 Welcome to The Journey. Today we're going to talk about how to prepare your business for uncertain times. What the world being is not the only thing currently at risk. I mean, for instance, many businesses in the food, retail, and grocery industries have drastically needed to change their business models so their businesses can survive during these times of uncertainty. And you may not be able to see to the future, but it doesn't mean you can't prepare for it. Ensure your business can withstand any further hardships by embracing the uncertainty rather than ignoring it. Now this can reveal real opportunities for your business to grow. And look, nobody knows when the new normal will transition to something more stable. So why not take this disruption in society as an opportunity, an opportunity to transform it into something you can utilize in your business for growth. In this video, we'll create your strategic roadmaps as you plan for your business's future. Let's start off with step number one, and that's to plan for uncertainty factors. Factors that can cause uncertainty and really include those economic conditions, fiscal illness, and shifts in consumer behavior to name a few. All right, Emma, can you tell us a couple of simple steps to strategize for each of these? Yeah, totally. Let's talk about economic conditions. So economic conditions, you need to create a plan to help you predict when the industry will be at its lowest or highest. And then from there, you know, you manage your money by analyzing and evaluating your profit or loss statements. Then in turn, that can help you to implement new strategies so you bounce back from the current situation. And then there's physical illness. You'll need to consider how physical illness may affect your business. You need everyone feeling comfortable and safe. So let your clients and staff know about your disinfecting instructions, social distancing rules, hand washing guidelines, and other sanitation and hygiene protocols. And third point, shifts in consumer behavior. In addition, shifts in consumer demand can certainly influence both how your business operates and, of course, its long-term success. And I encourage you to ask yourself, you know, are you catering to new clients and not just your regulars? Is client safety taken into consideration? Also, do you have the right marketing strategies in place, like email marketing and social media campaigns, in order to grow and engage with your community? All right, step number two, tune into how you feel and stay present. As the decision maker, you may be feeling burnt out, stressed, and extremely overwhelmed by the lockdown and everything that's going on in the world. It can all be a bit much, but just remember that it's okay. And feeling this way is kind of normal. Be aware of how you feel right now. And as a business owner, it's especially hard during these times to run a successful business since many gyms and other different areas have forced to close or pivoted to an online business model. Many unanswered questions may add to your stress and anxiety, such as like, how do I pay the bills? Will my business be able to continue? And can I still generate revenue? And something that I often say to those around me and my nearest and dearest, stay present or in the now, be mindful as you prepare for multiple outcomes, review the current state of your business on a regular basis, regular basis and continue to build relationships with clients and staff, partners, and more to create a long-term community. And remember, staying in the now allows you to become more familiar with what's happening with the state of the economy at this very moment. So as you tune into current events, you can make informed decisions about your business. And economic forecasts can shed light on your industry. So then good news, you can plan accordingly. And this allows you to plan for multiple outcomes rather than just one. And hey, if plan A is not possible, then you regroup and focus on plan B, plan C, and you go on. Exactly. And then step number three, keep the lines of communication open. It's super important to be transparent and keep the lines of communication with your staff members and your clients. You'll also need to constantly review and evaluate how you communicate with your community. So communicate any updates to your community about the status of your business, your health and safety protocols, or just new promotions or virtual classes at your business. And now the good thing is digital strategies and automation can allow you to take your communication to another level, which is awesome. So you can create custom templates and automatically send email, text, messages, and even push notifications to keep base with staff members. And this is going to allow you to engage with your clients as well and grow your business, of course. Yeah. And you can announce a class and target past customers who have previously purchased some type of service from you just to increase those class attendance. But you can also reengage whenever a client hasn't visited your business in a while and just notify them when their membership is about to expire to really boost your retention numbers. All in all, communication is key to building a lasting relationship with staff members and your clients. Number four, focus on a marketing plan. Can't stress that enough. And you need to implement the basics of an effective fitness business marketing plan. Before you can decide or truly invest though, the building blocks of business marketing plan can serve as a roadmap. So I like to call it that you need for an effective strategy to get more clients. So what should your strategy include? Let's break it down. I'll take this one, Emma. So I think your strategy has to start with research and development just to help you better understand your target audience, especially at this stage. So this marketing stage is all about research. You find out everything about your audience, literally everything, including their age, where they live, the problems they want to overcome, the goals they want to achieve and more. Then you jump into competitive analysis so you gain a clear perspective on your competitors. And after doing the research and development stage, you need to know what you are offering and ask yourself, why would consumers come to your business over others? And this is where you start to distinguish yourself and make your business unique to stand out from the crowd. Also, let's talk about clear goal setting, clear goal setting. So your marketing has the right vision and it has the right direction. You'll also need to set aside funds for your marketing budget. And don't forget to ask yourself how you will reach your target audience. Nealey and I talk about this all the time. So for instance, is your audience on social media like Facebook or Instagram? Which one of those? Or did they prefer reading your blog or your emails? Next, consider how your online presence factors into your overall marketing strategy. So you're going to want to attract new clients with an effective landing page with a clear call to action and form of FAQs and lead capture widget for more conversions. And then engage with clients on the most popular social media channels. This can be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, whatever you want to do there, wherever your audience spends most of their day. And then share client success stories, blogs and expert tips, important updates on your business and really anything that fits into what's going on with your business. Also referral programs are great. Running referral programs encourages local customers to go out there, tell others about you, your business. And when current clients refer new clients, a referral program lets them earn rewards. I love this personally. Such as discounted memberships, free gym classes, you name it. But don't forget to continue to make adjustments and evaluate your marketing throughout the pandemic. And this one's probably one of my favorites, but step number five, remember your self-care plan matters too. A topic that is being openly discussed more and more is self-care and it's important for your overall journey. As a business owner, you often think about others and how you can cater to your clients, your staff members first. But remember that taking care of yourself is vital for running a successful business. And although this may seem uncertain and out of whack right now, you should definitely schedule some of me time to reflect, refresh and rejuvenate. Develop a routine both in and out of the business and is essential because then you can create good habits. Now, some people may think that taking a vacation is the only way to clear your head. You guys, that's totally not true. It's just simply not true. Taking some time for yourself or talking to someone, even that can give me a little clarity in the head for the day. Like a business coach, an advisor, a good friend who can help you navigate the uncertainty and answer your questions can be extremely refreshing and good to help clear the thoughts and let those new ideas flow in. Nobody and no business is perfect. It's imperative to realize that there are endless possibilities to improve from where you are right now. It's one of my favorite parts of being a business coach and consultant. I get to provide more than just hope and mindset shifts, but real life results through proven best practices and execution with tools that boost the key performance indicators of your business. Nothing is better. All right, that's a wrap. You just learned how to prepare your business for uncertain times. Be sure to like this video and comment below. While you're there, make sure you subscribe to our channel and ring that bell to get these episodes first. This is The Journey. We'll see you in the next video.