Vancouver Business Coach | What To Do If Your Business Has Been Shut Down
Hi there. Welcome back to the inspired method marketing and business coaching, YouTube channel. My name is Trevor and this is my business partner, Josh spurrell with spurrell associates, charter professional accountants. And, um, today our topic is Vancouver business coach things you can do if your business has been shut down.
I love this quote from John F. Kennedy. Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly. Why isn’t that the truth? Um, now here’s something that’s interesting and interesting fact for you. The average founder’s salary is estimated to be than $50,000 per year. Wow. Isn’t that encouraging? Yeah, it’s uh, not what you probably thought of the local business owner. Yeah, 50 grand a year. So governments around the world have made decisions in the interest of public health. Um, however many of these actions have been shortsighted. I’m here to share with business owners what they can do while they’re shut down.
So, um, you know, regardless of how you feel about the, the coronavirus, whether, um, you know, you’re very afraid of it or not so afraid of it, these are some things that you can effectively do. If you have been really shut, like shut down, shut it down now. Partially shut down. Not just limited, but shut down. Okay. Number one, take advantage of any government funding for you and your employees. Now, Josh, you’ve been able to help a number of small businesses during this time in this particular situation.
What are some things that, uh, they should know about that? Um, it’s going to feel unnatural you’re as a business owner, you’re probably a natural hunter gatherer. Yeah. And so to reach into the government pot and take something else feels unnatural, but it is your money in that government pot. And you paid in, they’re gonna ask for higher taxes later, uh, do not buy into the, the fear mongering.
Don’t take, uh, a subsidy advice from a, um, someone who has a English degree writing for the local newspaper. Yeah. Uh, take it from a higher professional, uh, because there, there are no experts on some of these subsidies because, um, you know, no they’re new, right. They, we rolling ’em out for, uh, 10 years. So they always come with an L of risk.
There’s no slam dunk, but you know, higher professional to make sure that you’re, you’re not cheating the system that you have a legitimate, you know, claim to it and realize that it might not be completely black and white, but if your professional views it as an, an acceptable level of risk, um, you know, uh, go with that professional and, uh, just realize that nothing in business is, is, is certain right? So, uh, that’s what they teach you in school. They teach you in school that it’s, there’s a, there a is right.
And B is wrong. It’s like, you have to pick the one that’s most right. Or, or at least bad sometimes. Right. That’s how you win it business. So exactly. So with that, my number two point, uh, things that you can do for your business has been shut down is hire a CPA. If you, if you haven’t yet, you need help with tax planning, you need help with, uh, financial strategies and you’ll need help with applying for some of these programs.
So, uh, my suggestion is find a great CPA if you’re in Canada, um, call the number one rated CPA in all of the country. And that’s Josh bur it’s bur and associates started professional account. It’s my business partner. He can definitely help you, uh, with, uh, getting set up and putting things, uh, in, in the right perspective and, and get you going for when the economy opens back up again.
Right? Yeah. I, I mean, it’s, uh, you know, I believe that the numbers only 11% of businesses actually reach up to seek professional help. And then you realize that only 4% of businesses actually make it 10 years. Right. It tends to be that, uh, uh, you know, that, uh, methodology where people think they’re, you know, entrepreneurs a little bit guilty of, I can do it all myself, right. But the key is to assemble that team can actually help you with it because a lot of time business owners are struggling with this decision. That’s such a quick decision and your biggest resource is time.
And you’re sitting there, you’ll spending 20 or 30 hours in a week to figure out if you qualify for a subsidy, that means you’re not generating revenue during that time. Right. And that’s your, you fall around successful entrepreneurs. That’s where they devote the of time. They spend a disproportional amount of their time pursuing new business. Yeah. Not taking over the administration. Right. They, they verify the administration, they check it over, but they’re not doing it. They’re hunting new business. Yeah, exactly. So get help, get help. Number three, main maintain your schedule as if you weren’t locked down.
Seems very counterintuitive. I’m locked down. I got your business. Nothing’s going on. I’m just going to sleep until, uh, whenever I feel like it, I’m going to play video games or watch TV or, or VE on my smartphone, uh, you know, take the dog for a walk and, and, you know, just kind of, you lose that momentum. So I think right now, um, the best thing to do if you’ve been shut down is maintain your waking, sleeping and working schedule the same as if you were not locked down.
So what are some things that, why do you say that? Well, because it just gets you into the, the good habit of, um, you know, when you are opened up again, it’s easy to jump back into work and get your schedule going. Um, there are things that you can be doing during this time so that you can maintain a regular work schedule. Right. Um, and we’ll talk about that in the next tip here.
Do you have anything to say about the, the schedule?
Yeah. I mean, we’re lucky enough that we have a place to go into, but I would suggest that if that, you know, you’re not in that situation, get a coach, get an accountability, a partner, you know, because you need to communicate with someone, someone that you call at a regular time to check in, you know, uh, they call first thing in the morning.
So your schedule does not drift and it keeps you on task. You know, keep you from feeling lethargic. It’ll keep you from, uh, staying up too late. You need that. You need that outside influence that you can kind of recreate the, the come to work experience by an accountability partner who you check in with on the phone, none of this text message or stuff.
Anyone can do that in their pajamas is still lying in bed. Pick up the phone, call them yeah. A hundred percent pick em up, call em 6:00 AM. Hey, how you doing? Um, this is what I I’m planning for today. And here’s some things you can do in your calendar. So, um, you have time now, right? You’ve got time. So number four, create content to share across the digital channels and your website. You’ve got time before the excuse was when you were, you know, busy serving customers, helping people out.
You didn’t have half time. Well now you’ve got all kinds of times. So right now is the best time to be making content, creating videos. Like you’re seeing here, um, you know, writing, uh, uh, you know, making good posts, communicating with your, uh, with your people. Um, so now’s the time to be making that long form content that you can repost on Facebook or Instagram or, uh, rumble, whatever, uh, social media networks that you’ve got.
Now’s the time, right? Yeah. I mean, it’s, what’s gonna happen. Let’s pretend we were in a good time. Right. And the economy’s booing, and someone’s gonna come to us and say, I’m not getting any customers. I mean, 42% of the time business is struggling. That’s what they’re gonna say. I’m not getting any customers good time COVID or booming time.
And we’re gonna say you don’t have enough social proof and you have no content. So we’re gonna say start building content. Meanwhile, this is a time when you could be making money, hand over fist. You could build the content now, uh, when you have the time, and then when the market returns that same, content’s gonna help you monetize that’s right. The content’s not going away, uh, gift that keeps on giving number five, think of new ways to deliver your services and or products. Um, you know, because of, you know, certain government regulations, you know, say gyms are closed.
We’ll use gyms as an example. Um, do you have, uh, personal coaches who can, you know, perhaps deliver virtual sessions? Can you create YouTube ideas of exercise programs that you can give out for free to your, your clientele so that they stay connected with your brand and stay connected with your, with that community? Are you setting up, let’s say a, a private Facebook page for your members only where they can communicate with each other and you share, you know, recipes and workout strategies from home and all these different something that you can do to deliver and stay connected with your audience during this time when you can’t make money.
Because when things open up, you don’t want them to switch and, you know, go somewhere else or, or choose to stay home. You want them to come and enjoy the full experience of your gym.
What things can you improve, uh, in your place of business? You know, is it now time to, Hey, we can finally, you’ll do a proper nice, you know, clean job and repaint and, and fix the little mix and scratches that are everywhere. There’s something you can be doing, uh, to, to be, uh, improving that customer experience now. And for when they come back.
Do you have any thoughts on that, Josh? Yeah. I, I mean, even if you’re facing a catastrophic circumstance and, and maybe, um, you know, they shut down your gym and you got this huge rent payment and it’s completely insurmountable, what’s gonna happen is at the end of it, you know, no one is going to ask for that content back. No one is gonna ask for those YouTube in it is, and those systems and stuff back, that’s still yours. You’re not gonna have to hand that over.
Right. So even in the worst case scenario, there is no excuse for doing nothing. That’s right. Um, number six, invest in personal growth. You’ve got time now, maybe you didn’t take time for, uh, growing yourself or reading books for listening to good podcasts, getting new information, maybe taking an online course now is the time where you can do that. Um, you can also invest in a business coach like myself to help you, um, get through these times as well as when you’re ready to jump back on.
Maybe you need help crew that content, maybe you need help developing, uh, some, some systems maybe you need, uh, some help in, in organizing structure, whatever that is. Get some help invest in your business, invest in yourself now is the time to do it, but proven path hire coach. It might, it might sound self-serving, but I buy a coach.
Who’s, you know, I purchase, uh, uh, fees for coaching outside of our corporate bubble because it works right. I mean, you study successful people. You’ll find that they’ve done the same thing too. So, uh, you know, hire coach, read books, consume podcasts that actually help teach you about business or YouTube videos that help you teach you about business. Yeah. Uh, number seven, work on improving systems, checklist, training protocols, and be ready for when you open up.
A lot of people underestimate, uh, how well a business will run as a system, as opposed to chaos, right? You think of, um, back to the franchise model, uh, of a restaurant, let’s say MC Donald’s or something like that. The reason that they’re so successful, it’s not because they make the best burgers on the planets because they have a great system that’s able to deliver, uh, fresh, consistent food, um, to you quickly.
It’s, it’s acceptable and people love it. And they sell billions and billions of burgers year round it’s it’s because they have systems. You can take that restaurant and, and have it run by teenagers and very low skilled workers and, uh, create a successful franchise out of it. Um, same thing with any business that you’ve got creating systems that people can run means you can take someone who has low skills or no skills in your area, and you can insert them there, train them up quickly because they’re able to follow a system in a checklist and create a consistent experience for your clients.
What are some ideas you have on that? I mean, start with the client intake process. It’s always the one it’s we teach you at the bootcamp, right? Um, when the, when an initial client reaches out by phone or by email, uh, what exactly, what are the questions you need to ask and how do you get them scheduled in for that first appointment?
Or how do you bring ’em out to your store, right? Yeah. That should be systematized because ultimately that’s something that you want to delegate first. So you could be the one making the deals as opposed to being the secretary areas. That’s the appointments that’s right. So work on that. You’ve got the time next, um, contact your MLA, MP city, counselor, anybody that that is, is, you know, affecting you in your area and let them know how this is affecting your business. Um, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
If you’re, if you’re upset and you’re irritated and you’re losing business and, uh, you’re, you’re ticked off about it, then say something, you know, um, you know, people who are, uh, you know, happy to, to have a lockdown. And they’re, they’re excited about it. They’re more than vocal on their opinions. You, as a business owner, it’s up to you to make your voice heard, um, just lay all out in, in, uh, no one certain terms, how this has affected your business, um, your revenues down, it’s affecting your, however, it it’s affecting your life, just let them know.
Um, and, and, you know, if you don’t say something, then it’s your fault. Um, but you know, it’s up to you to at least let it be known to all of the people that, that are affecting this and ask for these lockdowns that you’re opposed to it. And you need to open up so you can continue surviving. Cause the more people let them know, um, the more results you’re gonna get.
Yeah, if you want to magnify your, my, my, my suggestion to people is, is yeah. Business owners. We we’re forgotten about. We only make up 4% of the population, right? If you look at the talking points at the social media post, look at what you know, uh, elected officials, this is not a, a left or right issue. This is a, this is a bipartisan issue. You know, uh, we create 53% of the jobs in Canada, but we don’t get 53% of the talking points.
That’s for sure. It’s not even close. If you count them up objectively, go through, go through, uh, elected officials, Facebook account one day and added up. It’s always the same result. Um, and if you want your voice to be heard, do not focus on the prime minister or the premier everybody’s there.
You’re one of, you know, a thousand, 10,000 comments on that post. Find one city counselor, not the mayor, one city counselor, find one MLA or one MP, one of the three and relentlessly hammer them about the hypocrisy on every one of their posts. Right? If you really wanna, if you really want to be difficult, that’s how you do it because that local MP probably only gets six comments every post. And if you hammer them, do it publicly, hammer them, hammer them and say, why is Costco open? Why am I closed? This is ridiculous.
Right. Uh, and keep doing it, cuz really, they don’t know they’re so out of touch. I mean, most of these guys, they, they haven’t even had a discussion with, uh, a business owner. Maybe they talked to one or two a year in some sort of, you know, government approved, uh, a round table or something. They don’t just walk and say, how’s it going? What’s actually happening. Right. They’re not having enough of those discussions. And we need to force those discussions. That’s right. There’s only one way to do it hammer.
Okay. Uh, next create offers to your existing clients to boost revenues when you open. Okay. So create, so think of the offers that you can do to help, you know, as soon as you open up, boom, you’ve got some offers. You can do some, buy one, get one half off, you can give, uh, you know, deep discounts you can, um, you know, do something of that nature or find another company that you can kind of create a combined offer with, uh, so that they have, you know, it kind of sweetens the thought makes the deal better, something like that.
So that when you open up, you can, you know, quickly start recovering revenue, right? Yeah. I mean, it takes a while to get an offer out, to get a, you know, a little bit of graphic design work out to get a couple post. So do it now you, you know, they’re opening at some point you don’t know what day we don’t know. We don’t get to know. Right. Uh, but we know it’s opening and what offer are we gonna put up there as soon as reopen. Yep. And then you have, uh, you have an email list. You’ve got those people’s emails.
Hopefully you’ve been capturing their emails and you you’re on social media so you can let know what’s coming up and you know, maybe even do some pre-sales it’s possibility. Uh, the last thing, one of the most important things right now is you can get on the phone, you can get on the text, you can get on the email and you can gather reviews from your happy and satisfied customers who are also sitting at home, waiting to do business with you again. Um, if you haven’t been focusing on gathering reviews now is the best time to do it. Yeah.
Yeah. Um, so that’s all we’ve got for today. Thank you so much for joining us. Uh, we wish you all the best in 2021. And uh, we hope to see you guys on the next video. Thanks.