What is resilience in business?

What is meant by resilience in business?

With everything businesses have had thrown at them during the last few years, it is no wonder that the term ‘resilience’ has become more meaningful!

As if running your own business isn’t enough to contend with, there have also been economic crises, high inflation, escalating fuel costs and, of course, the pandemic!

The definition of resilience is to change behaviours in order to overcome and adapt to unexpected disruption and challenges.

This month, I am going to take a look at personal resilience and resilience in business, and the steps you can take to improve both!

Helping yourself!

Your wellbeing has a direct impact on the success of your business.

How can you recognise the symptoms of overworking and know when it is time to ask for help?

In my blog ‘why a small business annual review is necessary’, I shared with you the impact of burnout on my health and my business and talked through some of the warning signs.

Preventing burnout is crucial so you need to take better care of you!

It is all too easy to use your business as an excuse for not taking proper care of yourself.

If you tell yourself ‘I will get round to it, when I have more time’, you know, deep down, that it will never happen.

However, you can be more proactive in selfcare by making sure you:

Get enough sleep
Eat healthily
Take regular exercise, even if it is just a walk round the block twice a day!
Take regular breaks away from your desk to breathe deeply, recharge your batteries and reduce stress levels
Learn how to say ‘No!’
Find some time at the end of the day to be quiet or practice yoga/meditation/breathing techniques to help you to cope with stress

Try to separate your personal life by prioritising family events (put them in your diary!)

Block off times during the day or weekends to spend time with family or friends and leave your work phone behind.

Constantly checking work emails during family time will lead to resentment, not just from your family, but also from you, as you start to feel that your business is dictating your life.

For some people, personal resilience is about pushing through, driving themselves harder, ignoring tiredness and pressure.

If this describes you, and you are working harder than ever just to stand still, perhaps it is time to reframe the term ‘resilience’, from ‘I can cope’, to ‘it is time to get help.’

Asking for help

Running a business can be challenging and sometimes you feel it is controlling you.

This affects personal resilience through stress, tiredness, and burnout which in turn will impact the resilience of your business through poor decision making and ineffective management.

For me, personal resilience is not about pushing myself and ignoring the signs of stress or overwork by forging ahead, whatever.

It is about making sure I have the knowledge, clarity, time, and confidence to make good decisions about my life and my business.

Having no time and becoming stressed about the little things is when it is time to ask for help.

In fact, it is much better to be proactive, rather than waiting for burnout to strike.

Recognising the signs and bringing in an online business manager at the right time will not only help your personal resilience, but it will also help you to build resilience in business too!

This is where an online business manager package from Spero Solutions can help.

We provide business support so you can stay in control of your business.

We give you back time with family and friends. We give you the space to stand back and make the right decisions for business success.

Spero Solutions online business manager service provides your ‘go-to’ person! Call Elaine of Spero Solutions on 07846 754 747 to discuss how a professional business manager with the necessary business management skills can move your business forward when you are stuck in a rut and worn down by the daily grind.

How does an online business manager help?

An online business manager has the skills to put systems and actions in place so your business can:

Adapt to changing circumstances such as advancing technology, market changes, economic crises and even pandemics
Make the most of available resources
View challenges positively, as opportunities for growth
Be proactive is seizing opportunities as they occur
Identify risks and have strategies in place to combat them
Be collaborative by forging strong relationships with other organisations

In doing so, your business will become more resilient to the roller coaster of economic and market fluctuations.

Day-to-day operations

You can delegate the day-to-day running of your business to an online business manager.

They will streamline processes and systems, so your business runs smoothly and at optimum efficiency.

Managing resources

Online business managers are skilled in resource allocation, whether financial, human, technological, or asset management.

By making sure all your resources are used efficiently and applied where they are most effective, your business will have the resilience to withstand economic crises.

Strategic planning

They can develop and implement business plans that focus on long-term stability and sustainability for continued business growth.

They will develop contingency plans for resilience in business to continue trading through unforeseen events or a change in circumstances.

People management

Having resilience in business depends on a motivated team that is equipped to tackle challenges together.

An online business manager will help you to build a strong team while fostering a culture of improvement, innovation and working together collaboratively.

They provide business support by empowering your team to make the right decisions, so you don’t have to be responsible for every little thing!

(In this blog post about doing everything in your business, I explained why building a business that relies too heavily on you is not a good thing.)

Market changes

A resilient business requires agility to stay competitive through challenging circumstances.

An online business manager monitors the competitive landscape including trends, changes in consumer and competitor behaviour, so your business can adapt quickly when required.

Communication

Communication becomes even more important during difficult times.

An online business manager will provide reassurance and clarity with internal and external stakeholders during difficult times.