Weathering the Storm: A Guide for Founders in Turbulent Times

At some point, every Founder will encounter headwinds in their business. During these difficult times, it can be very hard to maintain your energy, your positivity and it's all too easy to have the stress of it make you freeze or even stick your head in the sand.

Why?

Because it's hard. It's not fun. And you think it's just never going to end!

But these times aren't there for you to give up or fall behind, these are the times to consolidate, to shed, to optimise and to plan for the period when the headwind turns back to a tailwind.. which will come.

So this week.. I share 3 metaphors, 2 mindsets and 7 priorities for headwind periods to help you weather the storm.

3 Metaphors to Help You Get Perspective During Tough Times

1. Think of Your Business as a Set of Undulating hills

The growth of your business never follows a straight line (I'm sure I'm preaching to the converted there!). It's probably more like a set of undulating hills, more like the Tour de France.

There are going to be climbs, some are short, some are long, and when you achieve each peak at the top of the climb you think, I made it! But once you reach that peak, there's often a little plateau, then a small descent, before you get to climb again.

You can't just feel a sense of accomplishment and progress in the climb, and then feel despondent in the short descent before next hill... because that descent is part of the overall course!

And you need to USE the descent to reset. To gather energy. To refocus. So that you're ready for that next climb. You don't just coast down that decline. You actively use it to prepare for the next climb.

If you're facing a headwind (a descent) right now, are you using it to actively prepare for the next climb or are you just feeling out of control as you travel downhill after having had a long uphill climb?

2. Think of Business like a Stock Chart

Another way you can view your business performance is like a stock chart.

When you focus on short-term performance - it's like a series of jagged spikes. It's exhilirating when it's an upwards tick, and demoralising when it's in a slide downwards.

But... when you zoom out on a stock chart's performance over perhaps 5, 10 or 20 years... you see a lovely, constantly climbing trend line.

Zoom back in? Jagged, emotional, turbulent.

Zoom back out? Smooth, incremental growth, relaxing, calming.

So if you're currently experiencing a sharp decline.. remember to zoom out. This period is part of the overall trendline - and zooming out will help you realise that and gain some perspective.

And of course, the WORST time you can get out of a stock is when it's on the way down.. it's a long-term game.. don't worry about timing the market, you need time in the market and to let the market do it's work over time.

3. Think of Your Business like Seasons

The final metaphor that might help you during a headwind is to think of business like a series of seasons.

In summer time... it's warm, it's fun, things seem up. You're reaping rewards, having a great old time.

But after summer, autumn comes. Leaves turn. And a winter arrives.

In winter.. things get harder. We're no longer reaping. It's cold. It's gloomy. And things sometimes feel a bit crap!

But.. in winter, we all know that just around the corner, is Spring. So as things start to thaw, we get ready to plant, to take advantage of the sun and heat that's coming.

So when we think of business as just a series of seasons it can help us manage our emotions because we know that no matter what the season... it's natural to be in it, and this one will pass, just like the last one.

2 Key Mindsets to Help You Navigate the Storm

1. Zoom Out.

Overall.. regardless of which metaphor you find most helpful, zooming out its super important. It allows you to get perspective, quickly.

It reduces feelings of urgency, and reduces the peaks and troughs of emotions. It allows us to feel calmer and make better decisions.

2. This Too Shall Pass.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, disappointed, or frustrated, then just remember this one super-simple phrase. This too shall pass.

Everything will change given the passage of time. So if you find yourself in a descent, just remember that this difficult period will pass.

Equally, don't be fooled! When things are going great... this too shall pass.

So What Should I Prioritise if I'm in a Major Headwind?

Well first of all.. the worst thing you can do when in a headwind is to bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away. You don't sleep through winter.. you prepare in winter so that when spring is sprung, you're ready to sow those seeds. You need to engage with it, embrace it, make the most of it.

So what specifically should you be doing in these winter periods? Here's 7 important things that you should do when you are facing headwinds in your business:

1. Shed dead wood. Cleanse. Tidy up. Move people on. Trim back to the best possible team.

2. Manage cashflow daily. Don't lose sight of it. Prioritise it more than any other time.

3. Fine tune profitability. Cut initiatives, suppliers, product lines, and ineffective spend. You can always add it back later but you need to optimise cash.

4. Invest in customer relationships. You need these there when spring returns. Sure up relationships. Figure out how you can expand them when resources return.

5. Keep investing in marketing. You might have to invest less, but don't stop it completely. When the tide goes out, everyone who stopped investing in marketing will be caught having swum naked.

6. Remove distractions. Stay focused on the things that are profitable, and critical. Drop the nice-to-haves and should-have initiatives and projects.

7. Prioritise system building. Optimise key processes (that relate to making money or making customers happy). Automate workflows. Sharpen the saw.

In Summary

Hopefully you find these helpful. Are they rocket science? No.

Do they need to be? Absolutely not.

The most important thing is to:

1. rapidly get perspective by zooming out, remembering this too shall pass, so you get calm, and make good decisions, and

2. prioritise those 7 activities so you are prepared for the next phase of growth.

Want to Learn More?

If you enjoyed this week's edition and want to learn more about where some of the weak areas are in your business that might need some work, get yourself our free 9-page Growth Score report here.