How to Survive a Crazy Year Without Panicking: 3 Steps to Business Survival in a Pandemic
In 2020, like most of us, I learned a lot about myself and the world and spent most of my time in isolation.
After Thanksgiving, I started looking for the silver lining in what most of us will attest to being one of the most difficult years in recent memory. My silver lining included important blessings and lessons, even as people were suffering and shuttering their businesses, losing friends and family members to COVID-19, and waking up every day to another surreal news cycle.
When the pandemic closures began, I was certain it would mean the end of The Valbrun Consulting Group. My business travel came to a screeching halt and most of our clients put my firm in a holding pattern, not being able to even plan a month ahead. Then schools closed, and the district leaders I mainly work with had new priorities: implementing virtual learning and addressing immediate student needs- from meals to technology.
I canceled scheduled plans and devised a new three-pronged strategy for resiliency, which may help other business owners do the same:
- Seek out and be responsive to new needs: In hindsight, I was silly to panic. As business owners, we must always be on the lookout for new opportunities, whether a pandemic is looming or not. The new opportunity for The Valbrun Consulting Group came on the heels of a global awakening for racial equity, sparked by the broadcasted murder of George Floyd. Calls and emails started coming in from clients, asking if I could provide support with their internal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-racism efforts. Other clients requested that we continue our work virtually. What new issue can you help clients tackle?
- Scale the technology learning curve: In those initial moments of panic, it did not immediately occur to me to switch my business model and start offering virtual support. If you had asked me if we could teach school virtually a year ago, I would have said “probably not.” Instead, many consulting and training models shifted quickly to new technology interfaces, such as ZOOM and Microsoft Teams, forcing us to scale a learning curve with surprising agility. Keep mastering your virtual abilities; they are valuable.
- Build connections with trusted partners – now: I discovered that am surrounded by people who will not let me starve. My network – my work family – is amazing. Mary-Frances Winters of The Winters Group immediately looked for ways to partner and find opportunities to share; Scott Joftus of FourPoint Education Partners and Steve Gering and I put our heads together and started to do webinars for district leaders to help plan for recovery and re-entry to schools. Tonya Kales, District Support Chief at University of Virginia, Darden School of Business gave me opportunities to virtually get in front of hundreds of district leaders, which turned into opportunities to help support their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-racism efforts. Doug Austin of UPD Consulting and I collaborated on several requests for proposals and had a few wins. Former collegues shared my contact information with friends. I received emails from a friend’s mother-in-law, who works in Human Resources, and a call from a person who had once seen me present years ago at a conference. Friends of friends shared my name with their networks. I realized the power of the people I surround myself with is a blessing. Do not ever stop building your “family” with reciprocal work and referrals.
We’ve all heard stories about start-ups and success stories in the middle of recessions, political upheavals and crazy obstacles. Most innovation is born out of necessity. But how do you innovate during a global pandemic? Seek, scale and build. 2021 is looking bright.
If your organization is seeking assistance with its Leadership Development, Strategic Planning, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-racism planning, please email us at info@valbrunconsulting.com, and we'll share how The Valbrun Consulting Group can help.