The butterfly effect…
How we work
Here’s what I learned when everything went to sh*t…
The small business butterfly effect... Does this scenario sound familiar? You’ve got lots of projects in the pipeline, a plan in place to deliver them and everything’s going well. But then... a client’s needs change, for entirely valid reasons, they don’t need your services right at that moment and it’s like a volcano has gone off! What is only a two-minute conversation in a corporate boardroom has the potential to make an enormous impact on a small business. It’s truly like a butterfly causing a tsunami.
Or to put it another way, everything goes to sh*t! And this happened to me at the start of this year. Here’s what I learned as a result…
🌸 Resilience is something you have to learn
I found out that resilience isn’t a skill you just have. But when something’s happened that’s outside your control, you have to not only absorb the impact and figure out what to do next, but also work out how not to take it personally. Trust me, this takes practice.
🌸 It’s ok to be honest and ask for support
Recovering from a set-back takes a huge emotional toll, but every business owner can relate, so reach out to those around you for support. Being vulnerable is hard, but once I had those honest conversations, it opened up new opportunities. Because people actually know where you’re at and can offer the right advice.
🌸You need to consider what’s important
One of my network said to me, ‘you either decide to stop, or you decide or carry on – which will you do?’. So, I went back to my original plan for Bloom: to create a company that is going to deliver a good service no matter what. And this fired me up to find a new way forward. For me there was only one answer to this question hashtag#carryon.
🌸You can use downtime to take stock
We took this time to reassess the pipeline, to talk about all the people we’d recently met and where the new opportunities were. And the result is a more streamlined CRM process – we now have a map of who we want to work with and how we want to work, which is fantastic. It’s a different route from what I thought, but that too is ok.
🌸We’re small, we’re agile – we’re Bloom!
The beauty of being a small business is that – unlike a larger corporate company – we’re able to pivot with little impact. Our slight change in direction is still within the guidelines of the original plan, but because of our agility, we were able to say ‘well, what can we do now?’. And that’s meant we’re open to more opportunities and can offer even more to both existing and potential clients.
📸 One image that popped up on Instagram and made me laugh when I was reflecting on this topic😊. The other image - the only person I think of when I hear/use the word 'Pivot' ... IYKYK!
It's Easter. A time for new beginnings! Enjoy the bank holiday! When you are back from the bank holiday break... why not find out what Bloom Project Management can do for your business?
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Yaeger Irwin is the founder and owner of Bloom Project Management Limited. She is passionate about her work, having spent the last 20 years delivering complex and high-profile projects to a wide range of satisfied clients. Get in touch to find out how Bloom could help with your next project.