by Nomihlali Ntszunguzi

Robert H. Schuller says, “tough times never last, but tough people do.” This statement says it all for entrepreneurs especially during this time. This is our time, a time to grab the bull by its horns and show off our skills and gifts to this changing yet exciting new economy.

Most small business owners are faced with uncertainty of what is going to happen now that the economy is open…..is the economy open adequately enough to keep small businesses working? Will the projects that were canned be resuscitated? Do we have enough resources to take up work that comes, given the technological demands of this new economy? And will relief funding be approved for those that applied? For those that survive the lockdown, the questions might be along the lines of how do we compete with the giants of the game or rather, how do we ensure we have an adequate slice of the pie? These are some of the questions that have caused a lot of sleepless nights and stress for small business owners/entrepreneurs.

I ask myself exactly the same questions, and moments of doubt do surface at times. Recently I even felt overwhelmed to a point of not being able to do any work. I took some time off to reflect and talk to myself. Various things help in such times, for me those include my faith, believing in myself, believing in the dream I have, as well as having a good support system in my family and friends.

I believe that each and every one of us is given a skill or a gift that the world needs at this moment, and it is time that we believe in ourselves and tap into those gifts and skills in building the new economy in this new normal. Believe in your dream enough to see it taking off and manifesting. Your dream speaks to your purpose. Even if things seem to be out of place, that might be temporary and doesn’t deserve to kick you out of the game.

If the services or products you were offering are no longer in demand, turn things around, use your skills and gifts and modify what you are doing. New opportunities are and will keep on opening up. We need to make sure that we are geared up for the game. There is a saying that, “Either you run the day, or the day runs you!”

One thing I strongly believe is that SMEs are key to building the economy in the new normal….and that is us Lionesses!

Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, the founder and director of NISSI: Human Capital Solutions. Having worked in the Human Resources field for more than 18 years, she is motivated to see people succeed by helping them make a positive impact in their work environments. Before founding NISSI, Nomihlali held executive HR positions at Aveng Trident Steel, the De Beers Group, the Department of Trade and Industry, and Lonmin.