As a business owner, what should you be doing during inflation? Here’s the advice from the Inspire Results Business Coaches during this trying time.
Don’t bury your head in the sand. Instead of pretending business as usual, identify the problems that inflation is causing in your business then step up to the plate, be accountable for the challenges you and your team face. If you don’t act with purpose, with accountability, then you become a victim of the market trends and specific challenges faced by your business. As a victim, you’ll experience the full brunt of the negatives coming your way. Being accountable causes you to see the situation for what it is, own the circumstances, identify concrete actions that will mitigate the negative impact and then to aggressively execute those actions to keep your business, your employees and your customers as healthy as possible. (Reference “See, Own, Solve, Do” from the book Crucial Accountability)
Be transparent. Acknowledge the reality of the difficulties you face and get employees, suppliers, customers and any other stakeholders on board to work to identify solutions. Now is not the time to try to shoulder the whole burden yourself. Employees will not see you as weak but as a partner who is treating them like adults and considering their unique needs. This is how our business coaches coached our clients during COVID.
Get back to basics and do them well. Revisit your goals in light of the current time, make them SMART goals (Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Relevant-Timebound), break them down into quarterly, then monthly, then weekly goals, then rally everyone around those goals. Keep your team focused on concrete activities and small wins so there’s not time to worry about inflation-related things. Again, our business coaches advise focusing on the basics during troubling times.
Revisit your 4th quarter goals at the 1-day Growth Plan Workshop. Attend virtually or in-person, alone or with your team, and our business coaches will make sure you walk away with your company’s 4th quarter plan—and all on a single sheet of paper.
You’ll even spend time clarifying where you want to be in 10-30 years, your 3-5 year plan and your plan for next year. Again, all on 1 sheet of paper.
Join our business coaches and fellow business owners. The day includes the latest book discussion, work in small groups, and a nice hot lunch together.
Thur., Sept. 29, 9 – 3 pm
Holiday Inn Indianapolis Airport, 8555 Stansted Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46241
Cost: Early Bird in-person or online, just $297 until Sept 22. In-person or online after Sept 22, $397. At the door, $497. Registration required.
This is a great opportunity to step back for a day and do some planning for your people during this post pandemic time of inflation, think through the impacts on your business and your people, and regain that pre-pandemic confidence.