Two tourists stopped in the forest for the night. In the morning they wake up to noise and discover that a huge bear is circling around them in the clearing. One tourist begins to crawl as quietly as possible into the bushes. The other frantically starts putting on and lacing up his sneakers.
The first: What are you doing? You can't run faster than the bear anyway!
The second: I don't need to run faster than the bear. I just need to run a little faster than you.

This is my point... many businesses (especially small ones) are having a tough time now. Yes, in the end, of course, we'll break through.

But at the moment, you need to do absolutely everything to become at least a little better than

a). your closest competitors
b). your yesterday self

Go through the entire customer communication process - where you can be more flexible, where a little more generous, where to work a bit more on the reason and occasion for the next purchase or visit.

You CANNOT work in April 2026 the way you worked in April 2024. If you haven't changed anything since then, you might already be too late.

Only those who restructure faster than competitors in absolutely all areas of work will survive. Those who are the first to sharply improve service, drop prices, launch an inhuman loyalty program.

Otherwise, I recently went into an empty restaurant, was the only customer there - it was obvious that things were not going well for them. I said, can I have grilled vegetables instead of potatoes with the steak - like the side dish of the neighboring menu item. They consulted. They said - it's not allowed.

I ate half of the steak for several thousand (well, 'ate' - chewed), and left the other half on the plate - completely inedible. The waiter, in front of the administrator, silently took the plate and carried it away. No questions, no 'let's replace it' - nothing.

And you know what? Perhaps crises happen from time to time so that such guys close down, and the most caring and customer-oriented survive. Evolutionary selection.

In short - lace up your sneakers faster and run faster than your main competitor!