1-888-353-5012For years, the Royalty Rewards® office was in an industrial park that was prone to power outages. Despite this, it was essential that our business ALWAYS had power. In the event of even a SHORT outage, our customer service benchmarks would be jeopardized and other critical business operations at risk. This is/was a deal breaker.
Thankfully, our founder was a great believer in being prepared for catastrophe (or even a small glitch), so we always had a backup plan in place in case the “what if” happens.
In this case, we had a generator. But not the type that might immediately come to mind. It was not already integrated into the building infrastructure and did not kick in automatically. No, no. In the event of a power outage, we had to haul it outside, chain it to a tree (so it didn’t get stolen), run lengthy extension cords into and through our office to connect core pieces of equipment, and then start it up (and it was a pull start).
The setup process was documented step by step on a laminated sheet attached to the generator, and we practiced the entire process 2 times a year, just like a fire drill. Although the entire team utterly despised going through these ‘dry runs’, it gave us all the confidence we needed to act in an emergency, and we didn’t need to call anyone to ask what to do.
As the years went by, we moved to a larger office and were able to install a roof top system that didn’t require manual intervention. But we did what we had to in those early days. We were prepared. And now, backup plans are embedded into our DNA.
There are hundreds of problems that can arise in your business – the power goes out, you can’t process payments, you have an “old” and a “new” version of valid gift cards, the internet goes down, deliveries get delayed, new staff don’t yet know all the proper procedures, a fuse blows, you run out of a product, etc.
As Mark Manson says in his book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life (2016): “To be happy we need something to solve.”
Problems will never stop; they merely get exchanged and/or upgraded. The keyword is ‘solving’, and the secret sauce is in the solving of the problems; not in just not having any problems in the first place. It is having a plan in place to deal with them when they happen. It DOES NOT always have to be solved by YOU.
If you haven’t already read the last edition of our EZ Profit Report Newsletter (Edition 1, 2024), check it out now (even better, go back and re read it). We cover the ‘Top 5 Back Up Plans Your Business Must Have’ that you can also read by clicking here.
