by Natasha Singh-Ally, Founder: Business Ecology
Together we are conceiving of the complexity and fragility of the living ecosystem we have always been a part of, but perhaps never before so harshly experienced.
Finances, which are our current woe, fit within a broader economic system. Up to now we have navigated it with sufficient skill to remain viable in the business web, governed by an overarching de facto economic structure. That economic system has always nested within and extracted from a larger living system we call our biosphere. This instance in the world may feel like a reckoning to integrate these three spheres into a balanced conscious system, where even the least advantaged of us gains, and the environment and its finiteness remains sacrosanct. It has not been done before, and you and I are playing our part in making history.
We may have thought we had more time to align development goals and sustainable solutions in a free market for the socio-economic wellbeing of all. We are urgently called to reflect on an integrated model of support and how we may collectively contribute to the sustainability of all within the food chain for the future. We instinctively know the socio-economic landscape has to change to increase fair access, but we are right now too muddled to contemplate the sophisticated intricacies of the three spheres, and today we make the decision to survive.
In addressing complexity it is easiest to rely on first principles, and what we know about entrepreneurship is that it organizes around innovation, adaptation and responsiveness. It is the very recipe that has brought all of us to originate, create and emerge as businesswomen. Most if not all readers have started from ‘not having’ or ‘not knowing’, and yet we have built spaces and identities and solutions that feed us, help others and add to a swirling economy and tax base. We will do well not to feel paralysis, but to engage in pragmatism.
We find ourselves back at square one now that our businesses are shuttered or stuttering. We have to travel back to basics and invoke our sensibilities: prioritise necessary expenses and tactics to remain lean, consolidate or repurpose lines or products, shed the comforts, and streamline and remain flexible for business continuity. Practically it may require downsizing, placing the business in stasis, ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul, merging or bringing on stronger partners all to honour salaries, break-even, or remain afloat… until the economy is turned on again. While in the shallow, dig deep.
It is no wonder that the World Economic Forum advised us to learn these 10 skills by 2020: “complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, judgment and decision making, service orientation, negotiation and cognitive flexibility”.
Don’t let the recession and uncertainty weigh on you, draft an alternative plan and reach out. Let creditors, bankers and employees know you are making arrangements to advantage each of them as best you can, as circumstances unfold, and that you will remain in touch for the foreseeable future. Access the arrangements in place for small businesses to benefit from novel government funds, UIF, deferred loan payments, tax breaks and basic financial assistance and make appeals to stronger debtors and creditors to pay and respectively accept a reasonable percentage of each Rand due. Don’t skirt the tough decisions, but be at peace that you have done all you can for yourself and others.
Trust if we have to start from ground zero: you have the blueprint or experience or balance sheet to prove it. Know that the world is facing the same calamity and a massive re-organizing of the economic and financial world is inevitable, through wide-scale bail outs, welfare expansion, economic stimulation, fiscal policy change and debt relief. In the meantime, be your most creative and durable self as you rethink your business options.
Shamanic wisdom conveys that this period we are encountering can be seen as a hole to sink into or a portal to pass through. Take time to sit in nourishing silence and listen for answers. Set an intention that serves your family, community, employees, business partners, industry, nation, humanity and the planet. Know that your sturdy spirit will percolate and you will emerge from this crucible an enterprising and astute woman brave enough to run the gauntlet of entrepreneurship, once again.
Natasha Singh-Ally is the founder of Business Ecology in South Africa. A thought leader, small business owner and transformation specialist, she started her advisory services consultancy over two decades ago and has navigated through highs and lows. Natasha excelled in business as a Director of a property development and facilities management company. Versed in psychology and change management, she also holds certificates in law, social justice and is a Master in Business Administration (Finance). She is currently attuned to designing strategic solutions to promote social entrepreneurship and development practice. natasha@businessecology.co.za