In the past few weeks, I’ve been supporting my clients while they navigate through overwhelm. Not just one business owner – multiple. When you offer a service that people want and need, it feels as if everyone is knocking on your door at the same time. And while that healthy sales scenario sounds attractive, there’s typically behind-the-scenes headaches.
I don’t work with restaurants, but I often use them in an analogy. Have you ever been to a lovely restaurant that offers delicious food
– seated at one of the last empty tables – and have to wait, wait, wait for your order to come? It happens all the time – demand exceeds supply – the kitchen staff is not prepared to handle all the orders. There could be more cooks or more kitchen appliances. But right now, there’s not enough.
This scenario happens in every business – the back office, the operations – can barely meet the demands of new prospects, current clients, and returning customers.
Hmmm. A gridlock – where have we seen this problem lately?
You Can Start To Get Unstuck Now
Luckily there are actions you can take, starting today, to either rectify the issue if you’re suffering from it now; or to prevent it from happening in the near future.
It starts with a concept we use in the Pumpkin Plan– the Role Chart. While easy to start working on the design, it can be tricky to implement. Which is why working with a Business Strategist makes the whole progress smoother.
I’m guessing your Role Chart right now may look a bit like this:
CEO – you
Marketing – you
Finances – you
Customer fulfillment – you
Project management – you
Office administration – you
I can go on but it’s already feeling painful. The 2 main resources to start diving into are technical and human.
Software Help
What can technology solve? There are so many apps that help schedule, automate, follow up, you name it. There are apps that help you create stunning marketing materials at a low cost (Canva Pro); apps to help you manage your all of your events, social media and email campaigns (Constant Contact); apps to help you stay on top of projects and tasks; communications and file sharing; and really the list is endless.
So take some time to review what can possibly be automated and which technology fits the needs of your business.
Human Help
The other avenue is human resources. Whether you’re contemplating traditional hiring, short term gig workers, or sub-contracting to other business owners, the fact is, there are lots of talented folks out there who would love to jump into your company and be a part of the action. Connect with a business and employment attorneys to ask tons of questions and then design your perfect team member attributes.
It Won’t Happen Overnight
Yes, both these endeavors can be BIG projects. They take time to plan and research, test and measure. You may not get it right the first or even the second time. But start planning it out today, before people start walking out of your restaurant, frustrated and hungry, heading out to whoever can feed them with more efficiency.
Business strategists help every step of the way by guiding you, supporting you, and holding you accountable. If you’re ready for this type of relationship, I’d love to talk about whether we’re a great fit. Start here.