How Small Businesses Can Stay Steady During Disruption

What Is A Disruption?

Bad Bunny.

Kid Rock.

Greenland.

ChatGPT.

Hope that helps.

Perhaps you were seeking an escape from your small business anxiety, and hoped to do so by looking at your favorite news source following Super Bowl Sunday.

Or maybe you just wanted a distraction from the noise.

Instead, now you are here, reading my free Super Bowl ad, feeling like you're on the Patriots side of a Seahawks touchdown, asking yourself, "What do you do when the world feels like it's falling apart?"

You start by taking a deep breath. Society is not going to crumble on your head. You do not have to be Hercules or fix it all alone.

A disruption is any event that creates a significant shift in the energy or operation of a system.

Envision a tranquil pond, its surface placid, except for occasional rippling caused by dragonflies skimming and turtles nipping. The pond and its surroundings are content and happy, but maybe they get stagnant after a while. Then, someone comes along and tosses a huge boulder into the pond. The resultant splash disrupts the calm, but also brings much needed nutrients to the surface, which allows natural processes to resume.

How Disruptions Impact Small Businesses

It may not be immediately clear to all how the tension surrounding Kid Rock, Bad Bunny, and the Super Bowl Halftime show impacts small businesses the nation over. Let me explain.

We will begin with the obvious: Super Bowl ads. Many of us have fond memories of watching the Super Bowl, year in and year out, regardless of whether our team was even in the playoffs. We do this in part for the sense of community that comes with talking about the highlights with our friends the next day. We do it also because some of those ads are downright theatrical. Some of us are in it for the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show featuring Bad Bunny.

Now, I hear what most of you are thinking: "That's all well and good, but how does that affect my small business? Super Bowl ads are way too expensive for me." You are likely right. At a shocking $7 million for a 30-second spot, Super Bowl ads are out of reach for many small businesses.

That does not mean you cannot make the most of the moment.

How Can Your Small Business Benefit From Super Bowl Search Traffic?

"Hey, Google, what is one percent of 127 million?" It is 1.27 million. That is a lot. You and I are unlikely to convert 1.27 million people overnight. Think about that.

What would you even do if you could? Your site would probably crash. Then you'd panic. You'd call someone like me, and we'd panic together. Then the moment would be gone.

Instead of trying to convert 1.27 million people overnight, you can try to convert an even smaller percentage. Like 0.0001%. That is 127 people. Much more doable.

"But Patrick, Super Bowl ads cost $8-10 million. How does converting 127 people help me?" It does not. But what if you weren't the one paying for the ad? What if you were simply the one benefiting, instead?

If you suspected "SEO opportunism" as the reason for my mentioning ChatGPT, Kid Rock, Bad Bunny, and that Budweiser Super Bowl commercial in the same breath, you guessed it!

Consider this: if you are someone whose business runs in a lane parallel to anything featured in a Super Bowl ad, you are positioned to capitalize on the traffic that ad generates, whether or not you paid for it.

What To Do About Super Bowl Search Traffic?

Imagine that you are a small food truck operator, and you anticipate a sudden surge in craving for Latin food, or Caribbean food, following the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show. Or that you are a small craft beer brewery, and you expect a little bump following that Budweiser Super Bowl commercial. You are already competent and established. You are alert, and paying attention. You are already doing your daily business effectively, and you are ready to step into more this spring, even (or especially) if the thought of that gives you chills.

Now you are positioned to act ahead of the curve, instead of reacting from your back foot. What would you do?

If you are the food truck operator, you might want to stock up on the ingredients for your jerk chicken, your oxtail, and maybe prep something special with a Puerto Rican flair. If you have a digital presence, you are going to want to create some content centered on the Super Bowl Halftime Show and its relevant keywords to ensure you capture any overflow traffic. If you are the mix master at the craft beer brewery, you might want to look into creating a new brew with a name that references that Budweiser ad, or the Bad Bunny Halftime Show, then promote it using the same keywords on social media. If you are a tattoo artist, maybe you read up on Latino-Caribbean indigenous tattoo styles and write a post about that.

Who knows? Maybe you will outperform your expectations and convert 1,270 people instead. I was a basketball kid in high school, and my coaches and basketball community were fond of the saying, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Cliche? Yes.

True? Also yes.

What Does All This Mean For Your Small Business And You?

Remember that huge boulder from the section about disruptions? That boulder is the Super Bowl. You can't lift that. Neither can I. We are just some guys. Or you might be a she or a they. The point remains: even though we can't lift one boulder, we can drop a bunch of pebbles. Those pebbles are what steady business is about: small, consistent actions done well, compounding over time.

You are here because you are curious about the Bad Bunny Super Bowl Halftime Show, Kid Rock, Greenland, or Web Development and Design for your small business. You don't need me to tell you how to run your business. Keep doing what you know how to do, and use your adaptability and attunement to the moment the same way your ancestors taught you to season your food:

With just the right touch.

The Super Bowl is a boulder.

That idea you've been sitting on is a pocket full of pebbles.

Drop that thing this week and watch the water ripple.

Thanks for Reading

Thank you for reading 'How Small Businesses Can Stay Steady During Disruption'! Curious to know more about something you read here, or how to apply it? Reach out to me and let's discuss the possibilities.