It may seem off base to think about growing your business in the middle of a global pandemic, but hear me out. Right now, we have an opportunity to dig deep into our businesses and transform them from the inside out. Weddings are postponed and we’ve got into a holding pattern with our clients, but we can still be using this time to book more clients for the future, reevaluate our systems, and tweak our workflows — all to come out stronger on the other side of this public health emergency.
This is an unprecedented chance for wedding professionals all across the industry to knock out those backburner tasks, get our ducks in a row, and start fresh when we return to “business as usual.” Of course, we will be faced with an onslaught of events when we get the green light to proceed. Whether it’s fall, winter, or in 2021, we’ll have to balance all of our postponed weddings with those that were already planned for that time.
Expect long work days, multi-event weeks, and an influx of cash flow that will ideally make up for all of this lost time. It will certainly balance out as we work through an industry-wide backlog of weddings, so we should start looking ahead to be prepared to accommodate this workload and, perhaps, put ourselves in a position to grow.
Growth looks different for everyone. It could mean expanding your team, launching a new product or service, opening a new storefront, or rebranding to reach a more profitable market. Regardless, growth will always cost you time and resources, so you must approach it with diligence to ensure you’re growing in the right direction and at the right time.
With that said, let’s take a look at the boxes you need to check before growing your business.
There’s never enough time.
If you’re constantly busy with new projects and partnerships that you could always use more time to revisit your social media strategy or respond to inquiries, it’s probably time to bring on some help. Employees, interns, and contractors are great investments because they’ll take the more tedious tasks off your plate, leaving you with extra space to address the priorities and even take some time to rest (yes, that’s possible!).
You’re turning down client requests.
If you’re regularly turning clients away when you wish you didn’t have to, it may be a sign that you need more help to accommodate their requests. In some cases, it may not be about capacity but about your offerings (or lack thereof). For example, if you’re a photographer who often loses opportunities to upsell albums when requested, it’s worth considering adding them to your offerings. Listen to your clients and, when it makes sense, think about branching out to expand your products and services to meet their needs.
Your business is solvent and efficient.
Growth is an incredible opportunity, but it can also be a disaster if your business is not prepared. If you’re already struggling to stay organized with five clients, hiring someone to expand your base to ten clients is not going to work out. Likewise, if you’re operating at a loss, it’s likely not a good time to risk launching a new product or hiring a new employee. Money troubles don’t go away with growth; instead, they also grow. It’s true: More money, more problems. Get your business situated financially and clean house of inefficient workflows before considering any avenue of growth.
If you have these boxes checked and the idea of growth resonates with you, start using this “downtime” throughout the pandemic to map out your game plan. Develop processes and timelines in advance; that way, you’ll be ready to hit the ground running when business picks back up.
Jennifer Taylor is the principal ofJen Taylor Consulting, a consulting firm that works with creative businesses of all sizes to implement streamlined workflows and organized systems to find more time and space for business growth and personal development. She is also the owner and founder ofTaylor’d Event Group, a leading event planning company that serves local and destination clients in Washington State and Maui, HI.