How Do I Move Forward?

As the world is stuck inside, your brain is working on overdrive. You’re dealing with sudden changes in your business, and you have a lot on your mind.

What’s the right move for my business? How do I decide? What do my employees need?

What do my customers need?

 You have made some hard decisions in the last 2 weeks- no doubt

You’ve had difficult conversations with your employees, your vendors, your bank, some conversations that you thought you would never have.

You have either furloughed, laid off or even terminated. You may have guided your team through the unemployment process and you may be running your business at 20% capacity or none at all.

 The only comfort that you may be feeling is that you are not alone. Everyone is dealing with this whether you are a business owner, manager or a team member.

 The reality is that the coronavirus has sent people to work from home, which means many of us in leadership positions are having to do so from a distance.

 Leading a company remotely is certainly doable and can be highly effective when done in a strategic way.

So today Let’s explore 4 Tips for Leading a Company during Covid that will help you to be a stronger leader, no matter how far you are from your team.

Learn to delegate

Delegation can be a scary thing for business owners, especially if they’re used to shouldering all of the responsibilities in the company. Take some time to learn the strengths and areas of improvement of your team members and allocate work to them accordingly. Once you start to let go, you’ll realize that most people are more than capable of picking up the reins and achieving success.

NEXT, Elect a second-in-command

It shouldn’t become an “every person for themselves” type of situation in your office. Choose an employee that you’re confident will step up and make sure the wheels don’t come off. Pick carefully; you want an employee that has shown you that they can and will step up to the plate when called upon. Not only will this person assist, but they will also be your main point of contact while you are busy dealing with insurance companies, vendors, banks, and the SBA.

Create open channels of communication

Just because you’re not physically present doesn’t mean you can put your head in the sand and disappear. Your team still needs you, don’t forget their world has turned upside down as well. Many are with children, homeschooling, taking care of relatives and just the uncertainty of what’s happening all around them.  So make a point to connect with them as much as possible. This could mean setting aside an hour or two for status meetings every day or it might mean using an app like Slack and Zoom to keep communication lines open in funneling the most important messages to them.

Be transparent

Assure them that you’re still overseeing the business, explain what actions you’re taking. They are watching the news- they see what’s happening, so hear out their questions and ease their worries as needed.

Leadership is not an inherent talent; it’s a skill, which means it can be honed and developed with practice. When leading a company remotely, communication is the name of the game — stay connected, remain transparent, and always be prepared to step up when needed most.

Yet, We Will Come Back

We all know right now that we are living through something historic. Something that literally came out of thin air- I realize that this has affected everyone in every industry around the world but I am only addressing the small to medium size businesses in the events industry.

We are trying to take care of our families, hold on to our businesses, console our employees and just trying to make sense of what is happening. Let’s look back in history and remember those early days of the 1980s where everything was in abundance the big & showy events and then we remember 1993’s recession where events were tightening budgets, lowering guest counts or not even having the events.. yet we came back. Then September 11 with the country under attack- The nation was paralyzed. American business stood still for almost a week, yet we came back. Then 2008 market crash Events- came to a halt- how could anybody celebrate when they were forced to lay off employees, slash spending The financial crisis in 2008 hit small businesses hard – in fact, harder than large firms. Many small businesses tried to find new ways to survive yet we came back Most of us never experienced a time when the doors of our businesses just closed - when there was absolutely no business. you walk the halls of your office ,your commissary , your studio, your warehouse where just weeks ago it was a hustling thriving business and now there is silence.

BUT.. We’ve been here before. History offers some important lessons on how we can deal with the coronavirus pandemic, about a decade ago the H 1 N 1 swine flu killed more than 12,000 Americans and hospitalized more than 274,000 in the US, The 1968 flu pandemic estimated number of deaths was 1 million worldwide and about 100,000 in the United States and the most severe pandemic in modern history happened in 1918 when the flu infected about 1/3 of the worlds population and killed an estimated 675,000 people in the US alone. If we look back in history and we remember those of us who lived in days of the 1993 recession, September 11th, 2008 market crash, we did not know how it was going to end and there was enormous anxiety and yet history tells us that each one of those situations we came through and we really did emerge stronger than ever before, history provides solace in perspective.

Small business owners have to make tough choices The coronavirus outbreak has global health consequences, and it puts many small businesses at economic risk. If your business is struggling financially due to the coronavirus, I found some resources that can help. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put together this toolkit to help businesses and citizens alike understand how to navigate the coronavirus. There are guidelines on how small business owners can ensure they are keeping their customers and employees safe. The toolkit also includes a business checklist. This checklist can help you figure out what to prioritize and to create a plan of communication for your employees. Everyone is facing this crisis together, so be transparent about what your business is going through. Customers can empathize with brands facing a crisis, as long as you communicate with them properly.

The SBA announced it would offer disaster assistance loans for up to $2 million for small businesses affected by the coronavirus. These low-interest loans are available to businesses that have sustained “substantial economic injury” due to the spread of the coronavirus. These loans can be used to pay off outstanding debts, payroll and any other bills they are unable to pay. However, small businesses that have access to credit are not eligible. Small businesses with no available credit qualify for an interest rate of 3.75%, and nonprofits will have an interest rate of 2.75%. The SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with state governors that submit relief requests. Once a state or territory is approved, these affected businesses will receive more information. You can find a regularly updated list of states where disaster assistance is being offered here. Even if your state is not yet offering disaster assistance you can begin to prepare to apply by looking over the information required.

Facebook said it would launch a $100 million program consisting of grants in an effort to help small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe.

For small business owners, running our companies can be all-encompassing. entrepreneurial ventures target high returns with an equally high level of uncertainty and this is one of those times.

I don’t have the answers- I’m living this right along with you. If you need to talk or just vent- I’m here for you- meryl@merylsnow.com

Really, Another Article on Social Media?

Leveraging Social Media   

I know what you’re thinking… ‘Another article on social media?” But read on… there are some things you may not know.
Social media is a viable tool for marketing your products and services and managing your brand identity. It is inexpensive, easy to work with and offers a great network of potential clients. Daily, millions of people use social networking applications. Social media is all about conversation and building effective relationships. Facebook, Twitter,

Google+, Instagram amongst others are all avenues to sell your company. Social media is powering the world in ways we could never have imagined years back. Today, connections are formed out of thin air. Imagine the millions of people that daily use social networking applications.

Did you know that 22% of Americans use social media multiple times in a single day? Selling your company in today’s competitive market involves a savvy use of social media.  There are tons of social media applications and websites available; however there is need to choose carefully before investing your time and energy in one. You should invest in a platform that supports your brand image. 

Till date, Facebook remains the best platform for creating brand awareness – its user base is diverse and nearly 75% of adult Americans use it. Tell me, how then is this not a wonderful channel through which you could build your brand and sell yourself to the world?

Setting up a Facebook page isn’t enough. It needs to be interactive, drive conversation and promote your brand all at the same time. If you only promote your products and services you will lose viewers. Try adding interesting tidbits, for example, a blurb about the history of pasta. To encourage conversation, you could post trivia and questions like “when you were growing up, what was your favorite comfort food?” How about a category for each day of the week:  Monday’s – “Foodies, Can You Guess This?” Tuesday’s- “What’s Happening in the Kitchen Today.” Wednesday’s- “Recipe of the Week” , Thursday’s – Event of the Week” and so on. Endeavor to provide your followers with something that piques their interest and that they can as well share to other people.

Businesses, especially those that rely heavily on images have lately have been flocking to Instagram in droves and rightly so because Instagram allows you to sell your company  by posting images and short videos. While many companies have difficulty getting relevant content,  we are very fortunate, everyday there is a new event to capture. How lucky are we that we have a professional photographer at most of our events. Make sure when posting to give the photographer photo credit.

There is the option of Facebook group page or business (fan) pages. Business and fan pages let you measure your traffic. With fan pages, you can add feeds from other applications like YouTube Box, Flicker, and Twitter. For Facebook groups, you don't have that many options. When your fans take action on your page, their actions will be documented on the news feeds of their personal pages. Their friends could see the news feeds and check out your business page. Fan pages stand out on profiles, whereas group pages get lost in the mix. Fan pages enable you to provide unlimited news or updates to your fans while Facebook groups are limited to a definite number.

Don’t forget about Pinterest;  a wonderful social network where you can reach people. When setting up your business page make it easy for visitors and name your boards; Culinary, Design, Cocktails, Weddings, and for each photo make sure you add descriptive words so it can continue to be re-pinned.

 Video sharing services like YouTube allow you to add captivating videos of your products and services. When using YouTube, make sure you properly brand the beginning and end of your video with contact information and a call to action.

Blogging is also a wonderful way to sell your brand. Start a blog that is attached to your Facebook and website. Search engines easily pick up blogs. Platforms such as WordPress and Joomla make it easy to promote yourself to your target audience. On these platforms, you could post on topics that would pique the interest of your audience and they would find educational while at the same time highlighting your unique skills and experience. Did you know that Blog posts with images receive 94% more views? Don’t be afraid to make use of visual content. Email marketing is also very beneficial. You could send an email blast teaser to direct people to your Facebook, blog or website. Another way could be adding link icons of your blogs, Facebook pages, Instagram and Twitter accounts to your email signature and all internet direct mail. 
Keep in mind that people who post on your Facebook page, Tweet about you or comment on your blog want to be heard. It is extremely important that you engage with your social community and answer or comment promptly. 

With building your brand on social media, you should be careful who is representing your brand. Your employees play a big part in brand management and will need to be screened by you. This is important with all social network sites. Every single piece of content shared should support your brand identity. Poor choices of content, images tend to reflect poorly on your company. Set guidelines for your team to follow, suggest different accounts for business and personal and encourage them to play an active role in the company brand strategy.

The old expression, it’s not what you know; it’s who you know holds true in this new age marketing strategy. Continue to tweet, blog and post and watch your efforts flourish.

Hello, World!