Surviving Covid19 – My 10 Step Business Survival Mantras

Apologies for adding another blog to the hundreds out there about Covid19, we’re all both sick of it and addicted to it at the same time right?

This is an unprecedented time and feels like we’ve all gone to war, which I suppose we have really.

And like war, it’s very frightening, everything changes, fear is rampant and the unknown makes it impossible to plan the future.

So I just wanted to share an email I sent my clients this week with thoughts I’ve had about what I’m going to do to get through this and come out on top, in the hope that maybe it will help you too.

This is what I’m telling myself – a 10 point mantra for surviving Covid19 :

Get my fear in check.
1. Have faith. I feel my faith (in a greater power, myself, the universe… I’m not really sure which) is being called upon and I have to trust that it is all going to be OK.
2. Have courage. I feel frightened, but I know I am strong and I will get through this, as will my family, my friends, my clients and my colleagues.
3. Be vulnerable. It’s OK to be scared and it’s OK to admit that I don’t always understand what’s going on or how to help myself or others fully but I’ll keep communicating, keep sharing and I’ll be OK.
4. Take comfort from the fact that we are all in the same boat – the financial system has broken and the domino effect impacts everyone – businesses, investors, employers, employees – everyone – I’m not alone.

Add value 
5. Look at the situation, what is happening, what do people need and how can I best take what I have to offer to help the most?  Think help not panic.
6. Don’t worry about the money, focus on adding value and coming from an authentic position of helping others first.
7. Trust that if I add value and help others, everything else will look after itself.

Look after people
8. That’s my family, my friends and my clients (all of who are like family and friends to me anyway), my tenants, my neighbours, my community… I’m going to embrace the humanity in this situation and throw myself into this with compassion and a sense of humour too.

Look after my brand
9. That’s my business brand and my personal brand- How I behave during this time will say a lot about me and my business.

Be creative
10. Now’s the time to re-invent myself and harness my creativity to see what’s possible and come out with a new way of looking things that’s better than before.

I’m here for you…

As part of this plan for me I want to be here for you in every way I can. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen (some virus just stole my crystal ball), but I have a great brain, I’m creative, I’m smart, I know some stuff about business and I’m full of hope and optimism… I’m a great ear in a crisis too!

I know at the moment you’ll be in full survival mode, dealing with the very real issues of people, financial fall out, and feelings of overwhelm as you try to get these things done as wisely as you can. I hope you have good financial and HR support around you – if not, please reach out to me and I’ll either help you myself or get you the help you need.  Contact me any time!

Once this in place, I’m here to help you work on the courage, the creativity and the re-invention.  So please, please, please call on me.  I think this is the time for short zoom meetings – as often as you want.  I’ll be creating a calendar link for business owners to work with me on creative approaches to work on the re-invention coming out of this. If you are keen to be included in this, just email me laura@liber8u.com.

If you can afford to pay me that’s awesome, I appreciate it with big gratitude. If you can’t, that’s fine too. We can talk about that after it’s all over. You can pay me when you start making loads of money again (and I know you will!).

Let’s make this crisis into something we can be proud of.

Keep in touch… I’m here!

Kia kaha!

Roaring out of a recession – Learn what the 9% of Post Recession Winners did right

How to be a post-recession winner …

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who woke up on Monday morning with no small amount of fear in my belly about what’s coming next, right?

A pandemic that closes entire countries is frightening enough. And now we are heading into a recession of unknown proportions too. It’s bloody scary for everyone. As business owners we really do feel like we’ve walked into a scene from Alice in Wonderland, where everything is surreal and nothing is the same as it was only a moment ago.

So what do we do?

How do we survive a recession, and come out the other end stronger than ever?

I have some of my own opinions – but this morning as I sat in bed not sure I really wanted to face this week, my opinions didn’t seem enough. I wanted to find out more about companies that had not only successfully survived a recession, but also come out the other side on top.

So I started to google…

And an hour and a half later, still in my pyjamas, I found this article in Harvard Business Review … which I think is the best article of all about how to survive a recession because it’s research based (following 4,700 companies through three recessions), not opinion based.

Do you want to know what the 9% of companies who absolutely flourish after a recession do?

Read this article – click here – to find out.

And then commit to being a “post-recession winner”.

“The companies most likely to outperform their competitors after a recession are pragmatic as William James defined the term: “The attitude of looking away from first things, principles, ‘categories,’ supposed necessities; and of looking towards last things, fruits, consequences, facts.” The CEOs of pragmatic companies recognize that cost cutting is necessary to survive a recession, that investment is equally essential to spur growth, and that they must manage both at the same time if their companies are to emerge as post-recession leaders.”

This is a time to call upon wisdom not panic.  To be pragmatic not too defensive or aggressive. Can this be you?

This morning I made a commitment to be the most useful that I can possibly be to business owners through what will no doubt be a roller coaster  ride of scream worthy proportions for many of us.  So I’m going to continue to explore and share winning strategies and tactics, and create content to inspire and cheer, as well as empathise.  I want to help you be a pragmatic leader that sees opportunity in the chaos.

If you’d like to hear more from me and be part of the wisdom not panic tribe… feel free to email me laura@liber8u.com and tell me what support you could really do with right now.

Let’s keep positive and stay together through this!

Posted in All

Advisory Board Tip Series 2 – Why have an advisory board?

Why should you have an Advisory Board?

Good question. And an important one to know the answer to before you to go to the trouble and expense of forming one!

Bring back the joy!

An Advisory Board is there to help you grow more efficiently and with more confidence. They’re there to encourage you, to challenge you, to support you and bring more joy back into your business.

Get the support you need.

Growing a business by yourself can be quite hard. When you have an Advisory Board who care passionately about your business and want you to succeed, it should be an uplifting experience.

You just don’t know what you don’t know!

It’s naive of a business owner to be arrogant enough to think that they know everything.  The whole purpose – the why – of having an Advisory Board is that they will challenge your thinking and bring a perspective you hadn’t thought of before. And they will bring experience that you haven’t yet had, particularly in your industry or part of the growth plan you are trying to achieve.

A worthwhile investment

In my first business I invested $24,000 per annum in two external advisors – in my second year of business, that was all my profit! But it was the best decision I ever made. They gave me the confidence and encouragement to grow, they were there when times were tough and they never stopped believing in me.  Don’t underestimate the return on investment of paying for good external advice.

If you’d like to know more about how an Advisory Board could work for you… feel free to email me laura@liber8u.com

Happy growing!

Posted in All