Times are tough – there’s no doubt about it. Everyone is going to feel the punch by the COVID 19 monster and our Wedding and Events Industry is no different. Weddings are either being cancelled or postponed to a later date. Unfortunate fact is that none of us know how long this situation will last. We can either go out of business or laser focus like never before and come out of this with dignity – the choice will be ours to make… there is no right or wrong but it’s the time to pivot and make some serious decisions.
Following piece of advice is divided into two parts. First part talks about non-negotiables. These are three tips that you should definitely implement right away and maintain till things go back to normal. Second part is optional – if you have time and bandwidth it will have a tremendous impact in the coming months.
Here are the top three must do’s:
- Understand that this is temporary. In history, when you research about companies that excelled during recessions – you will notice that they didn’t stop what they were doing. They made some good decisions, found opportunities and implemented. Shift your perspective from “I can’t do X during this time” to “How can I do X during this time”. Become resourceful. Keep your eyes open and look for opportunities. They will surface in some shape or form as far as you look for them. Keeping a focused and positive mindset will make it easier for you to get past this hurdle. Remember this mantra “you will reap what you sow.” The effects of your energy will show their colours in coming months when all this will be behind us. So do not lose your momentum.
- Human Connection will be in full swing. You need to connect more than ever with your clients, vendor community and your friends/family at this point. You need to show other businesses that you are there to support them. Your clients need you more than ever during this time. Think from the space of empathy and compassion. Find out ways on how you can add value. Some great examples are:
A. People sharing other small businesses initiatives on their stories and posts on Instagram
B. Tagging other small businesses around them
C. Having social get together via zoom calls
D. Sending personal emails or phone calls to their current clients, even if they haven’t booked, were past clients, current clients – doesn’t matter
E. Become a part of virtual masterminds. We run a couple of industry specific masterminds, where a bunch of us meet at a site, talk about our goals and action plans. In today’s situation, we will be doing that virtually. - Manage your Cash Flow– As you all know – Cash is the king. In an article by The Abundance Group they lay out three top strategies to get cash coming in.
- Insentivise couples to pay the remaining balance – primarily looking into contracts and identifying if you can get some portion of the balance remaining based on the original date.
- Upgrading the current client package and giving them something of value that will cost you very little – this would help sealing the deal with new clients.
- Referral incentives for your close network – who are your best vendors you have been working with? Collaborate with them and see how you can come up with a bonus or a freebie together that your prospective clients would see valuable.
Another aspect of cash is – cash going out. The ideal thing would be to take a hard look at your expenses.
- Is there a subscription, membership or two that you can cancel?
- Instead of 20 hours from your admin, can you go down to say 12 or 14 hours?
- Can you ask your landlord to assist for the next couple months?
- Speak to your bank for deferred payments if you carry a line of credit or have some debt on your credit cards.
- Cell phone, utilities, and other companies are providing assistance in some shape or form and you must take them even if you have sufficient cash to survive for the next few months.
The following summarizes the second part of this article – primarily identifying what you should do if you can find time and the capacity to do it (Financially, emotionally and physically)
- Work on your 24/7 sales agent. You guessed it – your website. When was the last time you took time to update it, tell the world about what your company is really about? Does it reflect your company’s personality? Would people want to buy from you? Would they want to connect with you? Business today is very different. Clients want to see every aspect. They go down really hard with their research. 95% of people would check your reviews, browse through your website, look into your social media. Having a professional website is your asset. Social media algorithms change all the time. Website is one thing that is not going anywhere. A simple, clean website with your information, pictures, an email opt in will suffice. Check out squarespace, wordpress.org, wix – there are countless DIY options out there.
- Prepare a Standard Operating Processes. Wondering… what the heck is that? It’s pretty simple, in his book Traction – Gino Wickman explains all about EOS (Entrepreneurs Operating System). There are 6 parts to have a complete EOS in place. This will help streamlining a LOT of things in your business by bringing out clarity. I highly recommend looking into specific items around building systems and processes for each key task in your business. Take a deep dive into where you see your business in the next 10 years, down to a solid action plan for the next 90 days. Are there any activities that you can automate, delegate or completely take away? Grab this book or any other source around systems and start putting them in action. Your future self will thank you.
- Look into your sales process. Document each and every step in your sales journey and see if you can add any value on each step along the way. Do you educate your clients about your processes, behind the scenes, why are you different from your competitors? Draft out your sales process and identify any gaps. Go back three months in your data and see your conversion rate. If it’s more than 70% you are doing amazing. Between 40-70% it’s good but still can be improved. Under 40%, there is room for huge growth here. In her coaching program, Maria Bayer identifies excellent ways to build your sales process. Check out her group Lean.Collaborate.Flourish on Facebook to get more education on this.
- Automate. If you were considering getting one of the Client Relationship Management tools, this would be the time. Gone are the days for word contracts, where clients have to print and sign, PDF’s etc. Look into tools like Debsado, Tave, 17Hats to automate and systemize your invoices, contracts, workflows, emails, bookkeeping, project management and much more just at one place.
- Invest in yourself. Get yourself equipped with tools of knowledge and education. Read books, listen to podcasts. Key thing would be to apply the principles you learn from them. There are some fantastic books and podcasts I dive into regularly and it has made a huge impact on our business and personal life.
If you do need assistance from the Government – there are some options for temporary loans being provided at very low interest rates. We are in this together and this too shall pass. To support our vendor community – we are offering our complimentary 30 minute strategy / brainstorming call specifically for your business. You can also use this time to share your overwhelm or any concerns you might have or if you need any further guidance or resources. We need you here – we are together in this and will come out stronger than ever.
Written by Supriya Mehra
