Since March 2020, the event industry has experienced, and continues to experience a drastic hit, due to the turbulent toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of the past six months, I have seen firsthand how the event space has had very little to absolutely no activity, and as a result, many of our businesses have been idled.

During this crisis, although we must be aware of the dangers, we must also recognize the opportunities. It is imperative that we not waddle the days away with worry, but, instead, seize this idle time as an opportunity to strengthen our resolve and fortify a plan to pivot and persevere – not fall under siege.

You may be questioning what a successful pivot looks like for your business and how to take action. The first step is to understand that pivoting is not a change in vision, but a change in strategy – a transformative shift in thinking, a conscious and deliberate process, and an intensive implementation system. It is the science of ensuring future success.

Start internally. Think through your back-end business operations; the not-so-glamorous part that clients and customers rarely see, such as: accounting, administration, and document management. In virtually every business sector, the winners are those that optimize their back-end.

Here are (5)-five ways to pivot your business during a pandemic by optimizing your operations:

  1. Process Profits and Losses: Your profits and losses serve as an internal analysis of the health of your business. An in-depth evaluation of your business revenues, costs, and expenses will help you look back to review how well your business performed over a specified period of time, and help you understand your business’ net income. This evaluation is beneficial to your future decision-making processes. Additionally, a P&L statement is needed if you are applying for a small business loan or if you’re seeking funding from investors. Lenders and investors need to ensure your business is viable and worth providing financial assistance to.
  2. Create Cost Preventative Measures: To help you sustain, reduce expenses and implement processes that will cost you less money over time. This is about making savvier choices when deciding where to allocate your critical funds. Be resourceful and find practical ways to cut your overhead, and implement the best avenues to do so without feeling the pinch.
  3. Drive your Document Management System: An efficient document management system ensures everyone on your team has access to, and knows exactly where documents, files and content related assets are housed. This not only creates a more streamlined way to track deliverables, but also fosters a collaborative environment; which empowers your team to complete projects in a timely manner.
  4. Assess Your Administration: Every managerial aspect of your business needs to function properly in order for your business to thrive. Provide keen oversight to each department’s performance (e.g. finance, project management and marketing) on an ongoing basis, to ensure all facets are operating at maximum capacity. Make certain all resources and activities are working toward achieving your ultimate goals and objectives.
  5. Value Virtual Learning: As more educational in-person experiences and conferences have either been canceled or moved online – a trend likely to continue even after the pandemic fades  – it is important, now more than ever, to make the most of all industry-related webinars, digital conferences and other virtual learning platforms. Virtual forums may lack the appeal of face-to-face gatherings, but as they become more experiential and engaging in nature, they prove to be a viable option for staying informed and connected.

Our sister company, The Signature CEO Conference 2020- Virtual Experience proved itself to be a vanguard in the digital conference world. Having successfully pivoted from an in-person platform to virtual, the reimagined experience exceeded expectations by offering high-impact content, amazing engagement opportunities and revolutionary tools to drive growth and strengthen business continuity. Having virtual access to this caliber of quality professional development is especially important during this time.

Key Takeaway: As you pivot, continue to reevaluate the efficacy of your back-end operations, and revisit your overall strategy. Don’t be afraid to pivot again, mid-pivot, if the initial strategy needs to be optimized further. The more actively and accurately you bolster your back-end operations during this idle time – and eliminate less effective operations and procedures – the better positioned your business will be post pandemic.

(photo credit:  (top) – Terri Baskin Photography; (middle & bottom) – Ana Isabel Photography)