has taught us a lot of lessons. Some we can recover and learn from- others might be harder. These are some of the things I have worked with my clients on as, together, we navigate these unchartered waters.

Building “better boats” means going back to the basics of what it takes to run a successful business. Most of us started our business with a passion for something and a willingness to work hard at it. We just didn’t always start with a well-thought out plan. Those basics are what could possibly be the thing that saves us. What does that mean?

• It’s having more than a cursory knowledge of our financials that tell us the health of our business.
• It is more than just cutting costs- and that is important- but it is about reevaluating our revenue and looking for new revenue streams to keep our businesses diversified.
• It’s taking the time to really listen to our customers and providing the products and services THEY want and not what we want to give them.
• It’s taking the time to invest in working ON our business and not just IN our business.

The tide is officially out, and most of us have no idea when it will come back in and what that will look like. What we do know is that there has never been a better time to take back the reins of our business. Build that better boat so that you can stay afloat in these unchartered waters.