Australia is a small business nation as 97 per cent of all Australian businesses are considered small to medium enterprises. These past few years haven’t been kind to small businesses. But despite the hard times, it was having a resilience strategy that helped my business, Fantastic Framing, grow by 70 per cent YOY and build my rapport with my clients and overall client base.
The resilience a business shows has been the defining factor between those that succeed and those that fail. But resilience looks different for every business and every business owner.
Whether it is pivoting your business – as most businesses did during the pandemic – or sourcing funding, all of these barriers come with risk and long working hours with no promise of reward.
Here are a few ways small-business owners can build up their resilience to benefit their business.
Be tuned in and lean into agility
Your superpower is your ability to adapt and innovate quickly. When setbacks arise unexpectedly, don’t let it hold you down because due to your nimble nature, you can quickly shift your priorities as long as you’re tuned into the happenings in your business.
Creating an accountability culture
It’s important to encourage behaviours that cultivate an “accountability” culture. Talking about being resilient and actually doing it are two different things. For instance, talking openly with your team about what keeps them motivated, in-tuned, and accountable creates transparency and breads open communication. All important ingredients to a resilient team.
Accept the things you cannot change and have the courage to change the things you can
Being resilient isn’t equal to perseverance. To keep your business innovating, small businesses need to be centered in their vision so when things aren’t working they can accept the learning lesson, digest it and have the courage to deep dive into the problem to find the solution. The key is to focus on the things you can change versus focusing on the things you can’t.
Prioritise a work-life balance
As a small-business owner, your budgets and limitations are lean therefore you’re probably wearing many hats. An engine can’t run on empty fumes just as a business can’t run on a run-down business owner. Burnout is one of the top killers for a business. Having a small business allows you the flexibility to build that into your schedule. Having rest allows you to see the business with fresh eyes and keeps you sharp and creative.
Create monthly benchmarks or goals and check in with them regularly
Building monthly KPI benchmarks creates structure to your operation and generates measurable outcomes. Checking in on them at the end or beginning of the month provides you clariety on your business priorities, accomplishments, or ways of optimisation you can bring forward into your next month. It helps mitigate misinformation and keeps you moving forward.
Keep tight to your margins
As a small business, you’re probably already running on lean margins therefore it’s imperative to stick to them and check on them regularly. The discipline of maintaining them will be a key success factor. Build a financial reserve or alternatively ensure you have credit to lean on during periods of low cashflow. Secondly, time is money for a small business. If possible, get support where you can so you can focus on things only you can focus on.
