Business post brexit
It seems to me that newscasters are using more and more of the sports-related language of late: we need to stretch ourselves, reach higher, go farther, make that jump. It’s like being in a gym.
The advantage of joining an exercise routine is that you are aware of how many repetitions of the clench-release you face and can pace yourself, ensuring that you will last. Currently, businesses do not have that luxury of knowing how many restriction changes they will be up against.
We have less than a week of a warning in some regions before the doors can open or need to shut again. It adds to the tension of our personal lives, and overwhelm is looming. The news of a vaccine brings some hope, and the tone is more positive, but it also introduces more unknowns. What is life after the vaccine going to be like? Medical professionals, commentators, and politicians turn to diplomatic non-descriptors when asked about the future, working hard not to divulge any factual information. They cannot because they do not know themselves.
And there is another change coming next year, one that took the second stage to all the Covid-19 news, but Brexit is still happening.
‘It makes it impossible for businesses to plan.’ ‘Rules are changing so rapidly that businesses are forced into reactive mode.’ ‘Entrepreneurs are put in the passenger seat when it comes to rulemaking. ‘
These are the news channel’s comments. How can any business stand it? And yet, this is our reality. The choice now is to face it or crumble.
If you choose to brave it, the question of what exactly ‘it’ is, returns, as our business reality is in flux. It is tiring, irritating, impossible to plan for – and yet prepare we must.
To protect our mental health and the health of our business, we need to focus on what we have control over. Your region may be moving up and down between the various restriction tiers. When and into which your locality may be assigned to, you have no control over (apart from staying safe and keeping others protected). But we can focus on the internal aspect.
Where
Where can we diversify
Where can we send our products
Where can we market
When
When we are free to roam again, we can do…
When harsher restrictions are reintroduced again, we can do…
Who
Who can I rely on
Who can support my marketing, business development, pivot
As the saying goes, like all things, this too shall pass. So what then? It is not going to be as it was before. People’s buying habits have changed already, and that transformation is only going to be consolidated by the extended periods of isolation. Supply chains have been disrupted. Even when the vaccine enters the market, the recovery will take some time – it is likely to take longer than anyone expects. So we need a recovery plan for our businesses as well. There’s going to be no government bailout available to all, no grant to restore all the companies and boost the ones that still exist. But not all ability is taken out of our hands. We still have the capacity for action.
No, it’s not going to be perfect – we cannot possibly plan for every capacity and obstacle. But when we know our resources and have worked out a few possible routes, we create our own support, allowing us to act in the face of adversity. This is what to me means ‘making yourself ready’.
P.S. Speaking of action, if you’d like to discuss your (recovery) action plan, with actionable points relevant to your situation, please send me a PM.
