Now more than ever, small business owners are stretched to the max. They are the CEO, the operations manager, the vice president of Human Resources, the IT guru, head of finance, and the social media expert. Oh, and don’t forget, they have to navigate the current pandemic and figure out how to keep their business safe and financially sound. That’s not too many hats to wear right?
It’s been way too much, if you ask me. Running a small business is already challenging in so many ways, and the pandemic has made me feel like I’ve been run over by a truck — multiple times with one obstacle after another.
I own a Bollywood dance school in Dallas and the pandemic has shifted our operations dramatically. We’ve gone from normal operations to fully online dance classes overnight to transitioning to in person with masks to now in person and online combinations. We’ve also faced major reductions in clients and revenue.
Throughout 2020, I’ve asked myself so many different questions about being a small business owner. Did I make the right decision to leave a secure job to start my own company? Is the pandemic a sign I should close shop? What is the line in the sand by which I should decide? Can the studios survive this? What will I do next?
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. My Business is My Baby
Like many small business owners, I’m passionate about the service I provide and the brand I’ve built. It really is like giving birth. There’s been many times throughout the past year, I’ve been tempted to shut down and go back to a more predictable 9 to 5 routine. But for two main reasons – I’ve been determined to keep the doors open. First, I love the freedom that comes with being a small business owner, from scheduling my own day to making all the decisions. Second, I get very excited about the creativity involved in running a Bollywood dance studio.
According to the Small Business Administration, there were 30.7 million small businesses in America in 2019. And, based on US Census Bureau stats, applications for small business formations increased in 2020.
What that tells me is that small business owners love what they do and why they do it. I’m no different.
2. Marketing Is a Must
As things went virtual for so many businesses in 2020, the marketplace shifted for my dance studios dramatically. My two studios, based in suburbs of Dallas, can now offer dance lessons online to students outside of Texas. Although not many, we do have some students outside of the Dallas area – in Washington, New Jersey, and even Canada. But just as I was able to acquire students in other states, dance schools from other states were able to acquire students from Dallas. So, now it was essential to stand out from the crowd and be a stellar marketer.
Before the pandemic, we were able to market our dance school with videos on social media of group performances and in-person classes. But, the pandemic brought an to end to all that. So, we had to learn to make TikToks of ourselves and individual students. We also learned to shoot and edit dance covers as professionally as possible. We had to grab the attention of our potential clients – which meant marketing on social media platforms where we didn’t even exist before, like Instagram.
As we lost monthly revenue during 2020, it was very tempting to reduce marketing and advertising. That’s usually the first thing to go when businesses cut costs. But for us, it was a necessity to compete for clients. So, whether we created content ourselves or paid a social media expert, we had to be in front of potential customers. There could be no sacrifice in the marketing budget or effort.
3. I Can’t Fit All the Hats on My Head
I am a Type A, need to control everything, only-doing-it-my-way type business owner. Under normal conditions, I rarely leave decisions (even small ones) to others. But nothing was normal about 2020.
I had to learn quickly that I don’t have control over everything, and I can’t wear all the hats. And, I don’t want to wear all the hats. This was extremely hard for me, but I had to learn to rely on the other instructors more to operate the classes, my daughter for her video and editing expertise, and other experts for various aspects of the business. My main goal in 2020 was oversight so we could continue to operate safely and also manage the financial pressures.
So many small businesses didn’t survive 2020. We were lucky enough to make it through the crazy year and even implement strategies that may actually help us in the future. We may even survive other emergencies – like the epic winter storm that has brought national attention to Texas. Fingers crossed, hoping I’ve learned enough to manage through 2021 too!
https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/23142719/2019-Small-Business-Profiles-US.pdf
https://www.census.gov/econ/bfs/index.html