Three Possibilities When Things Start to Go Sideways

The financial resilience of your coffee shop depends on if you have a plan to pivot when things unexpectedly go sideways….

which they inevitably will.

You Work Hard to Build Your Business - Are You Resilient-Ready?

Empowering independent coffee shops with contingency planning and emergency preparedness is what we do. It is crucial for building resilience in the face of unexpected challenges.

In life and in business, things will inevitably go sideways and there are three possible scenarios.

1. You stay stuck because you don’t know what to do.

This is not a place you want to be, especially in an emergency situation. Let’s just clarify that all emergencies are unexpected. In this case, you simply do not know how to move forward, you don’t know how to reach out to your clients or staff or how to know what the next steps should be. You’re stuck.

2. You stumble your way through and have no idea if that’s even the right thing you should be doing.

In this case, I’m not going to say stumbling is better than doing nothing because if you’re not sure if what you’re doing is the right move forward, it could be doing more unintentional harm than good.

For example, if you are in a sudden evacuation situation from your place of business and you don’t have a confirmed relocation place, it could be putting yourself and staff in the risk of danger if you head in the wrong direction.

3. You thrive because you have a plan for the most likely risks to your business.

Contingency planning is the process of preparing for unforeseen events or situations that may disrupt normal business operations or threaten the achievement of organizational objectives. It involves identifying potential risks, developing strategies to mitigate those risks, and creating backup plans to ensure business continuity in the face of adversity.

Fire is a risk for everyone and while effective contingency planning is a 6-step framework, the most crucial step is identifying the most likely risks to your company. This is going to be different for everyone.

Contingency planning keeps you, your staff and your core products and services moving forward through a disruption so that you have revenue coming in until you can be 100% operational.

In which of those three scenarios do you want to be when the next disruption happens? (Hint: #3)

This is what helps you create a financially resilient coffee shop.

Until next time…

P.S. Before you go: If you’re an independent coffee shop leader ready to have confidence and financial peace of mind when unexpected disruptions knock on your door, you’re in the right place. Subscribe to our newsletter, French Roast and get a free copy of PLAN. PIVOT. THRIVE. the operational resilience checklist for independent coffee shops.