Chief Executive Officer at the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, Lauri-Ann Ainsworth, shared her entrepreneurial experience and marketing expertise during an Instagram live with Yello on 2 July.

Addressing the topic, ‘How to survive and thrive as a business owner during COVID-19’, Lauri-Ann covered a range of subjects including maximising digital marketing; working effectively and efficiently with a remote team and managing demands on your time as a CEO or solopreneur.

You can watch the entire interview with Lauri-Ann on the Yello Barbados IG page. We’ve also summarised some of the key points from the discussion in this article.

Q. What are the three areas business owners should prioritise right now as they deal with COVID-19?

A. At the Branson Centre we’ve pivoted to focus on three areas – strategic planning, finance, and marketing. These areas were what our entrepreneurs were asking for and what we’re serving and supporting them in right now.

COVID-19 is uncertain territory so with strategic planning you must create scenarios in your business because if you continue with business as usual it’s highly likely that you will fail. So, look at your best and worst case scenario and everything in between, and start planning accordingly. This will give you a bird’s eye view.

Everyone’s been hard hit in terms of finance so we’ve been telling our entrepreneurs to look at where they can realistically cut their budgets and be innovative with your expenses. Start to have a conversation around your rent, loans, and with any debtors.

Look at every single line item, and really scrutinise it, and ask yourself if you really need it right now. Look at your weekly expenses and income. This is the time to look at what money is coming in and leaving on a weekly basis.

The third critical area is marketing. People were wondering how they were going to service customers because everyone went indoors. Everyone is online and everyone is still online, so you have to use digital marketing to stay relevant and support what you are doing.

Digital channels have become your sales pipeline for getting leads and selling and marketing has become even more critical at this time.

Q. What advice would you give business owners on how they can use digital marketing to reach customers?

A. It’s important for business owners to educate themselves right now on strategic marketing, because if you’re just posting online without a strategy, you’ll have no conversion.

Think about how you want digital marketing to work for you as a lead generating tool.

Your messaging needs to be strategic and relevant and then you’re moving that person through your sales or marketing funnel. So, consider how you are moving people from seeing your post to becoming your customer.

Q. How do business owners ensure that they are on the right digital marketing channels and targeting their ideal customer?

A. Understanding your target audience and the psychology of the people you are serving is important. I recommend choosing one group, persona, or avatar, because if you try to serve everyone, you will not get anyone. So, narrow down and focus on your target market.

For instance, if you’re targeting families think about which member of the family will be most interested in your product or service. Talk to that person and understand their perspective. You won’t get it right the first time, but marketing is all about testing. You must keep trying and testing.

I always recommend starting small so choose two channels and work those two channels. Once you’ve grown a channel, move onto another.

If your target audience is more likely to be on one platform, choose that one, or choose the channel that is most comfortable for you. And show up consistently because that’s an important part of marketing.

Q. In terms of growing a channel, what do you recommend in relation to frequency of posting and types of posts etc?

A. My rule of thumb is 80 / 20. 20% selling and 80% value. You need to think about how your content really provides value for your customer.

People on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are not coming to buy so you have to grab people’s attention through valuable content. People don’t necessarily want to be sold to on these channels, but at the same time, you have a business, so 20% of the time you can show them what you sell.

Frequency will vary depending on what works for you and your community but make sure you are consistent. If you have a podcast, show up for it when you said you will, and if you can’t do that, then don’t commit to it.

Make sure your content is rich and valuable and that you’re not just posting for the sake of it. I’d also recommend looking at your analytics every week on Google and Facebook for valuable insight on which posts are the most popular and then using that to inform your posting strategy.

Q. In terms of finance, where can people save money right now, especially at this time when COVID-19 has hurt everyone’s bottom line?

A. Take the time to see what needs to happen in your business to save money and jobs. Start looking at people versus roles. Could you merge roles or move someone into another role where a similar skillset is needed. Match your finance and marketing decisions with your strategic planning.

So, if you have customers with outstanding bills, pick up the phone and talk to them and perhaps arrange a payment plan. Maybe even consider a new way of selling with payment plans and other options. Look at ways you can augment products and services.

Take a holistic look at your business and use your strategy to guide your expenses. You have to take a detailed approach to the entire business and look at it on a weekly basis.

Having a six month plan is great, but we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so a weekly approach will allow you to be agile and flexible.

When you’re a CEO, and decisions are resting on you, you need a plan that you feel good about and that removes the paralysis when times are uncertain. Having a plan is important when things are constantly shifting.

Q. Would you recommend including your team on your strategic plan?

A. Good leaders know that they’re not good at everything. You have a team to help you, and they have specific skillsets, so I would absolutely recommend openness and some transparency.

When you bring people in, you are getting the benefit of different ideas, and you’re also creating team cohesion. You’re going to get a higher performing team when people feel included.  

Communication is key at this time. Communicate with your team, your customers and stakeholders and let them know what is happening early. Get in front of whatever is happening.

Q. What strategies would you recommend right now to keep teams, who are working remotely, engaged and on the same page?

A. At the Branson Centre we’ve put in place a work-from-home structure, for instance, every week we have a Monday meeting so that the entire teams knows what is happening.

As a CEO you should also try to have one-on-one time with every team member, or if your team is big, the heads of departments so you know what is going on in each area.

It’s an opportunity for you to coach and ask, ‘what’s going on with you?’ ‘do you have any roadblocks?’, ‘is there anything we need to take off your plate?’

The last thing you want, especially with a remote team, is for someone to be so stressed out that they’re about to drop the ball and you don’t even know it.

My team and I use a digital project management tool that allows me to see updates as they occur so that I can have my finger on the pulse of everything. We had to implement that in a different way once we started remote working because you couldn’t just knock on someone’s door.

There is also a need for flexibility and compassion at this time and you have to lead in a different way. You can’t micromanage people when they are working remotely. If you have structure and check-ins, it keeps people accountable, but there is also flexibility.

Q. And what about communicating with your customers at this time. How would you recommend business owners approach that now?

A. It’s definitely important for you to extend that compassion to your customers as well.

Give them a call and just talk, and it’s about more than just trying to sell, because people are losing jobs, and everything is uncertain. Picking up the phone, or sending an email to check up on them, is absolutely priceless.

There needs to be a balance though because you still shouldn’t be afraid to sell. You can check in on customers but also sell your service because that same person might be looking for what you’re offering. Just do it appropriately.

So, think about whether you need to augment your communication when selling your product or service and switch the messaging if necessary.

Q. A CEO, or solopreneur, has to be sensitive to everything that’s going on in their business but how can they manage all the demands on their time?

A. When you’re running a business you really need to think about how you are moving your business forward. Are your daily activities really supporting your business to grow or are you just doing ‘busy work’?

For example, if you are doing minor tweaks to your website and constantly planning, but you’re not showing up on Instagram or for a Webinar or spreading the message of your business, then you might not be doing something that’s valuable to your business.

If you could pay someone to work on your website that would be a better use of your money rather than using your time.

You really need to get clear about all the activities you do in a day. I would recommend writing down your daily activities and then giving them a value like a $10 (US) task or a $1000 task.

Look at what you can outsource or delegate versus where you really need to show up, because if you try to do everything, you are going to burn out, and you’re not going to reach your goals.

Q. And how can business owners make sure they find time for themselves and their families?

A. The equation I use is mindset, plus wellness, plus productivity.

Everyone has limiting beliefs, issues which may be stopping them from showing up as a leader, or something that is causing them to procrastinate, so having a growth mindset is important rather than a fixed mindset.

You need to have personal development time to work on your mindset and it’s important for you to schedule that in. I recommend creating a model calendar where you make time for self-care.

Personally, I need eight hours sleep and I have to meditate. Movement is also important and that doesn’t mean going to the gym, just move your body, and do whatever works for you. A lot of successful people have a morning routine and have self-care incorporated into it.

Eat well and that means in the way that is good for you. Ensure that you are putting intention into what you are eating and into your body.

Create your model calendar and put in a ‘power hour’ for personal development time and spend 20 minutes reading a book or taking a course, 20 minutes moving around, and 20 minutes on a mindful meal.

If we don’t do that as leaders, entrepreneurs, and people then we won’t have the sustenance to achieve our goals. You must look after yourself.

Mindset, plus wellness, plus productivity equals thriving.

You have to commit to it and make it a priority. And, if you are taking care of yourself, when it’s time to be productive, you are going to see results.

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Find out more about the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean on their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Our next Instagram live will be with life and career coach Evelina Merrone on the topic ‘how to use the COVID-19 crisis for personal growth’. Follow @yellosolutions on IG to watch this session on Thursday 6 August at 6pm (EST).