No one can deny that the past year has been… chaotic. COVID-19 has taken a toll on every one of us, especially healthcare workers and pharmacy staff. With all that's going on, many pharmacies are struggling to grow their business in the chaos.
The pandemic has slammed businesses across all industries.
And now, heading into our second year of COVID, the need for a new approach to business growth is clear. Now more than ever it’s important to lay out the path ahead, to stay mindful and focused. So how can you stay grounded amidst the chaos and build a thriving business?
Plan and prioritize.
Here are 9 ways to stay agile and growth-oriented during the pandemic.
What You’ll Need
A Well-Crafted Vision: Where do you want your pharmacy to be in a year? How much growth do you want to see this year and how are you going to measure it? What new initiatives should you put in place to facilitate that growth?
A Solid Plan: Your vision is vital to knowing where you’re going, but your plan will actually get you there. A well-researched plan sets out actionable steps. It helps you take solid action day after day that gets you to your goals. It keeps you moving ahead even during times of chaos and doubt. Sure, you can be flexible when things come up that weren’t in your original plan. But without a set strategy in place, it’s so much easier to falter.
Failing to plan is planning to fail.- Benjamin Franklin
Resources: So you’ve identified your vision and outlined your plan. Time to decide what resources to leverage during the process. Implementing a new marketing strategy this year? You’ll need someone to create content and monitor results. Optimizing your delivery service? What resources will you need to give your patients a mind-blowing experience.? Lay out the resources you’ll need and when you’ll need them. Knowing what to expect brings you one step closer to successful business growth.
Once you’ve got everything in place, you can start moving ahead. But even with the best-laid plans, you need a peak-performance mindset. So how can you keep your head clear and engage in some serious growth in the midst of pandemic chaos
Manage Your Stress: If you’re not managing your stress, your stress is managing you. That can make it tough to stay focused. So how can you take charge of your stress and stay calm and prolific? Stress affects us all in different ways, so your stress relief strategy should be tailored to your needs. Which means finding a healthy way to beat stress, whether it be an intense workout or a quiet meditation, is up to you. Staying in touch with your stress levels and setting aside time to do the things you love will keep you winning.
Focus on the Things You Can Control: We’ve all had situations that feel out of our control. Many of us don’t need a pandemic to feel that way. Which means that during a pandemic, we tend to feel it so much more. Feeling out of control can make us feel hopelessness; it can also put us in a state of paralyzing anxiety. And when we're feeling helpless, productivity can go right out the window. So how can you stay balanced and productive? Focus on the things you can control. For instance, you may not be able to control the pandemic. But you may be able to provide your patients with amazing branded resources, so they feel safer. That sort of initiative leads to brand loyalty and growth down the road. So when you’re feeling disempowered, take time to move your focus to an area where you can make headway. Learning to switch your focus at will means having control over your personal power. And that will benefit your business.
Play to your Strengths: By staying aware of your strengths, you can overcome anything. Not sure what your strengths are? Sit down and think about it. Ask a friend, a mentor or a colleague for objective feedback. We all have our individual gifts, and in knowing yours, you know exactly how to proceed. Are you an engaging speaker? Release a series of health-related videos on Youtube to attract new patients. Love marketing? Put together a bulletproof plan to reach potential patients and get them in the door. If you’re not strong in a particular area, delegate. By playing to your strengths and allowing your staff to do the same, you’ll progress.
Remain Solution Focused: We all need to focus on our issues to the point where we understand them. Once that understanding is in place, switch to a solutions-based approach. We’ve all spent time fretting over a problem, wishing things were different, even blaming someone else. And we all know where that gets us. Nowhere. There’s no better way to tank productivity than to focus on what’s gone wrong. So the next time an issue arises, assess and then map out a solutions-based approach to fixing it. You’ll not only come out of the situation feeling better, you’ll be building a key habit for success.
Keep Your Perspective: Perspective can be a challenge when things go wrong. But lose your perspective and your issues can feel bigger than they actually are. So how can you keep your perspective in a crisis? Sit down and go over your vision; are your day-to-day actions going to lead to where you’d like to be in a year? What about three years? Five? When a challenge comes up, think about how it fits into that overall vision. Is it a something small that won't get in the way of your long-term growth? Or is it something bigger, more serious that needs a strong approach? Keeping an eye on your long-term plan can make day-to-day issues seem less threatening.
Stay Positive: Staying positive is vital for any business owner. It’s also important for avoiding overwhelm during the stress of a pandemic. Always remember you’ve got the smarts and the flexibility to overcome anything. And, staying positive is more than silly optimism. When you’re positive you train your mind to expect positive outcomes, which motivates you to work smarter. After all, if you’ve convinced yourself or even your team to expect minimal results, how motivated is anyone going to be to put in your best effort? It also makes it easier to find solutions to problems.
And remember, no matter what the situation, there’s always a takeaway. A lesson about what you can do better in the future. As counterintuitive as it may seem, chaos can be a great teacher. It can teach you a great deal about staying, focusing down your challenges.
Learning from your experiences leads to growth. And with the right mindset, that’s always an opportunity. Adopting a chaos-proof mindset for solving problems and developing new initiatives will grow your business.
Need a tool for strategic growth? Check out the iApotheca 2021 Content & Business Planner; it’s absolutely free and it’s a good way to plan your outreach and grow your pharmacy business.