A Guide to Business Pivots
After a year of extreme uncertainties in the global economy, businesses of all sizes are beginning to future-proof their processes or even reconsidering their mission and services. Demand, customer behavior, and the economy have all changed drastically in the past year, and business owners are considering business pivots to keep their doors open. However, walking away from your business as you know it isn’t as easy as it initially may seem.
Make a Plan
There are parts of the pivoting that are similar (if not identical) to starting a new business altogether, but the stakes are much higher during a renovation. You could lose your entire investment if you’re not careful. Create a solid plan and communicate your goals to your team; keep everyone updated as you breeze past benchmarks.
Forget Your Fear
Don’t make any decisions for your business based on emotions like fear. Instead, drill down on the quantifiable data that you collect during the planning process and beyond. Leveraging software will help provide your business with insight that guides the most important changes you’re making during the pivot process. Add in a little humility and you’ll be able to better understand how to create new services and products to meet new demand.
Get Customer-Centric
You’re pivoting because of your customers — don’t lose sight of that amid all of the changes. Take time to get consistent feedback and keep the conversation going. This opens up channels for you to understand what your business needs to do and to keep them loyal and happy. Stay authentic with these interactions so they can trust that you’ll still be going strong after your pivot is complete.
Trust Your Team, Too
As important as it is to get feedback from customers, you also need to talk to your employees about possibly changing roles as part of the pivot. Understand where they feel like there may be challenges, ask about their future professional growth goals, and truly listen to their responses. How will you as a business owner and leader work to help them meet those goals? Think about how you can help them, help you.
Decide If It’s Time
As beneficial as pivoting could be for your business, it’s not always the right choice. Once you’ve created a plan, talked to customers, and sat down with your employees, it’s time to be brutally honest with yourself. If you have questions about a pivot, maybe it’s not the time. Instead, consider tweaking your services or products or scaling up and moving into a more sophisticated office space. Maybe you need to scale up instead or invest in digital tools that accelerate innovation. You could discover that your business isn’t ready for a full 180.
Find Flexibility
If a pivot is in the cards for your business, make sure you move into a working space that will allow for the tools and resources that will continue to help it grow. Look for office space that features amenities, conference rooms, high-speed internet, on-site parking — whatever it is that will help contribute to the success of your new business model now and into the future. Where your business is located is important too; your neighbors should share the same vision of innovation.
When it’s time to pivot, consider touring The Globe Building. Conveniently located in the Tucker Boulevard Tech Corridor in the heart of Downtown St. Louis’ Innovation District. We are one block from Washington Avenue shopping, restaurants, and residential lofts and less than a mile from the site of the new $1.7 Billion NGA West site.
The vintage industrial space has been refurbished and now offers a futuristic aesthetic which is authentic and inspiring. The effect is stunning and the vibe is electric. The building’s golden age is now. Configure your space and scale with ease. Enjoy the luxury of affordable space with total flexibility.
The enormous scale of the Globe Building can change your fundamental understanding of the space and the workspace. Each of the seven floors has floor plans that cover almost two full acres, allowing tenants to scale up their occupancy as their businesses grow and pivot.
