Local Business Pivots & Grows By 200%+
Today you’ll discover the vital pivot a small, local business made that took them from being totally wiped out when the quarantine went into effect, to growing sales by over 200%. And how they did it in under 6 days. The secret? Understanding the 3 pillars of all business and asking more powerful questions.
Let’s be brutally straight up: NOTHING is “business as usual” right now, even after the past few years of COVID seems to be letting up. While the government is rushing to allocate billions to help the economy, I think we can all see it won’t be either big enough or fast enough.
Already the hardcore reality is small businesses, by the thousands, have been wiped out.
As this drags on, many more will go under as well.
It’s up to us. (As usual)
My intent with this post is that if you’re like the millions of entrepreneurs being hit by this, worried, uncertain about the future, that you’ll come away with:
- Hope. There can be a way to not only “hang in there” but to thrive
- A new outlook. Your mindset is vital to how this is going to play out
- A workable plan. Let’s start mapping it out.
What I’m going to break down in this post is how a local business client went from nearly being wiped out to growing their sales by over 200%. And they did it in less than 6 days from when the quarantine was first announced.
The Core 3 Pillars Of All Business:
To understand how these intrepid entrepreneurs have been able to actually increase their revenue by over 200%, we must first understand the core 3 pillars of business.
Why? Because when you do, you’ll be able to see how to apply these concepts in your situation as well.
With virtually zero exceptions, when boiled down to the most basic elements, every business needs these 3 things:
- Something people want/need to buy…
- Steady flow of people to this thing…
- A process to turn people into sales…
When you keep it this simple, if something goes weird, you’re able to see where & exactly how to fix it.
Why?
Because the 3 pillars are always standing no matter what happens.
What Happened:
Before the COVID crisis, they had a successful side hustle creating custom edible decorations for large parties & gatherings.
(NOTE: To protect their market I’m going to be a touch vague on exactly what they sold but rather HOW they made the shift. By learning the “how” behind this process you can then better apply it to your own situation)
Until everything went sideways, they had enjoyed a steady flow of business from higher income families. The would be hired to create these custom decorations for everything from anniversaries to birthdays, holidays and more.
On a normal month they could expect to pull in anywhere from $5K – $7K in revenue.
Not bad for a side hustle.
Before everything went sideways we had started working on steps for taking the model to a larger audience & increasing profits. Everything was looking great.
Until…
COVID Delivered It’s 5 Finger Death Punch:
No more gatherings of people. For months. At least.
Upcoming gigs with materials already purchased & deposits placed were canceled.
Sales dropped to $0 overnight.
Instant problems. Instant anxiety. Instant scramble.
Hold Up: What About The 3 Pillars?
Just because cash flow died DID NOT mean the entire business was broken.
We all jumped on a call and started by taking a birds eye look at the situation. Before finding a solution, we had to get crystal clear about the REAL root of the problem.
When cash flow drops, the emotional toll & your proximity to the issue can often make things look different than they really are. It is VITAL to take a moment, breathe & start asking different questions.
What appeared to be wrong?
- Their service was for big, social gatherings
- They provided a totally disposable “luxury” service
- With the economy taking such a massive hit, nobody was going to spend money on disposable, fun things any more (“proof” of this was in the cancellations already flooding in)
- Nobody was going to have any money for this
- We can’t go into peoples homes to set anything up because of the virus
Ouch. This looks pretty bleak.
Time to ask different questions!
HUGE KEY MINDSET SHIFT:
Before doing anything else, it’s vital to remember that not everyone will experience it the same way you do.
What that means is while OF COURSE there’s a universal situation, there will always be a market segment who will actually thrive.
This is true if you’re B2B or B2C.
This is why the 3 core pillars always work.
It is absolutely vital to eliminate the words “EVERYONE”, “NEVER” and “ALWAYS” from your vocabulary.
100% of business is about playing a numbers game. When those words are used used, it immediately cuts off any hope of saving the situation.
Through eliminating those words & by asking better questions we now had a vastly different outlook on the situation.
BETTER QUESTIONS:
- Has EVERYONE lost ALL their money? (no)
- Will this current situation last longer than a few weeks (yes, probably)
- Will people get super bored staying inside & want distractions? (yes)
- IF some people still have some money and they get bored, is it possible they might be interested in spending money on something fun? (yes)
- Is it possible this crisis will be over at some point in the future? (yes. of course)
- Keeping with health/safety & social distancing guidelines… can we brainstorm some options? (yes)
- Is it possible there could be a way to do something that doesn’t involve going into peoples homes? (maybe)
NEW Mindset:
- There are still some people with money…
- Of those people, some are probably willing to spend it…
- This social distancing thing will probably last at least a few months…
- To pass the time more people will be on the internet longer…
- This means it will be EASIER to reach them…
- We’re a food based service with all our health & safety licenses…
- What if we looked at creating something for individual families rather than big parties?
- What if we created something smaller…
Taking Rapid Action:
With their new, fresh perspective they were able to see a new path. That path lead to a small but life changing pivot.
They went from focusing on massive edible artistic displays for gatherings of 10+ to family sized artistically arranged boxes.
- Being smaller they were less of a burden on the supply chain…
- They could be created using all the health/safety guidelines…
- They could be delivered to porches to keep in line with social distancing…
- With a smaller product (and therefore price point) they could now appeal to a much larger share of the market…
All of that took less than 24 hours to put into place. Within a few hours they had already created a demo unit to test.
Using “Conversational Conversion” they took their photos to social media and waited.
What Happened? Did It Work?
It has now been 6 days since they made their pivot.
Previously they had been earning $5K – $7K/month. ($1,250/week)
As of today they have already sold over $3,761. (200.33% increase in sales from previous months)
But is this a fluke?
I think not. DM’s of new customers requesting quotes have increased by 2,100%
An additional benefit is that because everyone is staying home, they are now delivering to the people who plan corporate events & parties.
In just a few days they have gone from closing to dominating “front of mind” awareness with the exact people they would have struggled to get in front of had any of this not happened.
Making This Process Work For You:
How can you eliminate “absolutes” from your vocabulary?
What questions can you ask yourself, to help develop a better picture of your situation?
Using the answers from those questions, can you start brainstorming ideas to pivot?
And knowing the 3 pillars are always standing, where are your opportunities to not only survive, but potentially transform & thrive?
If you found this article helpful you may like to join for the next part of this training. Each week I’m hosting a FREE live webinar (including Q&A) where I’ll break down what you need to know to pivot & thrive.
Join me live for EXACTLY How To:
1: (Re)Engage Your Market
2: Generate Good Will
3: Stay Front Of Mind With Your Customers
4: Increase Profits NOW
5: Perfectly Position Your Brand For The Future
Click here to register free >>
Chat soon,
Jonny Andrews