Value Added Ep.18 – How Business is Changing in 2021

To say that 2020 has been a dumpster fire of a year is putting it mildly.

From the Covid-19 pandemic, to the global economic fallout it’s wrought —  not to mention the end of international travel as we know it — 2020 has been the most challenging year in most people’s living memory.

Given all that (and more), you might expect this week’s episode of the Value Added Podcast on the future of business in 2021 to be filled with doom and gloom.

But entrepreneurs are nothing if not optimists. 

Both Jonathan and Jarod see plenty of opportunities and hopefully bluer skies ahead…

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Remote work is here to say — offering newfound freedom for employees and access to a much larger talent pool for employers.
• Both Jonathan and Jarod have seen a flood of new agency clients as people ramp up businesses that were just side hustles pre-pandemic.
• Digital marketing spends seem to be increasing as companies move even further away from traditional advertising methods like billboards and radio ads.
• When managing remote teams and holding them accountable, both Jonathan and Jarod agree that project management tools like Asana and Trello are essential, but neither are fans of micromanagement.

“I don’t micro-track what my team does. I monitor their progress more on a macro level, and that obviously comes from a place of trust. I know that some businesses love to micromanage and micro-track everything and have screen recording and aggressive time tracking set up. I believe that really sets you off on the wrong foot with your team and leads to resentment.” Jonathan Kiekbusch

Jonathan and Jarod fielded a mixed bag of audience questions next — here are a few highlights.

QUICK HITS

• Neither Jonathan nor Jarod advocates drop shipping as a business model. Being heavily beholden or even wholly reliant on a third-party supplier is extremely risky. 

“My advice on drop shipping in 2021 is one hundred percent don’t make it your longterm strategy. I would only use drop shipping as a way of testing out products and markets to find your viable market, your viable product, and then to at least private label your goods, right? 

I’m always going to advocate for owning brands and assets over being a business that is dependent on one supplier or source.” Jonathan Kiekbusch

• Both Jarod and Jonathan see content consumption continuing to rise into 2021. Jonathan feels strongly that increasing emphasis needs to be put on personalizing content.
• How can you get more “free traffic” to your websites?

“Here’s the thing — SEO is not free traffic. That’s a big misconception that many people have. SEO is very, very expensive.” Jarod Spiewak

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