Does Your Business Have Any Of These Problems? Here's How To Address Them

This year has been a rough one for many businesses. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some have been forced to shut their doors for good, while others have managed to find ways to keep going — albeit with a skeleton staff and possibly some new products or services.

Regardless of how this year has gone for your business, now is an excellent time to assess what has gone well and what might need some tweaking as you move into 2021.

To facilitate this process, consider the following common business problems and solutions and ask yourself if any of them sound familiar.

You Have Lost Your Long-Term Vision

When you first started your company, you might have had a clear business plan in place. But now, as time has gone on and a global pandemic has reared its ugly head, you may feel like your company is floundering a bit and you have lost your focus on what you provide for your customers. To get back on track, Business advisor, Mario Peshev suggests striving to be innovative, working hard to attract new markets and customers and to stay on top of the latest product updates and trends. For example, remember when all large bookstores introduced tablet book reading devices — all of them but Borders bookstore? While Barnes and Noble and Amazon have done quite well, Borders has had to close its doors. 

Take an honest look at the products and services you offer, and if anything seems stale or stagnant, don’t be afraid to look into items the public is currently looking for and start providing your high-quality versions of them.

Your Work Schedule Is Too Rigid

You have always prided yourself on your well-thought-out and organized work schedule for your team that has every minute of each shift well-covered. The problem? Your employees are people, not robots, and they may appreciate and desire a more flexible schedule that allows them to get their work done, but maybe with more late nights, weekend hours, and split shifts. 

To help accomplish this goal, you might consider investing in workforce management software that allows people to access their schedules, thereby boosting their flexibility to accommodate their schedules and needs. This is especially important if some or all of your team members are working remotely; they can use the software remotely to adjust their hours as needed while remaining productive.

You Are Letting Fear Determine Your Decisions

This year, so many things have been uncertain that you may have a heightened fear of failure or losing your company. As Tony Robbins notes, by becoming too focused on these fears, you can set your company up for failure instead of thinking of what you need to do to be successful. Instead of giving in to your anxieties, decide today that your company will make it no matter what. Look to similar companies flourishing during the pandemic to see what they have done, and consider adopting some of their ideas if they are relevant for you. For instance, instead of trimming back your staff, embrace remote working or produce new supplies that are in high demand.

2021 Will Be Better Than Ever

Yes, this year will go down in the books for being hard on people and businesses alike. By being open to looking at what is going well with your company, however, and what needs some changing, you should enter 2021 stronger and more successful than ever.