Do you think your business needs to be agile all the time?
If your business can move quickly and change fast you will be able to survive a crisis. I’ve done it myself over at Inspire To Thrive with training courses online and watched a few other local businesses do it very well in the past several years.
But unfortunately, other businesses have not been agile to survive different crisis. Between the pandemic, high inflation, and economic conditions, there has been one crisis after another for businesses to bear.
Therefore, I wanted to share these tips to help your business survive any crisis in the future.
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Agile Business Meaning
One example I have is a local greenhouse with small food items and locally grown produce. I have frequented them over the years and watched them change from time to time each year.
In the Fall they do great Halloween events and fun things for the kids to do. The cars are lined up for miles to get in. Last September, I took my granddaughter to a fair there.
She got to go on rides and pet the farm animals. It was a memorable event.
We picked out sunflowers and pumpkins for Halloween decorating. It was a hot day in September and the place was packed with people as we left around mid-day.
That’s a great example above of how a smaller-sized business can change with the times. They added to their business with events instead of just selling products.
Another Fabulous Agile Business Example
I remember as a kid, a local market that we used to go to after church on Sundays called Roch’s Fruit and Vegetables. Years later they built a grocery store and expanded into the Rhode Island area.
Since those early days, they began selling fresh fruit baskets and food online.
When this crisis hit, they completely revamped once again. I used their food delivery service last week and was blown away by their customer support and delivery.
Roch’s has since been wildly busy as the state included them in their special services during this pandemic.
📣Rhode Island, if you need access to food but are #stayinghome to #SaveLives , visit https://t.co/kf2tuRVClt for a list of #RI restaurants, grocers, markets, meal programs, and more that will deliver right to your door! #COVID19 #RIDelivers pic.twitter.com/tSVhursa6q
— HealthSource RI (@HealthSourceRI) April 2, 2020
What Happens When You Are Not Agile in a Crisis
A bad example is the old Ann and Hope Department store. They were around before Walmart. Sam Walton came to Rhode Island to learn how Ann and Hope did what they did in their hay days of retailing. (Back in the 1950s.)
Over the years this store changed to the Bath and Curtain Outlet. I loved the store and the Garden Center next door. But I was sad to learn this store did not change quickly enough for the crisis.My father-in-law asked me at that time, about going there for plants and I wondered if they were still open. I found this answer on their website:
Sadly, the Curtain Bath Outlet and Garden Center did NOT survive. All of their locations closed in June 2020. Learn from this important lesson!
Be Ready to Change as Your Business Needs to be Agile
What does it mean to be ready to change?
Learn the latest technologies so you can go from teaching a class in person to teach with a webinar as I have done. I would have lost a lot of business if I had not done that.
Other businesses may need to get their websites ready for an influx of orders when the market demands it.
Have extra people you can turn to, to make these things happen quickly for you and your business.
Others may need to have themselves and employees work from home. Are you set up for that? If not, why not, and when?
Keep on Learning New Things for Your Agile Business
There is always something new coming up. Things, people, processes, and technology change every day. Be ready to be part of that change quickly.
Recently I taught an 87-year-old man how to do a webinar. I’ve taught others in the ’70s how to Zoom and FaceTime.
The more I learn the more I realize I need to learn, it’s a vicious never-ending cycle of learning.
But that’s how you can keep your business moving forward, sideways or upside down if you need to during a crisis. That’s why your business needs to be agile more than ever before.
An agile business is one that will stay in business.
Changes Happen Even if There Are No Crises
It’s not only during a crisis that businesses change. I saw that back in the newspaper industry. The industry could not keep up with what was happening online. They are still struggling with that as more news is all online.
Don’t let that happen to your business. Look forward, plan ahead, and keep on learning and marketing your business. You never know when the next crisis will hit and what it can do to your business.
The next one could be hyperinflation or having the whole internet go down. Then what?
Your Turn On Businesses Needs To Be Agile Today
What are you doing today to help your business needs to be agile? How are you doing with crises and keeping up with things as they change and evolve?
I’d love to know in the comments below how your business needs to be agile.
Lisa: Could you get a bagel at Boar’s Head? I think I recognize the name from Troy, Ohio. It was one of first experiences of great customer service, that I haven’t been used to from Scandinavia. 😉
That’s a good question Martin 🙂 I will have to check your quote out on that one. Thanks for coming by here Martin and have a great day. Stay healthy and be safe.