Resilience, creativity, flexibility and agility.
Sod the bulk buying of toilet roll, these are the resources you will be banking at the moment if you are a purpose driven woman in business.
Enjoying resilience, creativity, flexibility, agility and adaptability is a core strength of being a small to medium sized business. No change by committee. No long drawn out decision making that needs signing off by 5 departments. You can respond in a situation in real time and find the positive response that will make the best of a given situation.
I’ve been so impressed this week by 3 businesses I know locally, or on line, who have used this difficult situation with the Corona Virus to step up or pivot to support themselves, their teams and/or the wider community. I wanted to share their stories, so that they can inspire you, especially if you are struggling to see a way forward right now.
Sod the bulk buying of toilet roll, these are the resources you will be banking at the moment if you are a purpose driven woman in business.
Enjoying resilience, creativity, flexibility, agility and adaptability is a core strength of being a small to medium sized business. No change by committee. No long drawn out decision making that needs signing off by 5 departments. You can respond in a situation in real time and find the positive response that will make the best of a given situation.
I’ve been so impressed this week by 3 businesses I know locally, or on line, who have used this difficult situation with the Corona Virus to step up or pivot to support themselves, their teams and/or the wider community. I wanted to share their stories, so that they can inspire you, especially if you are struggling to see a way forward right now.
I’ll start with Claire Kelly , Principal Southport Piano Academy
/ Southport Music Academy Ltd. Claire is a previous client, who I worked with about 3 years ago when she only had 3 team members. We created a Vision and plan on how to scale her business and juggle her 4 boys so that she thrived in the middle of it all. She now has 5 children and one of them has just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, so his safety and those of her team and pupils has been high on Claire’s mind as soon as the severity of this virus was made clear.
Here’s how Claire has responded quickly and with great resilience.
‘At Southport Piano Academy - we provide lessons to over 200 families in Southport and have a teaching team of ten teachers . When the coronavirus epidemic
started in the U.K, like many businesses we implemented safety measures including increased hand washing for all students and all staff at the onset of their lesson.
As the severity of the virus progressed we realised that these measures weren’t adequate enough and we progressed to teaching at a distance from the piano as close proximity to the piano is normally the nature of the job .
We also purchased masks for when we had to play duets with students . That was a week ago.
Things have escalated since then. We recognised that we might face cancellations so we had to consider an alternative approach and started to offer it to those who are willing to have lessons this way. We are doing it via an online platform - eg Skype, what’s app video etc .
So far the video call lessons have been hugely successful and we are advertising these so we can keep music education alive, and curb loss of income, during this period of homeschooling, which is due to start on Monday. It’s been a difficult time, but a calm and flexible approach will hopefully see Southport Piano Academy continue to flourish.’
The second business I want to highlight is that of Becky Holmes - Using Video to get your Business seen On Line.
Becky is an online friend who has been working part time in her online business, and part time for a national organisation that offers STEM activity in schools. Obviously with school closures, and her own children about to be sent home, her paid employment is at risk for the foreseeable future.
Here’s how Becky has stepped up.
Becky’s mission is to ‘help women gain the skills and confidence to rock being on and using video in their business.
When Covid-19 started to strike it became apparent that this skill was needed more than ever before and that video was suddenly going to become a major part of everybody's lives, whether they liked it or not. Something just clicked and I massively felt the urge to step up and lead.
I’d say I had been hiding before, but suddenly sharing my message became bigger than me. I am now sharing not only how to use video in your business, free daily tips on my page, but also how I am using video and tech to keep in touch with my family, including those abroad, my pregnant sister, older relatives and work colleagues as well.
I had been slowly building a course to move my on person video training online, but the situation and need has escalated this and it will now launch next Wednesday. I have also been inundated with calls on how others can do this. Strangely this virus was the kick up the bum I needed to step into my Superpower
and help others do it too. ’
Finally, my good friend, local restaurant and takeaway owner, Jodie Zeniou of Fylde Fish and Chips
has shown great tenacity and resilience in the family business she runs with her entrepreneurial husband Banico. Jodie and Ban have 3 establishments with fantastic teams in Southport and Burscough, as well as 4 gorgeous boys, who will all need home schooling from Monday.
Here’s how Fylde Fish Bar has adapted and taken a community approach.
‘At Fylde Fish and Chips we have an amazing team around us who have been working exceptionally hard. As the Corona crisis has unfolded we have stepped up the hygiene levels in all of our establishments, which were already set well above the expected standards of the EHO and part of our constant good practice.
We can’t lie, this is a very unsettling time, but we have had to think creatively
as a business of ways of helping our community. Also ways of keeping our shops open under tight regulations so as to also keep the Fylde family team in work.
Next week we will be starting click and collect where customers can order online through our website or facebook page. Again this allows contactless payments and customers will be able to come in and out of the takeaway quickly, reducing social contact but allowing people to enjoy a nice treat in these trying times.
We hope all our customers stay safe and well
and that it's not too long until we get back back to normality. Long live fish and chip and Southport we love our community.’
A word of caution
though. Be really clear on why you might want to pivot at this time, don't have a knee jerk reaction. Look at the long term advantages and disadvantages and decide if this really is a good time for you to change if you don’t need to.
I too was called to step up and have been delivering many guest speaking presentations on using a solution focused approach and energy management to increase your emotional resilience
in on line groups and on my own page.
I hope these stories of hope, resilience and flexibility have inspired you in your own situation. I know there are many more so I may have to showcase some more in the weeks to come.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or unclear on how to move forward my Overwhelmed to Action Power Hour
(introductory price £99) is a way for you to make solution focused decisions with the right energy behind them. Here’s the link if you’d like to use this service.
Above all stay safe and stay connected with your loved ones.
I had a ‘power hour’ with this amazing lady last night. Feeling at a bit of a crossroads myself lately, I booked a session with Michala. Wow! What a smart thing to do! At the start of the session I said I wanted to feel more clarity and direction by the end (thought I really wasn’t sure we’d achieve that in 1 hour, such was the confusion and indecision of my current state!), but Michala absolutely smashed it.
I now have a clear plan, clarity and direction. I’m excited to see where the next couple of years take me!
I can’t recommend Michala enough. If you’re at a point where you’re questioning your next move, if you feel like you’re stagnating, or if you just want some clarity - Michala is your woman.
Worth every penny. Who knew an hour could change so much!
Questions? Comments?
I would love your feedback and comments about this article if it has made you stop and simply think about your current situation and how you are managing your energy.
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