2020 was, without doubt, a year like no other we’ve seen in our working lives. I’ve worked through a few economic downturns, some pretty major in scale, but 2020 took the word “challenging to new levels”.
So when I promoted a business review survey questionnaire shortly before the Christmas break, I was intrigued to see how people would respond.
The number of responses wasn’t massive so we shouldn’t view it as a scientifically valid exercise, but the responses were fascinating, and in some cases, very telling, not least because the vast majority of the respondents were owners of small businesses, some of whom were seriously impacted by the lockdown periods.
Question 1 – What are you most proud of from 2020?
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Two answers stood out above all others… The first one was “Growth of the business”. Despite the issues businesses had to face, it’s reassuring to see how many respondents still managed to grow their business despite everything else that was happening.
The second most popular answer was “keeping going” which reflects the determination of so many business owners to not simply give up but instead keep fighting for what they believe in.
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A couple of other individual answers stood out for me including “delivering a big project” and “launching new services”, which particularly resonated with me because I also used part of the lockdown to build and launch a brand new online sales skills training programme EPIC Selling. I clearly wasn’t alone in rethinking what I could do differently to help clients.
A few others also referenced “keeping going” as something to be proud of, and rightly so. There’s a recurring them you’ll see in some of the answers to other questions as to how resilient and determined small business owners actually are.
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One answer stood out “Starting the business”. Launching a brand new business during a pandemic takes real guts so I salute you…. You know who you are.
Question 2 – What Was The Worst Thing Or Biggest Fail?
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Two, related responses stood out – “Not selling or promoting enough” and “business contraction””. One individual lost 90% of their revenue overnight! I guess we can view these as opposite sides of the same coin…. When times get tough, it’s absolutely essential to ramp up the marketing activities.
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A few respondents recognised that their business was overly reliant on them as individuals, presumably because they realised that if their health was to suffer the business may not be able to continue.
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One individual answered with “setting expectations too high”. I’ve written before on the importance of developing realistic plans, regularly reviewing them and not being afraid to adjust them in the light of major changes in circumstances. Plans don’t need to be set in stone.
Question 3 – What Was Your Most Valuable Learning?
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One answer stood out from every other response, and that was “resilience”. I think resilience is my word of 2020…. It’s an attribute that every business owner needs in bucket loads!
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A couple of people realised that they had more expertise than they’d previously thought. I think most of us have suffered from imposter syndrome at some point, so it’s good to see people recognising their strengths in difficult times.
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“Life’s too short to do things that don’t make you happy”. Sums it up really doesn’t it? If running your business isn’t making you happy, then why are you doing it? When I’m working with clients on their own plans, one of the key elements we focus on is what they want the business to deliver for them. Not just in financial terms, but just as importantly in terms of personal fulfilment.
Question 4 – Who Were The Most Influential And Supportive People?
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Although some respondents named individuals, by far the most common answers were “my coach” and “my spouse / partner”. It certainly seems that the businesses who have weathered the storm best are those that work with a business coach to provide an independent viewpoint and additional insights, and who also have support at home. Running a business can be incredibly lonely, so having a strong network of support is absolutely crucial.
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One really interesting answer was “suppliers” which I loved reading. I’ll guarantee that those suppliers who have supported their customers will have created far more loyalty than those who didn’t!
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No surprise I imagine, but it had to be “My Coach”, not least because this is part of how I help my own clients.
Question 5 – What 3 Things Are You Most Grateful For?
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Two responses stood out, both being mentioned in 70% of the answers, and they were “Family” and “Health”. I really like this result, because I have the impression that one of the positives to come out of 2020 is that it’s forced people to re-evaluate what’s actually important to them…. And it’s not always meteoric business growth and earnings.
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“My network” and “My clients” also appeared a few times which is also good to see. A strong network can provide all sorts of business and emotional support and of course we must always appreciate our customers and clients… without them we have nothing.
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It has to be family, for the reasons I outlined above, but also because on a personal level, there have been some health issues in my own family which brought my own priorities into real focus.
Question 6 – What Do You Wish You’d Done More Of?
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The top answer by a long way came in a number of guises, but fundamentally it related to sales and marketing activity. Clearly business owners recognise that sales is the lifeblood of any business, so it needs to be a major focus, especially in difficult times.
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One respondent replied with “Taking more action” which is an interesting response. When times are tough it’s easy to get distracted with worry and then not achieve anything at all. What’s actually needed is to roll up our sleeves and take action… and lots of it.
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You might expect me to say anything to do with sales and marketing, but the answer I really liked was “reflection”, because it means that the individual in question wasn’t panicking, but rather thinking carefully about what they were facing and considering suitable courses of action. I love this pragmatic approach.
Question 7 – What Do You Wish You’d Done Less Of?
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Interestingly there were no clear stand out winners to this question, although “Social Media” cropped up a few times. I suspect that this related to spending too much time looking at social media (and the doom and gloom therein) rather than using it as an effective marketing platform. Or at least I hope it did!
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A couple of other responses struck a chord – “Delegation” and “Being vulnerable”. I mentioned earlier the importance of removing the over reliance on the business owner to reduce risk and free up time for more productive activity and being vulnerable in the sense of being willing to acknowledge where we need help is the first stage to building a much more self-sufficient business.
Question 8 – What Three Words Sum Up The Year
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There was a huge range of answers here, but two stood out with “Challenging” and “Rollercoaster”. No surprise to any of us I imagine!
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On a more positive level, “Learning & Reflection” and “Business Growth” suggest that not everything was bad.
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“Glad it’s over!”. I liked this one because it made me smile, although the latest developments suggest that it might be a touch premature.
Question 9 – What Skills Do You Plan To Better Utilise In 2021?
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Although it was referenced in a number of different ways, the out and out winner here related to promotion and business development activities. Clearly businesses are looking to recover and / or grow over the coming year.
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A few others responded with answers we’ve seen to other questions including “Leadership”, “Delegation” and “Evaluation”.
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No surprise here… it was “Productivity and Sales’’, both elements I support my clients achieve.
Question 10 – What Areas Do You Plan To Stretch In 2021?
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A massive 80% of respondents plan to stretch themselves with their business development activities in 2021. That shows ambition and determination which is great to see.
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Once again “Delegation” and “being vulnerable” crop up. I love the honesty here.
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There was one interesting response of “Business Focus” which I hope refers to a desire to keep the business focussed on very specific goals and activities. It’s too easy to try to be “all things to all men”, as it invariably leads to failure.
Question 11 – What Will Success Look Like In 2021
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Again a massive 80% of answers referred to business growth which again shows real ambition and positivity.
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A few people referred to “Financial Stability”. Again, it’s good to see this as growth in itself, whilst positive, can also be challenging if we don’t keep the finances in a strong position at the same time.
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One particular individual responded with “Exciting, expansive and fun!”. I love this reply because it sums up what running a business means to me on a personal level.
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the questionnaire and I hope that their responses might give some ideas to others on where to focus their efforts during 2021. It’s certainly going to be interesting!
Here’s to an Exciting, Expansive And Fun 2021!!
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