How much resilience do you have left? Probably more than you think…
We talk a lot about how resilient small businesses are. Entrepreneurial life is full of so many challenges that this special quality – to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going ‘ is practically an entry requirement to starting your own business.
While this might be the case, being resilient in 2020 is a different kettle of fish. It might be assumed small business owners can handle anything (and you most definitely can!), but that doesn’t mean that the relentless slog of 2020 isn’t taking its toll.
It’s really important that we recognise what small business heroes are shouldering right now and offer support.
Since March, you have taken the punches that Covid-19 has thrown to your business, and probably also to your homelife and mental wellbeing. You have pivoted, dug deep, been there for staff, for your family and friends. You have kept going, probably without a holiday, or maybe even without any kind of break.
Throughout spring and summer you fought for your business and reacted to regulations, solved problems, pressed on – but there was at least some sunshine and an easing of lockdown to get us through.
Now, as we stare down the gloom of winter, we have to do it all over again Are you exhausted? Yes. Morale around the world is taking a hit. Is your tank empty now? It might feel that way, but it isn’t.
During lockdown I turned to The Art Of Resilience by Ross Edgley, a super adventurer who took on the challenge of swimming around Great Britain.
Of course, this is a pretty extreme challenge that is not for everyone, but Ross’s insights about resilience and what it takes to achieve the seemingly impossible is applicable to everyone now. He talks about US Navy Seals and their philosophy that when you think you are done, when you are think you are completely exhausted, you are only about 40% there. The body and mind are capable of incredible things.
Being brave isn’t about being superhuman, it is about being scared and doing it anyway. In the same way resilience is about finding the fight again even when you feel like you can’t take anymore knocks.
How do you find this strength, that extra 60 per cent? It starts with getting support; accepting that things are hard, but not impossible, and getting some help. It might be about taking a break and just getting some sleep. It could be brainstorming a problem or looking at it from a new direction. It might be taking the plunge with a hard decision or a new idea.
If your battery is running low, find someone else to charge you up. There is nothing more powerful than communities. Together, we really are stronger. Turning to your local community, your customers, your neighbours, or your national community of peers. This is how we got through the first lockdown and it is how we all need to get through the winter.
One of the hardest things at the moment is the fact that many small firms are not experiencing the highs that balance the lows of running your own business.
We need to celebrate wins more than ever, even if they feel small or insignificant. There is still joy out there. This year we are determined to make Small Business Saturday UK the best ever. It certainly will be the most important one yet in our mission to celebrate and support small business success and encourage consumers to ‘shop local’.
Join us. We are launching a virtual tour that will visit over thirty locations across the UK, offering a month-long, intensive programme of advice, workshops and mentoring, in the run up to the big day on 5 December.
Supported by BT Skills for Tomorrow, we will stream free, locally targeted advice and inspiration, with a daily dose of ‘happy hour’ to bring a bit of light relief.
Things are pretty difficult right now, and no one can promise they won’t continue to be hard. However, I can promise you that there are reasons to be cheerful, that there is positivity and a community bringing joy, support and lightness that you can share in.
It can be tough to stay resilient. It might sometimes not even feel like you are. But trust me, what you have achieved this year has been incredible. And I can promise you that you are capable of an amazing amount more ‘ 60 per cent more to be precise.
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