Coronavirus has affected every business in our country. There’s no sugar-coating it, for some it has been utterly dire and for some it has been an unprecedented opportunity.
Here at The Passionate PA, we work with entrepreneurs; fast-paced, growing businesses that are always looking ahead. Our experience has been that Covid-19 literally stopped most of them in their tracks… at the very least for a few days whilst they got over the shock, worked out how to get a workforce to be productive from home and managed the risks associated with the pandemic.
But now, for most of our clients, it’s business as un-usual.
Working so closely with these business leaders, we see their challenges and feel their pain. The benefit of knowing their businesses so well, is that it gives us a unique and valuable perspective, and a beautiful opportunity to really show how much we care and help them survive the crisis.
In the early weeks of the pandemic, each of our team worked really closely with their clients to ensure they not only survived this crisis, but planned to come out stronger and more focused than ever before.
In this blog, our franchisor, Kate Chastey (centre), shares our 7 Point Plan for helping clients through this crisis.
Evaluation
We help each of our clients perform a SWOT analysis of their business. Done formally, or informally, we make sure we are helping our clients see their strengths at this time, and the weaknesses that need to be addressed.
We’re also helping our clients understand the business threats from this situation – it has to be said, its mostly cashflow no matter what size the business is! And, of course, the opportunities – within every crisis there are opportunities, sometimes it’s just hard to see them when the panic sets in. We help our clients step back and evaluate.
Planning
Once a SWOT is done, we help our clients prepare a structured plan to ensure they (and the whole business) can cope with the levels of change required. We help our clients focus on the desired outcomes and prepare accordingly.
Innovation & Diversification
No matter what the business or what the challenge, there is always innovation to be introduced somewhere. We help our clients release their shackles and see opportunities for innovation and diversification whether it be in service or product offerings, routes to market, target audiences or even marketing messages.
Efficiency
We are masters of efficiency; from managing productivity, motivation and communication to streamlining business processes and customer service. We happily share our knowledge and experience to increase efficiency for the greater good of the business and its people.
Implementation
We aren’t just thinkers and planners – oh no! A huge part of the partnerships we have with our clients is rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck in. We help our clients prioritise and action, and we take responsibility where needed to relieve our clients of workload.
Consistency
The key to all success is consistency and so our clients rely on us to provide a level of service that never falters. With one eye on today’s ‘To Dos’ and one on the path ahead, we help our clients consistently perform their roles and responsibilities, ensuring their business survives today and can thrive as we all move forward.
Kindness
It makes the world go around. Simple.
In our relationships, there is always time for kindness, compassion and understanding. Overwhelm happens to us all, no matter how senior or how experienced. It happens at different times and with different triggers and one of the best parts about being an entrepreneur’s Passionate PA is the trust and loyalty we share.
Our clients can always rely on us to be the listening ear, the kick up the butt or the provider of gin… whichever is the most appropriate at any one time 😉
We are Passionate PAs – with our clients every step of the way.
If you are looking for a fresh perspective to get you and your business through this really difficult time, please contact Kate on 03 3000 20 200.
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