How to Create Business Opportunities from The Challenges of 2020

[vc_row type=”full_width_background” full_screen_row_position=”middle” bg_color=”#ffffff” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” top_padding=”7%” bottom_padding=”7%” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Its no secret that 2020 has been hard on all of us, and small businesses are the ones who have taken the majority of the hit. It’s commonplace, initially, for new companies to face challenges as they aim to build traction in their chosen industry. Small businesses (1-99 employees) are particularly vulnerable. The good news is, statistically across Canada, about 96% of them survive for one full year. A solid 85% survive for three years, and 70% survive for five. These same results, however, show that a total of ~7,000 businesses go bankrupt every year in Canada. After the last year we’ve seen, there’s no denying that these numbers will be drastically higher as we reflect on the 365 days that made up 2020. In today’s blog we are going to help you create business opportunities in 2021 from the pitfalls and challenges of 2020.[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][image_with_animation image_url=”6791″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]Would you agree with the following statement?

Regardless of marketplace stability, both my company and my team are set up for financial success through 2021 and beyond.

If you answered no – you aren’t alone.

Experts at Hubspot list the following 9 top trouble spots for small businesses:

• Finding Customers
• Increasing Brand Awareness
• Building an Email List
• Lead Generation
• Delighting Customers
• Hiring Talented People
• Managing Workflow
• Financial Planning
• Scaling

In our office, we see this list a little differently; we’ve come to learn that the challenges ALL businesses face, can be broken down into three areas: Time, Team and Money. The Carmella Crew has processes and skill sets that can assist your company with all three.

 

TIME

Whether we’re creating that email list, finding customers or managing workflow, time can be quite elusive to many. Most people get caught up working under demands where everything is urgent and because it’s “urgent”, it must be important, right? 

Wrong. [/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][divider line_type=”No Line”][image_with_animation image_url=”6790″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]Consider taking one workday to identify the tasks in your routine that are low-value, low-skill – these can all be delegated, automated, or eliminated. The tasks that can be labelled as high-skill, high-value, or even high-fun are the things that you should do more of. Take notes, make lists, and start to see change, and more importantly, progress.

TEAM

When it comes to creating a powerful team, hiring is crucial. After all, your team is the backbone of the business and the team is what gives you the leverage to make the business work for you, rather than just have you work for the business.There must be awareness around achieving clarity of purpose for the business that the team can easily follow. The mission then, is to isolate and articulate an answer to the question: What do we do on a day-to-day basis to make that vision a reality? Remember, people are the biggest cost to a business so it’s important to give them every chance to succeed. Take the time to build a team that supports you and each other, foster trust and when hiring external companies – apply the same rules.

 [/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][image_with_animation image_url=”6789″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]

MONEY

As the saying goes, money talks.

Lead generation, scaling and delighting customers, business owners and employees need to figure out what in the business is actually making money rather than just trying to service everyone who is requesting your service/product.

Ask yourself, which products or services are actually giving us the best margin? If we focus on doing more of that, and less low margin work, we’ll make more with less. And, this is what it’s really what it’s about: working smarter, not necessarily harder.

 

A Brief Story

A professor gave a balloon to every student and asked each individual to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it out in the hallway. The professors then mixed all the balloons. The students were then given five minutes to find their own balloon. Despite a hectic search, no one found their own balloon. At that point, the professor told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The professor said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness, we’ll be able to find ours too.”[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][image_with_animation image_url=”6788″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]Carmella Consulting strives to be an integral part of the business community of which we, ourselves, are a member. The story above demonstrates how we see our unified ability to help businesses of all sizes in mountain towns thrive. 

So whether your business is facing challenges in time, team or money (or all three) we are here to support your marketing efforts, your short and long-term goals and are always available to help coach you and your employees in the art of telling your brand’s story. Your happiness is our happiness, too.

Let’s get started together and create business opportunities for you in 2021 from the challenges of 2020![/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”60″][nectar_cta btn_style=”see-through” heading_tag=”h6″ text_color=”#7dd0df” link_type=”new_tab” alignment=”center” text=”The Carmella Crew would love to chat.” link_text=”Reach out today and learn more about how we can work together.” url=”https://carmellaconsulting.com/social-media-guide/”][divider line_type=”Small Line” line_alignment=”default” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” bg_color=”#ffffff” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][heading]What’s New at Carmella

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