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2021 Survival Skills for Tourism – Small Business New Year Resolutions

Greg "Gug" Girard
2021 survival skills

2021 Survival Skills for Tourism 

Small Business New Year’s Resolutions During a Pandemic

We know it’s a challenge and a huge commitment to get your technical ducks in a row. We’re doing it too. And we are here to help. There is no choice. Embrace technology or die.

2021 survival skills for tourism and small businesses in Canada is best depicted in the pandemic words of 2020 like pivot, adapt, rebrand, and restructure. However, one thing is for certain, all these words add up to one bleak answer – change or die. Blunt right! Well… suck it up. These times call for blunt messaging. 

STOP The BS

I cannot speak for you or for anyone else, but I absolutely cannot stand candy coating a bad situation, making false promises and churning out spin. I prefer the tell-it-like-it-is model, no matter how much it hurts. Say it like it is please, so I can do what I need to do on my end to prepare, combat, change and/or redirect the situation.  

Take Responsibility

I believe everyone is  responsible for themselves.  I am not interested in waiting for tourism associations and Governments to fix my problems on the front line of life, and with my business. Waiting is a big waste of valuable time and a recipe for disaster. 

However…

“Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then do it.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

Below are ten 2021 survival skills and New Year Resolutions which I, and some of my colleagues, have shared with each other in preparation of 2021. 

(1) Snail Mail

A year ago tourism was in demand. Travellers were in abundance. Some destinations did not have to work too hard to be busy as the supply of tourists was bountiful. 2021 is different. Now everyone of those visitors is second guessing travel priorities. During the pandemic new habits have formed. Now is a time to connect on a deeper level with your database. The return of snail mail, old school or not, is a 2021 survival skill for tourism. Personal hand written notes will have a big impact on a population in isolation.

(2) Be Lazy When It Counts

A new book out called “The Lazy Genius Way” by Kendra Adachi shares with us how to be a “genius about the things that matter, and lazy about the things that don’t.” If there was a year to focus on what matters, 2021 would be it. Good read on setting priorities. 

(3) Social Media Is Here To Stay

Like it or not, if you are a small business or a tourism destination then get your social media house in order. Take an online course. Watch You Tube training videos. Connect with influencers. Learn beyond hashtags. Learn why “shares” are everything to growing online and “likes” are a “pat on the back”. Go to school on social media.  It is your best free advertising medium. Learn to use it. 

(4) Sharing Is A 2021 Survival Skill For Tourism

Social media is a 2-way street. Share social media posts of others if you want them to share yours.  Then when it is time to ask these groups to share your content they will be more than accommodating in introducing you to their circles and potential new followers. I can tell you, that many I talk too, will not share your posts if you have not shared any of the hundreds they have posted in the past.  There is nothing more annoying then receiving a social media post from people pleading you to share their content when they have never shared yours. It will not happen. Consequently, these people who understand how sharing works often have the highest number of followers. You are missing the boat not sharing. Up your game in social media sharing.

(5) Start A Zoom Club

Start organizing and participating in a Monthly Zoom Club. Establish your theme. Set out some rules. Identify necessary participation perimeters. Then let the learning beginning. Start growing a network of like-minded individuals to meet monthly and share ideas, tips and/or create group projects. The marketing power of groups is substantial in increasing the awareness of your venture. Start your first meeting sharing 2021 Survival Skills and New Year Resolutions and how the group can assist in achieving them.

(6) Create A Personal Learning Library

Look… I cannot say this enough. When everything in the economy is working differently. The rules are different. The market is changing. Learning is and will always be key.

“Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others.” ― Roy T. Bennett

Learning will have to be done differently in a post-COVID world. Information is power in an ever changing world. (1) Set up Google News Groups for topics you want to get better at like social media techniques, web design trends, community marketing innovations, blogging tips, and more. Each morning an email will be in your inbox with current articles about your target words. Learn as the market learns.(2) Follow expert bloggers, You Tubers and more. Schedule notifications so you know when new content is published. Share their content and tag them so they know you are sharing. Share in a question to the publisher of the post to encourage interaction. 

(7) Get Your Head Straight

Look… if we start worrying every day about what is happening in the world it becomes a no-win situation. Embedding negative information in your head every hour of the day is not helpful. No good work is accomplished when your mindset is flooded with death, sadness and struggle. However, what you can control is your own personal world, your own thoughts, and what information you are feeding your brain. Put all your energies in the right place. Focus on what you have some control of like your business, and your family. 

(8) Switch The Noise

Binge watching movies? Watching news ? Laying on the couch all day? All have a purpose I guess but they, by no means,  should become habits.  Change it up a bit and observe the outcomes. Turn the TV off.  Leave social media alone. Mute the phone for awhile. Then get to it, try some productive activity with some music playing. Play those old tunes from your hay-day. Play music which creates positive memories. Let the good times flow through your body about the fun version of you. Music has proven to be very therapeutic. Watch how happy you are the rest of the day. 

(9) Start Habit Hacking

Analyze your days activities. Track them. Adjust them. Be more productive with your time. We as humans tend to very susceptible to forming habits. Repetition can be a burden or a plus. Start repeating positive actions in your day. Pick one habit a month. It can be as simple as waking up 1 hour earlier so you can have a coffee and read your Google News Training Feeds (Point 6). 

(10) Crisis-Proof Your Online Presence

Adapting, pivoting and the new abnormal are words describing why we need 2021 survival skills for tourism and small businesses.  To survive during and post COVID one needs to incorporate new elements into their business marketing plan to help them improve how they engage and reach out to new audiences.  A surging digital landscape during and after Covid is not a death sentence for your community or small business so buck up and get creative.

“Each community/business can improve on so many fronts with access to the right knowledge and direction. No tourism destination has got it absolutely right. No business is perfect. Not yours. Not mine.” Greg Girard – Co Founder of EH? Tourism Marketing Group 

Greg Girard is the co creator of the Experience Community Program designed for small and rural Canadian communities. 

2021 Survival Skills for Tourism and New Year Resolutions for Small Businesses 

“Leave No Tourism Business Behind”

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Greg Girard is a co founding brother of the award winning adventure and travel website and blog ehCanadaTravel.com, as well as, the co founder of the EH? Tourism Marketing Group and host of the popular EH? Travel Talk Show. Greg is also a top ranked Canadian and global travel blogger who enjoys public speaking, and working with as many small and rural Canadian communities as possible.   

FEATURED ON: CBC, Canada.com, Huffington Post, World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Low Season Traveller, TravelTV.com, Travel Industry Today, Cottage Life Magazine, Yukon Life, TAPS Magazine, HUB Magazine and many community publications.

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