It’s a common response I see in my craft and vendor groups to sales being down, “people just can’t spend money now.”
But, that’s not true. People can spend money and they are. They’re just being more selective about how and where. While many business owners are telling themselves how others aren’t spending money and that’s why sales are down there are those that will use this time to shift their business and not only continue to do well but thrive and grow.
No, this isn’t some “think positive” type blog post, although that can’t hurt. I’m not going to tell you it’s all about the mindset. But, I will tell you that mindset is a huge part of it. Maybe just not in the way you’re thinking.
As someone who launched my business in March of 2020 (when the world began its descent into hell) I’m no stranger to growing a business in dire times. At the time, I was doing online live tutorials and recognized that people needed an escape from all that was going on in the world. Then when things began to open up again I shifted my business to being in person.
With the struggling economy I recognized that people couldn't spend money like they had before so I began looking for ways to have my product lines shift to a lower price point yet still deliver. I also knew that with the work force that customer service was lacking in many ways for many reasons and began to really shift toward that boutique style selling with an affordable price point.
When times are dark, we can either look toward the light for inspiration or toward the darkness for justification. During the Great Depression the Yellow Book (Yellow Pages) was founded on the premise of giving consumers an easy way to price shop. Dollar General was another one that was founded during this time. There was a need and someone decided to fulfill that need.
When lockdown began in March 2020 I, like so many others, also found time to do things we never once had time to do. Out of that I created a business as did many others. While we're in the crux of it now it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel but the economy will not wait for anyone. Either will will shift and adjust or we will falter and fall.
Your business may not need a massive change to survive - it may not even need a big change. It might just need slight adjustments here and there. And you never know... you may even love it more.