Ep 1.23 Patti Mara on Using a Crisis to Future-Proof your Business

For many free agents, the last year has been a period of pivots, adaptations and growth. Even though the entire business world was faced with a huge crisis, many leaders saw past the difficulty and tapped into opportunity. As a result, the companies that used the crisis to reframe and reimagine their businesses externally and internally are now miles ahead of their competition. Businesses that used the recent challenges to create new connections and ease of engagement for their customers have accelerated their success for years to come. They have future-proofed their businesses. When the normal way of doing business is interrupted, those who adapt quickly will realize success, leaving everyone else struggling to catch up. What are the opportunities of a crisis in business and how do we capture them? How can business owners position themselves for success, not stagnancy? In this episode, I’m joined by business coach, speaker, author and entrepreneur, Patti Mara. She shares her greatest insights from the last year, and why we should never waste a crisis. Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode The key thing that determines success in a crisis One of the most fatal mistakes companies made in 2020 was choosing to hunker down to just get through it, and waiting for the crisis to inevitably blow over. Every crisis interrupts our daily patterns, which gives us a wealth of information about what’s working and what’s not. By digging into this information, we can find the insights that help us get better going forward. How to win at the game of business Most independently-owned businesses play the wrong game, they focus on what they’re selling instead of the value and relationships that drive their growth. Our goal should be to understand our customers so well that we can speak to their pain points and create value by coming up with specific solutions. Why business metrics need our constant attention As businesses evolve and mature, metrics need to be the driving force of future decisions and growth. Every business needs to have a dashboard of the top 5 metrics that matter and need regular reviewing. These metrics serve as the barometer of whether we’re on track or not, and we can’t ignore or neglect them. Guest Bio Patti Mara is a business coach, speaker, author, owner of Maranet Inc. and creator of The Profit Generator Program*. She has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurial owned and operated businesses to reposition them for success and dramatically increase their growth, customer retention, and profit. Patti also created the Breaking Through Barriers Program*, which helps business owners identify and eliminate the bottlenecks that impede growth and success. Patti is a popular speaker to groups from diverse industries, ranging from finance and commercial real estate, to restoration and cleaning, restaurants, and independent pharmacies. She has also been a featured speaker to North American women’s and entrepreneurs’ groups. For more information, visit https://www.pattimara.com for more information. To get Patti’s free resource, training and a copy of her book visit https://www.pattimara.com/freeagent.