Images_May_2020_Digital_Edition

You cannot choose the times you live in, but you can choose how you live in your time profitability can help you weed out the work that doesn’t make financial sense, find customers for whom you’ve let ‘legacy’ pricing degrade your income, and help you identify segments that might be fruitful in the new climate you’ll face once you return to some level of normality. Take a moment to look over your recent jobs, your overall customer list, and identify where your effort is being spent, as well as where you are reaping the most reward. Think on how you can reorganise to do more of the work that best suits your shop’s skills and set-up, and what you can add, alter or optimise to get the most out of your business when you start back to consistent work. Skill up This is particularly pertinent if you’ve identified weaknesses in your process that are based in a lack of training. Whether you are finding yourself or staff lacking in basic skills or those specific to your industry/embroidery, there has never been more accessible online educational content. Take on a subject or skill that you have long wanted to add to your skillset. Look to machine manufacturers, materials suppliers, software companies, industry magazines, and educators. There are frequently both free options and inexpensive offerings that are often more in-depth and less likely to lead into a sales pitch. Though this can certainly be fun, make those skills that feature highly as sticking points your first priority. Make connections Strange as it may seem in a world where the handshake has been replaced with waving at a webcam, many people are communicating more freely now than they were before the crisis. Far from just an excuse to have a pint in your pyjamas while talking shop with other embroiderers, the flourishing of online meetings, social media groups and industry initiatives is undeniable. Born both out of the necessity to find new business models and the need for support in these trying times, these online groups and events have become hives of activity. Whereas chance encounters with well-connected people were once relegated to lobby bars at the odd conference, industry leaders are making themselves available, creating content, replying to questions and reaching out to their communities every day. Moreover, your local clientele and potential partners are more likely than ever to see your messaging, should you choose to create. Whether you are looking for potential partnerships, customer contacts or an opportunity to connect with other decorators, reaching out now, creating consumable content and simply participating in the conversation is more important and fruitful than ever. Admittedly, you will be part of what amounts to a deluge of new digital voices, but those who choose to create and ‘risk’ making contact are always far less numerous than the consumers and lurkers online. If you reach out, share who you are; if you take time to listen and engage, you will already be in the elite minority making the most of the medium. In conclusion You may never return to a world that looks just like the one you left and no amount of looking for a silver lining to this cloud can make the difficulties disappear. Even so, in the last two weeks, I have seen decorators shift from competition to cooperation, and reach out to save small businesses that can’t continue operating. I have also seen and been part of movements reaching out to provide resources for those fighting on the front lines in healthcare. I have seen garment manufacturers retool to make masks and decorators turn those needful items into another canvas for expression. Even as I’ve seen difficulty and despair, I’ve seen people take stock, redefine their purpose and find the new direction of their work, reaching for the tools they need to thrive. We can’t choose the times we are living in, but we can choose how we live in our time. I hope you will choose to invest some of this time in reflection, both personal and professional, and spend your effort on making your life and the life of your business better and more focused on what you want and need it to be in the future. Reflect, research, reach out, and get ready for the next chapter. Though online classes and seminars are increasingly popular, this time is also great to get back to basics: read your manuals! If you have had software languishing in your collection, this is the best time to get it updated and learn that awesome function that you’ve always wanted to use [L-R] Erich with Aaron Montgomery of the 2 Regular Guys decoration podcast. Classes that were once held only at live events are rapidly making their way into online spaces, complete with interaction, Q&A and downloadable assets www.images-magazine.com MAY 2020 images 27 KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Erich Campbell is an award-winning digitiser, embroidery columnist and educator, with more than 20 years’ experience both in production and the management of ecommerce properties. He is the programme manager for the commercial division of BriTon Leap. www.erichcampbell.com