How are you dealing with your pandemic downtime?Pandemic downtime is the new reality for people the world over. Challenging times usher in a new way of life.You didn't choose pandemic downtime. Instead, your desire to go back to life as you knew it.You have no control over what happens around you. What you do control is how you respond.Pandemic downtime, or not, your response is the difference between winning or losing. Your response to challenging times is the difference between surviving or perishing.The choice is yours, and you better make it count.Is a pandemic downtime a golden opportunity for a more prosperous tomorrow?The short answer is a resounding "yes."A pandemic downtime gives you time for five specific strategies that unleash success. If done right, a pandemic downtime is a stepping stone to a happier you and more significant business.Who am I, and how do I know?I was that kid who started his eLearning company right out of school with no money, experience, or team.The truth is I had no business being in business, and the results showed. My saving grace was my grit and passion, which kept me in the game long enough to experience success.Thirteen years later, I enjoyed a 9-figure sale of my business.How did I achieve the 9-figure sale of my business?Five specific strategies transformed both myself and my business.What are the five strategies?Keep reading.
The greatest health is wealth - Virgil
During pandemic downtime, take care of yourself first so you can then take care of everyone else.Regardless of how much success and wealth you accumulate, you're poor if you're not healthy.Like it or not, pandemic downtime gives you time. Put your extra time to good use, starting with your health.The easy way out is to pass the time streaming movies, reading social media posts, and to complain.In life and business, doing what's right is often not what's easy.Pandemic downtime is an opportunity to invest your time in creating version 2.0 of you.Walk away from your phone and computer and find a peaceful place.Create version 2.0 of you through reflecting on your life and writing down your thoughts in a journal.Writing with pen and paper trumps the best apps.Your three questions to thrive are:
Take a deep dive into the stillness and revel in it through:
Be in the moment. Talk to family and friends. Laugh. Cry. Reconnect.Nourish your body. Your seven to thrive are:
You'll feel better and have the energy and clarity to win the day.Now that you've taken care of yourself, it's time to have your business not only survive, but thrive.How do you do this?Keep reading.
Misfortune is virtue's opportunity - Seneca
Pandemic downtime is a golden opportunity to review your business operations.You did prepare your business for a pandemic with a six-month cash reserve, right?No time like the present to begin.Read and prosper from "Perfect Advice You Need On How To Pandemic-Proof Your Business."Save the day and your business by reducing costs with the help of your team.Gamify the process with your team for better results. Offer a percentage of savings to employees for money saved. Have departments compete with each other to reduce unnecessary expenses.Join buying groups to access lower prices.Generate revenue by selling old and excess inventory that's been collecting dust.The only limit is the imagination of you and your employees.Leverage the pandemic downtime to lower expenses, increase profits, and build cash reserves.After completing this exercise, use your pandemic downtime to review this exercise.Whatever strategies worked well, incorporate them into your operations. Laugh all the way to the bank when your business performs this exercise quarterly.Your customers will thank you for ensuring your business lives another day.Employee morale goes up from being part of the process and knowing that the company has a future.Profits increase, as does your company value.Congratulations, you created a win-win-win for all involved.Pandemic downtime has its advantages if you know where to look and what to do with the time.Do you know the one thing you must do during pandemic downtime that sets you up for massive success?Keep reading.
We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say - Zeno of Citium
Pandemic downtime gives you the gift of time. What you do with your time and how you benefit or don't, is up to you.The smart money is putting your pandemic downtime to good use by talking with your customers.If you want to change your life, ask different questions.If you want to change your business for the better, speak to the right customers and ask great questions.Who are the right customers?Enter Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century Italian economist.Read and prosper from "5 Business Questions That Will Make You Successful (And Happy)."Pareto developed Pareto's law or the 80/20 rule.Your mission is to find out who are the 20% of your customers generate 80% of your profits.Your customers now have more time thanks to pandemic downtime.It doesn't matter if you talk with your customers on the phone, through a virtual meeting, or in-person. The point is to reach out to your customers and listen.The one question to ask that's a game-changer is:What keeps you up at night?Listen to your customers talk about the business pain points they are experiencing.The more pain points your customers reveal, the better.Talking to your customers shows you care, you're playing the long game, and you gain valuable intel.After each call, put your pandemic downtime to good use by discussing with your team the pain points.Put Pareto's law to work and find the 20% of pain points that generate the 80% of pain your customers feel.What do you do with this valuable intel?Keep reading.
Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong men - Seneca
In life and business, you don't control what happens around you, but you do control your response.Both a pandemic and the pandemic downtime that follows is something you didn't choose.You can choose how you best respond to the pandemic downtime itself.Choose to pivot your business so you can conquer and win.How do you pivot your business?Read and prosper from "This Is How You Pivot Your Business So You Can Conquer And Win."You did follow the advice of speaking to 20% of customers who are 80% of your profits, right?While you were at it, you also asked the question of what keeps your customers up at nights, right?Your customers shared what you must do if you want to keep them as customers.Follow through with your passion, purpose, and precision.In the process, you'll help your customers and may even create a market disruption.Read and prosper from "Why You Need To Create Market Disruption To Lead, Succeed, And Prosper."A quick story.My eLearning company, Embanet, started by helping to keep the online seats filled.Colleges and universities struggled with students dropping out of online courses. Embanet changed this through the service we offered.On a routine call, a customer shared that what kept him up at night was filling the seats with students.Helping universities fill the seats became Embanet's pivot point. Embanet's solution to filling the seats created a market disruption.Everybody won. University online programs grew, and students had access to quality degree programs. Embanet enjoyed massive growth and dominated the industry.Leverage your pandemic downtime to find your company's pivot point. Do this today, and you'll thank me tomorrow.
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others - Cicero
Show me how your company communicates, and I'll tell you your future.In both life and business, communication is everything.Pandemic downtime provides the opportunity to revamp your communication.When you first started, you knew every customer and supplier on a first-name-basis. As your business grew, you had too much to do in too little time.You hired people to speak with your customers, suppliers, and even your employees.Challenging times usher in uncertainty and fear. People have more questions than there are answers.Pandemic downtime gives you the time to communicate to provide insights and hope.Tell customers, suppliers, and employees how your company is dealing with the pandemic.Communicate through email, blogs, phone calls, virtual calls, and social media. The choice is yours.Pandemic downtime opens the door to create new lead magnets to attract new customers. Yes, you can and should grow your business during a pandemic.During a pandemic, all bets are off. The companies that do the same-old-same-old may survive or perish. Doing nothing is as much a choice as deciding to rise to the challenge.Companies that pivot and communicate their latest-and-greatest can thrive and prosper.Use pandemic downtime for new campaigns that tell the world you're here to help and open for business.Ensure you go the extra-mile through your communication and provide value and leadership.Customers will forever remember the time you made a difference. Suppliers and employees take comfort knowing that you care.May your pandemic downtime lead the way to have you communicate, be the change, and make a difference.
When a pandemic strikes, pandemic downtime becomes the new normal.Choosing to do nothing with the extra time is as much a choice as deciding to respond.Why is it that some people and companies not only survive a pandemic but also thrive?The honest answer is you can't control what happens around you, but you can control how you respond.A pandemic ushers in change at an unprecedented level. With change comes opportunity.Pandemic downtime gives you back your most precious resource.Time.The time you gain from pandemic downtime can either make you and your company or break you.The choice is yours.With time on your hands, five strategies can transform both you and your business.Who am I, and how do I know?I was that kid who started his business right out of school with no money, experience, or team. I failed my way forward until I achieved success.Thirteen years later, I enjoyed a 9-figure exit.The game-changer for me was stumbling upon the five strategies I revealed in this article.Each strategy builds upon the other to help you conquer and win.What do you do, and where do you start?Start with the first strategy until you master it. Move on to the next strategy and stay with it until mastered. Follow this process for each strategy.Pandemic downtime gives you a gift that you cannot buy: time.Be smart with your pandemic downtime and invest in yourself and your business.Know that unprecedented times open the door to opportunity, starting today.You can do it. I know you can.Here's to you and your success.Your Biggest Raving Fan,Jeffrey Feldberg
