How many of you are currently in the process of planning to reopen your businesses following the lockdowns? Some of you may already be taking those first tentative steps to preparing for a relaunch. Others may be taking a much more cautious approach, depending on the sector you are in. But here is the challenge - it’s not just a matter of reopening the business just as you were before the pandemic changed everything. Instead, it is the beginning of a new era of business - and everything is different. Consumers have changed their buying habits and will need to be convinced once again to shop with you, but in a different way. You may have to reinvent your business to be digital, instead of face-to-face with your customers. The type of products and services you offer may have to be reinvented to meet new customer needs. And the way you communicate and engage your customers, your partners, and your employees will have to change also. So, if you are currently in restart mode, think carefully about how you are going to reinvent your business to ensure it remains relevant.

Every one of us, as business owners, has had to rethink the way we operate; the way we interact with customers; the way we work with our employees, during this pandemic. Technology has been our saviour, helping us to stay connected and providing us with the tools to pivot our businesses. As a result, many of us have been able to rise to the challenges of this new business environment. But rather than technology replacing people, entrepreneurs are looking to see how technology can help their employees to become more productive. With more people now working from home instead of the formal workplace, digital networking and meeting tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, are providing vital connectivity. As a result, meetings are shorter, more productive, and more output driven. Digital conferences are more focused, with innovative engagement coming in the form of digital tools to ask questions or to network. People are still at the heart of the business, but their productivity is enhanced through the use of technology and an improved flexible or remote working environment. By harnessing technology to make necessary change happen, it can be a win for both the business and the people who work for it.

Business agility is a term being used a lot right now as a way of responding to the current global economic challenges. The definition of business agility is the capability of a business to be adaptive, flexible and creative through a changing environment. Agile businesses respond quickly to opportunities or threats, whether internal (e.g. failing business operations) or external (e.g. shifts in trends or competitive markets). Given the current challenges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, business agility has never been more needed by women entrepreneurs in Africa. To quote Bill Gates on the subject, he says: “Success today requires the agility and drive to constantly rethink, reinvigorate, react, and reinvent.” So, as our way of helping women entrepreneurs in the Lionesses of Africa community to get through this current crisis and beyond, we have just launched our Lioness Business Agility Webinar series,. We hosted the first of these events this month, with many more planned over the coming weeks. For those who can’t participate virtually, we will be sharing videos from the events with all the highlights on www.lionessesofafrica.com Let’s stay agile Lionesses!

As entrepreneurs, it is sometimes good to look back and see just how far we have come, and what has changed over the years. At Lionesses of Africa this week, we undertook an interesting exercise. We looked back at the very first edition of Good Morning Lionesses that we published on 17 August 2015 - yes, that’s how long we have been publishing our daily newsletter for you all! Given all the talk at the moment about how entrepreneurs sometimes struggle to go the distance and survive through good and bad times, we were interested to revisit the stories we featured in that first edition. We are pleased to report that each of the women we featured have shown great staying power, and are still here today. They are great examples of Africa’s many women entrepreneurs who build businesses and brands that last. So, if you are wondering who we featured in that first edition of Good Morning Lionesses, they were: Bushera Bashir, founder of luxury cashmere scarf company, Trebene in South Africa; Lynette Hundermark, founder of tech company Useful & Beautiful in South Africa; and Divine Ndhlukula, founder of Securico in Zimbabwe. Well done Lionesses for your staying power in business!

As entrepreneurs, when we prepare our business plans we tend to have a clear vision for what we want to achieve within a clear timeframe. We usually know what the market wants, what needs to be done, how we will deliver our products or services, and what resources we need to allocate to the task. However, so much has now changed in the world economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are no longer in a position where we can predict what will happen to key markets, where new business opportunities will be found, and how customers will react to further such events. Every magazine or newspaper article we read is telling us that the global economy will take anywhere from 18 months to 3 years to get back to some kind of normal. One thing is for sure, we may not be able to predict or control the future, that is out of our hands. But what we can do is plan for the long-term, when this crisis is hopefully over, and play a key role in shaping our own future - whatever that looks like.

We all know that being an entrepreneur can be a lonely business, and that’s especially the case if you are a solopreneur. Trying to cope with the daily stresses and strains of running your business, whilst at the same time, juggling the demands of family life, can be tough. As a solopreneur, you don’t have teams of people to rely on to help or to relieve some of the burden. Often, you also don’t have a support network at home or in the workplace to ask for advice or assistance when things get hard. That’s why it is so important to be part of a community of like-minded people who know and understand what you are going through. It’s one of the major reasons we created Lionesses of Africa, to provide a community where women entrepreneurs can connect and inspire one another, during the good and the tough times. If you are a solopreneur and taking some strain right now during this difficult business environment, then visit our Business Unusual portal. Or why not join one of our new Lioness Business Agility Webinars? They are a great way to connect with your fellow Lionesses virtually, and to gain some great insights and advice.

There is an interesting trend that has started during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns. As more and more people have been forced to work from home, there has been a realization that all those hours spent commuting to the workplace each day could be spent in a more fulfilling and productive way. It has made people re-evaluate what is important in their lives, and that perhaps their skills and knowledge can be used in a different way. As a result, and as counter-intuitive as it may seem in a time of crisis, new businesses are being started from home. This trend perhaps reflects a desire to try and have control during a time when so much is uncertain; or maybe it is simply that people want better work-life balance or to do something that makes the world a better place, or that just makes them happy. So ultimately, one of the more positive things that could emerge from these challenging times is a whole new generation of businesses created to meet the needs of our new times.

The current pandemic is teaching us many things, and very quickly, right now - not least of which is the need to adapt to the changing world we all find ourselves in. What is interesting to see is the rapid move towards contact-free economies. Retailers are rethinking their strategies, moving away from in-person and in-store sales models, and instead looking at digital business models. Three business sectors that are leading the way in this trend are digital commerce, telemedicine, and automation. In Africa, more and more businesses are moving their sales models online to adapt to lockdowns and restricted trading opportunities. Telemedicine companies are bringing health and wellbeing advice and diagnosis direct to patients digitally. And factories are looking at ways of automating certain production processes to minimize human contact risk whilst maximizing outputs. No-one knows how long these trends will last, but contact-free economies could be the norm in the future.

As entrepreneurs we all do it - we communicate with our employees, colleagues, customers, suppliers and family, using email, Whatsapp, and other digital messaging platforms. It’s great, most of the time, but it can also be really isolating, particularly during the current pandemic situation. Many of us will find ourselves working from home, with our employees also working from their homes. All our communication will be virtual, mainly using messaging or email. On the positive side, it can also mean increased productivity due to minimal interruptions and distractions. However, the downside means that social connection is lost, and this is so vital to maintaining healthy, happy and productive working environments. So try and get the balance right. Ensure you schedule regular phone or video chats with those people who are key to your business - your employees. They still need to feel they belong, they are valued, even if you can’t see them in person for much of the time. Remember, there is nothing quite like the power of a proper conversation.

If there is one business sector that has been hit particularly hard during the current pandemic crisis and the resulting lockdowns across the world, it’s the hospitality industry. We have seen our favourite restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and fast food outlets close their doors temporarily. We have seen workers losing their jobs. And the short-term future looks very uncertain for the sector as a whole. So it has been interesting to see how the big fast food chains have reacted strategically this past week by adapting their established business models to this new reality. KFC and Burger King, for example, have opted to open for delivery-only in many locations; workers have to wear masks and gloves and be trained to run these new delivery-only kitchens. Working practices have also changed, with staff operating in smaller teams in split shifts in kitchens to ensure social distancing and safe environments, and health standards have been dramatically improved to satisfy anxious customers. Menus have also been simplified for delivery only. Businesses in many other sectors will have to learn to adapt in similar ways if they are to survive.

Every day we see great examples of women entrepreneurs who are pivoting their business models in order to survive right now. For those who previously had B2B2C business models, they are now looking at ways to sell directly to their consumers. For example, businesses that used to supply hotels, cafes and restaurants with key ingredients or consumables are now trying to reach consumers directly, making their products available online or by direct delivery. Some breweries, winemakers and distilleries are now selling their products directly to consumers online, instead of their usual supply chain to the hospitality industry. Others are operating click-and-collect services, with consumers ordering their goods online and then collecting them from the source. For many women entrepreneurs, pivoting is the only way to move products that have been sitting in the warehouse waiting for buyers during the current crisis. So if you find yourself in the position where you need cashflow and you have stock to sell, then pivoting your business model could be the answer.

Everyone knows that global and local economies are taking strain right now. Consumers are being careful with their money as uncertainty about business, jobs, and the impact of the pandemic grows. For entrepreneurs trying to keep their businesses afloat, this means that customers become in shorter supply and harder to reach. It’s therefore essential to cast your sales net wider. It’s not enough to simply think about selling your products and services to your usual customers in your local marketplace. There might not be enough business to go around during these tough times. You need to think about different ways of selling. Ask yourself the question, can you sell online? Which channels might suit your business and products best? Can you partner with another online retailer or distributor to help connect your products to new consumers? Ultimately, if you are to expand your market reach you have to cast that sales net wider and get creative in the process - your future business depends on it.

We are all stressed right now, this is no surprise. So many things seem out of our control; there are pressures on our home-lives and on our businesses; we are worried about the present and the future. With so many stress factors to deal with, it’s important to find ways of managing the situation as effectively as possible. That’s where mindfulness is so helpful in managing stress. Mindfulness helps you to see and assess a stressful situation. It also teaches you to accept that the situation may be out of your direct control. It can help you to cope with the outcomes of that stress better. As an entrepreneur, being mindful means that whatever the stress, you can continue to be a leader in your business. You can motivate your employees. You can manage conflict. You can adapt quickly to any situation. Increase your mindfulness today and you will be better equipped for life’s challenges.

When things aren’t going well in business, there is always the temptation to think that everything is wrong and needs to be replaced with something new - a shiny new product or service. But that is not necessarily the case. Just because the market for your products and services might have changed, it doesn’t mean that the products themselves are wrong - perhaps they just need to be repositioned. Here’s a good example - you may have an interior design business that for years has specialized in creating traditional living environments for clients. With the current pandemic, that business may no longer exist in its current form. But the opportunity arises with more people having to create work-from-home offices and needing help to design and create stimulating, efficient working environments within their existing homes. The basic service is the same, just repositioned to meet the needs of the current market dynamic. So perhaps it is the same in your own business and you don’t really need to create and market a brand new product or service offering to your customers.

There is not a single woman entrepreneur out there who has not been affected in some way by the current pandemic. Everyone is experiencing considerable stress and strain. It’s at times like these that we need to show greater compassion for one another. There will be some women entrepreneurs who have high resilience levels and will overcome these tough economic times, just as they have done in the past. There are others who will find it harder, particularly those young women entrepreneurs who are starting out on their business journeys and who have experienced a big confidence jolt during this crisis. This is also the case for women solopreneurs, for whom the journey will be doubly hard right now. It’s essential to have the support from fellow lionesses at times like these. It could be a kind word, or a quick message; it could be a virtual meet-up once a week to compare notes and swop experiences; it could be a shared article or video with helpful advice or information. No matter how small the gesture, it will make a big difference.

As an entrepreneur, it is very easy to feel overwhelmed at this moment in time. Read any newspaper headline, listen to a radio news programme, check your favourite news app on your smartphone, and all you will see is negative, stressful news. But the simple fact is this - you personally can’t control this situation, it is out of your hands. So why spend time worrying about all the things you can’t control, and instead focus on all those things that you can control. Firstly, you can control the way you react to something you read or hear in the news - so start with your approach and turn your negative reaction into a neutral or positive one. Secondly, look at what you can influence positively with your actions - can you pivot an aspect of your business to create new opportunities, for example? Thirdly, use positive affirmations to keep you mentally strong to deal with whatever challenges you face - this is when a ‘can do’ attitude is so important. Fourthly, seek help with problem solving and get some fresh perspective. It’s all about focusing on the things you can control, in life and business.

For years, there has been much talk about global retail business disruption being on the horizon, but the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated this disruption. Global media headlines each day feature stories of household names on our retail high streets struggling or simply going out of business. Retail businesses that have pivoted their models in response to the current situation are gearing up for a new way of doing things. Customer trends such as home deliveries and ‘click and collect’ are reshaping traditional retail companies. Other traditional high street retailers are looking to leverage their differentiation in a more competitive market in order to retain their existing customer base and seek new customers. Adapting to these new enforced trends means that many businesses will have to change to survive and thrive going forward. Particularly as some of these retail trends look like they are here to stay.

Digital trend forecasters have been busy trying to identify where they see future business growth coming from as we emerge from the current global economic crisis. The aim is to look at ways of using digital marketing to maximize engagement levels and ultimately boost sales performance. One interesting trend on the rise is social commerce, which was already growing before this crisis, but is now a definite trend to watch. Social commerce, the merging of social media and e-commerce is now a powerful tool for entrepreneurs to leverage. It means that brands can now sell their products directly from their social media platforms. They are linking shoppable stories and blog posts, with social commerce plug-ins and apps, together with paid-for ads on social media, all underpinned by e-commerce. In the US, 36% of internet users now say that social networks have become important information sources for making buying decisions. So it looks like social commerce will continue to be an important trend to watch this year.

They say in business that preparation is everything - but are you prepared for a worst case scenario? Given the current economic uncertainty, it pays to be ready for anything. As part of your planning process right now, consider how you would make principle-based decisions for the business, rather than just changing or stopping one thing. A possible framework for worst case scenario business planning is as follows. Firstly, start with a big, scary hypothesis and a set of worst assumptions. For example, a possible hypothesis could be that during the crisis, your revenues go down by 100% for 3 months at the peak of the pandemic, and by 50% for a further business quarter. This might mean that it will take the business a full 12 months to recover and return to where it was at the start of the crisis. Once such a hypothesis has been taken into account, it is possible to manage the business in the most effective way possible. Once you have planned for a worst case scenario, you are ready for anything.

When you undergo a radical shift in your personal and business routines, such as that being experienced now due to COVID-19, it impacts on every aspect of your life. As entrepreneurs, there is also the added stress that comes with trying to keep the business going; generating critical cashflow; looking after worried employees; and keeping business and personal relationships going. The stress levels can be overwhelming and the warning signs start to appear - losing your temper, changes in appetite, lack of sleep, cravings for sugar and junk food. The more stressed you feel, the more you lose perspective and start making the wrong decisions. It’s a vicious cycle! The current ‘lock-downs’ across the world are also contributing to a sense of isolation, which doesn’t help with stress. So, here are a few tips to take care of your mental health during this time. Get some daily exercise, even if it’s just at home. Participate in online community groups with other entrepreneurs. Meditate. Feel your feelings and let them out. Chat to a family member or friend. This is a time to invest in your own mental health, for yourself and for the future health of your business.