For Victorian small businesses : today was sh*t
For small business owners, waking up this Monday morning in Victoria, in what seems like day #637,253 of lockdown, was tough. And with the news of Stage 4 restrictions extending, this can feel like the light at the end of the tunnel just got a little bit dimmer.
For those owners of small businesses, today is yet another day where the fate of ‘their heart and soul’ has been adjourned and collective breaths are held awaiting the much anticipated verdict. For some, this verdict will mean their business will go on past this pandemic, albeit crippled, but still able to forge forward. Other small businesses may continue to thrive after this time; leaning into it and making a pivot to create a new vision. Yet sadly for some, this pandemic is handing down an ill-fated sentence that signals the end of a long hard road that was built with blood, sweat, tears and an uncountable amount of personal investment.
This is not a post written to encourage those to summon positive thoughts, be grateful and create a space to rethink the business model and vision. We know that these are essential practises supported by research that,when engaged in regularly, tells us that it will help you move through an uncertain time. Instead we decided to sympbolically sit with those who are struggling with the effects of the pandemic to their business, to their relationships and to their mental health.
We do this because want to spend a moment to validate and normalise the collective thoughts and feelings of small business owners across Victoria (and around the country). We have spent the last six months working with small business owners to help them re-create a workforce plan that is adaptive to the current circumstances and to re-vision a business model that triggers a sense of hope for future growth. However our most important work is in supporting small business owners to weather this COVID-19 storm and help ease the emotional collalateral damage.
And this is what we want you to know …. “its ok,to not be ok” today.
This pandemic has left even the most ‘robust’ of us feeling broken and defeated.
Running a small business is tough at the best of times. When you own a small business your day doesn’t end at 5pm, there are no weekends and many a night is spent lying awake planning. There are no sick days and the importance of that final sale far extends beyond the balance in Xero. For most, their business is so tightly woven into the fabric of who they are as a person that the success of the business becomes a measure of their own self-worth.
So, it is completely understandable that this pandemic has had significant impact on small business owners’ sense of self, with some questioning “who am I, without my business?”. Persons who were once motivated, driven and ‘hungry for more’ are now feeling exasperated, frustrated, lost and deeply sad. Some are finding it hard to get out of bed, not wanting to engage with their family and friends and are watching way more Netflix then one ever thought possible.
And maybe that’s all we can do ‘in-this-moment'.
Vicktor Frankal once said: “An abnormal response to an abnormal situation, is completely normal”.
These are not-normal times and your response is normal.
We are all weathering the same storm, just in different boats
This is hard: but you will get through this. Tomorrow will be better.
We know this because you’ve come so bloody far already.
If you are finding it hard to cope or would like another view on your workforce plan reach out to us either by email admin@lineagegroup.co or Renee on +61 418724108 Andrew on +61 41863333.
