“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” – Tony Robbins
You have to remember that some things are just out of our hands. We can’t control everything and we definitely can’t control the outcomes. It is important to keep this in mind and avoid becoming attached to outcomes. We have to be open and accept that what is supposed to happen will happen. If it’s not meant to be, it won’t. We can either accept it or fight it.
All you can do is put forth your best effort and wait and see, try not to get bent out of shape or too focused on what you want to happen. That is a recipe for disappointment. It is important to understand what you can and can’t control and that the outcome is not something you can control.
2020 is a clear example of this. The pandemic and the resulting policies were something I would have never foreseen or imagined just six months prior when we purchased the restaurant. Obviously, we would have never done so if we could have known that we would have to shut down our dining room. Are you kidding? How will we stay in business?
There are so many external factors that are beyond our control and out of our hands. A business cannot plan for them all. Of course, you want to build in some protective mechanisms and processes during your business planning, but planning for a global pandemic just wasn’t on the table during our planning.
Well then, do we just quit? Throw in the towel and call it? Absolutely not. There will always be things that threaten your business from competition to down economies that are beyond your control. Nobody said starting a business would be easy; it is definitely not for the weak. You can’t work in a plan of action for every “if this then that” scenario, but you can plan to be flexible. Flexibility should be woven into the fabric of your business plan and operations. If it isn’t, when anything of any magnitude knocks on your door, you’re through.
I could have easily whined and cried about the pandemic and called it quits. But, I’m not built that way. I have learned over the years that a business needs to be able to quickly adapt and change course. In a small business that means the owners, leaders, and managers have to be flexible and able to adapt. That could be as simple as changing some products or tweaking the entire model. Neither can be done if there is no room for built in to your business in the first place. If you are too rigid, you’ll break.
I am happy to say that we were able to adapt and have made it through 2020 and are still in business. We are not free and clear yet as the pandemic isn’t over but the situation made us stronger and we hope come out better on the other side. The experience has fueled many discussions and ignited the creativity to consider some new directions for the business.
Only time will tell. We will continue to operate as our local authorities allow us too while simultaneously building out the “adapted” side of our business so we will have choices moving forward. Who knows, maybe we will move away completely from in-store dining and focus on a different side of the food service business. Another great lesson I have learned from starting and running businesses in addition to being flexible is to know when to say when. There are times when you can do everything in your power to be flexible and adapt but all efforts prove futile. I have learned this the hard way more times than I care to admit and it cost a lot of time and money. But it takes what it takes and has made me stronger as a result.
The lesson? Make sure to build flexibility into your business plan, as well as an exit strategy. Make certain to hop a road with an off ramp because some things are just out your hands; make sure the steering wheel isn’t one of them.
Talk Soon,
Kevin W. @Leap272
Owner-Operator
You have to leap if you want to live.
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