It’s hard to believe we’ve now been dealing with the effects and aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak across the U.S. and around the world, but the good news is the toughest part for you, your family and friends and your business should be over now as states slowly continue to lift restrictions. [related]
What that means—or at least should mean—is you should be poised now to move forward into a world we likely won’t recognize compared to what we saw in January and February, but one we’ll never forget. That means we’ll have to approach everything differently, says business consultant Tom Stimson.
“We’re never going to forget this period in our careers, but hopefully it’s the biggest crisis you’ll ever face in your career,” he said during the final episode of his 12-part webinar series focused on the live events industry, “The Show WILL Go On.”
“Every week, more activity is picking up and more projects are coming your way. This is what you have now. You have to make it work. A lot of the work you’re doing now may not be what you hang your hat on, but it’s keeping the doors open,” said Stimson.
“It doesn’t matter where you are,” he said. “It matters where you go from here. You’re going to do whatever you do from a smaller base in a changing marketplace.”
How to Move Forward
Stimson has used the term “do-over” when talking about how business must approach the changing market we’re seeing in the post-pandemic era compared to the one we embraced for years until it abruptly disappeared. He doubled down on that characterization in this week’s webinar.
“You’re in a business reboot,” he said. “The longer you’re in it, the more you’ll realize things have changed for your business. We’re in an era when the value is in soft services, not the gear.”
While not directly mentioned a shift in approach to a managed services model, it’s clear that’s what Stimson espouses and sees as possible in this new world. The companies that make the move now will be prepared when the next disruption happens, he said.
He pointed to the fourth quarter of 2020 and said most live events companies should expect to see about one-quarter of the revenue this year they did during that same period last year as one example.
“We’re not out of this yet,” said Stimson. “There are going to be some ups and downs.”
