by Marang Marekimane, Founder: Business Process Mechanics
As if someone pressed the reset button. Business owners around the world are forced to either adapt or die. Raising our usual dose of anxiety to grief. Anticipatory grief is what it is called - learnt this term from our Second Breakfast (an accountability circle of businesswomen). The fear of what is coming. Mostly fuelled by uncertainty. Sometimes it is the certainty of knowing it is the end.
My grieving got worse when the first case of COVID-19 in South Africa was reported. Given what I know of the medical industry, especially the hospitals, there was not much hope we would cope if the numbers got anywhere near what was happening in China or Europe. Not long after that, focus shifted to finding solutions. Given it was the start of lockdown.
I wrote blogs on working remotely and recommending tools to review or pivot the business. Engaged in virtual meetups with a supportive community of entrepreneurs. The news and reading opinions on “which industries will die” still feels like a step back in the grieving process.
In every adversity there is opportunity
Those words should be your mantra as an entrepreneur. Except it is hard to see opportunity when you are looking at the cloud of smoke. That has been the greatest value add of engaging with entrepreneurs around the world. Talking about our respective challenges made me realise the sense of community and that it is not the end.
This pandemic has changed the way we do business. Going forward, opportunities will happen where innovation meets empathy and joins a long stretch of road leading to profits. Social capitalism.
As Phillip Straus notes in his article, “men and women are overwhelmingly buying products and services for these 3 reasons — helping others, safety and trust.” There is not a timeline on when these industries will be forced to pivot. Not just because of the virus, but Africans socialize in large numbers. Then again, there will be a new normal. Pay attention to the number of businesses that close in your area.
Do not grieve what you have not yet lost.
Truth is, not all businesses have to pivot. Some need to review their value proposition. Think of fashion designers. Wearing fancy brands will not matter as much as it did. Now outfits with matching masks or attaching to a dome over our heads will be the norm. Fashion with a cause because we still want to look good even though we are compelled to were masks.
Look at how social media platforms have changed their value propositions. The likes of Facebook and Instagram were used to connect friends and family. Now they connect businesses to their customers through their posts. People can run a business from these platforms. Read how you can use WhatsHash to create a WhatsApp Store. With more functionality than WhatsApp for Business.
It is ok to feel the grief you are feeling when you anticipate the worst. Do not feel compelled to pivot and become a maskpreneur. Review your business model considering what is happening with COVID-19 and Sustainable Development Goals, it is important you review your business model. How is/can your product help others, ensuring safety and instilling trust? Not all businesses need to pivot. Some will need a new value proposition.
Marang Marekimane is the Founder and Chief Executive Office of Business In Theory, a South African company that assists entrepreneurs to formulate growth strategies and improve business processes. Marang also hosts workshops for entrepreneurs to define or review their business model and on how to implement and improve business processes. After spending more than a decade in the corporate sector working for major corporations such as Liberty, First National Bank (FNB) and Standard Bank, Marang now uses her knowledge and experience to articulate her insight of business development into turnkey solutions that improve the sustainability of small and medium enterprises.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | EMAIL marangm@businessintheory.co.za
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