Why Putting Off Virtual is Costing You Now
They say necessity is the mother of all invention. Well, virtual just become an absolute necessity for every brick and mortar business in the world—and my company saw this coming.
I won't pretend I'm not worried, anxious or concerned about the state of our world. At the time of writing this article we are still in the early days of the Covid-19 Pandemic. It's the second week of this event, and my home country, Canada, has shut down the border and closed all the schools, bars, restaurants, has limited social gatherings and as of Monday, has now closed all "non-essential businesses."
I can't imagine what has transpired since the time that this blog will be posted and read. But I know that one of the most significant takeaways from this experience will be that virtual, working from home, and social isolation will become the new normal.
My hope is that we will all adapt and come together as a community and support each other in our time of need.
However, I want the takeaway from this blog to be that all businesses should remain virtual even after this crisis has come to its logical conclusion; I'll explain why through the following examples:
Flextime and work from home: I don't know about you, but I have dreamed of having a virtual job that I can do from home. As a field agent and Realtor, I never thought it would be possible to do my job remotely. Now I am seeing this dream come true. I'm sure many others are learning to enjoy the benefits of flex work. As a happy workforce is a productive one!
Agile: If this crisis has proven anything, it's the need for businesses to be able to adapt. You are far more able to adapt to the push and pull of the markets and local conditions that would harm other businesses if you are able to have your operations work remotely.
Disaster proofing: With remote operations and systems, you can quickly relocate the physical elements of your business (mail, product delivery) in the event of a natural disaster.
Scalability: This is something people haven't realized. When you take traditional brick and mortar businesses online, you can service more geographic territory. Why stop growing when you can build a network online to scale your business?
Business Longevity: For a business to be truly successful, it needs to be able to survive a change in leadership and employees. Many small businesses with only a handful of staff build systems around specific people, and when those people leave the business, it's a hole. When you build virtual systems, you can ensure that processes, accounts and continuity are easily passed onto new employees.
I believe that 2020 will be marked as the next chapter in the advancement of our society as the next phase of the information age.
Why? Because so many small and medium sizes businesses (the backbone of our civilization) were forces to level their business. There will never be a return to the old pre-2020 "normal." The virtualization of our businesses is here to stay, and I'm excited about the opportunity this will present!