Building A Resilient Business During the COVID-19 Pandemic
With the world heading into a second lock down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s palpable fear especially within the business community about the future. The first COVID-19 wave caused so much damage to businesses that according to KPMG, “94 percent of the Fortune 1000 across the globe, and businesses in Nigeria have been impacted and are already seeing COVID-19 disruptions.” With the successful trials of vaccines worldwide, there’s hope that things will soon begin to return to normal and the loss of life as a result of the virus will greatly reduce. Despite this glimmer of hope, it might take months or even years before businesses and economies return to what they were prior to the pandemic.
The question of how to build more resilient businesses that will weather this difficult period is paramount in the minds of business owners as well as governments. This article seeks to offer some steps businesses can take to make them more resilient during these trying times.
The first thing to do is not panic or as I usually say “Don’t panic in the Pandemic”. True that the pandemic is causing a lot of damage globally and that is enough to make anyone panic. However, you will do more damage to yourself and your business by going into panic mode. Personally, I realized that by always watching negative stories about the pandemic, I became more uncertain and discouraged about the future and this in turn affected my productivity. To counter this, I reduced my exposure to negative news and sought out positive information such as the number of people who had survived and how other businesses such as Zoom and Tik Tok who were not only surviving but growing. This change in mindset greatly reduced my panic and made me optimistic about the future. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be up-to-date about events going on, just be a bit more selective in what you consume.
Next, take time to reflect and honestly assess the situation you and your business are in. Analyze how the pandemic has affected, is affecting and will affect your business. You as the business owner should do this on a personal level and then meet with key members of staff to do a general assessment of the business. In your assessment, be realistic about where you and your business stand and brainstorm on the best way forward. Most times, the way forward might not be the easiest option so you and your team need to be disciplined enough to follow through on such tough decisions. For example if the finances of your business have been affected by the pandemic to the point where the payment of salaries has become a challenge, then you either discuss pay cuts or staff downsize. However, when a decision has been taken, the affected staff should notified in a dignified manner. Also, during these strategy sessions, the management team should discuss how the future of the company will look like in this new business environment. Crisis management as well as business continuity plans should be reviewed to reflect the current realities and in the foreseeable future. These plans should take into account areas such as the health and safety of workers who physically come to work, how those working from home can effectively work and how the business will operate should there be another lockdown.
While planning for the future, be as adaptable as possible. Just because you were doing things in a certain way before the pandemic doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t change to adapt to the current conditions. If you sold your product via a particular channel before the pandemic and it seems like that channel is going to be difficult to use, then be creative and find newer channels of reaching your customers. Whatever method you use to adapt to the current situation, ensure that it is in line with your company’s objectives, it is profitable and sustainable. Part of adaptability might also involve the diversification of your business. For example, skin care makers might diversify into the production of basic hand sanitizers or clothing companies might diversify into the production of face masks and other basic safety garments. However, the viability and profitability of such ventures should analyzed before engaging in them.
Be open to partnerships and industry alliances. Collaboration is one sure way for any business to survive this period and as a business owner, you must seek out useful collaborations. You might collaborate with others in your industry to source for raw materials together or create a platform where your products can jointly reach a wider audience.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some public and private organizations have put together financial aid packages in the form of grants and long term loans to assist small and medium businesses. Be on the lookout for such financial packages to help you shore up your business finance. Also, you can look to raise money for your business through crowd funding, investors, loans from family and friends. One way to increase your chances of receiving funds is to have a proper business plan that clearly outlines how your business currently makes money, how the received funds will improve your profitability, how much you intend to pay back (if it isn’t a grant) and how long it will take you to pay back.
Finally, be positive and always believe that no matter what happens, you will come out a winner. The success or failure of any business starts in the mind of the business owner. So when you become negative during a trying time, your mind shuts down to any possibility of a solution and sometimes the solution to your problem might not be too obvious at first glance. By staying positive, you’re subconsciously searching for solutions and will be open to them when they come. Also, as a business owner, your employees feed off your energy. This means that if you’re negative about the future and the happenings around, your staff will be that way too and this will ultimately lead to the demise of your business.
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