If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of being able to quickly adapt and pivot. Almost overnight, many businesses experienced severe impacts as a result of lockdowns, restrictions and travel bans. In my business, the effective shutdown of the events and conventions industry has temporarily reduced a major segment of our business to zero. 

But instead of us letting the current circumstances stop us, we’ve been able to adapt and pivot. It’s a strategy that has successfully seen us through the pandemic and indeed the last 25 years in business. Here’s what I’ve learnt in that time about developing an adaptable business. 

We should never be surprised by change 

First things first, change is inevitable. While we may not be able to anticipate every possible change that lies ahead (the pandemic certainly proved that), we shouldn’t be surprised every time change is upon us. Constant change - from shifting customer expectations, to technology, to market disruption - is the only thing we can expect with any certainty. Once you accept that, it will transform how you undertake your planning and operate your business. 

In the case of my business, the print industry has shifted considerably in 25 years. Technological advancement has both increased and decreased demand for different services. We’ve evolved our business proposition repeatedly, being an early adopter of the latest technology of the time such as digital printing, and being one of the first Kwik Kopy centres to offer design services. In the last five years we’ve pivoted into signage, which has remained in high demand even during the pandemic. 

The lesson for business owners is that if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll be outpaced by change and your business will become irrelevant. Expecting change and adapting accordingly is essential.

Embrace adaptability as a system, not just a mindset

Building adaptability into your business requires making it an integral part of your systems and processes. This means adopting practices which enable you to anticipate change such as rigorous risk management, forecasting and long-term planning, developing strategies or ‘plan b’ scenarios to enable you to pivot if and when required, and driving an innovative culture focussed on continuous improvement. 

Through regularly undertaking research and assessing how the market is evolving, we’ve been able to anticipate where the business would need to be in the years ahead and adapt accordingly. Had this process not been built into how we do business, we may well have missed out on several opportunities. 

Don’t leave it too late 

If you identify an opportunity to evolve or adapt the business, but put it off because you’re too busy or are reluctant to invest the time or money, chances are by the time you get to it, it will be too late. By then, the gap may have been filled, your competitors may have the edge, and it will most likely be too late for you to make up ground. 

We first invested in developing our signage offering five years ago. At the time, we knew that diversifying our offering and spreading our risk was important, but of course we didn’t know just how important it would prove to be given the pandemic. Even in the early months of the pandemic, when revenue had dipped, we knew time was still of the essence and proceeded with a significant investment into a cutting-edge wide format printer for the signage business. That investment has paid off as we’ve experienced huge demand for signage, especially in recent months, and a strong pipeline ahead. 

Pivot according to your strengths, not just the market opportunity

If you find an opportunity to pivot, make sure it plays to your strengths, otherwise you may find you’re not equipped to maximise the opportunity and it may distract from your vision. 

In our case, we saw an opportunity to offer signage using our ‘quick print’ approach which unlike our competitors enables us to rush through signage jobs in a matter of hours instead of days. We already had the systems and culture in place to enable a speedy turnaround from concept, to design, to execution. We had strong project management processes in place which would enable us to take on a variety of projects. This allowed us to play to our strengths and immediately gain a competitive edge. 

Ultimately, if your business isn’t built to adapt, it won’t survive in the long-term. By taking steps to build adaptability into the business through your approach, systems and culture, you’ll be able to tackle anything thrown at you.