Well, as of Wednesday, June 24th, 2020, here in Vancouver, British Columbia, we entered “Phase 3″ of our COVID-19 Restart Plan. Essentially this means that all non-essential travel is allowed throughout the province. While the dangers and risks of COVID-19 have not passed, BC itself has been doing a fairly good job in containing the spread of the coronaviruses thus far. And even though it feels that we are slowly starting to move forward and re-open the economy, one can’t help but wonder if it is too late for many small businesses and even some big companies across the Country to bounce back from such a devastating blow to their financial books. Here in BC, we remain after all in a State of Emergency. In fact the province announced that it was extending its State of Emergency on the very same day that it was announced that we would be entering Phase 3 of our COVID-19 Restart Plan.
Now, I’ve read all about the COVID-19 Restart Plan and understand that one major slip up could send us back into Phase 1 or even worse, a partial lockdown again. However I’ve yet to find a single document that has provided me with a COVID-19 Comeback Plan. The Government hasn’t instructed me on how to market our services to clients during a pandemic. WorkSafe BC keeps making revisions to the guidelines that they have asked us to follow. I’ve searched for an instruction manual online on how to build a business during a global crisis, and was advised to just cut my losses and file for bankruptcy.
The stats look dismal.
The game seems out of reach.
But there’s still time left on the clock……..
The First Rule Of Starting a Business
I never went to Business School, but even I know one of the first rules when it comes to starting a business is to create a business that you can one day sell. Well it’s a good thing that I’m not looking to sell anytime soon because it’s definitely a Buyer’s Market right now.
Truth be told I have no intention to sell my business anytime soon. In fact, as sad as it may sound, my business really is my life. It’s something that has taken me close to twenty years to build. And it’s not all about numbers and profit margins. During these past twenty years I’ve developed real, long lasting relationships with many of our clients. I’ve actually been a part of some of my clients’ lives longer than their own children or significant other. I’ve seen many of my clients go through both good times and bad times and they themselves have seen me go through my own fair share as well.
Without a doubt, COVID-19 is one of those bad times for us all. Every single one of us has been impacted negatively in some way by the Coronaviruses. But it has recently occurred to me over the past few weeks that there have been a few positives that have come out of COVID-19 as well so far.
The Second Rule Of Starting a Business
I don’t necessarily know if this is a rule when it comes to starting a business, however it’s definitely been a rule that I’ve always implemented and followed when it comes to running my own business. And that rule is to adapt and change with the times as necessary.
When I first began my career as a Personal Trainer, I had the luxury of training my clients out of a 20,000sf Training Facility. My rent was dirt cheap. I had access to hundreds of pieces of equipment and an abundance of gym real estate to move around in. The best thing (which eventually turned into the worst thing) was that the gym was always empty. I pretty much had the run of the entire space to myself to train my clients as I liked. I could superset, circuit train, run small group classes, all without having to worry about crowds, peak gym hours, and other members. But like all good things, eventually this came to an end.
One day while I was training a client on the floor, a Bailiff came into the gym and told us we had to leave because he was shutting the entire gym down. It appeared that the Owners of the gym were 6 months behind on their rent and had not paid the Landlord anything during that time period. I would be lying if I had said I didn’t see this coming, however foolishly I was unprepared.
I had a roster full of clients but no gym to train them at. Living and working in Downtown Vancouver, gyms that rent space to Private Contractors such as myself are few and far in between. Therefore I had limited options. Even though I was making a fairly decent income as a Trainer, I wasn’t making anywhere near enough at the time to open my own Training Facility. To say I was stressed would be an understatement.
I had come across my first real challenge as a Small Business Owner. I had to think quickly. I had to react. I had to adapt accordingly to my new circumstances.
Check Out Part 2 Next Week!
Yours in Good Health,
Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance