Browsing Tag
pivot
34 posts
3 Steps to Pivot Your Business for the Long-Term During and After COVID-19
We’re past the initial pivot stories involving the pandemic, in which vodka makers turned to developing hand sanitizer, and clothing companies began producing face masks on the side. These were, of course, smart and applaudable pivots that helped companies survive while aiding the greater good. However, most of these were short-term adjustments. The long-term pivoting...
COVID-19 Accelerated Innovation: How Can Your Startup Embrace Change Moving Forward?
The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst that accelerated innovation and change in almost every industry. What used to take some businesses five years to accomplish remarkably took them only five months during the pandemic. From online grocery retailing to working at home remotely and shifting to an online model, businesses had to embrace change in...
3 Vital Startup Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Pandemic
What will you remember most when you look back on 2020? While all of our stories are different, if you were an entrepreneur or small business owner, you may remember this year as one full of great changes in business and leadership due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while there is never an ideal time...
How the Pandemic Has Inspired More Women to Start Businesses
Over the last month or so, I’ve engaged in 100 conversations with female entrepreneurs on Instagram. I was expecting the conversations to skew toward established entrepreneurs, but I quickly learned that new businesses, started by women and minorities, are on the rise. And while many reports show that the pandemic has hit women in business...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: This is the ANA Marketing Term of the Year (Episode 154)
On this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares the Association of National Advertisers' term of the year for 2020. Any guesses? Here are a few clues: In 2017, the word of the year was “artificial intelligence.” Coming in at number one in 2018, “brand purpose,” and in 2019, “personalization." The runners up this year for...
Planning on Starting up in the New Year? Here’s What You Can Learn From the Resilient Entrepreneurs of 2020
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you might wonder what it’s like to start a business after a year marked by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe you’re a little nervous or even second-guessing plans to fully open your doors (physical or virtual) in 2021. In a year as unprecedented as 2020, entrepreneurs showed the world the kind...
From Our Founder: Creating Opportunity During Times of Crisis
As entrepreneurs and business owners, we do our best to plan for the future. But no matter how much we try to prepare ourselves for the unexpected, none of us could have predicted, nor prepared for, the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding economic crisis it has created. Roughly eight months into the pandemic, our plans—both...
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from the COVID-19 Pandemic (So Far)
Hundreds of thousands of American deaths and counting. Staggering unemployment numbers nationwide. Unprecedented hardships for small businesses and their owners. Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear — perhaps now more than ever — that the ability to adapt swiftly and successfully is vital to survival for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Those who...
How Multiple Streams of Income Saved Me During COVID-19
For years, I've been a firm believer in creating multiple streams of income. While in college, I can remember trying to learn how to start a business while also getting paid by a company to take notes in class (I guess I already believed in various streams of income). Fast forward to the present: after...
3 Signs a Founder Has What it Takes to Scale a Startup During a Crisis
As the COVID-19 pandemic horizon stretches onward and a return to normalcy appears ever more distant, adaptation is the only option. Founders must prepare for a lengthy economic downturn, a slower sales pipeline, extended fundraising timelines and a deeply disrupted workplace — circumstances no one was planning for at the start of 2020. Simply staying...
How Startups Can Successfully Turn Their Existing Product into a New Offering
You’ve spent the majority of 2020 being told that you must adapt to the pandemic’s new economic landscape in order to stay afloat. Acknowledging this fact is easy: putting it into action in a way that promotes long-term business success, that’s the hard part. While companies across the globe were forced to lay off staff...
Strategies for Strengthening Your Business During the Pandemic
Reimagining your business strategy before you’ve even launched, or are in the early stages of a startup, adds a level of stress no budding entrepreneur wants to take on. However, such is the reality of the world we live in today. Outlined below are a number of considerations, recommendations and strategies to consider as you...
How to Rebrand Your Startup During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The brand image you project to the world communicates how relevant, impactful, authentic and credible your business is to consumers—and it’s much more than just a logo, font or color scheme. As brand experts at Ignyte explain: "More than simply a name, term, design or symbol, a brand is the recognizable feeling a product or...
How These 4 Startups Pivoted to Secure Customer Loyalty During the Pandemic (and How You Can, Too)
Never has there been a more unpredictable year than 2020. Despite the best planning and preparation, no one could have predicted a global pandemic altering the way we work and live for potentially years to come. Yet, there are a number of small businesses and startups that have thrived despite the chaos of 2020. Amazon recently...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Derek Dickow (Episode 39)
This segment is brought to you by Dell Technologies The great pivot is here in American business, and on today's WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares the story of an entrepreneurial champion right here in our region who is doing just that. Derek Dickow, founder of Steward Media, was in the process of building a series...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Opportunity During Times of Crisis (Episode 37)
On this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff talks about embracing opportunity during the COVID-19 crisis. While many businesses are trying to simply survive, others are seeing that this crisis and conflict opens doors to new ways of thinking. Whether you're forced to pivot with your business or whether you're thinking about starting a new business, opportunity...
How to Help Your Startup Thrive in Disrupted Market Conditions
When the macroenvironment (and the coronavirus pandemic is a macroenvironmental factor, if ever there was one) causes a disruption, it’s a good time for a startup to step back and review its overall strategy, business model and tactics. Let’s start with a big picture strategy issue, then cover a couple of tactical issues to help...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Pivot Your Business Plan (Episode 31)
While many often debate the importance of a business plan, it's now more important than ever to not only have one, but also pivot your plan when necessary. On this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares tips for entrepreneurs to successfully pivot their business models. First, take stock. Look at what you're good at and...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: SampleServe (Episode 22)
On this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares the story of a Traverse City-based company that has temporarily pivoted its business. SampleServe's Sampling App was originally created to automate the process of testing groundwater and drinking water; but today, the technology is being modified to help with COVID-19 medical screenings. In an article about the...
WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Stormy Kromer (Episode 21)
On this morning's WJR Business Beat, Jeff shares how Stormy Kromer, a company known for its signature hand-sewn winter wool hats, has moved from creating a "non-essential" to an "essential" product during COVID-19. In a pivot to assist the community and retain its employees, the Ironwood, Michigan company is now producing facial masks for area...