6 Secrets for Your Business to Thrive during Covid-19!!

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Did you know that a good number of fortune 500 companies were started during a recession? Yes, it’s true.  Microsoft for instance was started in 1975, a period when the United States was facing rising unemployment, inflation and a stagnant GDP also referred to as stagflation. 

What about the world renowned fast-food giant Burger King? Just after the Korean war in 1953, the U.S was faced with another period of trying to control inflation and getting the economy back on its feet. But even in war people still have to eat right? And so Insta-Burger King was born out of the minds of three gentlemen who saw an opportunity in a desert place!

 These two examples are an indicator that all is never lost even during a crisis. In any case recessions, wars, inflation are all a result of some bad decisions made by man over a period of time. And the only way to correct that and bring things back to normal is for some positive-minded dare-devil to take a chance and do something peculiar during a crisis.

So how can your business thrive during this pandemic of covid-19?

1.  First you must be extremely daring. Believe it or not the conditions, the business environment, the rhetoric will not change until the crisis is over. And so waiting for an opportune moment to come after the pandemic will only mean you will lose out on the opportunity. Warren Buffet the American business tycoon and philanthropist puts it this way, “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”  This is not the time to hesitate but a time to act. When others are fearful and negative you jump at the opportunity and do something that scares the hell out of you. After all you never know if you can float until you get into the water!

 2.  You must smell the gold. This is that product or service that people must have and cannot do without despite the hard times. For Burger King, they realized that people had to eat despite the hard times. And more so they capitalized on the American’s love for burgers. This calls for you to be very observant, analytical and calculating as your decisions will be purely based on precision and good judgement!

 3.  Start with the basics. Henry Ford began from his family garage and so did Bill Gates of Microsoft but they did not remain there! Remember you are in crisis mode; the only way things get better is when you start with what you have and where you are. Once you settle on an opportunity you go for the jugular and launch like a rocket, no turning back. The more you delay the more you start reasoning like the rest of the world about how hard things are. You are not an ordinary Tom, Dick or Harry, you are a visionary who sees what could be when others are busy bemoaning the crisis. So don’t get sucked up into that old broken record!

 4.  Get Help from idle Hands.  I know this sounds spiteful but it’s not. At this time when there is a lot of restriction on movement many people including family members have a lot of time in their hands. You can incorporate them into your new-found venture so that the business can pick up very fast. They could help you run errands, serve clients, respond to emails and calls and deliver orders. This will also give you an idea of what it would be like for you to run the business on an ordinary day. Additionally, many of your friends and family could become some of your future financiers from fast hand experience after seeing the potential of your new venture.

5.  Rise out of Slumber. The minds of many people are now captured by the pandemic and the resulting economic slump. And instead of thinking of ways to rise out of it, they have engaged a wait-and-see attitude. That is not who you are. If you trade in stocks, this is the time to buy because the prices are quite low and you can buy bulk shares or stocks at a minimal investment. The advantage is that when the markets come back to normal you can sell at a higher price and make good margins. However, you need to be careful as not all stocks will rise after the crisis, some might take longer to start making money.

 6.  Provide the same service uniquely. This season calls for creativity. I saw in the news recently a group of young men in Kenya selling groceries from door to door on a handcart during lock-down. As they went by, the traders sang enticing songs to their potential clients and this drew many of them to buy the groceries. There’s a quote that goes this way, “The creative adult is the child who survived.” For your business to not only survive but thrive in this season creativity is a must. You can offer an existing service or provide a product in a unique and refreshing way.

This is the reason companies do rebranding regularly. Walt Disney is a good example. It started as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923 but later on rebranded to Walt Disney in 1929 right in the middle of the Great Depression. This new name gave them identity! That fresh look, a new packaging, better customer service, customer follow-up will make the difference during this period. People are emotionally bogged down by many issues at this time and therefore an improved idea brings new energy that reassures us that things will get better and we shall overcome!

I am convinced that if you follow through with these secrets you will see a rise in your business within a very short time and it will be like there was never a crisis in the first place.  All the best!

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